In the year 2000, Hungary is celebrating a double millennium: the founding of the state 1000 years ago, and at the same time also its conversion to Christianity.

Under the legendary leader Arpád, at the end of the 9th century the riding people of the Magyars penetrated into Pannonia - western Hungary. Their looting and plundering in Central and Southern Europe made the Magyars the horror of Europe,  until Emperor Otto I vanquished them in 955 on the Lechfeld near Augsburg. The defeat forced the Hungarians to become settled. Arpàds great-grandson united the tribes and also converted to Christianity. His son Stefan I, the saint, married a Bavarian princess and pushed the procedure of conversion to Christianity throughout the whole country. In the year 1000, the Roman Pope anointed him King of Hungary.

The most important heritage of the Magyars is the Hungarian language, which has absolutely no similarity to languages in neighbouring countries. It belongs to the Finn-Ugrian linguistic family. Otherwise, Hungary was characterised culturally mainly by the Hapsburg monarchy. The victory of the Hapsburg army over the Turks, who had ruled Hungary since 1526, resulted in Hungary being practically integrated in the Hapsburg monarchy in 1686, although the double monarchy Austria-Hungary was not founded until 1867. Finally, Hungary became independent again in 1918 following Austria's defect in the 1st world war.

Even as part of the Warsaw Pact, Hungary still remained oriented to the West. When the Prime Minister Imre Nagy announced that Hungary was leaving the Warsaw Pact in 1956, Soviet troops marched into the country. The Hungarian people's uprising was quelled with bloody, military might. The New Economic Policy introduced in 1968 tried to combine market and planned economy and bring western capital into the country. In particular the tourism industry grew successfully. Both western and eastern Europeans met in Hungary. The Germans will never forget how permission was given to thousands of East German refugees to leave the country, after seeking refuge in the west German embassy in Budapest in September 1989.