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The next two and a half centuries - during the reign of the House of Arpad - tested the new kingdom to the limit. The period was marked by constant struggles between rival claimants to the throne, and land grabs by powerful neighbours. Hungary's descent into anarchy was arrested only after Andrew III, the Arpad's last in line, died in 1301.

After the death of Andrew III, Hungary flourished. A succession of able rulers, beginning with Charles Robert and culminating in the golden reign of Matthias Corvinus, made the country one of Europe's leading powers. However, the death of Matthias in 1490 resulted in another setback. His successor Vladislav was unable to maintain royal authority, funds were squandered, and retrograde laws reduced the peasantry to serfdom.

In 1526, Hungary's motley army was crushed by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Mohacs. The defeat marked the end of a relatively prosperous and independent Hungary, and sent the nation into a tailspin of partition, foreign domination and despair. Turkish occupation did little to improve the country, and resistance to their rule forced the Turks out in 1699.

The expulsion hardly created a free and independent Hungary. Instead, the country became a province of the Austrian Habsburg Empire. Thus began a period of enlightened absolutism. Hungary blossomed economically and culturally under the Habsburgs, but so did thoughts of nationalism.

In 1849, under the rebel leadership of Lajos Kossuth, Hungary declared full independence and the dethronement of the Habsburgs. The Habsburgs replied by quickly crushing the revolution and instigating a series of brutal reprisals. Hungary was again merged into the empire as a conquered province, and absolutism was reinstated. However, passive resistance among Hungarians and a couple of disastrous military defeats for the Habsburgs prompted negotiations between the two sides. The outcome was the Compromise of 1867, which created the Dual Monarchy of Austria the empire and Hungary the kingdom. This 'Age of Dualism' set off an economic, cultural and intellectual rebirth in Hungary, but there were worrying signs that all was not well in the kingdom.

In August 1949  - The Constitution of the People's Republic of Hungary comes into force.  July 1953 upon the instructions of Moscow, Imre Nagy replaces Rákosi as Prime Minister, and the "adjustment" of errors commences. Imre Nagy is dismissed in April 1955 and is later expelled from the party. 

23 October - 4 November 1956 Revolution and war of independence for the democratic transformation of domestic politics and for national independence. On 1 November Prime Minister Imre Nagy announces Hungary's secession from the Warsaw Pact. On 4 November János Kádár announces the establishment of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Government and calls in the Soviet troops. The revolution is put down, and the unprecedented bloodshed of the retaliation claims over two hundred lives; (general but not complete) amnesty is proclaimed only in 1963. Imre Nagy and his companions, who sought refuge at the Yugoslav embassy, then left it, are arrested, sentenced to death in 1958 and executed on 16 June. 

19 March 1959 The Socialist restructuring of agriculture starts, and ends by 19 February 1961. 

November 1962  The 8th Congress of Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party (MSZMP) declares that the laying down of the foundations of Socialism is completed.  May 1966 MSZMP KB (Central Committee) passes a resolution on the new economic mechanism. 

In August 1968 as a member of the Warsaw Pact, Hungary participates in the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia and in the suppression of the "Prague Spring". The introduction of the new economic mechanism suffers a setback. 

In January 1978 the United States of America returns the Holy Crown and the coronation insignia that were transferred to the U.S. after World War II. 

In June 1985 meeting of the social opposition to "Socialism as it exists" at Monor. 

In September 1987 the Hungarian Democratic Forum (Magyar Demokrata Fórum) is established, which is converted into an independent social organisation in 1988. 

March 1988 the Alliance of Young Democrats (Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége - Fidesz) is established; the Alliance of Free Democrats (Szabaddemokraták Szövetsége - SZDSZ) is established on 13 November, and the Independent Smallholders' Party (Független Kisgazdapárt - FKGP) is re-established on 4 March 1989. The party conference of the MSZMP on 20-22 May 1988 releases János Kádár from the his duties as Secretary General. Miklós Németh becomes Prime Minister at the session of the National Assembly between 24-26 November. 

In 1989 the nation became the Republic of Hungary. Hungary has since held free elections - the first in more than four decades. Despite initial success in curbing inflation and lowering interest rates, a host of economic problems has slowed the pace of development. In 1998 Hungary was hit by a wave of execution-style murders and bombings that police linked to organised crime. One of the victims was a police informer, blown up by a car bomb in a tourist district at midday, killing three bystanders.

In April 1999, Hungary joined NATO and become an EU member in 2003.

Hungarian art and architecture is laced with Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau influences. The country has one of the finest folk traditions in Europe, producing excellent examples of embroidery, pottery, ceiling and wall painting, and objects carved from wood or bone. Its musical contributions are just as rich, and range from the rhapsodies of Franz Liszt and the operas of Ferenc Erkel to Gypsy and folk music. Literature has been shaped by the monumental events of the nation's history, which have given rise to swashbuckling odes, stirring poems of independence, gritty tales of realism, and strident polemic. Soccer is far and away the favourite spectator sport, while chess is also popular.

Hungarians tend to have a sceptical view of faith (some suggest this is why they have a high success rate in science and mathematics), but of those declaring religious affiliation, most would say they're either Roman Catholic, Calvinist or Lutheran. The country also has a small Greek Catholic and Orthodox population, and a thriving Jewish community in Budapest.

You'll have to dig a little to unearth the wonders of Hungarian cuisine. The natural abundance of fruits and vegetables should make eating here a delight, but unfortunately this is often not the case. Generally, basic dishes consist of fatty meat (pork is generally preferred) or overcooked fish, some sort of starch, and a teensy-weensy garnish of pickles. These include: porkolt (stew, and what everyone calls 'goulash' abroad); gulyas (a thickish beef soup); and halaszle (spicy fish soup cooked with paprika). If you keep your eyes open for jokai bableves (bean soup), hideg gyumolcsleves (cold fruit soup made from sour cherry) or palacsinta (stuffed crepes) your tastebuds will thank you for it. Decent wine isn't difficult to find (but you'll have to look hard for the very good stuff), while the beer is good, and the brandy (palinka) strong.