Culture of Hungary

The culture of Hungary has a distinctive style of its own in Hungary, diverse and varied, starting from the capital city of Budapest on the Danube, to the Great Plains bordering Ukraine. Hungary was formerly (until 1920) one half of Austria-Hungary. Hungary has a rich folk tradition, for example: embroideries, decorated pottery, buildings and carvings. Hungarian music ranges from the rhapsodies of Franz Liszt to folk music and composed folk music influenced songs and Roma music. Hungary has a rich and colorful literature, with many poets and writers, although not many are well known abroad due to the limited prevalence of the Hungarian language being a Uralic language. Some noted authors include Sándor Márai and Imre Kertész, who have been gaining acclaim in recent decades. János Kodolányi was more known in the middle of the 20th century in Italy and Finland. Imre Kertész won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002. Péter Esterházy is known and popular in Austria and Germany, and Magda Szabó has become well known in Europe recently as well.