| Destination: HUNGARY | |||||||||||||||||||
| Things To Know Landscape of History Making Contact Hungarian Heritage The Good Old Days |
The Good Old Days
Hungary enjoyed two “golden ages” - one in the 15th century and another in the 19th. Under 15th-century ruler King Matthias,
the son of a Transylvanian general, the nation expanded its borders and established its court in Vienna. Matthias patronized
some of Europe's most brilliant scholars, and employed the best Italian artists to work on his palace in Visegrád. Ruins were
unearthed here in the 1930s. His reign became a byword for good government. When he died, say Hungarians, justice died with
him. The man known as “the greatest Hungarian” ushered in a second age of achievement. In the 19th century Count István Széchenyi
modernized the country, laying surfaced roads, introducing steam ships and founding an academy of sciences. He also linked
Buda and Pest with the Chain Bridge, and stopped the regular cycle of floods around the Tisza river by building dams that
regulated its flow.
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