BUDAPEST UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS

FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

CENTRE OF MODERN LANGUAGES

HUNGARIAN CULTURE(Fall Semester)

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Materials compiled by:

Aradi András (Education),

Bakonyiné Berényi Katalin (Literature, Fine Arts, Music),

Kaplonyi Barbara (History),

Sziklainé dr. Gombos Zsuzsa (Science, Technology, Sports, Holidays)

Technical Staff: Perényi Józsefné, Gyarmatiné Pados Katalin

Editor in charge:Dr. Sárvári Judit

Director of Centre of Modern Languages

3rd edition2015. September

CONTENTS

COURSE DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................................... 4Chapter 1 - Study Abroad as a Cultural Challenge .................................................................... 7

Portfolio Development for Chapter 1. ..................................................................................14Chapter 2 - Hungarian History ................................................................................................. 15

Portfolio Development for Chapter 2. ..................................................................................21Chapter 3 - The Hungarian Education System ......................................................................... 22

Portfolio Development for Chapter 3. ..................................................................................32Chapter 4 - Hungarian Literature.............................................................................................. 33

Portfolio Development for Chapter 4. ..................................................................................46Chapter 5 - Hungarian Music ................................................................................................... 47

Portfolio Development for Chapter 5. ..................................................................................53Chapter 6 - Famous Hungarians in Science & Technology ..................................................... 54

Portfolio Development for Chapter 6 ...................................................................................67Chapter 7 - Hungarian Sport and Sportsmen............................................................................ 68

Portfolio Development for Chapter 7. ..................................................................................78CHAPTER 8 - Hungarian Holidays, Celebrations, Festivals ................................................... 79

Portfolio Development for Chapter 8. ..................................................................................87APPENDIX to Chapter 3.......................................................................................................... 88

Faculties of BME..................................................................................................................88

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COURSE DESCRIPTION

Subject name Hungarian Culture Part 1 (for international students)Subject code BMEGT658363Lesson typeLessons per week

Seminarone 90-minute contact lesson/week plus fieldwork and individualresearch

Type of Grading practical course markNumber of Credits 4 creditsEntrance Requirements level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference

for Languages or similar level of language knowledgeObjectives of the Course This interdisciplinary course aims to provide a comprehensive picture of

Hungarian Culture through the centuries to the present day. In line withthe students’ academic profile, special emphasis is given to Hungariancultural heritage in the fields of science, engineering and economics.Hungarian poets, writers and composers are also presented in theirhistorical and social context. International students will gain a deeperunderstanding of the cultural environment they live in by completingprojects on related topics.

Competences Students will become acquainted with the culture of the host country anddevelop cultural awareness to gain a better understanding of inter-culturalphenomena and reduce cross-cultural shock. They will acquire a range ofcross-cultural skills that will contribute to successful professional studiesabroad and which will be valuable later in professional workplaces in amultilingual / multicultural setting.

Topics covered • Study abroad as a cultural challenge.• Hungary/Budapest University of Technology and Economics as an

academic experience• Motivations, first impressions, expectation of students• Features of everyday life• Hungarian education system• Chapters of Hungarian history• Famous Hungarians in science• Hungarian sport and sportsmen• Holidays, celebrations, festivals

Requirements forattendance

“If a student is absent from more than 30% of the total number of lessonsof seminars [...] then he/she cannot obtain the credits of the subject.”Code of Studies and Exams, Article 14 (3)

Subject requirements • 1/3 – active participation at lessons• 1/3 – a 10-minute team-presentation• 1/3 – portfolio compiled (requirements, topics attached)

Course material • Handouts, notes taken at lessons, selected readings, independentresearch

• Complementary material:o John Lukacs: Budapest 1900. A Historical Portrait of a City and

its Cultureo Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek and Louise O Vasvári: Comparative

Hungarian Cultural Studies (Purdue Series of Books)o Paul Lendvai (2003): The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of

Victory in Defeat. C. Hurst & Co.o Duncan J.D. Smith (2006): Only in Budapest

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Subject name Magyar Kultúra - Hungarian Culture Part 1(for international students)

Subject code BMEGT658361Lesson typeLessons per week

seminarone 90-minute lesson/week

Type of Grading practical course markNumber of Credits 2 creditsEntrance Requirements level B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for

Languages or similar level of language knowledgeObjectives of the Course The interdisciplinary course aims to provide a comprehensive picture of

Hungarian Culture through the centuries to the present day. In accordancewith the students’ academic profile special emphasis is given toHungarian cultural heritage in the fields of science, engineering, andeconomics. Hungarian poets, writers and composers are also presented intheir historical and social settings. Projects by international students withtheir Hungarian counterparts help students to gain adeeper understandingof the cultural environment they live in.

Competences Students will become acquainted with the culture of the host country anddevelop cultural awareness to gain a better understanding of inter-culturalphenomena and reduce cross-cultural shock. They will acquire cross-cultural skills that contribute to successful professional studies abroad andlater on will promote professional workplace activity in multilingual /multicultural setting.

Topics covered • Study abroad as a cultural challenge.• Hungary/Budapest University of Technology and Economics as an

academic experience• Motivations, first impressions, expectation of students• Features of everyday life• Hungarian education system• Chapters of Hungarian history• Famous Hungarians in science• Hungarian sport and sportsmen• Holidays, celebrations, festivals

Requirements forattendance

“If a student is absent from more than 30% of the total number of lessonsof seminars [...] then he/she cannot obtain the credits of the subject.”Code of Studies and Exams, Article 14 (3)

Subject requirements • 1/3 – active participation at lessons• 1/3 – a 10-minute team-presentation• 1/3 – a short essay (based on the topics covered)

Course material • Handouts, notes taken during lessons, selected reading, independentresearch

• Complementary material:o John Lukacs: Budapest 1900. A Historical Portrait of a City and

its Cultureo Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek and Louise O Vasvári: Comparative

Hungarian Cultural Studies (Purdue Series of Books)o Paul Lendvai (2003): The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of

Victory in Defeat. C. Hurst & Co.o Duncan J.D. Smith (2006): Only in Budapest

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Dear Students,

Welcome to the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. This course, "HungarianCulture", was developed specifically for international students participating in different programs ofstudy at our university. Our intention is to present the rich cultural heritage of our country and to makeyour academic work a real cross-cultural experience. We hope that our course can ease your culturaladjustment and help you feel more comfortable in a new academic setting.

Wishing you a successful semester

Language and Culture Training Staff

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PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENTS

To fulfil the requirements of the Hungarian Culture course BMEGT658363 students are required toput together a portfolio by the end of the semester.

The course book covers eight topics. A list of tasks is attached to each chapter, each of whichinvolves some kind of field work. Read through the list carefully and choose six tasks from sixdifferent chapters. In the course of the semester you will have to carry out the tasks you have chosenand present the results in your portfolio.

The deadline for handing in your portfolio is the 12th week of the semester.

(N.B. None of the tasks in the portfolio can be used as the topic of your presentation.)

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Chapter 1 - Study Abroad as a Cultural Challenge

This introductory lesson will enable you to• talk about your first experiences of living and studying abroad• speak about your expectations of both your professional and cultural studies at a Hungarian

University

Task 1. (brainstorming)

Welcome to Hungary, welcome to Budapest University of Technology and Economics! You arrived inHungary several weeks/days ago. Think about your first experiences and add your answers below tothe “Alien Encounters” of expatriates interviewed in Budapest!

Reading

Where are you from? England

Why are you here? My wife is Hungarian!

If Budapest were a movie, what would it be? Meet the Parents

What’s the most tongue-twisting Hungarian word/phrase you know?Öt török öt görögöt dögönyöz örökös örömök között (Five Turksmassage five Greeks amid perpetual pleasures)

If you had a magic wand, what would you change about Budapest?I’d make the heat in summer slightly milder

What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to you in Hungary? Myfirst taste of Unicum – it was quite unlike anything else!

Tell us something everyone should do in Budapest before minus temperatures set in. Visit theSzéchenyi Baths – it’s a great day out when the weather’s good!

Where are you from? Pruttby, Sweden

Why are you here? Teaching English and occasionally Swedish.

If Budapest were a movie, what would it be? Road Trip, if it hadbeen directed by Ingmar Bergman.

What’s the most tongue-twisting Hungarian word/phrase you know?Egészségedre! (Cheers!)

If you had a magic wand, what would you change about Budapest?I’d make the heat in summer slightly milder

What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to you in Hungary?Bureaucracy is a weird experience.

Tell us something everyone should do in Budapest before minus temperatures set in. Take the HÉV toSzentendre and check out Skanzen. (Hungarian Open-Air Museum) –

Source: Budapest Funzine

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Your name

………………….………………….

Where are you from?

………………….………………….

Why are you here?

………………….………………….

If Budapest were a movie, what would it be?

………………….………………….

What’s the most tongue-twisting Hungarian word/phrase you know?

………………….………………….

If you had a magic wand, what would you change about Budapest?

………………….………………….

What’s the weirdest thing that’s happened to you in Hungary?

………………….………………….

Tell us something everyone should do in Budapest before minus temperatures set in.

………………….………………….

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Task 2.

You must have informed your family about your first impressions in Hungary. List the main pointsyou told them about. (keywords)

• Highlight the most pleasant experience(s) (max. 5 items in a list of preferences)• include a case of misunderstanding (if you have had any)

(The photos below might help you.)

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Task 3

You enrolled on a study abroad program (full time/part time). List some advantages of studyingabroad from a cultural point of view (with a maximum of 5 items).

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Task 4

What were your main reasons for choosing Hungary for an academic experience? Make a list of thefactors which influenced your decision (with a maximum of 5 items).………………….………………….………………….………………….

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Task 5

What do you expect from the Hungarian culture course? (You can use expectations of former studentsto help you)

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Reading

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I expect that the course will:………………….………………….………………….…………………………………….

………………….………………….………………….…………………………………….

………………….………………….………………….…………………………………….

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Task 6.

Dynamic workgroup based on Task 3, 4 and 5. Motivation for studying abroad, for coming tothe BME, and for taking a cultural studies course are compared and assessed.

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Portfolio Development for Chapter 1.

Options:

• You have just arrived in Hungary. Think about your first cross-cultural observations oncampus. Note down the things that have made your study abroad experience especiallyinteresting or difficult in this beginning phase (phenomena, features, encounters, colours,flavours etc. which were new for you). Reflect on these experiences for a Study AbroadHomepage for your school. Raise questions you are expecting answers to by the end of theHungarian Culture course.

• September is a vivid month full of attractions in Hungary. In the little free time you have it iswise to immerse yourself in the feeling of the city and reflect on your experiences (examples:thermal baths, coffee houses, walking along the Danube, the National Gallop (NemzetiVágta), food festivals, entertainment /events for young adults.) Design a weekend tour called“Welcome to Cultural Budapest” for students studying abroad, highlighting events andreflecting on your experiences for a Study Abroad Homepage for your school.

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Chapter 2 - Hungarian History

Brainstorming

(A) What is history? →What makes a country / what makes a nation?

►The Hungarian flag

1. What do the colours symbolize?

►Coat of arms of Hungary

2. What devices and figures can you identify?

►Historic Royal Insignia (Crown, Orb, Sceptre and Sword)

3. What are they? What do they symbolize?

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History by period

(Below is a chronology of European history. For a global overview different terms apply.)

Ancient Times

This was the epoch from the times before written records until the end of ancient and classicalEuropean history, which western scholars variously define as either the fall of the Western RomanEmpire in 476 AD, the closure of the Platonic Academy in 529 AD, the death of the emperor JustinianI, the coming of Islam or the rise of Charlemagne..)

Middle Ages (Early, late and high middle ages)

The Middle Ages, or Medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century.

Modern period

(Early Modern Period (1450 AD-1750AD)Age of Revolution (1750AD-1914AD)Contemporary Period (1914AD- present)

Hungarian History in a nutshell

5th century ADThe Hungarian tribes (Magyars) left the area of the Urals. They passed along the Volga and theCaspian Sea. After several hundred years of wandering they reached the Carpathian Basin.

896Magyars under the leadership of Chieftain Árpád settled down on the Danube plain, in whatHungarians call theHonfoglalás. In the first century after their settlement the Hungarians conductedregular raiding campaigns to the West and to the South, thus gaining a similar reputation in continentalEurope as the Vikings had in coastal areas.

The expression "Lord save us from the arrows of the Hungarians" comes from this period.

1000Foundation of the state.

Stephen, a descendant of Árpád, was crowned king of Hungary and ruledthe country between 997 and 1038. He was recognized by the Pope as thefirst Christian/Apostolic king of Hungary.He finished the work of converting the Hungarians to Christianity, forwhich he was canonized in 1083. He created a strong feudal state.

4. Read some extracts from the Laws and Admonitions of KingStephen I? Why were these measures necessary?

5. Have you heard of his Holy Dexter?

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6. How can a pyramid be connected to Medieval Hungary/Medieval Europe?

1241-1242

A contemporary superpower the Mongol Empire (Tartars) invaded and devastated large parts ofHungary. However, the Hungarian Kingdom was strong enough to defend its independence. It was aflourishing medieval kingdom, catching up to Western European standards in both economic andcultural aspects.

An example of this development was the Bulla Aurea of 1222 (Golden Bull of Hungary) – a documentwhich expressed similar ideas to the Magna Charta of 1215 in England.

1342-1382

The reign of Louis the Great, who became king at the age of 16 and annexed Dalmatia. He foundedthe first university at Pécs.He also created a personal union with the Kingdom of Poland and conquered Naples.(He was a soldier king and only three of the 40 years of his reign were peaceful.)

7. How many seas does Hungary have today? How many seas did the Kingdom ofHungary have in the time of Louis?

1456

Forces led by a Hungarian nobleman named János Hunyadi (the most talented military leader of hisday and Hungary's greatest military hero ever) defeated the Ottoman Turkish army at the Siege ofBelgrade (Nándorfehérvár in Hungarian).

8. The defenders of Belgrade were outnumbered by the Turkish army. Can you guess by howmany?9. What reminds Christian people all over the world of this victory every day?

1458-1490

The rule of king Mátyás (Matthias) Hunyadi son of János Hunyadi.He stopped the advancing Turks with his famous Black Army (mercenary army) and ensured militarysupremacy over Central Europe. His famous renaissance court at Visegrád attracted many artists andhis Corvina library at Buda was also world-famous. Hungary was at its peak.

10. Mátyás the “just ruler” lives on today in folk tales. Read one!

The Ottoman Invasion

1526

The Ottoman Turks defeated the forces of the Hungarian king at the Battle of Mohács, establishingcontrol over most of the country.150 years of Turkish control started.

Hungary was divided into 3 parts (in 1541, after the occupation of Buda):

- the central areas were under direct Turkish control

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- a strip in the north-west remained legally the Kingdom of Hungary, but in reality it fell into the handsof the Habsburgs- the eastern part became a more or less autonomous principality of Transylvania (it was under Turkishinfluence but remained a safe haven for Hungarian culture)

Dark, bloody years of continuous wars (between the Habsburgs and the Turks) followed. On the otherhand this was also the age of outstanding bravery and heroism.- The siege of Eger, 1552.- The siege of Szigetvár 1566.

11. How do you think the Japanese samurai are connected to this period of Hungarianhistory?

1686Buda was recaptured from the Turks. However, the impoverished country was in no position to retainits independence and was incorporated into the Habsburg Empire.

(An uprising led by Ferenc Rákóczi II, Prince of Transylvania took place from 17031711. His troopswere defeated.)

18th centuryIt was a surprisingly peaceful century. Hungary was rebuilt basically from scratch with apredominantly baroque architecture.

The first half of the 19th Century known as the Age of Reform.- the Hungarian Academy of Science was founded (by Count István Széchenyi)- the National Museum was founded- the National Anthem was written- theatres and other institutions were founded- the first railway was built (between Pest and Vác)- the first permanent bridge (Chain Bridge) over the Danube between Buda and Pest was constructed- the river Tisza was regulated- first steam ships (Danube, Balaton)

1848-1849On the 15th of March 1848 a revolution broke out in Pest.

12. What do you think the revolutionary “youth of March” demanded?

The Habsburg emperor was dethroned in Hungary after the Hungarian army won several significantbattles. Lajos Kossuth was elected governor. It was the longest-lasting of all the European nationalrevolutions sweeping through the Continent. It was only finally put down in the summer of 1849 bythe Habsburgs with the help of the Russian army.

“The last bastion has fallen.Hungary is red with blood”

(Heine: October, 1849)

"Of all the 1848 revolutions, the Hungarian revolution was the only one which did notfall to its weakness and internal conflicts, but because of the overwhelming strength of

external military forces."(Eric Hobsbawm, modern British historian)

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The revenge was dreadful. Executions (most famously of the 13 martyrs of Arad), and imprisonmentsfollowed.

1867The Compromise: the Hungarians concluded a compromise with the Habsburgs. Hungary wonautonomy, but not full independence. A double-centred (dual) monarchy was established with seats inVienna and Pest-Buda. The Habsburg Empire officially became the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy.

The Age of Dualism witnessed very dynamic economic and cultural development.

- Pest and Buda (plus Óbuda) were united- an extensive railway network was built- massive industrialization: electricity, transport industry, telecommunication- buildings constructed at this time still dominate the skyline of Budapest- the first subsurface underground railway of the European continent was put into operation- the Parliament was constructed (the very first air-conditioned building on the continent)

1918Germany and its allies, including the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy lost the First World War, whichthey had started in 1914. The monarchy disintegrated.

1920The Trianon Peace Treaty reduced Hungary's area by two thirds and the population by one third. Sincethen there have been considerable Hungarian minorities in the neighbouring countries.

After 400 years Hungary regained its independence, but this fact was overshadowed by the tragicconsequences of the war. During these years Hungary was seeking the revision of the peace treaty, apolicy which drew Hungary towards Hitler's Germany in the 1930s. When the Second World Warbroke out in 1939 Hungary was once again on the loser's side. The new peace treaty in 1945 confirmedthe previous losses once again.

1945The Soviet forces drove the Germans out of Hungary by early April, occupying Hungary at the sametime.

1947-48The Communists consolidate power under the Soviet occupation. What followed was show trials,imprisonments, harassment, forced industrial development, a drop in living standards and a Stalinist-type dictatorship.

13. In 1946, Hungary issued banknotes with the world's highest denomination of thetime. Can you guess what it was?

1956Uprising against Soviet domination. The uprising was bloodily suppressed by Soviet troops and JánosKádár became head of the communist government. In the meantime retaliation and executions started.

1960sKádár gradually introduces limited liberalising reforms. Political prisoners and church leaders arefreed. The Iron Curtain became penetrable.

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1988The Hungarian transition period begins. Opposition groups form the Hungarian Democratic Forum.

1989In May the border with Austria is opened and thousands of East Germans escape to the West. InHungary the communist state is dismantled and a transition to a multi-party democracy begins. TheCommunist party gives up its authority. The Soviet army starts to withdraw its troops from Hungary.The remaining 40,000 Soviet troops leave Hungary, starting in March 1990, with the last leaving onJune 19, 1991.

1999Hungary joins NATO.

2004Hungary is one of 10 new states to join the EU.

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Portfolio Development for Chapter 2.

Options:

1. a. Visit the Buda Castle! This palace has a turbulent history dating back to the 13th century. Itspresent form, however, reflects the opulence of the 19th century. → Present an importantperiod of its history. Introduce us to some of its former inhabitants and owners!

b. Today the palace (in Buda Castle) houses some of the city's finest museums. Visit one ofthem and share your impressions!

2. “Having survived two terror regimes, it was felt that the time had come for Hungary to erect afitting memorial to their victims”

(Source: http://www.terrorhaza.hu/en/museum/first_page.html)

Visit the House of Terror Museum. What terror regimes are involved? How would youcharacterize them? What did you learn about them? Would it make sense to build houses ofterror in other countries that were crippled by dictatorships? Why?Scrapbooking is a widely practiced pastime today. It is a method for preserving personalhistory. Now give your scrapbook a professional form and academic content. (Personalize the“book” with your own pictures, ideas, etc. (Typical memorabilia include photographs, printedmedia, and artwork. Scrapbook albums are often decorated and frequently contain extensivejournaling.)

3. There are several history museums in Budapest and its neighbourhood (e.g. National Museum,Aquincum, the Citadel, Museum of Ethnograpy, Gödöllő Royal Palace, Military HistoryMuseum, Holocaust Memorial Center, Hospital in the Rock, the Tomb of Gül Baba, MementoMuseum, etc.

Write about your visit(s) using the scrapbooking method.

4. Did you know that 1956 revolution was sparked by a student demonstration? Today 23October is national holiday. Visit some sites of remambrance and comment on yourexperience.

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Chapter 3 - The Hungarian Education System

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Primary and Lower Secondary Education

Basic education is provided predominantly in 8-grade (single structure) primary schools (általánosiskola). In small villages where there are few students, a school may offer only 4-grade primaryeducation. In such communities the kindergarten and the school are often organized as a singleadministrative unit. General upper secondary schools (gimnázium) may offer a lower secondaryprogramme in a single structure programme with 6 or 8 grades.

The school year starts on the first working day of September and ends in mid-June. In this period 185days are teaching days, five days a week from Monday to Friday. There is a school holiday in theautumn, the winter and the spring. Lessons typically last for 45 minutes. The school may also organizelonger (maximum 60-minute) or shorter lessons. The school day typically starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 4p.m. Most basic schools offer lunch and daytime study centre service, where students can prepare theirhomework with the support of a teacher, who also organizes leisure activities for the children.Catering is usually provided in secondary schools as well.

The performance and progress of students are regularly assessed and evaluated by teachers throughoutthe school year. Students receive an end-of-term and end-of-year progress report in each grade. This isusually an assessment of progress on a 5-point scale, where 5 is the highest mark, 2 is the pass markand 1 is fail. A detailed descriptive report has to be used in Grade 1 and at the end of the first term inGrade 2. Students may be assessed on the traditional numeric scale of 1-5 from the end of Grade 2.Upper Secondary Education and Post-Secondary Education

There are three types of programmes at the upper secondary level in Hungary:• secondary general programmes (gimnázium) provide general secondary education and

prepare students for the secondary school leaving examination (érettségi), which is a prerequisite toentering tertiary education.

• secondary vocational programmes (szakközépiskola) provide upper secondary general andpre-vocational education and prepare for secondary school leaving examination (érettségi) as well..Students taking secondary school leaving exams in these schools usually choose tertiary vocationaleducation or post- secondary non tertiary forms of training.

• vocational programmes (szakiskola) typically provide two years of general and pre-vocational education and 1 or 2 years of vocational education and training. From September 2010, athree-year-long early vocational programme is also available, which provides the opportunity in somevocational areas to start vocational training in Grade 9. Post-secondary programmes are vocationalprogrammes with an entrance requirement of completed secondary general or secondary vocationalprogrammes. In some of the post-secondary vocational programmes, the secondary school leavingexamination (érettségi) is not an admission requirement.

The programmes in upper secondary education are more diverse than in basic education both in termsof content and in length. There are also more elective subjects depending on the students’ careerorientation. However, the typical way of organizing learning is based on the class as a permanentlearning group kept together from the beginning to the end of the secondary programme. Themaximum class size in Grades 9 to 13 is 35.

For practical reasons, the learning of some subjects (like foreign languages, sports and vocationalsubjects) may be organized in learning groups other than the administrative class. In foreignlanguages, it is typical to stream students according to the level of progress, in sports by gender and invocational education by the type of training. However, the primary learning group is the class, whichis meant to develop into a learning community over the years. Each class has a form teacher, who isone of the subject teachers teaching that particular class. The form teacher is responsible for thatparticular class throughout the secondary programme. His or her function is to care for communitydevelopment, keep contact with the parents of the students, and organize field trips and study tours.The number of the obligatory classes may not exceed five or six a day (5.5 as a weekly average) inGrades 9 and 10, and six classes from Grade 11.

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Admission to upper secondary general and vocational programmes is conditional on completing basiceducation (Grade 8). The free choice of upper secondary school is laid down in legislation. Uppersecondary schools that have more applicants than study places may select students on the basis of theend-of-term and end-of-year marks of the student, the results of the nationally organized writtenentrance examination and an oral examination. The written entrance examination tests to secondaryeducation are developed and administered centrally by the Educational Authority. Students may applyfor admission to several upper secondary schools. In each school district, there is at least onesecondary school that guarantees admission for every student who lives in the district and hascompleted basic education.

Assessment, progression and qualification: students receive a mid-term and end-of-year progressreport in each grade. At the end of upper secondary education in general secondary school(gimnázium) and vocational secondary school (szakközépiskola),as mentioned above, students sit forthe national secondary school leaving examination, which is a prerequisite for admission to highereducation. It is a state examination held according to uniform central examination requirements.Schools may supplement the central examination requirements with local examination requirements asprescribed by their local curriculum (in accordance with the examinations code). Since 2005, thesecondary school leaving examination has been a two-tier exam (standard and advanced levels). Thestandard level examination consists of 3 compulsory exams (Hungarian, Maths and a foreignlanguage) and one elective subject.

Tertiary / Higher EducationThe Higher Education Act currently in force with some modifications was adopted in December 2005,and, in accordance with the principles of the Bologna process, it introduced the three cycle degreestructure (BA/BSc, MA/MSc, PhD/DLA).

Types of programmesWithin the framework of the new multi-cycle system, BA/BSc programmes of 6 to 8 semesters with180-240 ECTS credits lead to a first degree (ECTS = European credit transfer system). Master levelprogrammes (60-120 ECTS credits) of another 2 to 4 semesters require a first degree as admissioncriterion. The pre-requisite to entering doctoral programmes is a MA/MSc degree. Besides the BA-MA system, there are a few fields of tertiary education (e.g. law and medical studies) where undividedlong programmes remain the standard form of study (10 to 12 semesters, 300-360 ECTS credits)leading to a first degree but equivalent to a MA/MSc degree.

Short cycle advanced vocational programmes (felsőfokú szakképzés, 120 ECTS credits) are relativelynew in the Hungarian education system. These programmes can be launched by higher educationinstitutions and provided both by higher education institutions and upper secondary schools. Theseprogrammes lead to an advanced vocational qualification included in the National QualificationRegister.

Higher education also includes post-graduate specialisation programmes (szakirányú továbbképzés).These can be launched by higher education institutions and, in some areas (like banking and fiscaltrades), by national authorities.

In Hungary, higher education institutions can be state-owned or run by legal entities determined by thelaw. Private higher education institutions can ask for the official recognition of the state on the basis ofsatisfactory results of an accreditation process. Accreditation is granted by the HungarianAccreditation Committee.

There are two types of higher education institutions: non-university institutions/colleges (főiskola) anduniversities (egyetem). Both types of institutions may launch courses in all of the three cycles, but, inorder to qualify as a university, an institution has to offer a Master programme in at least two fields of

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study and PhD programme in at least one study field. Higher education institutions – irrespective ofbeing state owned or private – may offer state funded and fee-paying places for applicants. Thenumber of state funded places for each cycle and study field is annually determined by thegovernment. The amount of fees is determined by higher education institutions in accordance withregulations stipulated by government decrees.

Qualifications

Access to and pathways in tertiary educationThe precondition for admission to higher education institutions-as already mentioned- is the successfulpassing of the upper secondary school leaving examination “érettségi” (at standard or advanced level),which thus also functions as an entrance exam. A student’s admission to the first cycle (Bachelor andhigher vocational training programs) depends on study performance as expressed in scores. Scores are,on one hand, calculated from the student’s end-of-year certificates in relevant subjects in the last twoyears of secondary education – and, on the other, from the student’s secondary school-leavingcertificate’s scores in the relevant subjects. The minimal requirements for admission are expressed inscores that are standardized and defined annually by a governmental agency. Aptitude tests are alsorequired for admission to certain areas of study (e.g. sports, art).

After completion of the first cycle, students are entitled to continue their studies either in a 60–120credit postgraduate course (which only provides a further qualification but does not award a degree ofhigher level) or in a MA/MSc program, following a successful entrance examination. Legalrequirements stipulate that all Bachelor programs have their counterparts at a Master level, but thereare no requirements for continuing BA/BSc studies on a corresponding MA/MSc course. Enrolling ona different Master’s program, however, may require the completion of specific courses, onesdetermined by national guidelines, and requirements relating to the given qualification.

With a Master degree, students can either enrol on a 60–120 credit postgraduate course (again, whichonly provides a further qualification) or matriculate to a Doctoral school after taking an entryexamination. During their doctoral studies students need to earn at least 180 credits.

Higher education plays a signifivant role in lifelong learning. It gives multiple opportunities foracquiring a higher level of qualification, such as via full time training in follow-up cycles or flexible,part-time training for employees of different fields, there are courses for the unemployed and alsodegree-supplementing courses. The number of Hungarian adults getting formal or non-formal adulteducation isrelatively low in comparison with international data..

There is a wide range of co-operation between multi-national companies and higher educationalinstitutions in Hungary, giving numerous benefits to educational institutions: there is an opportunity toaccess the most advanced technologies, the integration of corporate educators into their educationalprograms, support given to the most talented students with scholarships, fellowships and professionaltraining programs, all ensuring a constant supply of highly-qualified professionals and researchers andopening the possibility of participating in joint R&D (research and development) and patent projects.Hungarian colleges and universities have a long tradition of welcoming foreign students; their numberhas increased almost tenfold in the past thirty years

Sources:

The System of Education in Hungary. Published by the Ministry of National Resourceshttp://english.tpf.hu/upload/docs/angol/Magyar_oktatasi_rendszer_en.pdf

Facts & Figures – Higher Education in Hungary 2011. Hungarian Institute for Educational, Researchand Developmenthttp://www.ofi.hu/kiadvanyaink-110630/facts-figures-higher

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Topics for discussion1. Describe the main characteristics of the Hungarian education system in terms of its structure.2. Who are entitled to establish and maintain public and higher education institutions in

Hungary?3. What do you know about the Hungarian secondary school leaving examination?4. How are performance and progress assessed at “upper secondary” schools?5. What are the requirements for gaining admission to higher education in Hungary?6. What types of higher education programmes are offered in the multi-cycle system?7. What are the advantages of the Bologna process in European higher education?8. Characterize the requirements, credit values and possible qualifications of the three cycles of

higher education.9. What are the similarities and differences between tertiary education in your country and higher

education in Hungary?10.What are the conditions and requirements of foreign language learning in your country?11. Consider the importance of sports in higher education.

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II. BUDAPEST UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS PAST AND

PRESENT

A brief history of BME

The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungarian: Budapesti Műszaki ésGazdaságtudományi Egyetem or in short Műegyetem), abbreviated as BME, , is the most significantUniversity of Technology in Hungary and is also one of the oldest Institutes of Technology in theworld., In 1635 Péter Pázmány, Primate-Archbishop of Hungary, founded University inNagyszombat. Late 18th century the University moved to Buda and became the University ofBuda. In 1782 Emperor Joseph II established the legal predecessor of BME as part of theFaculty of Liberal Arts at the University of Buda. The newly established institute was namedLatin: Institutum Geometrico-Hydrotechnicum / Institutum Geometricum ("Institute ofGeometry and Hydrotechnics").It was the first institute in Europe to train engineers atuniversity level:its goal was to train professional engineers qualified to survey, regulate waterways,and build roads. These professionals played an important role in rebuilding Hungary after 150 years ofTurkish rule. The Institutum Geometricum trained engineers for three years, and the educationalprogram concluded with examinations in both theory and practice. In 1848, as an aftermath ofHungary's fight for independence from Austria, the Institutum temporarily lost its right to conferengineering degrees.

In 1860, the then Royal Joseph Polytechnic began conducting classes in Hungarian (all classes hadbeen previously taught in Latin).

In 1856 the Institutum Geometricum merged with the Joseph College of Technology, and the mergedinstitutions became the Royal Joseph Polytechnic.

Beginning in 1864, students spent five years studying civil and mechanical engineering, three yearsstudying chemical engineering, two years studying agricultural engineering or economics. The RoyalJoseph University (from 1871) had five departments: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering,Chemical Engineering, Agriculture and Commerce. In 1872, the university regained its autonomy andability to confer engineering diplomas.The university provided a very solid background to the rapiddevelopment of industrialization during the golden age of Millenium (1867-1914)

In 1910 the university moved to its current site near Gellért square. In 1925 the first women studentsenrolled.From 1934 on, the Faculty of Civil Engineering incorporated the Department of Architecture;the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering was combined with the Department of Chemical Engineering;the Faculty of Agriculture included the Department of Veterinary Sciences; and the new Faculty ofMining, Metallurgy and Forestry was established.

Between World Wars I and II, the Royal Joseph University was the largest university in Hungary tooffer comprehensive educational programs in engineering and economics.The university was restructured after the Second World Warandin 1949 the name "TechnicalUniversity of Budapest" becomes official. At this time the university consisted of the faculties of CivilEngineering, Mechanical Engineering, Architecture, Chemical Engineering and Electrical Engineering(in historical order).

At present the university has eight Faculties (founding date in parentheses):Faculty of Civil Engineering (1782)Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (1871)Faculty of Architecture (1873)Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (1873)

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Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (1949)Faculty of Transportation Engineering (1955)Faculty of Natural Sciences (1998)Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences (1998)

In 1994 the Technical University of Budapest was among the first universities in Hungary to introducethe credit system. The university applies the credit assignment according to the European CreditTransfer System (ECTS) in its accredited academic programs. This helps students to enrol in thestudent exchange programs of the European Union (eg, the Erasmus) and participate in trainings fordouble degrees.

In 1998 two new faculties were established: Faculty of Natural Sciences and Faculty of Economic andSocial Sciences. In 2000 the official name changed to Budapest University of Technology andEconomics. Following the demands of the last decade, the University introduced new interdisciplinaryfields of engineering, like the Environmental Engineering M.Sc. program at the Faculty of ChemicalTechnology and Biotechnology. At the same time, environmental engineering is naturally built in theB.Sc. programs of different faculties (Faculty of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Technologyand Biotechnology, Electrical Engineering and Informatics and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering).

Presently more than 110 departments and institutes operate within the structure of the eight faculties.About 1100 lecturers, 400 researchers and other degree holders and numerous invited lecturers andexperts participate in education and research at the Budapest University of Technology andEconomics. Approximately 800 of the university's 14.000 students are from 50 countries. TheBudapest University of Technology and Economics issues about 70% of Hungary's engineeringdegrees.

History and Architecture of the campus

The campus of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics is located in Buda along threebridges of the Danube River. Its eclectic collection of buildings dominates the right side of theriverbank and the varied architecture constitutes a study in the history of Hungary itself.

Library of the university

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Location and Architecture

In the late 18th century, the University of Buda hosted the Institutum Geometricum. In the 1850s, theInstitutum moved to private houses in Buda and later in Pest. In 1881, Imre Steindl, the architect of theParliament building in Budapest, designed a Neo-Renaissance building for the then Royal JosephUniversity. Alajos Hauszmann and Samu Pecz, both professors of the University, completed thecampus between 1892 and 1898. When the campus became too small, a new site, the present one onthe Buda banks along the Danube River, was given to the university.

The "K", central building looking from the river Danube

The structural plans for the new campus were prepared by Győző Czigler, professor of the Departmentof Architecture. Győző Czigler built the physics building (Building F), the chemistry building(Building Ch) and an electronics building, all in the conservative eclectic style. Samu Pecz, one of thelast proponents of the Gothic style, designed the observatory, laboratories and the Central Library..Alajos Hauszmann, architect of the Royal Palace of Buda, took over the direction of building theuniversity after Győző Czigler's death. Alajos Hauszmann, one of the most successful architects of theHungarian eclectic movement, designed the university's central building (Building K) with itsamalgamated baroque elements. In 1987 UNESCO declared this entire building an ensemble part ofthe World Heritage.

The new part of the campus, to the south of Petőfi bridge, has been under construction since the1990's. Including the newest buildings of the University, called Building I (for informatics), BuildingQ (for economics) and buildings of another Budapest university (ELTE), the area has become aresearch center, which is known as Infopark. The faculties and departments of BME co-operate with anumber of international enterprises (Ericsson, General Electric, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Nokia etc.),many of which have impressing research centers here, and give opportunity to our master and doctoralstudents to do research work.

SourcesBulletin University of Technology and Economics 2010-2011http://old.bme.hu/C13/Bulletin/Downloads/2010-2011%20BULLETIN%20pdf%20files/Bulletin%202010-2011%20001-044%20General%20Information%20I.pdfBudapest University of Technology and Economics from Wikipedia, the free encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_University_of_Technology_and_Economics(Faculty structure of BME see in Appendix)

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Questions for discussion

1. Did you know that it was as early as 1367 that the Anjou king of Hungary, Louis the Greatestablished the first Hungarian university in Pécs? What disciplines do you think werestudied there?

2. When was the predecessor of the BME founded? Trace the main stages of the history of theInstitution up to the 20th century.

3. When did the first woman gain admission to the BME? What is theproportion of femalestudents today?

4. Give an overview of the engineering program you are attending at the BME and justify yourchoice of subject. (see Appendix at the end of this section).

5. Did you know that the 1956 Hungarian Revolution was launched by students and professors ofour university? Search for historical sites of the ’56 uprising on campus.

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III. LABOUR MARKET PROSPECTS FOR UNIVERSITY GRADUATES

Some essential aspects of discussing success in the labour market

Role of educationA well-educated and well-trained population is essential for a country’s social and economic well-being. Education plays a key role in providing individuals with the knowledge, skills and competencesneeded to participate effectively in society and in the economy. Most concretely, having a goodeducation greatly improves the likelihood of finding a job and earning enough money. Across OECD1

countries, 83% of people with university-level degrees have a job, compared with just below 56% forthose with only a secondary school diploma. With regard to employability, in many countries there hasbeen some catch-up of the less educated group over the last decade. However, those with tertiaryeducation continue to have a much higher probability of being in employment.

Important questionsIn recent decades, there has been rapid expansion of tertiary-level education across many countries.Studies examining the potential consequences of this expansion put the questions: Is there now ‘over-supply’ of graduates? Is there evidence of ‘over-qualification’ and skill mismatch? Are studentsstudying the ‘right type’ of subjects at tertiary-level? Is there a shortage of science and technologygraduates in particular? Finally, how does type of institution matter for labour market prospects?

Graduates in the labour marketInterest in the economic performance of graduates has been fuelled by continued expansion in highereducation. How much can the labour market successfully absorb its more qualified workforce, and isthere still a separate graduate labour market for the highly qualified? Among recent graduates there aresome signs that the nature of graduate jobs is changing. Over the last decade there has been a relativeshift in graduate employment, from professional to associate professional and technical occupations.This may either reflect a growth in graduate numbers that has exceeded the growth in demand forprofessional workers, or alternatively, an upgrading in associate professional and technical jobs, forexample, the professionalisation of jobs such as social welfare / social work.Graduate expectations

It sometimes takes a long time for some (usually less well performing) graduates to find jobs afterleaving tertiary education and even then, some graduates are not observed in jobs that appear to bewell matched to their qualifications. But researches suggest that new graduates understand the labourmarket, and most do not expect to enter graduate level work straight away, but rather to achieve thisperhaps three years on. Many realise they will need to progress through a number of ‘stepping stone’jobs to develop relevant work experience that will increase the currency of their degree qualificationbefore developing a clear career path.

Factors of employment successThe success of new graduates in the labour market depends upon a number of highly inter-relatedfactors, including the socio-economic background of those graduates, their willingness to relocate forwork and the subject from which they graduated.

Subject choiceEmployment outcomes are still contingent on choice of degree subject made by graduates. Graduateswho have studied professional subjects such as engineering, veterinary science, education andmedicine are consistently more likely to enter (and quickly) into a graduate level occupation than

1 OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

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those who have studied more general arts and humanities courses. Indeed, those followingprofessional courses are most positive about the value of their higher education and are most satisfiedwith their careers. There is evidence of shortages of science and technology graduates, in part becausethe demand for them has been rising so fast that the supply increases have not kept pace. There isevidence of much international mobility among science and technology graduates. The market is suchthat these graduates will not stay in countries when conditions of employment are better elsewhere.

Arts and humanities students are among the least satisfied in relation to career opportunities, havelower average earnings, and are the most likely to anticipate changing career direction in the mediumterm. This group needs support to build relevant work experience, and to identify and access suitablecareers.

Moving for workThe mobility of graduates may also play a key role in labour market success. Graduates who showthemselves to be hypermobile, in terms of their willingness to move away from home to study andthen again to find work, are also the most likely to be employed in higher level jobs, to have aboveaverage salaries, and to be in perceived high quality jobs. They operate in a national or internationallabour market, moving to locations that offer the best jobs. These graduates tend to have traditionalbackgrounds, are more likely to come from higher socio-economic groups, and to be younger; they arealso the most highly qualified, with high entry qualifications and good degree classifications.

SourcesA graduated labour market. The Institute of Employment Studieshttp://www.employment-studies.co.uk/news/es2art3.phpHungary – OECD Better Life Indexhttp://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/hungary/Tertiary Education System and Labour Markets by S. Machin and S. McNallyhttp://www.oecd.org/education/country-studies/38006954.pdf

Questions for discussion1. What is the relationship between educational level and success in the labour market?2. Outline some factors determining employment success.3. How can choice of subject influence the employability of graduates?4. How does the mobility of graduates affect their labour market prospects?5. How mobile is the labour force in the country/area you live in; is migration of manpower

common in your country?6. Have you ever been to a job / placement fair?Comment on the experience

Portfolio Development for Chapter 3.

Brief comparison of the educational system of Hungary and my home country.My reasons for studying abroad in Hungary.Labour market prospects for university graduates (generally and in my country)

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Chapter 4 - Hungarian Literature

WARM-UPWho are the most famous writers/poets in your country?Who are the most popular ones?In your opinion, what makes a writer/poet popular?How important is reading for young people of your age in your country?How important is it for you?What do you like to read?

No written evidence remains of the earliest Hungarian literature, but through Hungarian folktales andfolk songs elements have survived that can be traced back to pagan times. Also extant, although onlyin Latin and dating from between the 11th and 14th centuries, are shortened versions of someHungarian legends relating the origins of the Hungarian people and episodes from the conquest ofHungary and from the Hungarian campaigns of the 10th century.

Earliest writings in Hungarian

The earliest known written traces of the Hungarian language are mostly proper names embedded in theLatin text of legal or ecclesiastical documents.

The 15th century saw the first translations from the Bible. A great part of the vocabulary, created forthe purpose, is still in use.

Hungarian literature was not entirely religious. In the 14th century secular literature developed andliterary forms were introduced from abroad.

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Renaissance and Reformation

In 1367 the first Hungarian university was founded, at Pécs. About 100 years later King Matthias ICorvinus established the first Hungarian printing press. The King became known for his library andhis patronage of foreign scholars; during his reign Latin literature in Hungary reached its peak in JanusPannonius, who had been educated in Italy.

The 16th century brought changes. After the Battle of Mohács (1526) the Ottoman Turks occupied alarge part of Hungary and the country was split into three. It was in the era of the Reformation thatHungarian national literature really began.

The second half of the 16th century saw the beginnings of Hungarian drama. Perhaps the greatestsingle literary achievement of the Hungarian Reformation was a translation of the Bible by GáspárKárolyi and others (1590).

Up to the 16th century religious literature seems to have fared better than secular literature, in partbecause secular literature was not written down. The late 16th-century minstrels were more learnedthan their predecessors and in many cases were driven to their profession by difficult economicconditions. Perhaps the most important was Sebestyén Tinódi, by temperament more historian thanpoet. He described the wars against the Turks with remarkable accuracy. A great poet emerged inBálint Balassi (1554–94), who displayed originality with a cycle of love poems of great beauty andemotional intensity. His songs of war, while reflecting the vicissitudes of fighting the Turk at theborders of the Christian world, celebrate nature and individual bravery in almost hymnlike tones. Thepoetry of his last years is imbued with a deep religious feeling.

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The 17th century

In the 17th century Hungary was still divided into three parts. The first, under Turkish rule, played nopart in the development of Hungarian literature. The second, under Habsburg rule, was open to Italianand German Roman Catholic influence; the third, Transylvania, was in close relationship with Dutchand English Protestant thought. The leading Protestant scholar and writer of the 17th century wasJános Apáczai Csere. His chief work was a Hungarian encyclopaedia in which he endeavoured to sumup the knowledge of his time. The work, published at Utrecht in 1653, marked a development intechnical vocabulary.

Effects of the Counter-Reformation

By the end of the 16th century the Counter-Reformation was gaining momentum in western Hungary.A Jesuit cardinal, Péter Pázmány, a master of Hungarian prose, was outstanding as an orator andessayist. Under the influence of the Jesuits, many Hungarian aristocrats returned to the Catholic faithand sent their sons to the Austrian Catholic universities and to Rome. The Italian Baroque is evident inthe work of Miklós Zrínyi, a great Hungarian statesman and military commander. Most of his prosework was an exposition of political and strategic ideas. His greatest literary achievement was an epic,Szigeti veszedelem (1651; “The Peril of Sziget”), in 15 cantos, on the siege in 1566 of Szigetvár, whichhad been defended against the Turks by Zrínyi’s great-grandfather.

Period of decline

The period between 1700 and about 1770 was a time of decline and slow consolidation in Hungarianliterature.The poetry of this epoch has little to offer. This period of literary decadence produced notable worksonly in the fields of history and history of literature.

The period of the Enlightenment

The Hungarian Enlightenment was more receptive to French and English ideas than it was productiveof original developments. The period between about 1772 and 1825, though immensely important inthe development of the Hungarian spirit, produced few writers of the first rank.

With the publication in 1772 of the first literary work by György Bessenyei, a translation (from theFrench) of Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man, the new era began. The end of the 18th century was aperiod of experiments with poetic language. The pioneers of the use of Greek and Latin metres inHungarian verse were followed by Dániel Berzsenyi, who published a single volume of poetry, in1813, and showed what use a great poet could make of classical metre. His ode “A Magyarokhoz”(“To the Hungarians”), his “Fohász” (“Prayer”), and his elegy “A közelitő tél” (“On the NearingWinter”) express the transitoriness of power and of friendship.

The ideas of the Enlightenment were not universally welcomed in Hungary. Traditionalists lookedwith distrust on any imported ideas, and the government was increasingly suspicious of a spirit ofintellectual freedom, which it believed had led to the French Revolution and, in Hungary, to theJacobin conspiracy of Martinovics, crushed in 1794. Several writers went to prison for harbouringradical views. The most talented among them, János Batsányi, secured his place in the history ofHungarian literature by his poem “A Franciaországi változásokra” (1789; “On the Changes inFrance”), a vigorous warning to all tyrants “to cast their watchful eyes on Paris.”

The first important lyric poet since Bálint Balassi was Mihály Csokonai Vitéz, who continued thepurely Hungarian poetical tradition. His many songs to a woman named Lilla are a happy blend of

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playful grace and subtle thoughts. The influence of Rousseau is very noticeable in some of his longerphilosophical poems. Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock served as a source of inspiration forCsokonai’s comic epic Dorottya (1804), but Csokonai’s poem is original and his context veryHungarian. The language of the poem is vigorous, even vulgar, and the plot is full of hilariously comicsituations.

Ferenc Kazinczy, a mediocre poet but an influential man of letters, was the pivot of literary life forabout 40 years. For his involvement in the conspiracy of Martinovics he paid with six years’imprisonment. He became the head of the neologi, or linguistic innovators, who tried to renew andenrich the Hungarian language so that it could express the most elaborate concepts. The success of thelanguage reform was due, to a large extent, to Kazinczy’s efforts.

The 19th century

Romanticism

The literary revival initiated by Kazinczy continued after his death.One of Hungary’s best tragedies, Bánk bán (the bán was a high Hungarian dignitary) by JózsefKatona, was published in 1821. Set in the 13th century and written in vigorous prose, the play was amasterful combination of national and individual conflicts, and one of its characters, Tiborc, a poorpeasant, has remained ever since a symbol of the oppressed.

Ferenc Kölcsey’s impressive “Hymnusz” (1823) became the Hungarian national anthem. AfterKisfaludy’s death, Mihály Vörösmarty became a central figure in literary life, producing writings ofvalue in every genre.

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The folk song and ballad collections of János Erdélyi and János Kriza exerted an influence on thefurther development of Hungarian poetry. “Popular poetry is the only real poetry” was the opinion ofSándor Petőfi, one of the greatest Hungarian poets, whose best poems rank among the masterpieces ofworld literature. He was an innovator and made a break with conventional subjects and poeticlanguage. His poems are striking in immediacy of perception and directness of language and cover avast range of subjects. The fervour of his patriotic poems inspired the revolution of 1848. Petőfi’smany songs are enchanting in their simplicity, and in this genre he remained unsurpassed.

János Arany shared Petőfi’s conviction of the value of popular poetry, but his approach was different,for his subjects were often taken from history and showed deep understanding of the human mind. Hehad the assurance of one who knew that what he wrote was the language of the people, lifted to adegree never surpassed in Hungarian. His ballads, often romantic, had vigour, conciseness, anduncommon evocative power. His great narrative poems, the Toldi trilogy (1847–79) and Buda halála(1864; The Death of King Buda), reflected eternal human problems; Arany’s philosophy appearedthrough his characters and not in lengthy digressions and was accompanied by subtle humour.

Writers of the late 19th century

Hungary, after being defeated in the war of independence of 1848–49, was ruled from Vienna until1867. External political pressures on Austria and the willingness of Hungarian society to end passiveresistance made possible the Settlement (or Compromise) of 1867, which created the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

In 1837 a national theatre was established to produce works of merit, but, with few exceptions, thestandard of plays was low with the only exception of the plays of Imre Madách, whose masterpiece Az

38

ember tragédiája (1861; The Tragedy of Man) dealt with universal human problems. This poeticdrama followed man’s destiny from creation through stages of history into a future of a phalanstery (aUtopian commune) and the ultimate extinction of life. The play was first staged in 1883 and remains afavourite with the Hungarian public.

The most popular novelist of the time was Mór Jókai, an exceptional storyteller able to evoke anyepoch and any milieu. His characters were idealized, and his descriptions tended to be brilliant ratherthan accurate. Among his numerous works (he published more than 200 books in his lifetime) werehistorical novels on problems of contemporary society. Az arany ember (1873; “The Golden Man”;Eng. trans., Timár’s Two Worlds) is one of his best novels. Kálmán Mikszáth was also popular: herecorded with keen observation and sly humour the shortcomings of society but, although a politicianand a member of parliament, was little concerned with improvement.

The 20th century

Early years

The year 1906, when Endre Ady burst upon the literary scene with his Uj versek (“New Poems”),marked a turning point. In matters of style Ady was influenced by the French Symbolists, but incontent he was concerned with radical political ideas. He rejuvenated the language of Hungarianpoetry, introducing new themes and powerful new imagery. His rise was helped by the periodicalNyugat (“The West”), which was launched in 1908. .Among poets associated with Nyugat wereMihály Babits, an excellent translator of foreign poetry who became editor in 1929; DezsőKosztolányi, who wrote with empathy on childhood and death and whose novels and short storiesestablished high standards in narrative prose; and Árpád Tóth and Gyula Juhász, who voiced thedistress of the poor and the oppressed in society.

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The prose writers of Nyugat included Zsigmond Móricz, whose tales of provincial life portrayedpeasants and gentry; Margit Kaffka, the first major woman writer in Hungary; and Gyula Krúdy, whocreated a nostalgic dreamworld with his stream-of-consciousness technique.

The interwar period

The leading poet of the 1920s was Lőrinc Szabó, a master of poetic technique and fine observation,whereas the 1930s were dominated by Attila József, whose experience of alienation and Socialist ideaswere expressed in great poetic tableaux and in poems probing the subconscious, and by Gyula Illyés,who found inspiration in the life of the peasantry. The poetry of Miklós Radnóti reached a tragicclimax in the serene and polished poems he wrote in the last years of his life.

In Hungary, as elsewhere, the novel became the principal form of literary expression. While SándorMárai depicted the life of the bourgeoisie, János Kodolányi, László Németh, and Zsigmond Remenyikexposed the conflicts of the individual with society (often against a background of injustice andmisery). Áron Tamási wrote beautifully stylized novels on the life of the Szeklers, an ethnic group ofTransylvania. Tibor Déry, whose chief work was published only after 1945, wrote realistic novels anda challenging autobiography.

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Writing after 1945

The period since 1945, though officially designated one of “Socialist transformation,” has seen butlittle change in writers’ traditional orientations and preoccupations. During the first decade,particularly the years 1948–53, many writers were forced into silence by the regime’s attempts tointroduce Socialist Realism as the only correct style and creative method. After the failure of the 1956uprising a number of writers were imprisoned, but by the mid-1960s most efforts to enforceideological purity in the arts were abandoned. Since then there has been comparatively little officialintervention in Hungarian literature and the margin of free experimentation has grown. This allowedwriters such as Géza Ottlik, Miklós Mészöly, and István Örkény to publish work that showed ways inwhich the technique of modern fiction could be applied in Hungary. Among the best new authors areGyörgy Konrád and Péter Esterházy.

The best poetry was written among others by Sándor Weöres, whose poetic span ranges from Easternphilosophy to delightful children’s verses, and János Pilinszky. Other noteworthy poets included theurbane László Kálnoky and István Vas, and Ferenc Juhász and László Nagy, two poets of peasantorigin whose work grew out of native tradition to express universal rites and myths of mankind suchas marriage, the struggle among generations for power, and cosmic destruction.

Frontier changes since World War I have placed substantial Hungarian minorities in countries outsideHungary, especially in neighbouring Slovakia, Serbia and Romania. In Romania, for example, whereapproximately 2,000,000 Hungarians live, the best known Hungarian writer is the playwright andnovelist András Sütő. There also has been a large diaspora in the West, where, apart from Márai, theversatile modernist Győző Határ and the post-Romantic poet György Faludy have the largestfollowing.

(Source: www.britannica.com/EBchecked/)

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WARM-UP

Are there any“magic” numbers in your culture?What are they used for?Try to think of reasons why seven could be a magic number.

HOMEWORKLook up some information about József Attila (1905-1937) on the internet. Then read the poem below.

The Seventh (A hetedik)

(translated by John Bátki)

If you set out in this world,better be born seven times.Once, in a house on fire,once, in a freezing flood,once, in a wild madhouse,once, in a field of ripe wheat,once, in an empty cloister,and once among pigs in sty.Six babes crying, not enough:you yourself must be the seventh.

When you must fight to survive,let your enemy see seven.One, away from work on Sunday,one, starting his work on Monday,one, who teaches without payment,one, who learned to swim by drowning,one, who is the seed of a forest,and one, whom wild forefathers protect,but all their tricks are not enough:you yourself must be the seventh.

If you want to find a woman,let seven men go for her.One, who gives heart for words,one, who takes care of himself,one, who claims to be a dreamer,one, who through her skirt can feel her,one, who knows the hooks and snaps,one, who steps upon her scarf:let them buzz like flies around her.You yourself must be the seventh.

If you write and can afford it,let seven men write your poem.One, who builds a marble village,one, who was born in his sleep,one, who charts the sky and knows it,one, whom words call by his name,one, who perfected his soul,one, who dissects living rats.

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Two are brave and four are wise;You yourself must be the seventh.

And if all went as was written,you will die for seven men.One, who is rocked and suckled,one, who grabs a hard young breast,one, who throws down empty dishes,one, who helps the poor win;one, who worked till he goes to pieces,one, who just stares at the moon.The world will be your tombstone:you yourself must be the seventh.

YOUR OPINION

Summarize each of the five stanzas about.What characters does the poet describe in each stanza?Choose one stanza and sum up the extreme situations it describes.

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HOMEWORK

Below is a short story written by Zsigmond Móricz (1879-1942). Look up some informationabout the writer on the Internet. Then read the short story and answer the comprehensionquestions.

SEVEN PENNIES(Translated by George F. Cushing)

What a good thing it was the gods ordained that even the poor should be able to laugh.In their hovels can be heard not only the sound of weeping and wailing but quite a lot of heartfeltlaughter too. Indeed, it is true to say that the poor often laugh when they have more cause to cry.I know that world well. The generation of Sóses to which my father belonged plumbed the lowestdepths of destitution. At that time my father was a day-labourer in a machine-shop. He does notboast about this period, nor does anyone else. But that is the truth.It is also true that I was never to laugh so much in the rest of my life as I did during that couple ofyears of my childhood.How can I laugh, when that merry, rosy-cheeked mother of mine is no longer alive—she whocould laugh so sweetly that in the end tears trickled from her eyes and she was seized by such a fitof coughing that it almost choked her...And even she never laughed so much as when the two of us spent a whole afternoon searching forseven pennies. We searched for them and we found them too. Three in the drawer of the sewing-machine, one in the cupboard – the rest were more difficult to find.The first three pennies my mother discovered herself. She thought she would find more in thesewing-machine drawer since she took in sewing and always put there whatever money she waspaid. For me this drawer was an inexhaustible treasure-hoard; you only had to put your handinside and there was the fairy-tale table that spread itself.So I gazed in astonishment when my mother searched through it, scooping everything out, pins,thimble, scissors, pieces of ribbon, braid, buttons, and all of a sudden said with great surprise:“They’ve hidden themselves away.”“What have?”“Those little coins,” said my mother with a laugh.She pulled the drawer right out.“Come on, sonny; we’ll find the naughty things all the same. Wicked, wicked little pennies!”She crouched down on the floor and put down the drawer as if she were afraid they would flyaway; she turned it upside down suddenly, in the way you catch a butterfly with your hat.It was impossible not to laugh at that.“Here they are, they’re inside,” she kept laughing and was in no hurry to lift it up. “Even if there’sonly one, it must be in here.”I squatted on the ground, watching to see whether a gleaming little coin was peeping outanywhere. There was no sign of movement. As a matter of fact we had no great hope of findinganything inside.We looked at each other and laughed at the childish joke.I stretched out my hand towards the upturned drawer.“Sh!” my mother scared me. “Quiet! It can still slip away. You don’t yet know what a sprightlyanimal a penny is. It runs very fast; it just rolls away. And how it rolls away!”We rocked from side to side with laughter. We had already had a good deal of experience of theswiftness with which pennies run away.When we recovered I stretched out my hand again to tip the drawer over.“Hey!” shouted my mother at me again, and I was so scared that I snatched back my fingers as ifthey had touched the hot stove.

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“Look out, you little prodigal! Why are you in such a hurry to send it on its way? It’s ours so longas it’s underneath. Just leave it there a little longer. You see, I want to do some washing, and forthat I need soap; for soap I need at least seven pence, I can’t get it for less. I’ve got three alreadyand I still need four, and they’re here in this little house. They’re living here, but they don’t likebeing disturbed, because once they’re angry they go away never to be seen again. So be careful:money is very touchy, you’ve got to treat it gently. With respect. It gets into a huff as easily asyoung ladies of quality... Look, don’t you know some rhyme, some spell that might perhaps charmit out of its snail-shell?”How many times we laughed during this chatter I don’t know. But the snail-charming spell was avery odd one:

Penny, penny, come outside,For your house is all alight…

With that I tipped up the house.Underneath it were a hundred kinds of rubbish, but no money.My mother scrabbled around, her lips pursed, but it was no use.“What a pity,” she said, “that we haven’t got a table. If we had turned it out on one it would havebeen more respectable, and the money would have been underneath.”I swept together all the bits and pieces and piled them into the drawer. Meanwhile my mother wasthinking. She racked her brains to remember whether some time she had put some moneysomewhere, but she could not recall it.But something was pricking my conscience.“Mother, I know a place where there’s a penny.”“Where, son? Let’s find it before it melts away like snow.”“It was in the glass-fronted cupboard, in the drawer.”“Oh you wretched child, what a good thing you didn’t tell me earlier, or it wouldn’t be therenow.”We stood up and went to the cupboard, which had long ago lost its glass front, but in the drawerthere was the penny I had known about. For three days I’d been preparing to pinch it, but I hadn’tdared to. And yet I’d have bought sweets with it if I’d got as far as that.“Well now, we’ve got four pennies. Never you mind, sonny, we’ve got over half. Now we onlywant three. And if it’s taken an hour for us to find this one, we’ll discover those three by teatime.Then I can still do one lot of washing before evening. Come along quickly—there may be one ineach of the other drawers.”Just suppose there had been one in each drawer! Then there would have been a lot. For the oldcupboard in its more youthful days had been in service somewhere where there must have been alot to stuff away. But in our house it was not overburdened, poor thing ; not in vain was it sowheezy, worm-eaten and gap-toothed.My mother gave a little sermon over each new drawer.“A rich drawer this one – was. This one never had anything. And this one always lived on credit.So, you wicked, wretched beggar, you haven’t got a single penny either. Oh, this one won’t haveanything; for it preserves our poverty. And as for you, unless you give me something now when Iask you don’t ever have anything inside. And this one has the most – look!” she exclaimed,laughing as she pulled out the bottommost drawer, which had no sign of a bottom.She draped it over my head, and then we sat down on the floor laughing.“Wait a moment,” she said suddenly, “we’ll have some money right away. I’ll find it in yourfather’s clothes.”There were nails driven into the wall, and on these hung the clothes. And, wonder of wonders,immediately my mother felt in the very first pocket, a penny fell into her hand. She hardly daredto believe her eyes.“Got it!” she exclaimed. “Here it is! How much have we got now? We shan’t be able to count itall. One, two, three, four, five... Five! Now we only need two more. And what’s that? Twopennies are nothing. Where there are five, there’ll be two more to come.”She searched through all the other pockets with great keenness, but all in vain. She did not find asingle one. Even the best joke would not tempt another two pennies out from anywhere.

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Now great red roses were burning in my mother’s face with all the excitement and labour. Shewas not allowed to work, because it made her ill immediately. Of course this was exceptionalwork; nobody can be forbidden to look for money.Teatime came and went. It would soon be evening. My father had to have a shirt for tomorrow,and it couldn’t be washed. Well-water alone would not remove that oily dirt from it.And then my mother clapped her hand to her forehead.“Oh, oh! What a donkey I am! Why, I’ve not looked in my own pocket. But now I’ve thought of itI’ll have a look.”And she did. And there too she discovered a penny, if you please. The sixth.We became feverish. Now we only needed one more.“Now you show me your pockets too, in case there’s one there. ”My pockets! Well, I could certainly show them. There was nothing at all there.It grew dark, and there we were with our six pennies, which were still not enough. It was just as ifwe had none at all. The Jew who kept the shop would not give credit, and the neighbours were justas poor as we were, so we couldn’t ask for a single penny.There was nothing else to do but laugh away our penury with a pure heart.

TASK

Stop reading and without looking at the last part try to figure out how the story will end. Thenread on and compare your version with the writer’s. Be ready to discuss the differences in class.

And at that moment a beggar turned up. He launched into a long wailing plea in a sing-song voice.My mother was almost overwhelmed with laughter.“Give over, my dear man,” she said; “today I’ve been wasting the whole afternoon because Ihaven’t got one penny—that’s all I want for the price of half a pound of soap.”The beggar, a kindly-faced old man, stared at her.“One penny?” he asked.“Yes.”“I’ll give you that.”“Well, that’s all I need—alms from a beggar.”“Don’t worry, my dear, I shan’t miss it. There’s only one thing I’m missing, a patch of land. Withthat, everything will be all right.”He put the penny into my hand and tottered away with profuse thanks.“Well, thank God!” said my mother. “Now run along... ”But she stopped for a moment, then burst into a huge peal of laughter.“A fine time we’ve got all the money together! Why, I can’t do any washing now! It’s dark, and Ihaven’t got any oil for the lamp.”Her laughter ended in a fit of choking; painful, devastating choking, and as I went and stood byher to hold her up as she swayed with her face in her two hands, something warm poured onto myhand.It was blood, her own precious blood. My mother’s who could laugh as only few can, even amongthe poor.

1908

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COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

Where does the story take place?

Who are the main characters?

What do you find out about the life of the family?

How does the writer show poverty? Find examples in the text.

What do you think of the ending of the story?

Do you like the story? YES/NO Why?

Are there any writers in your literature who deal/dealt with similar topics?

Portfolio Development for Chapter 4.

Options:

LITERATURE

There is a beautiful statue garden on Margaret Island. Take a walk on the island and find the statuesthere. Among them you will find statues of poets and writers whose names should look familiar to youafter you have read the history of Hungarian literature in your course book. In your portfolio:

• give a list of the poets and writers you have found• pick one name and give some information on the person (you can collect information from the

internet or from your Hungarian fellow students)

FINE ARTS

The best way to get to know the fine arts is to see the works of art themselves. You can do that inseveral places in Budapest (e.g. the Museum of Fine Arts or the National Gallery). Your teacher willrecommend a couple of exhibitions you can choose from. Visit one of your choice and in yourportfolio give:

• the name of the museum you went to• a short description (5 to 8 sentences) of the exhibition• the name of the piece(s) you liked best• a short rationale explaining your choice

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Chapter 5 - Hungarian Music

WARM-UP

What kind of music do you like most?

When do you like listening to music?

Who are the most famous composers/performers in your country?

Is classical music popular with young people in your country?

Can you sing? Do you think everybody can be taught to sing?

Do you play any musical instruments?/Would you like to learn to play one?

TASK

Work with another student. Put together the program for a classical/pop music concert for the studentsof your university. Discuss the list of performers you would like to invite and the pieces of music youwould like to put on the program. Support your choice with arguments. When you have finished,present the result to the class.

A History of Hungarian Music

The first reference to a Hungarian song comes from a chronicler of the eleventh century who describeshow Bishop St. Gellért arrived in Hungary from Venice and was amazed by the peculiar lilt of aHungarian song sung by a maid. Unfortunately, no musical notation of secular music has beenpreserved from this early era.

The sacred music of medieval Hungary has more exact documentation. From the 11th century on,there was regular teaching of singing in monastery schools, churches and cathedrals, while minstrels,bards and lute players kept the interest in music and songs alive. In the 14th and 15th centuries, manymusicians became travelling showmen and were called igricek.

At the Royal court, musical life was enriched by famous European musicians who visited Hungaryfrom the 13th century on. In the meantime, Hungarian students also studied in Italy and Germany.However, the catastrophe at Mohács in 1526, which was followed by 150 years of Turkish occupation,halted the development of an independent Hungarian polyphonic style.

The Late Renaissance Period

During the 16th and 17th centuries the centre of Hungarian music was Transylvania - a region free ofTurkish occupation. The first song books were printed in Kolozsvár (now Cluj-Napoca). One of thebest known lute-playing rhapsodists, known as kobzos or lantos, was Sebestyén Tinódi (1505-1556).He was the most important early Hungarian epic poet, a man of culture and experience, equallyfamiliar with the traditions of the courtly minstrels and the popular fiddlers.

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The Baroque Period

The dawn of the eighteenth century in Hungary was marked by her fight for freedom against Habsburgoppression, a fight led by Ferenc Rákóczi II. During this period, the nation produced a remarkablefolklore, eloquently expressed in the so-called Kuruc poetry and music. The Kuruc songs are amongthe finest in Hungarian music, but most of them existed only by oral tradition.

The Kuruc era also produced a unique instrument, the tárogató. This is a double-reed woodwindinstrument, similar to the oboe, with a penetrating sound. It was used primarily as an instrument forsignaling fighting troops, but after the battle, the tárogató-players would use it to entertain the tiredsoldiers. After Rákóczi's freedom fight was finally lost, the Imperial forces ordered that all tárogatósbe burned as symbols of Kuruc resistance. But their efforts to eradicate the instrument failed.

The Pre-Classical and Classical Period

Western trends emerged in Hungarian music from the middle of the eighteenth century. With theKuruc era gone, the nation became reconciled to the rule of the Habsburgs. The high aristocracy spentmost of its time in Vienna, basking in the glamor of the Court, speaking French and German instead oftheir native tongue and learning to appreciate the minuets and rondeaux of the then-fashionable LouisXIV style. A new period began. resulting in the "contamination" of the original musical heritage ofHungary. Imitating foreign composers, Hungarian composers produced tunes in Western patterns,composing melodies for the minuet and waltz. Eminent foreign musicians and composers, like

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Michael Haydn, Joseph Haydn and others were employed in the residences of the aristocracy and highclergy.

The Recruiting Dance (Verbunkos)

At the end of the eighteenth century, a characteristic musical style was born. In recruiting soldiers forthe Emperor's army, military committees engaged Gypsy bands to stir up among young peopleenthusiasm for military life. The roots of the Verbunkos go back to Hajdu dances and even Islamic andSlavic influences can be detected in them; but the performance and special interpretation given byGypsy musicians molded all these elements into a style which left its imprint even on the art music ofthe mid-nineteenth century.

The Beginning of Hungarian Opera

The revolutionary influence of the Verbunkos had changed all of the existing theatre music inHungary. The scripts of early plays had historical backgrounds and their style was inspired by Mozartand Rossini, but many of the scenes and arias were composed in the Verbunkos style.

In 1837, however, the Verbunkos mode began to change when the National Theatre was opened inPest, its first music director being Ferenc Erkel, who was to become Hungary's best known operaticcomposer. His creation of genuine Hungarian national operas coincided with the national and culturalawakening of Europe.. Erkel's most important works were Hunyadi László, composed in 1844 andBánk Bán, composed in 1861. Both have become permanent fixtures in the repertoire of the HungarianOpera.

Folk-style Popular Songs

The various Gypsy bands and their leaders, each of whom formed "dynasties" after Bihari's death,were instrumental in popularizing the folk-style songs - called nóta.

Since the general population did not much care for the higher forms of music - symphonies, sonatas,operas - it was the nóta that filled their musical needs. Strictly speaking, the nóta is not a folk song,because the songwriter's name is known, and because the writer uses intervals which do not appear inreal folk songs. But the nóta is Hungarian, simple, and in a certain mood everyone can find joy orconsolation in singing one, or listening to one. Many individual nótás have had lasting popularity.

Romanticism in Music

Ferenc (Franz) Liszt (1811-1886)

Ferenc Liszt was born in Doborján, a German speaking Hungarian village, of a Hungarian father andan Austrian mother. Although Liszt never spoke Hungarian, he proudly declared his adherence to hiscountry when he said:

"Although, unfortunately, I don't speak Hungarian, I want to remain Hungarian in heart and mind fromcradle to grave. I want to work for the development of Hungary's musical culture."

Since Liszt did not speak Hungarian and spent most of his life abroad, it is understandable that hefailed to realize the significance of peasant folk material, which was in danger of being lost forever.This is why Liszt eloquently but erroneously identified Hungarian music with Gypsy music in 1859 inhis book The Gypsies and their Music in Hungary, which only further contributed to the myth.

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Liszt first visited Hungary in 1839-40 after a flood devastated Pest in 1838. Prior to this visit he raised24,000 guldens in Vienna through a series of piano recitals, the largest single donation to victims ofthe flood. In Pest he was received as a national hero. In 1846 he again visited Hungary in a concerttour.

He wrote most of his rhapsodies in Weimar, as he did many of his more important orchestral andchoral works of Hungarian character. His Ungaria Kantate was the first of a series of longer pieces. Itis a strongly patriotic work that was inspired by the Hungarian War of Independence.

In the last period of his life, Liszt divided his time among Rome, Weimar and Budapest. Before 1869,he had visited Hungary only for the premieres of his Coronation Mass (1864) and his Legend of St.Elizabeth. In 1875, Liszt was appointed by the king to the presidency of the Academy of Music inBudapest, where he also became head of the piano department. One of his admirers, Saint-Saens,wrote in 1893:

Liszt has the inestimable advantage of having typified a people: Schuman is the soul of Germany,Chopin of Poland, Liszt of the Magyar. He was a delightful combination of pride, native elegance andwild, untamed energy.

It was not his fingers alone which made him such a marvellous performer but the qualities of the greatmusician and the great poet which he possessed, his large heart, his beautiful soul - and above all, thesoul of his race.

The Twentieth Century (1900-1945)

The dawn of the new century found Hungarian musical life steeped in controversy. The Academy ofMusic was producing artists, composers and performers of worldwide stature. International stars wereperforming at the Royal Opera House and the concert halls. But those who attended the operas and theconcerts tended to be the same audience. The general public was more inclined toward Vienneseoperettas, Gypsy music and the songs of the cabaret.

This was the situation when two young men arrived in Budapest to study composition at the LisztAcademy: Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945) and Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967), who started their studies atthe same time and became good friends. They searched for a way to appeal to both the concert goersand the general public. Anxious to create a new style of Hungarian music, they reached out to theoldest root: the almost forgotten peasant songs. Bartók and Kodály spent several summer vacationstogether in remote villages, recording on wax cylinders the songs the village elders remembered, andin 1906 they published their first collection. Today, as a result of their efforts, an incredible 60,000folk melodies are classified and preserved at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

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Both Bartók and Kodály were subsequently appointed professors of the Academy of Music. Bartók asa professor of piano, and Kodály as professor of composition helped to develop the talents of manyoutstanding artists while, through their own compositions, they successfully achieved a synthesis ofHungarian music and national character, creating compositions which have gained internationalsignificance.

Although Bartók was accepted at home as the most original musician of his time, he left Hungarybefore World War II and finally settled in America, where he died a disillusioned man, not withoutmaterial worries.

Zoltán Kodály, who chose to remain in the country in spite of two world wars, is, among Hungarians,one of the most widely accepted Magyar composers of the 20th of the century.

Next to his compositions, Kodály's great achievement lies in the introduction of general musiceducation, From 1929 to 1953 he led a protracted fight for the introduction of universal and uniformmusic education in Hungary. In his crusade, he propagated the ideas that: music belongs to everyone;musical illiteracy, which prevents the masses from enjoying higher levels of music, should be doneaway with; music education has to be based on folk songs

as the musical heritage of the nation; daily musical education contributes to the well being of body andsoul as much as does physical education; and the basic foundation of musical culture has to be firstvocal, to be followed by instrumental studies.

The 20th century has also seen a number of Hungarian composers whose international reputations reston their Viennese-style operettas.

The best known is Ferenc Lehár (1870-1948) who placed the plot of each of his operettas in adifferent country, attempting to recreate the musical atmosphere of that particular land.

Imre Kálmán (1882-1953) ranks second to Lehár in the field of operettas. The tunes he composed inhis Csárdás Queen, Countess Marica and Circus Princess are rich in Hungarian elements.

(Source: hungarianhistory.com/lib/hunspir/hsp51.htm)

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TASK

Have you ever heard of the Kodály Method or Concept? Are the hand signs below used in schools inyour country to teach children to sing?

Look up some information on the Method on the Internet and discuss in class what you have found.

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Portfolio Development for Chapter 5.

Options:

There are a lot of places in Budapest where you can go to listen to classical music. Some of the mostprominent ones are the Opera House, the Erkel Theatre, the Palace of Arts or Franz Liszt Academy ofMusic. Occasionally they offer tickets for students at a reasonable price. Keep an eye on theprogrammes of these places (you can easily do so on the Internet), and choose one performance tovisit. In your portfolio give:

• the date and place of the performance• the programme• the name of the performer(s)• the thing you liked best about the performance/music• the thing you liked the least about the performance/music

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Chapter 6 - Famous Hungarians in Science & Technology

Introductory task

Brainstorming about famous Hungarian innovations, development in science and technology.The Rubik’s cube is likely to be mentioned! The attachment might help you. Look around you atstructures, vehicles and technical solutions which are new for you in your environment.

Task 1

While watching the video (Budapest get engaged / Hungary world of potentials) jot down thename of scientists and innovators mentioned and their fields of activity.

Task 2 (team-work)

From the random list of names below choose one you are familiar with or whose work isrelevant to your own field.

Famous inventors

OSZKÁR ASBÓTH (1891 –1960)Invention: HELICOPTER

Oszkár Asbóth was born in Pankota and died in Budapest. He finished his studies at Arad and becamean engineer. He was a student of Tódor von Kármán, the Father of SupersonicFlight.

In 1917, during World War I, Oszkár Asbóth worked on designing the helicopter.After many years of experimentation following the war, he built the Asbóth-helicopter. On September 9, 1928, witnessed by many foreign experts, his model"AH 1" helicopter ascended from a standing position vertically to a great height forthe first time in the world.

Representative from the British Air Ministry who travelled on the helicopter wrote in a Journal of theAeronautical Society in 1931: “The Asboth-helicopter ascends vertically with a remarkable speed toany height where it can hover stationary for some time. It can be perfectly navigated. But the mostremarkable is that, unlike other tested helicopters, this one remains absolutely stable around all.”

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DONÁT BÁNKI (1859–1922)Invention: BÁNKI-CSONKA PETROL ENGINE, CARBURETOR, FRONTWHEEL RUNNINGCAR, WATER TURBINE

Donát Bánki was born in Bánk and died in Budapest. He studied mechanical engineering in Budapest.From 1899 to his death he taught at the Technical University in Budapest.

In 1892, before Diesel, Donát Bánki created the first great compression lowconsumption gasoline engine, the Bánki-motor. In 1892, Donát Bánki and JánosCsonka invented the carburetor for their gasoline engine. Even though theirinvention went through some changes as time passed, every modification wasbased on this invention.

In 1917, Bánki invented the water turbine, which was useful for utilizing theenergy of small and medium sized waterfalls.

ZOLTÁN BAY (1900–1992)Invention: LUNAR - RADAR, GLOWING FLUORESCENT LIGHTS, DEVELOPER OF RADARASTRONOMY

Zoltán Bay was born in Gyulavár and died in Washington D.C. He studied in Debrecen and Budapest,where he received his Ph.D. degree, and also in Berlin. In 1930 he becameprofessor of physics at the University of Szeged.

Zoltán Bay, the world known physicist performed the following experiment as aresearch engineer of the Standard Factory in Budapest in 1943: he sent ultra-shortradio waves to the moon and detected the reflected signal. The equipmentworked like radar.

He was engaged in the development of television as early as 1936. In 1948, he leftHungary, and became professor of the Physics Department at George Washington

University. After he retired, he continued his research activity till the end of his life.

LÁSZLÓ JÓZSEF BÍRÓ (1899–1985)Invention: BALLPOINT PEN, AUTOMATIC SHIFT

József László Bíró was born in Budapest and died in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He first studiedmedicine, but was a many sided person. Between 1921 and 1938 he was ajournalist, sculptor, painter, art critic, stock broker, hypnotizer, race-car driver, carsalesman and of course an inventor.

József László Biró's most famous invention was the ballpoint pen. By 1938, he hadpatented it in over 100 countries. Finally in 1948 the Parker Company bought hispatent. In the USA it became known as the Biro.

His other important invention was the automatic gear shift. In 1932, he traveledwith his engineer friend from Budapest to Berlin (more than 1000 km) on a motorcycle with a sealedgear shift. General Motors bought his patent.

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JÁNOS CSONKA (1852–1939)Invention: CARBURETOR, GAS ENGINE

János Csonka was born in Szeged and died in Budapest. From 1875 he was working at the TechnicalUniversity in Budapest.

In 1879 he constructed a four-cycle gas engine according to his own ideas, whichwas the first Hungarian combustion engine. During 1892 and 1893 János Csonkaand Donát Bánki invented the carburetor for the Bánki-Csonka engine. Csonka'smain expertise was engine manufacturing.

Among many things, he invented the regulating mechanism for the innercombustion engines, a mechanism for forced automatic settings of the ignition for

combustion engines.

LORÁND EÖTVÖS (1848–1919)Invention: GRAVITATIONAL TORSION BALANCE, EÖTVÖS UNIT OF GRAVITATION

The University of Science in Budapest was named after Lóránd Eötvös. Dr. Loránd Eötvös, physicist,professor, minister of education, was born in Buda and died in Budapest. He completed his education

in Heidelberg, Germany.

The Torsion or Eötvös balance, designed by Baron Eötvös, is a sensitive instrumentfor measuring the density of underlying rock strata. The device measures not onlythe direction of force of gravity, but the change in the force of gravity's extent inhorizontal plane. It determines the distribution of masses in the earth's crust.

The Eötvös torsion balance is an important instrument of geodesy and geophysicsthroughout the world.

JÓZSEF GALAMB (1881–1955)Invention: DESIGNER OF THE FORD T-MODEL

József Galamb was born in Makó Hungary and died in Detroit. He graduated inBudapest in mechanical engineering.

József Galamb as the employee of the Ford Company designed the famous Model-Tcar. At the same time, he designed the mass production of cars. The small FordCompany became a huge factory. In 19 years, they made 15 ½ million Model-Tcars. József Galamb also designed the elegant Model-A car.

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JÁNOS IRINYI (1817–1895)Invention: MATCHES

János Irinyi, a chemist, was born in Nagyléta and died in Vértes. He completed hiseducation in Vienna and in Hohenheim, Germany.

In 1836, Irinyi invented a safe match which was not dangerous for health. Hedissolved phosphorus in water and shook it in a glass foil, until it becamegranulated. He mixed the phosphorus with lead and gumiarabicum, poured thepaste-like mass into a jar and dipped the pine sticks into the mixture and let themdry.

A rich Hungarian pharmacist bought his invention and production rights from Irinyi the poor studentfor 60 Forint. The production of matches began. Irinyi himself died poor and abandoned.

ÁNYOS JEDLIK (1800–1895)Invention: ELECTROMOTOR, DYNAMO

Dr. Ányos Jedlik, a Benedictine monk, scientist and inventor, was born in Szimö anddied in Győr. He completed his education in Győr and Pest.

Ányos Jedlik constructed the first electromotor in 1828 and invented the dynamo in1861. He did not patent or sell his inventions just taught his theories and inventionsat the university. Several years later Siemens invented both of above machines.

KÁLMÁN KANDÓ (1869–1931)Invention: PHASE-CHANGING, ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE, ELECTRIFICATION OFRAILWAYS

Kálmán Kandó was born in Buda and died in Budapest. He studied mechanical engineering inBudapest. He was the pioneer of railway-electrification. 4

Kandó's main invention is that three-phase alternating current can be used for thehauling of large trains.

His most marvelous invention is the phase-changing electric locomotive, whichwas named after him. The Kandó-locomotives are used in many countries of theworld. The electric railways in Northern Italy and the section of the HungarianState Railways between Budapest- Vienna (1929) were built on the basis of

Kandó's invention.

TÓDOR KÁRMÁN (1881–1963)Invention: FATHER OF SUPERSONIC FLIGHT, ARCHITECT OF THE SPACE AGE

Tódor von Kármán a leading theoretician in aerodynamics was born in Budapest anddied in Aachen Germany. After graduating in mechanical engineering in Budapesthe went to study in Göttingen and became a professor.

During World War I. he was chief of research in the aviation corps of the Austro-Hungarian army. He developed the world's first military vehicle with rotating blades

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the PKZ-type helicopter. After the war he was one of the founders of the German Luftwaffe andadvisor to the Junkers airplane company.In 1929 he was invited to the United States and became director of the Guggenheim AeronauticsLaboratory at the California Institute of Technology. After World War II he was one of the founders ofJET Propulsion Laboratory for space research.

Kármán had a leading role in the development of the B-36, B-47 and B-52 aircrafts, the Atlas, Titanand Minuteman rockets.

TIVADAR PUSKÁS (1844–1893)Invention: TELEPHONE EXCHANGE, “Speaking Newspaper”

Tivadar Puskás was born in Pest and died in Budapest. He studied in Vienna. According to Edison"Tivadar Puskás was the first man in the world who thought about a telephoneexchange".

In 1878 he built the first telephone exchange in Boston then he built one in Parisand Budapest. Tivadar Puskás invented the multiple switch box which made itpossible to interconnect any number of subscribers.

The “telephone newspaper” broadcasted news and music programs to subscribersvia telephone network. From 1893 20 years before the invention of the radio

people could listen to news and music daily.

KÁROLY ZIPERNOWSKY (1853–1942)Invention: MULTI PHASE CURRENT DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Károly Zipernowsky was born in Vienna and died in Budapest. He started as a pharmacist. Later hegraduated as a mechanical engineer in Budapest.

He invented the transformer together with Ottó Bláthy and Miksa Déri. They alsodeveloped the alternating current distribution system based on transformersconnected in parallel.

At age 25 he was invited by the CEO of the Ganz factory to organize the electricaldepartment. Under his leadership Ganz Works became Europe's first large-scale

electrical factory and a globally recognized company. He wrote a book about his inventions.

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Hungarian Noble Prize winners

Task 1.

After reading the introductory text you can understand that the Noble prize is awarded in only certainfields and you understand the concept of Nobel in relation to the prize itself. List the fields andsummarize the concept mentioned.

Reading

Alfred Nobel, who gave his name to the highest scientific-cultural honour was born in Stockholm on21st October 1833. A chemist of considerable renown, Nobel used the fortune he gained from thedevelopment of explosives and the industrial application of science to launch a foundation with anoble purpose. His last will and testament of 27th November 1895 raised a monument to his ownmemory, while also rendering a service to mankind. His intention was to reward the most prominentfigures in the most diverse of fields, irrespective of nationality and taking only performance intoconsideration, including basic research in natural sciences and the creation of a peaceful society.Nobel died in San Remo on 10th December 1896. Thus, his last will entered into force and the firststeps towards the establishment of the Nobel Foundation were made. The Swedish Royal Council inits decree of 29th June 1900 confirmed the statutes of this Foundation. The first Nobel Prizes wereawarded in the first year of the 20th century, on 10th December 1901 the anniversary of Nobel's death.

Nobel founded five prizes, to be awarded in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature andpeace. These categories were complemented by a prize awarded for work in economic sciences,founded in memory of Alfred Nobel by the Bank of Sweden on the occasion of the 300th anniversaryof its existence in 1968.. On receiving the prize, the recipients make a short speech ofacknowledgement and, as part of the ceremony, they give a Nobel lecture on how they achieved theirresult. The Nobel Prize does not serve to honour an outstanding scientific career and the lifework of ascientist. According to Nobel’s, will that the prize is to be awarded for specific performances andresults. The reasoning behind the awarding of the Nobel Prize always includes a sentence thataccurately defines the specific performance that is recognised. (compiled on the basis of “Fact sheetson Hungary”, www.kum.hu)

Nobel Laureates of Hungarian Origin

Albert von Szent-Györgyi was the first scientist who travelled from Hungary to Stockholm to receivethe highest-ranking scientific prize. 12 individuals of Hungarian origin were awarded this high-ranking distinction in the first century of the Nobel Prize. In 1995 the Hungarian Post issued a stampon the centenary of the Nobel testament, and in 2001, the centenary of the presentation of the firstNobel Prize, a permanent exhibition in their honour opened in the Hungarian National Museum. TheNobel Prize was awarded to: Philipp E. A. von Lenard in physics in 1905, Robert Bárány in medicinein 1914, Richard A. Zsigmondy in chemistry in 1925, Albert von Szent-Györgyi in medicine in 1937,George de Hevesy in chemistry in 1943, Georg von ékésy in medicine in 1961, Eugene P. Wigner inphysics in 1963, Dennis Gabor in physics in 1971, John C. Polanyi in chemistry in 1986, Elie Wieselfor peace in 1986, George A. Olah in chemistry in 1994 and John C. Harsanyi in economics in 1994.

As is apparent, scientists working in the natural sciences are dominant: three prizes in physics andphysiology medicine each and four prizes in chemistry, one prize for peace and one prize foreconomics. Hungarian scientists are characterised by their interdisciplinarity. For example, Albert vonSzent-Györgyi started in medicine and, through biochemistry, arrived at physics. Georg von Békésydid this the other way round: he was educated in physics and lectured as a professor of physics,worked as a telecommunications research engineer and, finally, he was granted the Nobel Prize forPhysiology-Medicine. (see also: www.mta.hu/articles/hungary-nobel-prize-winners).

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Task 2

In the Grand Hall of the University (building K) there is the memorial table dedicated to Noble Prizewinners / students of our university. Relying on the text below find the description of theirprofessional merits

Dennis Gabor (1900–1979)was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1971 “for his invention anddevelopment of the holographic method”. As a 10-year-old student, he appliedfor his first patent for a new type of merry-go-round. By perfecting millions ofstreet lamps, he improved public lighting. He constructed a Wilson fog chamberto measure the speed of particles, he designed a holographic microscope, builtan analogue calculator, and carried out pioneering work in the development offlat, colour TV picture tubes. His entire career is paved with a whole string ofinventions.

Among them, it is holography that brought him the Nobel Prize and worldreputation. He had been interested in the problem of the electron microscope right from his youth. In1947, he linked two apparently far-removed fields; namely, the study of electron rays aimed atimproving the electron microscope,and the study of information theory.He recognised that for perfect mapping, all the information present in the waves reflected from theobject should be used - not just the intensity of waves, as the traditional devices did, but also the phaseand amplitude of the wave. With this, a complete (holo) and stereoscopic (graph) picture can beobtained from the object. Dennis Gabor developed this and published his invention in 1948.

However, the widespread propagation of holography required the development of a coherent lightsource. This occurred in 1962 with the invention of the laser. Then, by combining laser technologyand holography, laser holograms could be produced. Dennis Gabor also participated in this activityand, by means of his research work, he contributed to the opening of new perspectives in the field oftext storage, letter and pattern recognition, as well as in associated information storage. At theexhibition arranged on the occasion of the awarding of the Nobel Prize, Dennis Gabor was able topresent a three-dimensional self-portrait using laser technology. From the beginning, his interests alsocovered the theory of hearing and the problems of acoustic holography, which finally led him to thefield of medicine.

In parallel with this, the interests and activities of this scientist with qualifications in physics andengineering became increasingly focused on the problems of industrial civilisation and the future ofmankind as a whole.

George A. Olah (1927– )was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1994, “for his contribution to carbocation chemistry”.

In the field of modern organic chemistry, his activity disproved the dogma of thequatrovalency of carbon and opened up new ways of producing hydrocarbons.The production of lead-free petrol is of outstanding importance. George A. Olahcompleted his university studies at the Budapest Technical University, Faculty ofChemical Engineering. His examinations carried out here under the leadership ofProfessor Géza Zemplén (1883 - 1956) opened up a new Chapter in the chemistryof compounds that contain carbon atoms with a positive charge.He applied the theoretical knowledge gained during the examination ofcarbocations in industrial syntheses as well: he produced high-octane

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hydrocarbons with branching chains from hydrocarbons with straight chains (poor quality and low-octane petroleum fractions). On his proposal, the ions containing positive carbon atoms are calledcollectively carbocations.

In recognition of his successful 12-year research activity, D.P. Locker and his wife as well as othersponsors founded a hydrocarbons chemical research institute for George A. Olah and his colleagues atthe South California University in Los Angeles in 1976. Since then, the Locker Hydrocarbon ResearchInstitute has been developing and growing under the leadership of professor Olah. He is a chemist whohas connected basic research with industrial applications; who is at home in the completeinnovation chain between universities and industrial companies; whose research activity has becomean economic resource while preserving the environment and nature.

Nevertheless - together with the other Nobel Prize Laureates - he warns that our most importantnatural values are intellectual values, the most important value is human value, the civilised individualand a good education system. “I hope very much to be understood at home” - said Nobel PrizeLaureate professor Olah speaking in America - “that in the approaching 21st century, which is not farnow, the most important thing for every nation will be the knowledge of its youth. Therefore, training,teaching and education are of fundamental importance. In both the 19th and 20th centuries economicresources were the greatest influences on which nations were able to progress. I believe this will bereplaced to a large extent in the 21st century by what a country can offer in the education andprofessional qualification of its young people.” “Investment needs to be made in the future, and thebest investment a country can make is in the education of its young people.” (see also:elsevierconnect.com/nobel-laureate-george-olah)

Eugene P. Wigner (1902–1995)was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1963, shared with MariaGoeppert-Mayer (1906 - 1972) and Hans Daniel Jensen (1907 - 1973) “for hiscontributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles,particularly through the discovery and application of fundamental symmetryprinciples”. Eugene P. Wigner pursued his grammar school studies in thefamous Fasor evangelic grammar school in Budapest, and gained admission tothe University of Berlin to become a chemical engineer according to thewishes of his father. In the twenties, Berlin was the centre of modern physics.Wigner also attended the classes and seminars of Albert Einstein (1879 -1955), Max Planck (1858 - 1947) and Max von Laue (1879 - 1960). In Berlin,he prepared his doctoral thesis - a pioneering work in quantum-chemistry -

under the guidance of Michael Polanyi (1891 - 1976). Having completed his university studies inBerlin, he returned home to utilise his qualification in his father’s tanning factory. When he learnedthat Werner Heisenberg (1901 - 1976) and Max Born (1882 - 1970) had developed the science ofquantum mechanics, he returned to Berlin. With the help of his old teacher, Michael Polanyi, he joinedthe Kaiser Wilhelm Institute where he examined the problem: why do atoms “prefer” to sit in thesymmetry planes and at symmetry points of crystals?

Starting from this, he was the first to realise that space-time symmetries play a central role in quantummechanics. In his book entitled Group Theory and Its Application to the Quantum Mechanics ofAtomic Spectra he showed that all the significant precise results of quantum mechanics could beachieved through symmetry groups. This is also emphasised in the reasoning of the Nobel Prizeawarded in 1963. In the thirties, Wigner travelled to the United States where he worked at PrincetonUniversity for the ext six decades. During the Second World War, he played an outstanding part inlaunching the atomic age and, after the war, in the peaceful and safe utilization of nuclear energy. Itcan be said that he was the first reactor engineer in the world. When he died, the New York Times, ina five-column article, commemorated “the man who introduced mankind to the atomic age and had thecourage to re-tailor the science of sub-atomic particles”.

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“He was one of those scientists endowed with remarkable imagination and foresight who were bornand who studied in Budapest and came to the West to alter the modern world.”

Task 3

There is almost no Hungarian dish without paprika seasoning. How are paprika and the Nobel Prizerelated?

Albert Szent-Györgyi (1893–1986)was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1937 “for hisdiscoveries in connection with the biological combustion processes, with specialreference to vitamin C and the catalysis of fumaric acid.” Szent-Györgyi’sdiscovery of vitamin C had a part to play in winning the prize; in fact, vitamin Cin the quantity necessary for his research was obtained from Hungarian paprika.However, this represented only a sideline of his scientific activity.

Throughout his long career, Szent-Györgyi focussed his research on life and theessence of life. Energy is required for the functioning of a living organism. Thisenergy is derived from the combustion of nutrients. At that time there were two

schools of thought to explain the method of combustion. In the Warburg school, oxygen is activatedwhile, according to the Wieland school, it is the hydrogen in the nutrient that is activated. Szent-Györgyi combined these two schools of thought and showed that the active oxygen oxidises the activehydrogen. This process consists of a long string of complicated reactions in which the energy ofhydrogen atoms is progressively released during the sequence of step-by-step conversions. Szent-Györgyi devoted more than ten years to the examination of oxidoreduction processes. The discoveryof a significant part of the oxidation chain-links was the basis on which he was awarded the NobelPrize.

Following the presentation of the Nobel Prize in 1937, Szent-Györgyi did not rest on his laurels: in1939, new research and discoveries were started. There is no doubt that the blossoming of muscularresearch in both Hungary and at the international level is linked with the results achieved by Szent-Györgyi and his school in Szeged. “The years 1940 to 1942 were a great success not only for Szent-Györgyi but also for us in what we were able to achieve with respect to the contraction of muscles. Inmyopinion, in the life of Szent-Györgyi, this success surpassed that rewarded by the Nobel Prize,” saidBruno Straub (1914 - 1996), a senior research worker in the former team of Szent-Györgyi and aninternationally reputed scientist, who continued research in this field, while evaluating the resultsobtained half a century ago.

Their discovery achieved at that time is considered the beginning of modern muscular biology. Afterthat, Szent-Györgyi rushed off to his laboratory every morningfor a further 40 years, even after his emigration to the United States in 1947. The third field of hisresearch became the illness that carried away his wife, his daughter and John von Neumann, his friend.He was still engaged in researching the secret ofcancer at the age of 90. For Hungarians, he became the symbol - even during his lifetime - of a freespirited, humanist scientist.

Today Szeged university is named after him.

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Task 4

Did you know that in 1955 Leó Szilárd (Hu) and Enrico Fermi (It) patented their nuclear reactor in theUSA? The texts below explain why Hungarian scientists were nicknamed aliens and why Hungarianscientists involved in the Manhattan project were called the “Martians”.

Voice of Martians“Budapest, in the period of the two decades around World War I, proved to be an exceptionally fertilebreeding ground for scientific talent. It is left for historians of science to discover and explain the

conditions that catalyzed the emergence of so many brilliantindividuals" – Stanislav Ulam has written, himself a member of theManhattan Project to make the atomic bomb.Fritz Houtermans, who first recognized the nuclear origin of stellarpower, has offered an "explanation": – " The galaxy of scientificminds, that worked on the liberation of nuclear power, were reallyvisitors from Mars. They found it difficult to speak English without analien accent, which would give them away, and therefore they chose topretend to be Hungarian, whose inability to speak any language butHungarian without a foreign accent is well known. It would be hard tocheck the above statement, because Hungary is so far away."In the 1990s the world commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of thefirst man-made nuclear chain reaction in Chicago, the fiftiethanniversary of the explosion in Hiroshima, and the fiftieth anniversaryof the electronic computer. The "story of the atomic bomb" was toldrepeatedly by citizens of various nations. Leo Szilard, author of The

Voice of Dolphins once said: – "I am going to write down all that is going on in the Uranium Project,not for anyone to read, just for God." – Hans Bethe then asked: – "Don’t you think God knows thefacts?" – whereupon Szilard replied, – "Maybe he does, but he does not know my version of the facts."Well, this is a Hungarian version of the human quest of nuclear power, for fast information processing,for a scientific understanding of life, based mostly on interviews with the participants involved. Theauthor knew most of these men and interviewed them personally; he journeyed to Chicago andAlamogordo, to Los Alamos and Livermore, to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to Chelyabinsk andChernobyl. It will be left for historians in the 21st century to judge the facts and myths, intentions andconsequences.”

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Mathematicians

Task 1

As we have learned there is no Nobel prize for Mathematics, nevertheless the Hungarian achievementsin this field are well known, for example those of the Abel prize winning prof. Szemeredi or Wolfprize winning prof Lovasz. The following text outlines some other achievements of Hungarians in thisfield.

Reading

On 1st July 2013 more than 400 mathematicians from all over the world arrived to Budapest tocommemorate the 100th birthday of Paul Erdos, citizen of the world.

The Man Who Loved Only Numbers - The Story of Paul Erdős and the Searchfor Mathematical Truth

“Finally I am becoming stupider no more” - the epitaph Paul Erdős wrote forhimself.

“Paul Erdős was one of those very special geniuses, the kind who comes alongonly once in a very long while yet he chose, quite consciously I am sure, to sharemathematics with mere mortals--like me. And for this, I will always be grateful

to him. I will miss the times he prowled my hallways at 4:00 a.m. and came to my bed to ask whethermy "brain is open." I will miss the problems and conjectures and the stimulating conversations aboutanything and everything. But most of all, I will just miss Paul, the human. I loved him dearly. “–TomTrotter.

Mathematicians, unlike other scientists, require no laboratory equipment - a practice that reportedlybegan with Archimedes, who, after emerging from his bath and rubbing himself with olive oil,discovered the principles of geometry by using his fingernails to trace figures on his oily skin. AJapanese restaurant, apparently, is as good a place as any to do mathematics. Mathematicians needonly peace of mind and, occasionally, paper and pencil. "That's the beauty of it," Graham said. "Youcan lie back, close your eyes, and work. Who knows what problem Paul's thinking about now?"

"There was a time at Trinity College, in the 1930s I believe, when Erdős and my husband, Harold, satthinking in a public place for more than an hour without uttering a single word," recalled AnneDavenport, the widow of one of Erdős's English collaborators. "Then Harold broke the long silence,by saying, `It is not nought. It is one.' Then all was relief and joy. Everyone around them thought theywere mad. Of course, they were."

Before Erdős died, on September 20, 1996, at the age of eighty-three, he had managed to think aboutmore problems than any other mathematician in history. He wrote or co-authored 1,475 academicpapers, many of them monumental, and all of them substantial. It wasn't just the quantity of work thatwas impressive but the quality: "There is an old saying," said Erdős. "Non numerantur, sedponclerantur (They are not counted but weighed). In the old [Hungarian] parliament of noblemen,they didn't count the votes: they weighed them. And this is true of papers. You know, Riemann had avery short list of papers, Godel had a short list. Gauss was very prolific, as was Euler, of course." Evenin his seventies there were years when Erdős published fifty papers, which is more than most goodmathematicians write in a lifetime. He proved that mathematics isn't just a young man's game.

Erdős structured his life to maximize the amount of time he had for mathematics. He had no wife orchildren, no job, no hobbies, not even a home, to tie him down. He lived out of a shabby suitcase and a

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drab orange plastic bag from Centrum Aruhaz ("Central Warehouse"), a large department store inBudapest. In a never-ending search for good mathematical problems and fresh mathematical talent,Erdős crisscrossed four continents at a frenzied pace, moving from one university or research center tothe next. His modus operandi was to show up on the doorstep of a fellow mathematician, declare, "Mybrain is open," work with his host for a day or two, until he was bored or his host was run down, andthen move on to another home.

Erdős's motto was not "Other cities, other maidens" but "Another roof, another proof." He didmathematics in more than twenty-five different countries, completing important proofs in remoteplaces and sometimes publishing them in equally obscure journals.

Erdős would let nothing stand in the way of mathematical progress. When the name of a colleague inCalifornia came up at breakfast in New Jersey, Erdős remembered a mathematical result he wanted toshare with him. He headed toward the phone and started to dial. His host interrupted him, pointing outthat it was 5:00 A.M. on the West Coast. "Good," Erdős said, " that means he'll be home."

The only possessions that mattered to him were his mathematical notebooks. He filled ten of them bythe time he died.

But outside mathematics, Erdős's inquisitiveness was limited to necessities like eating and driving; hehad no time for frivolities like sex, art, fiction, or movies. Erdős last read a novel in the 1940s, and itwas in the 1950s that he apparently saw his last movie. Once in a while the mathematicians he stayedwith forced him to join their families on nonmathematical outings, but he accompanied them only inbody. "I took him to the Johnson Space Center to see rockets," one of his colleagues recalled, "but hedidn't even look up." Another mathematician took him to see a mime troupe, but he fell asleep beforethe performance started. Melvyn Nathanson, whose wife was a curator at the Museum of Modern Artin New York, dragged Erdős there. "We showed him Matisse," said Nathanson, "but he would havenothing to do with it. After a few minutes we ended up sitting in the Sculpture Garden doingmathematics." – Paragraphs from The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, 1998, The New York Times,Paul Hoffman. ISBN: 0-7868-6362-5

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Something on inventiveness

Task 1

Find examples of inventiveness in everyday life around you. The Rubik’s cube might serve as anexample.

Reading

The Rubik’s Cube

Rubik's Cube is a 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian designer and professor ofarchitecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the "Magic Cube" the puzzle waslicensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. In 1980 the cube won theGerman Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that year.

As of January 2009, 350 million cubes had been sold worldwide making itthe world's top-selling puzzle game. It is widely considered to be theworld's best-selling toy. The classic Rubik's Cube, each of the six faces iscovered by nine stickers, each of one of six solid colours (traditionallywhite, red, blue, orange, green, and yellow, where white is opposite yellow,blue is opposite green, and orange is opposite red, and the red, white and

blue are arranged in that order in a clockwise arrangement). An internal pivot mechanism enables eachface to turn independently, thus mixing up the colours. For the puzzle to be solved, each face must bereturned to consisting of one colour. Similar puzzles have now been produced with various numbers ofsides, dimensions, and stickers, not all of them by Rubik.

Although the Rubik's Cube reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1980s, it is still widelyknown and used. Many speedcubers continue to practice it and other twisty puzzles and compete forthe fastest times in various categories. Since 2003, The World Cube Association, the Rubik's Cube'sinternational governing body, has organized competitions and kept the official world records.(www.allinfoplace.com/infinite-combination-to-solve-ru)

A giant Rubik's Cube floats in the Hudson River to celebrate the 70th birthday of Ernő Rubik and the 40th

anniversary of the invention of the famous cube

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Further ideas for discussion:

• Did you know that it was in 1897 that the first Hungarian woman earned her medical degree?Is science andtechnology still a man’s world even though that more than 50 % of applicants tohigher education are girls? What is the situation in your country?

• Did you know that “GÖMBÖC” and “MASAT” were invented at BME? Find out what theyare.

• Why is it especially difficult for a Hungarian writer to become internationally known? (seeNobel prize laureate Imre Kertész’s novel Fatelessness)

Portfolio Development for Chapter 6

Options• From the random list of inventors and scientists in Chapter 6 choose some (or one in detail)

and prove how their inventions have had an impact on today’s everyday practice in Hungaryand/or worldwide (example: the “biro”/ball point pen). Make a list of inventions together withtheir field of application. Illustrate your observations.

• Scientists and researchers of international renown have very high reputations in theirhomecountries. Find evidence for this statement on the basis of your everyday experiences(monuments, street names, books, exhibitions etc.)

• Find out about recent developments at our university in Hungary with regard to best practices(example: visit departments, interview developers, search for references, personal evaluation.)

• Many lecture halls at the BME bear the names of famous professors. Tour the campus and doresearch on the contribution of these people to the fame of the BME and Hungarian science.(example: the Simonyi Hall)

• Budapest has about 120 museums, many of which are specialized in particular fields ofscience and technology .Thematic visits are recommended To gain insights into specifictopics. Recommended places to visit:

• Hungarian Transport Museum• Museum of the first Underground in Europe• Óbuda Textile Museum• Dreher Beer Museum• Museum of Electrotechnology• Semmelweis Museum of Medical History• Miksa Róth Memorial Museum (stained glass)• Foundry Museum• Zwack Unicum Heritage and Visitor Center• University departments• Different technological“sights”: e.g. railway stations, cogwheel train (rack

railway)

• A tour of of old structures converted for new uses: the A38 boat, “Trafo” the old transformerhouse, the Millennium Exhibition Center

• The impact of different technological innovations on the face of the city e.g.stained glasswindows glazed ceramics, Zsolnay tile of churches and public institutions, steel structures ofNyugati railway station and central market-hall. Report on your observations.

• Search for literature dedicated to the anniversary of the Rubik’s cube and comment on yourexperience.

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Chapter 7 - Hungarian Sport and Sportsmen

Task 1 (group discussion)• What sports have Hungarians been successful in? (see: Fact Sheets on Hungary)• In which year could Hungary not participate in the Olympics?• Why is the Olympic idea so important for Hungarians?

Use the texts below and other sources to help you.

Reading 1

At the main entrance of the swimming stadium of Margaret Island there is the marble table of the firstHungarian Olympic champion among many others who won in swimming or water polo. Hajós was an

architect and graduated at our university. After his victory Hungarian swimmerswon 23 gold, 23 silver and 17 bronze medals making Hungary the third mostsuccessful nation in swimming. The best Hungarian swimmers were KrisztinaEgerszegi, Tamás Darnyi and Zoltán Halmay who produced all together asmany as 20 medals at Olympics.

Hajós was born in Budapest, Hungary. He was 13 years old when he feltcompelled to become a good swimmer after his father drowned in the DanubeRiver.

In 1896, Hajós was an architecture student in Hungary when the Athens Gamestook place. He was allowed to compete, but permission from the university to miss class was difficultto obtain. When he returned to the Dean of the University, the dean did not congratulate Hajós on hisOlympic success, but instead said: "Your medals are of no interest to me, but I am eager to hear you atyour exams." (see also: www.in.com/alfred-hajos/profile)

At the 1896 Games, the swimming events were held in the Mediterranean Sea battling the elements.The 18-year old Hajós won his two gold medals in extremely cold weather (the water temperature was13 degrees Celsius) with 12-foot (4 m) waves crashing down on him. He won the 100 meter freestylewith a time of 1:22.2, and the 1,200 meter freestyle in 18:22.1. Hajós wanted to win all three distances,but the 500 metre freestyle was immediately after the 100 and immediately before the 1,200. Beforethe 1,200 meter race, he smeared his body with a half-inch (one centimeter) thick layer of grease, butit proved to be of little protection against the cold. He confessed after winning the race that, "My willto live completely overcame my desire to win." While at a dinner honoring Olympic winners, theCrown Prince of Greece asked Hajós where he had learned to swim so well. Hajós replied, "In thewater." The next morning, the Athenian journal Acropolis depicted Alfréd with the subtitle:"Hungarian Dolphin". He was the youngest winner in Athens.

Prior to the Athens Olympics, Hajós was the 100 meter freestyle Europeanswimming champion in 1895 and 1896.

A versatile athlete, he won Hungary's 100 meter sprint championship in1898, as well as the National 400 meter hurdles and discus titles. He alsoplayed forward on Hungary's national soccer championship teams of 1901,1902, 1903 - and played in the first international match of Hungariannational team, against Austria in Vienna on 12 October 1902. Between1897 and 1904 he was also a football referee, and during 1906 he was thecoach of Hungary's national football team.

In 1924, Hajós, an architect specializing in sport facilities, entered the art

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competitions at the Paris Olympic Games. His plan for a stadium, devised together with Dezső Lauber(who played tennis in the 1908 Summer Olympics), was awarded the silver medal; the jury did notaward a gold medal in the competition. Thus making him one of only two Olympians ever to havewon medals in both sport and art Olympic competitions.

The best known sports facility designed by Hajós is the swimming stadium built on Margitsziget(Margaret Island) in the Danube in Budapest, which was built in 1930, and used for the 1958, 2006and 2010 European Aquatics Championships, 2006 FINA Men's Water Polo World Cup, 2014 LENWater Polo European Championship.

In 1953, the International Olympic Committee awarded Alfred Hajós the Olympic diploma of merit.He is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

His brother, Henrik Hajós, won gold medal in 4x250 m freestyle swimming at 1906 Olympic Gamesin Athens.

Reading 2

The beginnings of the Olympic movement in Hungary go back further than the 1896 Games in Athens.Hungarian Ferenc Kemény, a pacifist and member of the International Peace Bureau, was one ofPierre de Coubertin's first kindred spirits with whom he struck up a close friendship in the 1880's. Aninfluential educator and modern, innovative reformer who strongly believed in the “pedagogical valueof physical education, pacifism and the universality of human relationships,” he became one of thefounding members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), serving as its first secretary.

In 1896 Hungary would celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian nation. Thepreparation for the huge series of celebrations had started years earlier. Budapest had been modernizedinto a “metropolis”; the road system was modernized, new public and residence buildings were built,new public transportation was introduced, the urban electricity and sewer system were built, and by1896, the first underground railway of the continent (that is only the second after London) was built.During his first year at the Ministry of Culture Kemény already mentioned that joining the Olympicmovement was a good opportunity for propaganda concerning the thousand-year-old Hungarian nationand the idea of having the Olympic Games in Hungary was also suggested. Since there were problems

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in Athens concerning organization, Coubertin agreed to the idea of having the Olympic Games inBudapest in his letter written to Kemény in November, 1894.

Kemény had to turn to the new Ministerof Culture, the famous physician, LorándEötvös in December 1894 who,following his advisors’ view, turneddown the proposal. The argument wasthat if the Greek nation, with its traditionin sports, hesitated in the matter, theHungarians should not take part in such arisky business, which, by the way, was acostly one.

Finally the games were organized inAthens as a result of active lobbying ofCoubertin. Unluckily since that timeHungary have not got the chance to hostthe Olympic Games.

Kemény’s bust is found in the yard of TF(University of Physical Education) nextto that of Coubertin.

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Olympic medals won by Hungary

167 144 165

(www.sporttudomány.hu/kiadványok)

With 486 medals (including winter games and art competition) Hungary is the 8th most successfulnation at Olymic Games and the most successful which never hosted the Olympics. The below tableillustrates the number of olympic medals won by Hungarians at Summer Games. Hungary – forpolitical reasons - did not take part in the Games in 1920 and 1984.

Game Gold Silver Bronze1896, Athens 2 1 31900, Paris 1 2 21904, St. Louis 2 1 11908, London 3 4 21912, Stockholm 3 2 31920, Antwerp - - -1924, Paris 2 3 41928, Amsterdam 4 5 01932, Los Angeles 6 4 51936, Berlin 10 1 51948, London 10 5 121952, Helsinki 16 10 161956, Melbourne 9 10 71960, Rome 6 8 71964, Tokyo 10 7 51968, Mexico City 10 10 121972, Munich 6 13 161976, Montreal 4 5 131980, Moscow 7 10 151984, Los Angeles - - -1988, Seoul 11 6 61992, Barcelona 11 12 71996, Atlanta 7 4 102000, Sydney 8 6 32004, Athens 8 6 32008, Beijing 3 5 22012, London 8 4 6Total 167 144 165Average 7 6 7

Going for Gold - Hungary at the Olympics visitbudapest-travel)

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Reading 3

Hungarian water polo team is one of the best in the worldcollecting a total of 15 medals (9-3-3) It is one of toughest teamsports that require strength, stamina and quick thinking. Hungarywon the world championship in Barcelona 2013.

Canoe-kayak is the third olympic sport Hungarians are great insince 1936 Hungarians won 19 gold, 27 silver and 25 bronzemedals, makinh Hungary the third in the line of Olympic kayakingnations.

Krisztina Egerszegi (born 16 August 1974 in Budapest) is a former world recorder swimmer and oneof the greatest Hungarian Olympic champions. She is a three-time Olympian (1988, 1992 and 1996)

and five time Olympic champion as well as one of threeindividuals (Dawn Fraser and Michael Phelps being other two) tohave ever won the same swimming event at three SummerOlympics. Her 1988 winning in Seoul became one of the greatestTV-moments in Hungary. The famous phrase "Come on LittleMouse! Come on little girl!" ("Gyerünk Egérke! Gyerünk kicsilány!") of the speaker is part of the popular culture. Egerszegi isstill regarded as the role model of the "champion" in the country.The above picture illustrates Krisztina Egerszegi in Seoul as a 15

year old winner among the East-German swimmers.

Task 2 (group discussion on the topic of “Magnificent Magyars”)(www.britannica.com/Magnificent Magyars)Reading 4

The Golden Team(Hungarian: Aranycsapat; also known as the Magical Magyars, the Marvelous Magyars, the

Magnificent Magyars, or the Mighty Magyars) refersto the Hungary’s national football team of the 1950s.It is associated with several notable matches,including the "Match of the Century" againstEngland in 1953, and the quarter-final ("Battle ofBerne") against Brazil, semi-final (against Uruguay)and final ("Miracle of Berne") of the 1954 FIFAWorld Cup. The team inflicted notable defeats onthen footballing world powers England, Uruguayand the Soviet Union, before the 1956 Hungarian

Revolution caused the breakup of the side.

Between 1950 and 1956, the team recorded 42 victories, 7 draws and just one defeat, in the 1954World Cup final against West Germany.

The team is generally credited for successfully implementing an early form of "Total Football", laterused by the Dutch in the 1970s. The team is also generally recognized for introducing new coachingand tactical innovations, which were subsequently adopted throughout the game. It was alsoconsidered emblematic of socialist principles and ideals by communist authorities in the propagandawar with the West.

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Read the story of two famous matches of the team below:

A friendly match was arranged for 25 November 1953 against England.England had never been defeated on home soil by a team from outside theBritish Isles, and the FA were complacent - as the inventors of the game -they were assured that their players were technically and tactically superiorto any other countries. At the time, England were ranked as the 3rd bestteam in the world; Hungary were ranked as the best team in the world. Thegame was eagerly anticipated; the British Press reported it as "the Match ofthe Century".

The game was played in front of 105,000 in Wembley Stadium. Hungarysimply demolished England; they scored in the first minute, and after 27minutes they were 4-1 up. The final score was 6-3, with a hat-trick fromHidegkuti, two goals from Puskás and one from Bozsik. It was a footballing lesson that sentshockwaves through English football, and which ultimately caused English clubs to adopt continentalcoaching and tactics.

1954 World Cup Quarter Final: "Battle of Berne" (Brazil vs. Hungary 1954)(see also: www.fifa.com/classicfootball/matches)

Hungary met Brazil in an eagerly anticipated quarter final; both sides had a reputation for open,attacking football. The Brazilians had lost the 1950 World Cup final to Uruguay, and were anxious toreach the final again.

Unfortunately, the game was notable for the number of cynical fouls performed by both sides ratherthan as an exhibition of footballing technique; Hungary took a 2-0 lead after 7 minutes, and after thatthe game descended into a series of fouls, free kicks and fights on the pitch resulting in threedismissals. The game ended 4-2 to Hungary. Fighting continued off the pitch in the tunnels and in theplayers dressing rooms.

The game's English referee Arthur Ellis commented: "I thought it was going to be the greatest game I'dever see. I was on top of the world. Whether politics and religion had something to do with it I don'tknow, but they behaved like animals. It was a disgrace. It was a horrible match. In today's climate somany players would have been sent off the game would have been abandoned. My only thought wasthat I was determined to finish it."

From the Magnificent Magyars only the keeper Gyula Grosics and the full back Jenő Buzánszky livetoday.

Task 3 (group discussion)

Discuss the role of Ferenc “Pancho” Puskás in creating the dream of the Magnificent Magyars. Howdid history affect the life of this sporting genius? What is the message of his activity for today’sgeneration?

Reading

"Look at that little fat chap. We'll murder this lot." In the long and inglorious annals of great Britishsporting disasters, few judgments have been wider of the mark. "Fat and little" were as close as thoseremarks, from an England player, got to anything resembling the truth as he sized up the opposition.(www.dailymail.co.uk)

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Ninety minutes later Hungary had slaughtered England 6-3. They were the first foreign team to inflictdefeat on England at Wembley. And what a defeat. It wasn't justthe score. The style of football played by the Magnificent Magyarsmight as well have come from another planet. England, self-styledmasters of the game, were humiliated.

The "little fat chap" was Ferenc Puskas, the Hungarian captain.Indeed, he was an odd looking footballer. He was short, stocky,barrel-chested, overweight, couldn't head and only used one foot.Yet no one in Britain had seen ball skills like his as he inspired aperformance that completely demolished England's reputation as aworld football power.

Puskas was known as the Galloping Major, a reference to the fact that he was an army officer playingfor an army team. Later, when he was exiled in Spain, he became known as the little canon. For thatone foot, his left, packed such a thunderbolt shot that he scored 83 goals in 84 internationals and heremains the only player to have scored four goals in a European Cup Final.

Puskas was born in Budapest in April 1927 and had been something of a boy wonder, making hisdebut for his father's old team Kispest at the age of 16. At 18 he was an international, appearing forHungary against Austria in 1945.

Kispest Honved became the most successful club in Europe in the days before the European Cup andthat club side was to form the basis of the national team. That first season, Puskas scored 50 goals ashe won the first of his four Hungarian Championships with Honved.

Puskas was captain of his country when they took the soccer gold medal by defeating Yugoslavia inthe final at Helsinki in 1952.

By 1954, Hungary were the hot favorites to win the World Cup in Switzerland. They hadn't lost forfour years and scored 17 goals in their first two games when the finals began. First they beat SouthKorea 9-0, then handed out an 8-3 hammering to West Germany - one of the more fancied teams in thecompetition. However, Puskas was injured by the West German center-half Werner Liebrich andmissed the quarter-final against Brazil, a match that became known as the Battle of Berne.

Puskas's damaged ankle kept him from the semi-final against Uruguay, which Hungary won 4-2 inextra time. And so to the final - against West Germany, the team they had annihilated in the earlyrounds.

Nonetheless, Hungary led 2-0 after just eight minutes, the second goal coming from Puskas. But theirgame began to go awry. Germany pulled back to 2-2, then took the lead through Rahn. The turningpoint came when Puskas found a gap and slid the ball past the German keeper Turek. Welsh linesmanMervyn Griffiths had his flag up. The goal was disallowed for offside. West Germany had won 3-2and caused one of the football upsets of the century. Hungary, having conquered all before them, hadlost the one that really mattered - the World Cup Final.

Back at Honved, Puskas became even better known in Western Europe as his club travelled abroadplaying exhibition matches.

In 1956 Puskas was with the rest of his Honved team-mates in Spain when the revolution took place.They had been playing a European Cup tie against Bilbao and Puskas, along with Kocsis and Czibor,left for the West. He was rescued by Real Madrid. The famous "royals" in their all-white strip hadbeen turned into a club that dominated Europe by the vision of their president, Santiago Bernabeu.

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They had won the first European Cup in 1956 and had retained it the following year. Among their starplayers were centre-forward Alfredo Di Stefano, a naturalized Argentinian, and Francisco Gento, theflying winger. In 1958, 31-year-old Puskas joined them, receiving a Ł10,000 signing-on fee.Overweight? Maybe. A has-been? Hardly.

The player rejected by the Italians struck up a sensational partnership with Di Stefano and was fourtimes the leading scorer in the Spanish Championship. The climax of this outstanding Real side wasthe 1960 European Cup Final played before 135,000 at Hampden Park.

In one of the truly memorable matches, Real beat Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3.Di Stefano scored a hat-trick. Puskas went one better, getting four goals.Real had won the European Cup five times in a row.

Puskas was to play in one more European Cup Final, for Real Madridagainst Benfica in 1962. Benfica won 5-3 . Puskas, aged 35, scored allthree goals for Real! In 39 European matches for Real, he scored anamazing 35 goals.

The same year he was picked to play for Spain in the World Cup Finals inChile. Puskas continued to play for Real until 1966 when he retired toconcentrate on coaching. He had only mediocre success until 1971 when he took the GreekChampions Panathinaikos to the European Cup Final where they lost 2-0 to Ajax at Wembley. -(Source: Hall of Fame)

Puskás returned at first to Hungary in 1981 and finally settleddown in his home land in early 1990s. For some matches he wasthe coach of Hungarian national team. He died in Budapest in2006.

The national stadium – former name People’s Stadium – wherePuskas played many memorable matches and scored importantgoals was also named after him.

His sculpture illustrates the moment as he played with little boys in Madrid in 1960s.

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Task 4 (group discussion)

Is a genius born or trained? (The Polgár girls in chess.)

Reading

(from self-portrait of Judit Polgár, greatest woman chess player of all time)

“Practically from the moment of my birth, on July 23, 1976, I became involved in an educationalresearch project. Even before I came into the world, my parents had already decided: I would be achess champion. My sister Susan had been a successful player for years, winning one tournament afteranother. Based on educational studies, our parents decided that their children’s lives and careers wouldbe a living example, that would prove that any healthy child – if taught early and intensively - can bebrought up to be exceptionally successful in any field. In our case, this meant having a chess career.

Thus, my biography essentially consists of achievements as a chess player. I was nine when I first wonan international chess tournament, and at the age 12 and 14, I won the boys’ World ChessChampionship in my age groups. I was only 12 when – for the first time in the history of Hungarianchess – the national women’s team, including my two sisters Susan and Sofia, won the Olympic goldmedal. Two years later, in 1990, we repeated this performance with the same teenage team.

Ever since that second Olympic gold medal, I have competed only against men. At the age of 15 Ibroke the record of Bobby Fischer, by becoming the youngest international chess Grandmaster ever.On six occasions, I represented the Hungarian "men’s" national team at chess Olympiads. In 2002 wewon the silver medal in Slovenia. I have defeated world chess champions Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov,Topalov and Anand in international tournaments, matches and rapid competitions. In 2011, I becameNo. 1 on the women’s world ranking list for the 50th time. I have managed to keep this position as thebest woman chess player since 1989. My highest rank on the World Men's Rating List was 8th in2005. I was awarded the Chess Oscar seven times, and was elected Woman Chess Player of theCentury. I won the individual bronze medal at the European Championship in 2011.

In the past few years, I have been able to add some “standard” items to my CV: In 2000, I married awonderful man and veterinarian by profession. We now have two children, Oliver and Hanna. Thus,not only is my CV now more comprehensive, but my whole life has become richer.

In recent years as an ambassador of Chess in School project in the European Union I have made a lotof efforts to introduce chess as an educational tool. I authored two children's books on chess, ChessPlayground 1-2 together with my sister, Sofia.

In 2012 I established the Judit Polgar Chess Foundation for EducationalBenefits to bring chess as an educational tool to children in schools throughoutthe world by providing a unique and complex chess curriculum andenrichment programs focusing on the cross curricular links. I also designed theChess Palace educational program that was integrated into the NationalCurriculum in Hungary, and made ”Skill-building Chess” subject available forelementary schools from September 2013. I have also developed anelementary student book and workbook series called “Chess Palace” for 1-4grade students. In March 2013 I was awarded the Order of Merit of theRepublic of Hungary Commander's Cross with Star.” (Source:www.polgarjudit.hu )

The three Polgár sisters Judit, Zsófia and Zsuzsa, champions of chess.

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Attachment

Olympic champions of BME

Alfréd Hajós 1896 swimmingLajos Werkner 1908, 1912 fencingSándor Pósta 1924 fencingGyula Glykais 1928, 1932 fencingBarta István 1932 water poloSándor Tarics 1936 water poloLászló Rajcsányi 1936, 1948, 1952 fencingAladár Kovácsi 1952 modern pentathlonLászló Fábián 1956 kayak-canoeAttila Keresztes 1956 fencingGábor Delneky 1960 fencingImre Nagy 1960 modern pentathlonLászló Felkai 1964 water poloZoltán Dömötör 1964 water poloGyőző Kulcsár 1964,1968 2x,1972 fencingTibor Cservenyák 1976 water poloAntal Kovács 1992 judoZoltán Szécsi 2000, 2004, 2008 water poloTamás Molnár 2004, 2008 water polo

See also: Műegyetemi Olimpikonok, BME Budapest 2000, muszakiegyetem.blog.hu/2010/08/08

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Portfolio Development for Chapter 7.

As you could see in Chapter 7, sport has a special importance in Hungary and famoussportsmen/women are held in high esteem.

Options:• Tours to places of interest “to prove the statement above” would include visits to stadiums,

swimming pools, skating rinks, statues and memorials of famous sportsman/women. Illustrateyour observations.

• Visit the Table of Fame of Sportsmen/women in the K Building of the BME. Visit the BMESport Centre and “Tüskecsarnok” and report on the importance of sport in university life.

• Compare the importance of sport in your home country and in Hungary (facts, figures,observations).

Aerial view of “Tüskecsarnok” on campus

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CHAPTER 8 - Hungarian Holidays, Celebrations, Festivals

Task 1

Scan the list of holidays below and highlight the holidays coming in the near future. Describe theholidays you have in your country at the same period of time. Read about the ways these holidays arecelebrated, and highlight some features which are special for you about the celebrations in November /December.

Reading

January 1 – New Year's Eve (Szilveszter) and New Year's Day (Újév)Besides the standard merry-making, there is also a New Year's ball and concert at the Hungarian StateOpera House in Budapest. Stalls on the streets of Budapest sell masks and noisy paper trumpets.(Details below)

Early January - Ash WednesdayThe ball season starts – formal balls are held all over the country.

February – FarsangCostume parties and carnivals take place all month long to mark the end of winter, especially on thelast Saturday in February. City festivities usually include carnival, parade and open-air music concert.

March 8 – Women's Day – NőnapMen give flowers to women both at home and work.

March 15 – Anniversary of the 1848 Revolution – 1848-as Forradalom és SzabadságharcThe revolution against Habsburg domination which later led to fight for freedom against Austria andits allies. After the defeat the Austrian retorsion included the execution of 13 generals of theHungarian revolutionary army and of 5 civilian leaders. One of them was the first prime-minister,count Lajos Batthyany. Each year on March 15, the Hungarian tricolors of red, white, and green areprominently displayed all over the country. People gather at the Petöfi Statue and the NationalMuseum to remember the revolt.

March or April Easter – HúsvétEaster is an important religious holiday in Hungary. The day before families with children painteaster-eggs of all styles and color. Children find small gifts Sunday morning. A traditional breakfast

follows of eggs, ham, braided cake bread, horse-radish. Many familiesgo to church this morning to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

On Monday, many people carry on the tradition of "sprinkling". Whileonce young men used to pour buckets of water over young women'sheads, today they spray perfume or water and then ask for a kiss and ared egg. Painted eggs as well as chocolate-ones are exchanged.

April or May – Pentecost - PünkösdPPeenntteeccoosstt iiss tthhee ggrreeaatt ffeessttiivvaall tthhaatt mmaarrkkss tthhee bbiirrtthh ooff tthhee CChhrriissttiiaann cchhuurrcchh bbyy tthhee ppoowweerr ooff tthhee HHoollyySSppiirriitt.. PPeenntteeccoosstt mmeeaannss ""ffiiffttiieetthh ddaayy"" aanndd iiss cceelleebbrraatteedd ffiiffttyy ddaayyss aafftteerr EEaasstteerr..

May 1 Labour Day Labor Day – A munka ünnepeMay Day on May 1 is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival and usually a publicholiday;[1] it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. May Day coincides

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with International Workers' Day, and in many countries that celebrate the latter, it may be referred toas "May Day".

First Sunday in May Mother's Day – Anyák napjaMothers receive flowers, sometimes hand-picked and other presents, usually handmade from theirchildren on this day.

Last Sunday in May Children's Day – GyermeknapParents take children on special outings to places such as the Zoo, fun fairs, or on hiking.

June 30 – Withdrawal of Soviet Troops – A szovjet csapatok kivonásaThis day marks the final withdrawal of Soviet troops from Hungary in 1991.

August 20 – St. Stephen's Day – Szent István napjaIn the year of 1000, Hungary’s first king, the Christian St Stephen, was crowned this day, and theHungarian (Magyar) state was founded. A case containing the right hand of St. Stephen is carried in aprocession from the St Stephens Cathedral through the streets of Budapest. Traditionally, the firstbread from the new harvest is baked for this day. Celebrations include parades, music and otherfestivities. An impressive fireworks show is held over the Danube.

October 23 – 1956 Remembrance Day and Declaration of the Republic – Az 1956-osforradalom napjaThis national holiday commemorates the outbreak of the people's uprising against Soviet dominationin 1956 which was led by students who wanted to change the political system. The new primeminister, Imre Nagy withdrew from the Warsaw Pact of “communist” countries. Soviet troopsinvaded. Hungary appealed for UN assistance against Soviet invasion, but only received verbal help.UN demanded USSR leave Hungary. In November, after lots of bloodshed, the Hungarian revolutionwas put down by the powerful Red Army of the Soviet Union. Imre Nagy and many other leaders andparticipants were executed by the soviet regime, hundreds of people died and thousands left thecountry. Soviet troops stayed in Hungary until 1991.When Hungary became an independent republic in 1989, October 23 was day on which independencewas proclaimed.

November 1 – All Saints' Day – Mindenszentek napjaPeople remember their deceased loved ones by lighting candles at their graves in cemeteries.

December 6 – Santa Claus (St. Nicholas') Day – MikulásSee details below.

December 24 to 26 Christmas Christmas – KarácsonyThe traditional family Christmas celebration with dinner and exchange of gifts takes place on the eveof December 24th. The 25th and 26th are public holidays when relatives visit each other.

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Task 2 (group discussion)

Discuss your personal experiences in everyday life related to preparations for the holidays of theseason (in the street, in shops, during social events,theatre and movie programs)

Task 3

Topics for discussion on the basis of the text “December holidays” and information you have alreadyacquired.

1. Who is Mikulás? Is he the same figure as Santa Claus, St. Nikolaus or Father Christmas? Whendoes he visit children in Hungary? How do children prepare for this visit?

2. What is the timing of Christmas celebrations? Is there a Boxing Day? When are presents due? Whobrings the presents to the children? Are holidays very commercialized?

3. Outline some of the special meals of the season!

Reading

Holidays in December

Some of these traditions trace their origins to the pre-Christian era, that is, before 1000 A.D. But allthese traditions usually have a religious base or a folk custom base, and are often related to eventsexpected in the near future, or to the expected harvest of the following year. In the last severaldecades, most of these folk traditions have disappeared from every day life, although some traces mayremain in the smaller villages. However, in the recent past, several artistic, cultural, and folk groupshave revived interest in preserving these traditions, which they promulgate by means of performances,books, and videos.One typical feature is that although many customs are are closely linked to theChristen faith they still retain some pagan elements.

There are many traditions associated with Christmas and New Year amongthese typically Hungarian Nativity Custom (Betlehemezés). Hundreds ofyears ago mystery plays were enacted in Churches in order to retell andreveal the story of the birth of Christ, but later they were banned because ofpagan associations. The special thing is this is an active tradition eventoday mostly in villages.It is a pastoral play.Players accompanied by aminiature Betlehem stable with model of baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, threekings and animals knock ont he door of neighbours and act the story of the birth of Christ. The actorsare rewarded with food and drinks, maybe some money.

Advent is the period when Christian peoples await Christmas. In Hungarypeople display Advent wreaths and they can be seen everywhere: stores, schools,offices, and in almost every home. People make their own wreaths or purchasethem. They come with 4 candles, and every Sunday until Christmas people lightone additional candle.

Children (like in German –speaking countries) often receive Advent calendars,"too. Some calendars have a tiny window for each day of advent with a small gift behind every widow.

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Mikulás

Mikulás has no duties on Christmas.(unlike Santa). The Mikulás is also the "name day" of "Miklós" orNicholas in the Christian calendar and comes on 6th of December. Children get candyand chocolate in red wrappings. As you have read above it is a still prevailing traditionthat the Mikulás is leaving candy or other small goodies in children's shoes or boots,which the children have set out overnight, usually by a window. If they have been"good," they might get candies, tangerines, or chocolates, and sometimes smallpresents, toys, or books. (This custom may sound similar, but children in Hungary donot hang stockings by the chimney for Santa to fill on Christmas Eve.)

Santa Claus and X-mas are celebrated in schools from a very early age(even in nurseries) Here are twovery simple nursery rhymes for Santa Claus and for X-mas (lyrics are to be listened)

Luca day

Another folk tradition is "Luca Nap" or "Luca (Lucia) Day." Many superstitions and customs arerelated to the 13th of December, for one, because of the number 13, and also according to some, it isthe traditional night for evil spirits - since it is the longest night of the year. For girls, many customsrelated to Luca Nap can foretell something about their future husband. One such custom is stillpopular.

A girl takes 12 slips of paper. On 11 of the slips, she writes 11 different boys' names, one per slip, andone slip is left empty. The girl then rolls up all the slips and places them in a box. Then, every eveninguntil the 24th, she will take out one slip of paper and burn it - but she must not unroll it and look at thename beforehand!

She may look only at the last one - they one she unrolled on the eve of the 24th - and it will contain thename of her future husband.If she ends up with the empty slip, this means she won't ever get married. Then there are some LucaDay customs forr everyone - and many involve weather, wealth and money.

Christmas

The Christmas tree is bought a day to a week (or two in some extreme cases) before Christmas Eveand stored outside in the cold - all wrapped up, so it will last longer. In Hungary on December 24th(Christmas Eve), everything closes around noon, or by 4 PM at the latest. All public transportationstops as well. People get home by that time, and start putting up the tree. (It's rarely done before the24th - You will not see decorated Christmas trees in homes in Hungary before December 24. So, theafternoon and early evening of Christmas Eve is occupied by decorating the tree, together, with thefamily, or it is the father’s duty when kids are small. Traditional Hungarian tree lights have alwaysincluded candles and sparklers.

According to Hungarian custom, Christmas tree decorations always include very special holidaycandies, wrapped in bright gold, red, or other colored foil and tied with bows, called Szaloncukor.These are chocolate on the outside, with marzipan, raspberry, orange or other flavored jellies inside.

Some time before Christmas, Hungarian children have already written their letters to baby Jesus, or"Jézuska," much in the same way American children might write letters to Santa Claus. They tell babyJesus what presents they want for Christmas.

Little Jesus and the angels bring not only the tree but also gifts for good children. Usually, onChristmas Eve children are banished for several hours from the room in which the tree will be put up,and the gifts put under it. Once the tree and gifts are ready, parents ring a little bell to announce that„Jézuska” has arrived! Children run in excitedly and receive their gifts.

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Other adult family members have already placed their gifts for each other under the tree. So, after thetree is lit, and the presents are opened, families celebrate the rest of the evening together.mostly withinthe close family. Christmas is a 3 day holiday, and larger families and close friends visit each other.People usually spend the first of the two following days with their close families having a big festivemeal. The next day (26) is the same, but people usually get together with extended family members.

Christmas cuisine in Hungary.

Traditional Christmas eve dinner usually called for some sort of fish, dating fromthe days when Christians abstained from eating meat on Fridays, as well as the eveof certain other holy days, Christmas included. A typical Christmas Eve menumight include the following: fish soup (halászlé), fried fish (rántott hal) , poppyseedor walnut biscuits (beigli).

Beigli(or sometimes spelled bejgli) is a real Hungarian Christmas treat. This pastry is obligatory aroundChristmas time, you can buy it in practically any shop or bakery. It is basically a rolled up crust withlots of filling. Walnut and poppy seed are traditional, but these days experimental folks are filling itwith chestnut puree or even Nutella.

Szaloncukor(literally: "parlour candy") is a type of sweet traditionally associated with Christmas in Hungary. It is

usually made of fondant, covered by chocolate and wrapped in shiny colouredfoil, then hung on the Christmas tree as decoration.Every year, almost a kilo anda half of it are consumed per household during Christmas season. The traditionof hanging these candies on the Christmas tree started in the 19th century. It wasnamed szaloncukor because the tree usually stood in the parlour (szalon inHungarian) Cukor means "sugar" or "candy". The whole procedure was manualuntil the first fondant-machines have appeared. These were made by Stühmer

chocolate factory for the famous sweet-shop, Gerbaud. The last part of the procedure to bemechanized was the thrumming of the end of the papercover. Considering that it has such a typicalshape to keep - this part was not to be omitted.

Fondant candies originally came in a few flavours (vanilla and strawberry for example), but now thereis a wide variety of different kinds of candies, including jelly, coconut, hazelnut and lots of otherflavors.

New Year's Eve, December 31.In Hungary, this is celebrated in the company of family and good on the last night of the year.Groups of people gather in homes or go out for a night on the town to wait until midnight, when theysing the National Anthem and toast with champagne, they shout and use various noisemakers, in orderto ring in the new year.The first kiss that one receives in the new year is also very important! Then,after midnight people are calling their far-away friends and relatives.

New Year – BOLDOG ÚJÉVET!Finally, there is New Year's Day, January 1st. People usually stay up until dawn from the night before,eating, drinking, dancing, playing board games or watching TV at home. New Year's Eve menu:Hungarians are careful what they eat on January 1st! One should not eat any fish or chicken, for fishwill swim away with your luck, but chicken scratches it back. If you want to be rich, wealthy, andlucky during the coming year, you must eat some form of lentils (like in soup or salad) on New Year's

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Day - along with some form of pork. If you can manage to get the tail as your portion of pork thismeans you will have a great deal of personal luck!

Task 4

Read the suggestions for the Christmas holidays in Budapest. The tips can give you ideas for yourportfolio.

Reading

1. Visit the Christmas marketsThere are a number of Christmas markets set up around the city. The biggest one is at VörösmartySquare in the centre of Budapest. The Christmas market is a mix of food and drinks, and arts andcrafts. Handmade traditional gifts are for sale and you can taste delicious specialties of Hungariancuisine.Another miracoulous Christmas market is set up outside St. Stephen’s Basilica. There is a small icerink as well. At some of the larger metro stops there are mini markets set up filled with similar itemsthat you would find at the Christmas markets.

2. Drink mulled wineNothing will warm you up from the winter cold than a hot cup of mulled wine. You can pick up a mugat any of the Christmas markets, at stalls set up along the street or at a local bar or restaurant. Thedelicious mix of herbs and wine cannot be missed.

3. Watch the NutcrackerThis holiday classic comes with a Hungarian twist at the Opera house. But watch out! Book yourtickets early or the performances will be sold out. Thankfully, performances go well into the new year.

4. Enjoy a kürtős kalácsKürtős kalács are a Hungarian pastry also known as chimney cakes. You can find stalls of these at allthe Christmas markets or hidden inside metro stops. These pastries are served piping hot and are adeliciously sweet way to warm up hands in the cold December air. They come in a variety of flavoursfrom cinnamon (my fav) to coconut to chocolate.

5. Go to the thermal bathsEvery Saturday night in December, Szechényi Baths open its doors to partiers. Take some time to soakin the baths while enjoying some live music, drinks and atmosphere.

6. Ice skating in City ParkNothing says the holidays more than skating on the City Park lake. This ice rink is consideredEurope’s largest and one of the oldest outdoor skating rinks. Head there at night to take in the holidayatmosphere complete with bright lights and views of the Vajdahunyad Castle.

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7. Walk around the city at nightThe main streets of Budapest are all decorated and lit up in Christmas lights. Take a walk along theKörút or down Andrássy ut or perhaps stroll Vaci utca. The possibilities are endless.

8. Concerts in the Basilica (and other venues)Nothing puts you more in the holiday mood than basking in some holiday music. St. Stephen’sBasilica offers concerts of classical music and holiday classics alike. The acoustics of the basilicamakes any concert on its premise a joy for the ears.

9. ShoppingThe holidays means discounts and shopping. It is no different here in Budapest. Stores offer bargainsbeginning December 27, and last until January.

10. Eat delicious holiday candy and sweetsPurchase a bag of szaloncukor from your local market and enjoy all the flavours of this traditionalHungarian candy. Typically these candies are hung on Christmas trees as decoration due to theircolourful foil. Or spend some time in the kitchen and bake up a storm. Nothing says Christmas likediós kifli (Hungarian Christmas crescent cookies)

Source: Top 10 Things to Do During Christmas in Budapest

Task 5

Some Hungarians also celebrate Name Days. Ask your Hungarian friends or consult literature onName Day celebrations i.e. the most popular Name Days. How are they celebrated? Type of gifts,activities, etc.

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AttachmentNursery school rhymes taught in kindergartens and preschools.

Télapó itt vanTélapó itt van, hó a subája,Jég a cipõje, leng a szakálla.Zsák, zsák, teli zsák, piros alma, aranyág.Két szarvas húzta, szán repítette,Gömbölyû zsákját százfele vitte.Zsák, zsák, teli zsák, piros alma, aranyág.Két szarvas húzta, szán repítette,Gömbölyû zsákját százfele vitte.Zsák, zsák, teli zsák, piros alma, aranyág.

Kis karácsonyKis karácsony, nagy karácsony,Kisült-e már a kalácsom?Ha kisült már ide véleHadd egyem meg melegében.Jaj, de szép a KarácsonyfaRagyog rajta a sok gyertya.Itt egy szép könyv, ott egy labda.Jaj de szép a karácsonyfa

Basic sources: Fact Sheets on Hungary www.hun.huBuapest Funtime 2012. wwww.funtime.hu

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Portfolio Development for Chapter 8.

Optional tasks

In Chapter 8 you have learnt about holidays in Hungary. Make the introduction more personal: addyour observations and enjoy and experience holidays in Hungary.

• Make your list of suggestions for next year’s students for making the most of a holidayexperience in Hungary (see: Christmas, Easter, birthday, Name Day, etc.)

• Give a detailed comparison of the holidays and celebrations in your country and in Hungary(the differences between holidays, the importance of holidays and their characters,preparation, schedule and events, eating and drinking habits, presents etc.) Collect theinformation with your reflections for the handbook for incoming international students of theBME

• Visit an end-of-the-year cultural event and report on it (Christmas concert, Operaperformance, folk dance event etc.) with special emphasize on the cultural environment

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APPENDIX to Chapter 3

Faculties of BME

At present the university has eight Faculties (founding date in parentheses):

Faculty of Civil Engineering (1782)

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (1871)

Faculty of Architecture (1873)

Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology (1873)

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics (1949)

Faculty of Transportation Engineering (1955)

Faculty of Natural Sciences (1998)

Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences (1998)

Faculty of Civil Engineering

The Faculty of Civil Engineering is the oldest Faculty of the Budapest University of

Technology and Economics and can trace its history back to the University's predecessor, the

Institutum Geometricum, founded by Emperor Joseph II in 1782. In the past more than 200 years,

thousands of engineers have graduated from this Faculty to work worldwide as educators, international

researchers and engineering project managers.

The most essential service of the faculty - education linked closely to research and engineering

work - is reflected in the scientific activities of nearly 170 engineers in 10 departments. They have

contributed significantly to the scientific solution of diverse engineering problems. Out of the

approximately 2300 students, who study at this Faculty, about 90 students from abroad participate in

the English language program.

The engineering program in English leads to a B.Sc. degree in four years, in the Branch of

Structural Engineering. The branch offers specific educational objectives: Graduates from the Branch

of Structural Engineering create engineering structures by utilizing and designing structural materials.

They are expected to design, construct and organize the investments of mechanically, structurally and

technologically complex structures in cooperation with architects and transport and hydraulics

specialists. Future structural engineers who graduate from this branch will be able to design and

construct, among other things, flyovers and underground passages for traffic networks; power stations,

cooling towers, craneways, transmission line structures and TV towers; halls, storehouses, industrial

plants, and multi-storey buildings as well as hydraulic engineering and water supply structures.

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

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The Mechanical Engineering Program at the Budapest University of Technology and

Economics began in 1863, and the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering was established soon afterward,

beginning official operations in the 1871/72 academic year. The Faculty is justly proud of its

continuous and progressive 150-year history and now offers undergraduate and graduate programs in

both Hungarian and English.

Since the 2006/07 academic year, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has offered a 3.5-

year undergraduate B.Sc. degree program in English. The new two-year graduate program in English,

leading to an M.Sc. degree started in February 2009, students can start the study either in fall or in

spring semester. Individual postgraduate academic and research programs, which are usually

completed in two to three years, are available for those who already have an M.Sc. degree and wish to

pursue a PhD degree.

The undergraduate B.Sc. program of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering is designed to

continue a tradition of excellence by:

• providing a well-grounded and broad knowledge that graduates of this Faculty can apply

immediately in their work and also use as the basis for further studies; and

• graduating competent engineers who are not only masters of their profession, but also

possess an ethical philosophy of engineering based on accuracy, punctuality and reliability as well as a

respect for the human element.

The goals of the Faculty's graduate M.Sc. and PhD programs are:

• to train creative, inventive mechanical engineers who can apply the engineering skills and

the knowledge they have gained from the natural sciences on a state-of-the-art level; and

• to foster the development of leaders in engineering research and development.

Faculty of Architecture

The Faculty of Architecture at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics focuses

on training highly professional experts in architectural engineering who are aware of the social and

cultural implications of their profession. Versatility is emphasised so that students will gain

fundamental knowledge and abilities in every possible field of architecture and be able to find work in

a highly competitive job market, and in any building- or design-related area of consulting,

construction, and management. The 5-year program in English leads directly to an M.Sc. degree in

Architecture and Architectural Engineering, but it is also possible to graduate as a Bachelor of Science

in Architecture. Graduates of the Faculty of Architecture are qualified for a broad spectrum of

architectural occupations:

• Design, construction and maintenance of residential, public, industrial and agricultural

buildings;

• Reconstruction and the preservation of historical monuments;

• Urban design and settlement planning; and

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• Administration of all these activities.

The curricula were organised on Swiss and German models. The Faculty has maintained these

traditions for the last 40 years but provides additional European and international dimensions through

guest lecturers from abroad, topical short courses, workshop seminars and exchange programs.

The five year program of the Faculty of Architecture taught in English is in full conformity

with the five year program provided in Hungarian, which after two years practice and experience is

accepted for access to EUR-ING title.

Faculty of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology

The education of chemical engineers and chemists has a long-standing tradition in Hungary.

Hungary’s earliest chemistry department was established in 1763 at the Selmecbánya Mining School,

the first school to offer practical instruction in the chemical laboratory. In 1769, a common department

for chemistry and botany was founded at the University of Nagyszombat, which was resettled to Buda

in 1777 and later to Pest. In 1846, the Department of General and Technical Chemistry was founded at

Joseph II Industrial School, one of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics’s

predecessor institutions. Education of chemical engineers, separate from that of mechanical and civil

engineers, reaches back to the 1863/64 academic year.

Royal Joseph Polytechnic became a technical university in 1871. The academic freedom

introduced by this university-level status allowed students to freely select the subjects they wished to

study. However, the need for an interrelated, logical sequence of subjects soon became evident, so in

1892 a compulsory curriculum and timetable was introduced. From the foundation of the Faculty until

1948, only a four-year term of studies, without specialisations, was offered.

Following the educational reforms of 1948, the departments of Inorganic Chemical

Technology, Organic Chemical Technology, and Agricultural and Food Chemistry were established.

The Inorganic Chemical Technology Department is no longer a part of the Faculty because in 1952 its

tasks were taken over by the University of Chemical Industry in Veszprém. Further reforms in the

1960s extended chemical engineering studies to the M.Sc. level and introduced the range of

specialised studies. A PhD program has also been established. Studies in English at the Faculty of

Chemical Engineering began in the 1985/86 academic year. Students in the BSc program receive a

thorough introduction to areas basic to chemical engineering before they begin their specialisations in

the fifth semester. Courses of the following branches are available to students both at the B.Sc. and

M.Sc. levels: Analytical and Structural Chemistry, Chemical and Process Engineering, Industrial

Pharmaceutics, Polymer Technology, Textile Technology.

Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering founded in 1949 has been renowned for excellence in

research and education throughout the years of changes in the scope of engineering. Over this period,

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the faculty has earned a wide-spread international reputation for its high academic standards and

scientific achievements. Spearheading the movement to establish a modern education system, it has

offered a comprehensive English curriculum since 1992. Nearly the same time, the name of the faculty

was changed to Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics in order to give recognition to the

growing importance of computer science. The education programmes in English include a 3.5-year

BSc, a 2-year MSc and a 3-year PhD. programme in the fields of electrical and software engineering.

The undergraduate BSc programme aims at providing a comprehensive knowledge with sound

theoretical foundations in two areas: (1) electrical engineering including more specific studies in

electronics, computer engineering and power engineering; and (2) software engineering dedicated to

the major domains of computer science.

The MSc programme further advances the knowledge obtained in the undergraduate

programmes in the same two fields: (1) electrical engineering, offering specializations in (i) embedded

systems, (ii) info-communication systems, and (iii) electrical machines and drives; (2) software

engineering, offering specializations in (i) applied computer science, and (ii) system development

The post-graduate PhD programme is available in all domains offered in the MSc programme.

Since research and development requires innovative engineering expertise, one of the major

concerns of the faculty is to endow students with high level mathematical skills in modeling complex

engineering systems. This objective implies the use of system and algorithmic theory in addition to a

thorough knowledge in physics. The search for optimal solutions in the highly complex architectures

of electrical and software engineering necessitates not only engineering but economical considerations

as well. As a result, the scope of the programme must include design, research and management

expertise at the same time.

Faculty of Transportation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering

The Faculty of Transportation Engineering has been training engineers for the field of

transportation and vehicle engineering at BME since 1955. Since that time the profile of engineering

training has been widened several times.

In academic year 2006/2007, as a first step of the new type of linear training the transportation

engineering basic specialty (BSc) was introduced. In that framework knowledge related to transport,

transportation, and mechanization can be attained including knowledge in connection with processes

realized in the listed fields and also knowledge related to machines, equipment (vehicles and mobile

machinery) realizing those processes.

From the academic year 2010/2011 the Faculty launches vehicle and mobile machinery basic

specialty (BSc), its task is to familiarize the students with the design, operation, and control systems of

vehicles and mobile machinery.

At the second stage of the new type of linear training there are three master training courses in

the following fields: transportation engineering master specialty, logistics engineering master specialty

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and vehicle engineering master specialty. With adequate BSc qualification certified engineering

qualification can be obtained in 2 years at these master training specialties.

All the fundamental and complementary educations continued at the Faculty are carried out in

accordance with the rules of the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System). The quantity of students'

labour necessary for attaining the knowledge material of an arbitrary subject is measured through

credit-points. One credit-point means on average 30 hours of student's labour, one study semester

contains a study material with the quantity of 30 credit-points.

The Faculty of Natural Sciences

The Faculty of Natural Sciences, one of the newest faculties at the Budapest University of

Technology and Economics, was established in 1998 and now employs 142 full and part time faculty

members. The Faculty provides classes in Mathematics and Physics and is designed to meet the needs

of its own and other faculties.

Courses are offered on BSc and MSc degree levels. The Faculty offers post-graduate scientific

training as well. Currently more than 60 PhD students are pursuing personal programs in different

areas of sciences. The Faculty also offers short courses on specific topics of current interest.

The Faculty of Natural Sciences administers its own BSc and MSc programs in Physics,

Mathematics, and Applied Mathematics. A continuing educational program is also offered in Reactor

Physics and Reactor Technology. For many years the "Eugene Wigner International Training Course

for Reactor Physics Experiments" has also been organized on a yearly basis.

The BSc in Physics Program, a traditional curriculum, leads to a BSc degree in 6 semesters

(currently available only in Hungarian). The facilities and scientific-tutorial background of the

Institute of Physics and the Institute of Nuclear Techniques offer unique opportunities in areas like

low temperature physics, acousto-optics, holography or the nuclear training reactor. A further

advantage of our Physics BSc program is the special practical, engineering background provided by

the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Two specializations are offered: Physicist and

Applied Physics.

Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences

Based on the long tradition of providing education in the fields of economics, management

and social sciences, in 1998 the Budapest University of Technology and Economics established a new

faculty, the 'Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences' employing 320 instructors and researchers.

Parallel to the traditional five-year university training, according to the Bologna model the

two-cycle system (for BSc and MSc degrees) was introduced in 2006.

The accredited full time degree programs in Economics, Engineering Management,

Communication and Media Studies, Teachers Training in Vocational Fields are carried out according

to the latest European standards. Besides its own training programs the Faculty co-operates closely

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with all the engineering faculties of the University providing courses in management, economics,

social sciences, languages and physical education.

Additionally the Faculty offers different kinds of post-graduate programs and short-term

courses of various types.

Currently more than 200 PhD students are participating in different individual research

programs in different areas of economic and social sciences.

The Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences pays special attention to the integration of

theoretical and practical knowledge in its curricula and Faculty has established strong professional

relationships with the participants of various economic fields (profit and non profit oriented

institutions, banks etc).

Languages, language exams

Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Russian and Hungarian as a

foreign language are taught at levels from A1 to C1 by the lecturers and language instructors at BME

Centre of Modern Languages. Language instruction for Specific Purposes (LSP) as well as translator

and interpreter training are also offered by the Centre.

Students can sit for nationally and internationally accredited general and specific (LSP for

Economics or Engineering) language exams at 3 different levels (B1, B2 and C1) at the BME

Language Examination Centre.