Central Europe

Czech, Slovakia, Hungary

Objectives

• Identify Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary on a blank map.

Terms and Places

Carpathians are the U-shaped mountains of central Europe.

Migration is the movement of large groups of people.

The Danube is a long river through central and eastern Europe.

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic.

Czech

Slovakia

Hungary

Austria

Germany

Poland

Ukraine

Romania

Here are their neighbors:

Serbia Croatia Slovenia

First, the Huns are not related to most other Europeans.

Most Europeans belong to a group called The Indo-Europeans. They arrived in Europe two to three thousand years ago.

Two important facts stand out about Hungarians.

The Huns came later under their leader Attila the Hun.

They were a horse-riding people from the steppes, or great plains.

The Huns invaded Europe in the 400s AD.

The Huns were able to defeat the Europeans because they had invented the stirrup. The stirrup allows the rider to shoot from the saddle.

Mounted archery is still a respected sport among them today.

At the end of the 800s, the Hungarians came to live where they are now.

The second important fact about Hungary is that it used to be much larger.

This map shows Hungary and its neighbors.

Here is where Hungarians actually live.

These people aren’t recent immigrants: Their ancestors lived in the same places.

Hungary lost these lands and much more after it lost the First World War.

The Treaty of Trianon gave these lands to their neighbors.

Russia

Carpathian Mountains

CzechSlovakia

Hungary

The Carpathian Mountains are generally old, green hills, but there are still some

rugged, rocky parts.

What is the capital of Hungary?

Which country is Hungary?

Hungary

Please read “Resources of Eastern Europe.” World Studies: Europe and Russia. Pearson-Prentice-Hall, 2005. pgs. 29-32.

Danube Uprising of 1956