General Information / Geography

Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia.

Half of Hungary's landscape consists of flat to rolling plains of the Carpathian Basin: the most important plain regions include, the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld) in the southeast and the Little Hungarian Plain (Kisalföld) in the northwest. The highest elevation above sea level on the latter is only 183 metres.

Transdanubia is a primarily hilly region with a terrain varied by low mountains. These include the very eastern stretch of the Alps (Alpokalja), in the west of the country, the Transdanubian Medium Mountains (Dunántúli-középhegység), in the cental region of Transdanubia, and the Mecsek Mountains and Villány Mountains in the south. The highest point of the area is the Írott-kő in the Alps along the Austrian border, at 882 metres. The highest point of the Transdanubian Medium Mountains is the Pilis-tető, at 757 meters.

The highest mountains of the country are located in the Northertn Medium Mountains (Északi-középhegység): these lie in the northern parts to the north from the Great Hungarian Plain, in a wide band along the Slovakian border (highest point: the Kékes at 1,014 m).

Hungary is divided in two by its main waterway, the Danube (Duna); other large rivers include the Tisza and Dráva, while Transdanubia contains Lake Balaton, a major body of water. The largest thermal lake in the world, Lake Hévíz (Hévíz Spa), is located in Hungary. The second largest lake in the Carpathian Basin is the artificial Lake Tisza (Tisza-tó).