Famous for its goulash and paprika and Bela Bartok string quartets, Hungary is one of the most cultural and exciting countries in Europe. From its origins, when King Stephen the First accepted the crown from the Roman pope, this country has had a clear tendency towards the western culture. Hungary has struggled greatly during its long 1,000-year history, but with every battle it was able to learn a lesson. Now, the country has grown to be the most business friendly country of the region and offers unique opportunities for business structuration and asset protection.
Being a country located in central Europe, Hungary has suffered many of Europe´s most difficult historical events and has been under two of the most destructive forces of the 20th century. It was occupied by the Nazis in 1944 during World War II and lost over half a million Jews during the holocaust. A few years after the war and from 1949 to 1989 it became controlled by the Soviet Union although it managed to keep a fair share of independency. While communist times were a very dark period for most of the countries controlled by the Soviet Union, Hungary was envied by its neighbors because it was able to have a certain amount of freedom and a milder communist regime. Hungary was officially communist but had room for small private enterprises, less censorship and more flexibility for movement and travel. Thus, Hungary got away with a higher level of freedom and became some sort of “window to the west”. People from neighboring countries like Poland or the Chez Republic used to find here a glimpse of what the western world was like, having access to products and goods that weren’t available in those countries under the Soviet dictatorship. This undoubtedly marked a tendency in Hungary´s business views and conceptions which can still be seen in our days.