Hungary and Rumania.

Map   Questions.

1. What countries do Hungary and Rumania border on?
2. What large river flows across their territories?

Hungary. The Hungarian People's Republic has no sea bounda­ries. Across its territory flows the Danube, linking it with the neigh­bouring countries. Like Czechoslovakia, Hungary has a short com­mon boundary with the Soviet Union.
Hungary numbers some 10,000,000 people, most of whom are Hungarians. Over half of the population is engaged in agri­culture.
The greater part of the country is occupied by the Central Danubian Plain with its fertile soil and forest-steppe and steppe vegetation. The Hungarian steppe is called the pushta. At present it is almost entirely cultivated and under maize, wheat, sugar-beet and other crops. Measures are being taken against the drought menace: forests are being planted, irrigation canals con­structed. Vines are cultivated and wine is made in many parts of the country. Much attention is given to cattle-breeding and poultry-farming. The peasants are united in producer co-operatives.
To the north and west of the country are ranges of low moun­tains containing deposits of minerals. Coal, iron, oil and gas are extracted in limited quantities. Pig-iron and steel are produced. Special mention should be made of bauxite, of which there are large deposits in these regions. Bauxite is used in the production of aluminium—a light but very firm metal.
New factories and plants are springing up, machine production is being stepped up.

Fig. 56. Budapest: A bridge across the Danube. On the riverside is the National Assembly building.

The biggest industrial centre of the country is its capital, Budapest, numbering over 1,800,000 inhabitants (about one-fifth of the total population of the Republic). Among the cities of the European People's Democracies, Budapest is second in size only to Berlin. It is situated on both banks of the Danube, its older district, Buda, with its beautiful castles and palaces occupying the hilly right bank and the commercial part of the city, Pest, the lower left bank. In the latter are located the state offices, museums, thea­tres and shops. These were formerly two separate towns. The long, wide bridges across the Danube decorate the Hungarian capital. Destroyed by the German fascists during the war, these bridges arc now restored (Fig. 56). There are many factories and plants in the southern outskirts of the city: machine-building, electrotechnical and others. Budapest produces half the industrial output of Hun­gary.
Rumania. The Rumanian People's Republic lies to the east of Hungary. It occupies part of the Danubian basin and borders on the Black Sea. Its border line with the U.S.S.R. runs along the lower Danube and its tributary, the Prut, and crosses the Carpa­thians in the north.
Its population (about 19,000,000) is composed mainly of Rumanians and a small number of Hungarians and Germans.
Across the centre of Rumania stretch the Eastern and Southern branches of the Carpathians, forming a broad arch and reaching an altitude of 2,500 metres. To the north

Fig. 57. Oil-derricks in Rumania (Ploesti Region).

west within the arch of the Carpathians proper is situated a series of low plateaus and ranges of hills. The mountain slopes are covered with coniferous and beech forests, and at lower altitudes with oak forests. Timber cutting is widely practised here, and part of the product is exported. Swift streams rush from the mountains, carry­ing their waters to the Danube. They are rich in water-power and suitable for the construction of hydroelectric power-stations.
There are deposits of iron ore and other metals in the mountains. Large quantities of oil (Fig. 57), natural gas, salt and brown coal are found in the foothills. After the U.S.S.R., Rumania ranks first among the European countries in oil reserves and output. There are many refineries in the country. A large part of the refined pro­ducts is exported, mainly to the neighbouring socialist countries. Coal is mined and pig-iron, steel and other metals produced, but in limited quantities. Rumania produces a great variety of machi­nery: machine-tools, oilfield equipment, tractors, etc.
Between the Carpathians and the Danube lies the fertile Lower Danubian Plain. A forest-steppe and steppe region formerly, it is at present almost entirely under cultivation. The climate here is temperate continental, the average temperature for January being 3—4°C below zero and about 23°C above zero for July. Droughts are frequent visitors in the eastern part of the plain. The Danube in its lower course overflows its banks in spring and often floods vast areas. It divides into several arms at its mouth and forms a delta covered with rushes, reeds and deciduous forests. The local population is engaged in fishing.
Large crops of maize and wheat are raised in the fields. From maize the Rumanians prepare 'mamaliga' (=hominy). Formerly I he peasants used oxen to plough their fields. At present, on state and co-operative farm lands, tractors and other agricultural ma­chines are employed. Large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep graze m the pastures. Numerous vineyards and orchards cover the slopes
of the hills.
Bucharest, the capital of the country, is situated on the Lower Danubian Plain, 60 kilometres distant from the Danube. Bucharest is a large city of 1,400,000 inhabitants, with wide, green streets and beautiful parks and gardens. It has many industries: machine-building and others.
Questions and Assignments.

• Compare Hungary and Rumania as to geographical position,
  natural features and economic activities of the population. What
  are the common features and points of difference?
• Mark on the outline map the natural resources of Hungary
  and Rumania and their principal cities.