Hungary–Poland Relations
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Poland–Hungary relations are the foreign relations between
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
. Relations between the two nations date back to the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. The two
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
an peoples have traditionally enjoyed a very close friendship, brotherhood and camaraderie rooted in a deep history of shared rulers, cultures, struggles, and
faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...
. Both countries commemorate their fraternal relationship on 23 March. From 1370 to 1382 the
Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
and
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
entered into a
personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
and were ruled by the same King,
Louis the Great Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of P ...
. This period in Polish history is sometimes known as the Andegawen Poland. Louis inherited the Polish throne from his maternal uncle Casimir III. After Louis's death the Polish nobles (the
szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...
) decided to end the personal union, since they did not want to be governed from Hungary, and chose Louis's younger daughter Jadwiga as their new ruler, while Hungary was inherited by his elder daughter Mary. A second personal union with Poland was formed for the second time from 1440 to 1444, when King
Władysław III of Poland Władysław III of Poland (31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444), also known as Ladislaus of Varna, was King of Poland and Union of Horodło, Supreme Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1434 as well as King of Hungary and List of duk ...
was also King of Hungary. Both countries are full members of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, joining it on the same day (March 12, 1999) and are also both members of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, the
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
, the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
, the Visegrád Four (along with
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
and the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
), the
Bucharest Nine The Bucharest Nine or the Bucharest Format (B9 or B-9; , ) is an organization founded on 4 November 2015 in Bucharest, Romania, at the initiative of the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and the President of Poland Andrzej Duda during a bilate ...
, the
Three Seas Initiative The Three Seas Initiative (3SI or TSI), known also as the Baltic, Adriatic, Black Sea (BABS) Initiative or simply as the Three Seas (Latin: ''Trimarium'', ), is a forum of thirteen states, in the European Union, running along a north–south axi ...
, the
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...
and the
World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
. The leaders of the two countries have been holding regular secret meetings to improve bilateral relations and work more closely together. Hungarian-Polish political scientist Dominik Hejj states: "The relations are very strong, and almost every week a Polish minister visits Hungary and vice versa". The two countries first joined
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
in 1999 and then the European Union in 2004.


Historic relations

Good relations between Poland and Hungary date back to the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. Both countries shared a border for nearly 800 years, from the 10th century to the
First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
in 1772. The Polish and Hungarian ruling dynasties (such as the
Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...
or
House of Árpád A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
) often intermarried. Since the mid-13th century, trade between Hungary and Poland has increased significantly, as well as the transit of Hungarian goods through Poland to Baltic ports and German countries, and foreign (
Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...
, English, German) products in the opposite direction, reaching its peak during the Hungarian-Polish union under the reign of
Louis I Louis I may refer to: Cardinals * Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578) Counts * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois (1172–1205) * Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346) * Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...
. In 1320 King
Charles I of Hungary Charles I, also known as Charles Robert (; ; ; 128816 July 1342), was King of Hungary and Croatia in the union with Hungary, Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of Charles Martel of A ...
married Princess Elizabeth of Poland and a Hungarian–Polish alliance was formed, which benefited both countries. It helped Hungary defeat the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
and
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
in the war of 1322–1337, whereas in 1327 a diplomatic intervention of Charles I prevented a subjugation of Polish territories to King
John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...
, and Hungary aided Poland in the Polish–Teutonic War of 1326–1332.
Louis the Great Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of P ...
was
king of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...
and
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
from 1342 and
king of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
from 1370 until his death in 1382. He was his father's heir,
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
of the House of Anjou-Sicily (King of Hungary and Croatia) and his uncle's heir,
Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...
(king of Poland – last of the Piast dynasty). King Casimir had no legitimate sons. Apparently, in order to provide a clear line of succession and avoid dynastic uncertainty, he arranged for his nephew, King Louis I of Hungary, to be his successor in Poland. Louis' younger daughter Saint
Jadwiga of Poland Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig (from German) and in , was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. Born in Buda, she was the youngest daught ...
inherited the Polish throne, and became one of the most popular monarchs of Poland. Hungarians and Poles fought together against the Ottoman invasion of Europe at the
Battle of Nicopolis The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied Crusader army (assisted by the Venetian navy) at the hands of an Ottoman force, raising the siege of the Danubian fortress of Nicopolis and le ...
in 1396 as part of a larger European coalition led by King
Sigismund of Hungary Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elect ...
. In 1440–1444, the two countries shared the same King again, after King
Władysław III of Poland Władysław III of Poland (31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444), also known as Ladislaus of Varna, was King of Poland and Union of Horodło, Supreme Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1434 as well as King of Hungary and List of duk ...
became also King of Hungary. He was eventually killed in the
Battle of Varna The Battle of Varna took place on 10 November 1444 near Varna in what is today eastern Bulgaria. The Ottoman army under Sultan Murad II (who did not actually rule the sultanate at the time) defeated the Crusaders commanded by King Władysła ...
in which a coalition of
Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a geopolitical term encompassing the countries in Baltic region, Northeast Europe (primarily the Baltic states, Baltics), Central Europe (primarily the Visegrád Group), Eastern Europe, and Southeast Europe (primaril ...
an countries led by Poland and Hungary was defeated by the Turks. Poles fought on the side of Hungary in subsequent Ottoman–Hungarian wars, including the battles of
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
(1448) and
Mohács Mohács (; Croatian: ''Mohač''; ; ; ; ) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube. Etymology The name probably comes from the Slavic ''*Mъchačь'',''*Mocháč'': ''mъchъ'' (moss, Hungarian ''moha'' is a loanword ...
(1526). From 1490 to 1526, both countries were ruled by separate but closely related branches of the
Jagiellonian dynasty The Jagiellonian ( ) or Jagellonian dynasty ( ; ; ), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (), the House of Jagiellon (), or simply the Jagiellons (; ; ), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon recep ...
, after Polish prince Władysław, son of Polish King
Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...
, became King
Vladislaus II of Hungary Vladislaus II, also known as Vladislav, Władysław or Wladislas (; 1 March 1456 – 13 March 1516), was King of Bohemia from 1471 to 1516 and King of Hungary and King of Croatia from 1490 to 1516. As the eldest son of Casimir IV Jagiellon, he wa ...
. In 1576, Poland elected the Hungarian nobleman
Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...
as its king, who is regarded as one of Poland's greatest rulers. The great Hungarian
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
poet
Bálint Balassi Baron Bálint Balassi de Kékkő et Gyarmat (, ; 20 October 1554 – 30 May 1594) was a Hungarian Renaissance lyric poet. He wrote mostly in Hungarian,István Nemeskürty, Tibor KlaniczayA history of Hungarian literature Corvina, 1982, p. 64 ...
spent parts of his life and wrote some of his poems in Poland. There are memorials to him at his places of stay in Odrzykoń, Nowy Żmigród,
Rymanów Rymanów (; or ; ) is a town located in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in the southeastern tip of Poland, with 3,585 inhabitants. It is a capital of a separate gmina, commune within powiat of Krosno, Krosno County. Rymanów is situated in the hea ...
, Dębno,
Braniewo Braniewo () (, , Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Brus''), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of Braniewo County. Braniewo is the seco ...
and
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
. The famous
Polish hussars The Polish hussars (; ), alternatively known as the winged hussars, were an elite heavy cavalry formation active in Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Poland and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived fr ...
were modelled after Hungarian hussars.


Hungarian and Polish fights for independence

Poles gave shelter to Hungarian insurgents and aided them during the
Rákóczi's War of Independence Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–1711) was the first significant attempt to topple the rule of the Habsburgs over Royal Hungary, Hungary. The war was conducted by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives and was led by F ...
against
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. In 1701 Hungarian conspirators and
Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi (, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of the Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–1711 as the prince () of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of ...
fled to Poland, where they established contacts with the Polish Royal court and gained the support of several Polish magnates for the planned Hungarian uprising. In Poland, Bercsényi and Rákóczi received protection from the Austrians, who still tried to capture them through attempts of the Habsburg ambassador to Poland.''Z Bogiem za ojczyznę i wolność – o Franciszku II Rakoczym bohaterze Węgier'', p. 13 After the Hungarian uprising broke out in 1703, an insurgent delegation went to Poland to find Rákóczi and ask him to lead the uprising. A meeting of the then insurgent leader with Rákóczi and Bercsényi took place in May 1703 in
Brzeżany Berezhany ( ; ; ; , ''Bzhezhani''/''Bzhizhani'') is a small city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It lies about from the administrative center of the oblast, Ternopil. Berezhany hosts the administration of Berezhany urban hr ...
, Poland, and it also was the place where Rákóczi and Bercsényi signed a proclamation, which called on Hungarians to fight for independence. Rákóczi and Bercsényi then went to Hungary separately, each with Polish troops lent by Polish magnates. In September 1703, Polish King
Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...
in an official document to the port city of
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
prohibited the purchase of weapons for the Hungarian insurgents, but at the same time he secretly assured Rákóczi of his friendship, and many weapons were supplied to the Hungarians through Gdańsk during the war. The Hungarians maintained close contact with Poland, both through correspondence and their envoys, and also thanks to the numerous visits of Poles at Rákóczi's court in
Szentmiklós Chynadiiovo or Chynadiieve (; ; ; ; ) is a rural settlement in Mukachevo Raion, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine. It stands in the Latorica River valley, from the town of Mukachevo. Its population is History The settlement took its Hungarian name ...
in 1707–1710. After the fall of the uprising in 1711, 3,000
Kuruc Kuruc (, plural ''kurucok''), also spelled kurutz, refers to a group of armed anti- Habsburg insurgents in the Kingdom of Hungary between 1671 and 1711. Over time, the term kuruc has come to designate Hungarians who advocate strict national inde ...
s, including Rákóczi himself, took refuge in Poland. Rákóczi then lived in
Jarosław Jarosław (; , ; ; ) is a town in southeastern Poland, situated on the San (river), San River. The town had 35,475 inhabitants in 2023. It is the capital of Jarosław County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. History Jarosław is located in the ...
and Gdańsk before leaving Poland in 1712 for
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, where he unsuccessfully sought support for Hungarian national liberation efforts. A number of Hungarians remained in Poland, including painter Ádám Mányoki, who became a court painter of Polish Kings, and Ádám Jávorka, who became a general of the Polish Army. There were cases of Hungarians, who in small groups or individually, made their way to the
Russian Partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...
of Poland to help the Polish
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
of 1830–1831. The Hungarian counties voiced their support for the uprising. In 1832, after the fall of the uprising, the Hungarian parliament agreed with the position of the Hungarian counties on the uprising. The pro-Polish stance of the Hungarian parliament was exceptional among the predominantly indifferent European countries. After the uprising, the Polish National Committee formed in exile in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
issued a proclamation to the Hungarian people, thanking them for their support, stating that "there was no nation which would more openly and boldly acknowledge the friendship and righteousness of our cause." Among the founding members of the committee was Charles Kraitsir, a Hungarian-born doctor decorated with the Order of Virtuti Militari for his services in the November Uprising, who spent the rest of his life as part of the Polish
Great Emigration The Great Emigration () was the emigration of thousands of Poles and Lithuanians, particularly from the political and cultural élites, from 1831 to 1870, after the failure of the November Uprising of 1830–1831 and of other uprisings such as ...
. Committee leader Joachim Lelewel saw him as a link between the committee and the Hungarian people.Stasik, p. 117 Kraitsir issued a proclamation to the Hungarian people, calling for help for the Polish emigration in Western Europe. This proclamation was smuggled into Austrian-ruled Hungary, and its distribution carried the risk of repression by the Austrians. In the
Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...
, a Polish general,
Józef Bem Józef Zachariasz Bem (, ; 14 March 1794 – 10 December 1850) was a Polish engineer and general, an Ottoman pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European patriotic movements. Like Tadeusz Kościus ...
, became a national hero of both Hungary and Poland. He was entrusted with the defence of
Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
at the end of 1848, and in 1849, as General of the Székely troops. On October 20, 1848 Józef Wysocki signed an agreement with the Hungarian government to form a Polish infantry battalion of about 1,200 soldiers. After the agreement, Wysocki organized the Polish Legion in Hungary, which contained 2,090 infantry soldiers and 400 Polish uhlans. They took part in the siege of the Arad fortress in the spring of 1849 and participated in all important battles at
Szolnok Szolnok (; also known by #Name and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county in central Hungary. A city with county rights, it is located on the banks of the Tisza river, in the heart of the Great Hungarian ...
,
Hatvan Hatvan ( German: ''Hottwan)'' is a town in Heves County, Hungary. Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". It is the county's third most populous town following Eger and Gyöngyös. Etymology Hatvan is the Hungarian word for "sixty". It is a com ...
, Tápióbicske and Isaszeg. After the Battle of Temesvár in August 1849, and the Hungarian capitulation at Világos, 800 of the remnants of the Legion escaped to Turkey. As part of the International Legion in Italy, both Hungarians and Poles led by István Türr and Ludwik Mierosławski fought alongside Giuseppe Garibaldi in the Expedition of the Thousand of 1860–1861, which paved the way for the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, creation of a united Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Afterwards, Poles and Hungarians in exile worked together to organize a large-scale uprising of Hungarians, Poles and Italians against Austrian Empire, Austria, while Poles and Hungarians in the Austrian Partition of Poland and Austrian-ruled Hungary cooperated to achieve political and cultural autonomy for their nations, including the right to use their native languages, and to hinder Austrian attempts to centralize power in Vienna. In Paris, György Klapka, Ludwik Mierosławski and Giuseppe Garibaldi decided that Hungarian and Italian revolutionaries would help in the event of a Polish uprising. In 1861, the Austrian Emperor dissolved the Hungarian parliament because of its resistance to the Austrian plan of centralization of administration, and then the Austrians implemented their orders by force, and even declared a state of emergency in Hungary and threatened to repress resistant Hungarians. Polish politicians from Galicia (Austrian Partition of Poland) spoke out against such Austrian policies and defended the political and historical rights of the Hungarian people. , Polish deputy who delivered a splendid speech against the Austrian centralist plans and in defense of the rights of the Hungarians, received dozens of letters of thanks and honorary citizenships from Hungarian counties and towns. In response, Smolka thanked the Hungarian people in an open letter, assuring them of the friendship of the Polish nation and declaring to the Hungarians that "your cause is our cause, and our cause is your cause." Several hundred Hungarian volunteers fought alongside Poles in the January Uprising in the
Russian Partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...
of Poland in 1863–1864, forming a large group among the foreign volunteers. Among them were Major and Captain Albert Esterhazy, who died at the battles of Battle of Panasówka, Panasówka and Battle of Mełchów, Mełchów respectively. In Hungary, funds and weapons were collected by the people and sent to the Polish insurgents. After the fall of the uprising, about 4,000 Polish refugees were received in Hungary.


Interwar years 1919–1939

Friendship between Poland and Hungary typified the interwar period. However Poland was among the victors of World War I, and therefore supported the status quo, while Hungary suffered Treaty of Trianon, unparalleled losses, and therefore pursued a revisionist policy. The ruling forces in both countries suppressed all revolutionary movements, and forced the Communist Party underground. As a result, both were hostile to Soviet Russia and Czechoslovakia. Support for a pro-Hungarian policy in Poland came mainly from conservative aristocratic centers in
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
and Wilno. Anti-Czech feelings led Poland and Hungary to support Hitler during the Munich crisis in 1938. However pro-Polish feelings made it impossible for Hungary to side with Hitler against Poland when it invaded in 1939. During the Polish–Soviet War (1919–21), after the Béla Kun government in Hungary was overthrown, Hungary offered to send 30,000 cavalry to Poland's aid, but the Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak government refused to allow them through the demilitarized zone that had existed between Czechoslovakia and Hungary since the end of the First World War. Nevertheless, Hungarian munitions trains did reach Poland. In the beginning of July 1920, the Hungarian government of Prime Minister Pál Teleki made a decision to help Poland, delivering for free and at a critical moment of war at Hungary's own expense through Romania's military supply: 48 million rounds of Mauser ammunition, 13 million rounds of Mannlicher ammunition, artillery ammunition, 30 thousand Mauser rifles and several million spare parts, 440 field kitchens, and 80 field ovens. On August 12, 1920, Skierniewice received transport, among others 22 million rounds to Mauser from the Manfréd Weiss factory in Csepel. It was the single most important foreign military contribution to Polish war effort. Hundreds of Hungarian volunteers fought on the side of Poland in the war, and some stayed in Poland after the war. The first international match of the Poland national football team was a 1921 Hungary v Poland football match, friendly game against Hungary played in Budapest in 1921. From the Middle Ages well into the 20th century, Poland and Hungary had shared a historic common border. In the aftermath of World War I, the victorious allies had, at Treaty of Versailles, Versailles, transferred Upper Hungary as well as Carpathian Ruthenia, with its Slavic peoples, Slavic population, from defeated Hungary to Slavic-German-Hungarian nascent Czechoslovakia. Following the Munich Agreement (September 30, 1938) — which doomed Czechoslovakia to takeover by Germany — Poland and Hungary, from common as well as their own special interests, worked together, by Diplomacy, diplomatic as well as paramilitary means, to restore their historic common border by engineering the return of Carpathian Ruthenia, Carpathian Rus to Hungary. A step toward their goal was realized with the First Vienna Award (November 2, 1938). Until mid-March 1939, Germany considered that, for military reasons, a common Hungarian-Polish frontier was undesirable. Indeed, when in March 1939 Adolf Hitler, Hitler made an about-face and authorized
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
to take over the rest of Carpatho-Ruthenia, Carpatho-Rus (which was by then styling itself "Carpatho-Ukraine"), he warned Hungary not to touch the remainder of
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, to whose territory Hungary also laid claim. Hitler meant to use Slovakia as a staging ground for his planned invasion of Poland. In March 1939, however, Hitler changed his mind about the common Hungarian-Polish frontier and decided to betray Germany's ally, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, who had already in 1938 begun organizing Ukrainian military units in a ''sich'' outside Uzhhorod, in Carpathian Ukraine, under German tutelage — a ''sich'' that Polish political and military authorities saw as an imminent danger to nearby southeastern Poland, with its largely Ukrainians, Ukrainian population. Hitler, however, was concerned that, if a Ukrainian army organized in Carpathian Rus were to accompany German forces invading the Soviet Union, Ukrainian nationalists would insist on the establishment of an independent Ukraine; Hitler, who had designs on Ukraine's natural and agricultural resources, did not want to deal with an independent Ukrainian government.


World War II

Adolf Hitler, Hitler would soon have cause to rue his decision regarding the fate of Carpatho-Ukraine. In six months, during his 1939 Invasion of Poland (1939), invasion of Poland, the common Polish-Hungarian border would become of major importance when Admiral Miklós Horthy, Horthy's government, on the ground of long-standing Polish-Hungarian friendship, declined, as a matter of "Hungarian honor," Hitler's request to transit German forces across Carpathian Rus into southeastern Poland to speed up that country's conquest. The Hungarian refusal allowed the Polish government and tens of thousands of military personnel to escape into neighboring
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
and Romania, and from there to France and French-mandated First Syrian Republic, Syria to carry on operations as the third-strongest Allied belligerent after UK, Britain and France. Also, for a time Poland, Polish and U.K., British military intelligence, intelligence agents and couriers, including Krystyna Skarbek, used Hungary's Carpatho-Ukraine, Carpathorus as a route across the Carpathian Mountains to and from
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. In total, over 100,000 military and civilians, including children, fled from Poland to Hungary. The Hungarian authorities resisted German pressure to close the Polish Institute in Budapest, a Polish cultural institution established before the war. In order to do so, the Hungarians referred to the autonomy of the Eötvös Loránd University, Royal Hungarian Pázmány Péter University, whose employee was the director of the Institute, Professor Zbigniew Załęski. The Institute was a place where Polish culture was freely and legally cultivated at a time when it was Polish culture during World War II, brutally suppressed in German- and Soviet-occupied Poland and Europe. The Institute also published Polish literature and press, and in addition to cultural activities, it helped Polish refugees and civilians in Hungary, and gave Hungarian language lessons to Poles so that they could study at Hungarian universities. It was closed only in 1944 due to the German occupation of Hungary, to be reopened after the war in 1951. Dozens of Polish elementary schools were established in Hungary, 27 of which existed throughout the entire stay of Poles in Hungary, as well as high schools, including the significant Gymnasium and Lyceum in Balatonboglár, which functioned until the German invasion of Hungary in 1944. In German-occupied southeastern Poland, Hungarian soldiers gave shelter to Poles fleeing Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, Ukrainian-perpetrated massacres, aided the Polish population with food, repelled attacks on Poles and Jews by Ukrainian nationalists, and hunted Ukrainian murderers of Poles. In 1941, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists called for the mass murder of Poles, Hungarians, Jews and Russians. In 1944, Hungarians gave shelter to Poles who escaped the Ukrainian murderers to Hungary, and also facilitated further escapes. In 1944, Hungarian soldiers refused to help Germans suppress the Warsaw Uprising in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland. Instead, Hungarians gave weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to the Polish insurgents. Some Hungarians who were caught doing so were executed by the Germans. Captured Polish insurgents were bandaged and fed by Hungarians, then released, given weapons and food, and shown the way out of German encirclement.''Polacy to nasi przyjaciele. Węgrzy i powstanie warszawskie 1944'', pp. 29, 36 Hungarians also rescued Polish insurgents by refusing to turn them over to the Germans, warned Poles of planned German pacifications, and took care of surviving Polish civilians. Some Hungarians even joined the fights on the side of the Polish insurgents. After the uprising, Hungarians shared food, medicines, and bandages with the Expulsion of Poles by Nazi Germany, expelled Polish population, whom they were supposed to convoy.''Polacy to nasi przyjaciele. Węgrzy i powstanie warszawskie 1944'', pp. 31, 38 The Hungarians also managed to save some Poles from deportation to German Forced labour under German rule during World War II, forced labour camps and Nazi concentration camps, concentration camps, for example by unhitching some of the wagons on the deportation trains.


Revolution of 1956

A student demonstration in Budapest in support of the Polish October and asking for similar reforms in Hungary was one of the events that sparked the Hungarian Revolution of 1956."United Nations report of the Special Committee on the problem of Hungary"
Page 145, para 441. Last accessed on 5 August 2012.
During the revolution, Poles demonstrated their support for the Hungarians by blood donation, donating blood for them; by 12 November 1956, 11,196 Poles had donated. The Polish Red Cross sent 44 tons of medical supplies to Hungary by air; even larger amounts were sent by road and rail. Also, funds and food were sent to Hungary, and demonstrations of support for the Hungarians were organized in various cities. Polish aid to Hungary was the largest of all countries. One-third of all worldwide aid came from Poland. There are several memorials commemorating Polish aid to Hungarians, including a monument in Budapest, and monuments and plaques in Szczecin, Lublin,
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, Białystok, Olsztyn, Wrocław, Warsaw, Poznań and
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
(funded or co-funded by the Hungarians).


Modern relations

There is a Polish Institute in Budapest and a Balassi Institute, Hungarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw. Polish firefighters helped in flood recovery in Hungary in 2000. On March 12, 2007, Hungary's parliament declared March 23 the "Day of Hungarian-Polish Friendship", with 324 votes in favor, none opposed, and no abstentions. Four days later, the Polish parliament declared March 23 the "Day of Polish-Hungarian Friendship" by acclamation.


Closer relations in the 2010s

April 18, 2010, day of the Death and state funeral of Lech and Maria Kaczyński, state funeral of Lech and Maria Kaczyński, was declared a day of national mourning in Hungary to commemorate the 96 victims of the Smolensk air disaster, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria Kaczyńska. The President, Prime Minister and former Prime Minister of Hungary attended the funeral in Kraków. In 2015–2016, Polish Border Guard (Poland), Border Guard and police officers assisted their Hungarian counterparts in protecting Hungary's border during the European migrant crisis. The National Assembly (Hungary), Hungarian Parliament on 29 February 2016 adopted a decree in a unanimous vote that declared 2016 a year of Hungarian-Polish solidarity. Under the order, state celebrations were organized throughout the year to mark the 60th anniversary of the Poznań protests of 1956, anti-communist uprising in Poland's Poznań in June 1956. Hungary's anti-Soviet revolution was four months later. The decree was submitted by the House speaker, the Polish minority in Hungary, and the group leaders of the five parliamentary parties. An order with the same content was adopted by the Senate of Poland, Polish Senate and by the Sejm earlier that month. Poland is one of Hungary's main trading partners. In 2019, Poland was the fourth largest source of imports and the eighth largest export destination for Hungary. In February 2021, Hungary returned to Poland the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
armor of Polish King Sigismund II Augustus, which ended up in Hungary in the interbellum as a result of a misunderstanding, as it was believed to be the armor of King Louis II of Hungary. The gesture is perceived as another example of Polish-Hungarian friendship.


Russian invasion of Ukraine

However, from the beginning of 2022 relations have started to falter due to the Russo-Ukrainian War. This is because while the Polish government has been backing the Ukrainian side, the Hungarian government has taken a more hostile stance that has been more in line with Russia and its demands, for fear of being cut off from their main gas supply. Poland has repeatedly expressed support for Ukraine and has been steadfast in sending both humanitarian and military aid. Meanwhile Hungary has explicitly denied providing any foreign aid to Ukraine and even has gone so far as to block other countries' aid from transiting its borders. Many attribute these actions as Viktor Orbán attempting to appease the Kremlin, since it has been long seen that he is President Putin's frontman in Europe. Although Orban has continued to superficially follow the EU's stance on Ukraine out of fear of losing funds, his refusal to help and outright block Ukraine continued to anger the Polish government. Relations so far have come to an impasse, with the Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki stating "The paths of Poland and Hungary have diverged" in the summer of 2022. Polish society, too, has become increasingly disillusioned. In a recent poll by CBOS, the popularity of Hungarians among Poles has plummeted by 21 per cent and is at its lowest level for 30 years, just hovering above that for the Germans. As the war has progressed, relations have continued to deteriorate. During the summer of 2024, Viktor Orbán gave a speech in which he criticized the West, praised Russia, and accused Poland of “hypocrisy” for “morally lecturing” Hungary over relations with Moscow while continuing to buy Russian oil. This accusation further has driven the divide, with Polish Deputy Foreign Minister :pl:Władysław_Teofil_Bartoszewski, Wladyslaw Bartoszewski suggesting that Hungary could leave the EU and NATO and instead “create a union with Putin and authoritarian states” and further exclaiming, “If you don’t want to be a member of a club, you can always leave”. Escalating tensions further, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó shot back at Bartoszewski on Facebook by saying: “For a long time we tolerated the provocations and hypocrisy of the current Polish government with the intention of preserving the Polish-Hungarian brotherhood, but we have had enough”. Tensions since have run high, with both sides refusing to budge. On 12 December 2024, Poland announced it would block a reported takeover bid by a Hungarian company of Polish broadcaster TVN (Polish TV channel), TVN by adding it to a list of strategic companies. On 20 December 2024, Hungary granted asylum to former Polish Deputy Justice Minister Marcin Romanowski, who had been charged with corruption in Poland. This led to Poland's foreign ministry describing the decision as "offensive to Polish citizens and authorities" and indefinitely recalling its Ambassador to Hungary. In January 2025, Poland excluded Hungary’s ambassador from the event launching its EU presidency after Hungary granted asylum to Romanowski under investigation for misuse of public funds.


European Union

Both countries became members of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
in 2004.


NATO

Both countries became members of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
in 1999.


Resident diplomatic missions

* Hungary has an embassy in Warsaw, consulates-general in
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
and
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
and a vice-consulate in Wrocław, * Poland has an embassy in Budapest. File:Embassy of Hungary in Warsaw 2016.jpg, Embassy of Hungary in Warsaw File:Konsulat Generalny Węgier w Krakowie.jpg, Consulate-General of Hungary in Kraków File:Gdansk dyrekcja stoczni 2024.jpg, Consulate-General of Hungary in Gdańsk File:Save The World Business Centre.jpg, Vice-Consulate of Hungary in Wrocław File:PL embassy in Budapest 4.jpg, Embassy of Poland in Budapest


Honorary consulates

There are honorary consulates of Hungary in Łódź, Poznań, Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Rzeszów and Kielce, and honorary consulates of Poland in Keszthely, Szeged, Szolnok and Szentendre.


See also

*Foreign relations of Hungary *Foreign relations of Poland *Pole and Hungarian brothers be *List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland *List of twin towns and sister cities in Hungary *Hungarians in Poland *Poles in Hungary *Poland in the European Union


References


Further reading

*Józef Kasparek, "Poland's 1938 Covert Operations in Ruthenia", ''East European Quarterly''", vol. XXIII, no. 3 (September 1989), pp. 365–73.1 * Kovács, E. "Hungarian—Polish Relations between the Two World Wars." ''Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'' 18.1/2 (1972): 161-16
online


Other languages

* *Józef Kasparek, ''Przepust karpacki: tajna akcja polskiego wywiadu'' (The Carpathian Bridge: a Covert Polish Intelligence Operation), Warszawa, Wydawnictwo Czasopism i Książek Technicznych SIGMA NOT, 1992, . *Edmund Charaszkiewicz, ''"Referat o działaniach dywersyjnych na Rusi Karpackiej"'' ("Report on Covert Operations in Carpathian Rus"), in ''Zbiór dokumentów ppłk. Edmunda Charaszkiewicza'' (Collection of Documents by Lt. Col. Edmund Charaszkiewicz), ''opracowanie, wstęp i przypisy'' (edited, with introduction and notes by) Andrzej Grzywacz, Marcin Kwiecień, Grzegorz Mazur,
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, Księgarnia Akademicka, 2000, , pp. 106–30. *


External links


Hungarian embassy in Warsaw (in Hungarian and Polish only)

Polish embassy in Budapest (in Hungarian and Polish only)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hungary-Poland relations Hungary–Poland relations, Bilateral relations of Hungary, Poland Bilateral relations of Poland