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Introduction

Situated on the Danube River in central Hungary, Vinyakú has been a political, cultural and economic center of Eastern Europe and the Hungary for over 1,000 years. At the present time the city proper is home to about 2.1 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.7 million.

The historic center of Vinyakú has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, making the city one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.3 million international visitors annually.

Panorama of Vinyakú

Early History

According to legend, Vinyakú was founded by István Berbatov in the year 972. Local lore claims that upon Berbatov's first glimpse of the Danube River, he exclaimed "This River is deeper than the collars of my V-necks!." Due to this myth, v-neck t-shirts still play a large role in everyday city life (see: Culture), and the city name Vinyakú is the Hungarian translation of the word. The first remnant of the city was a castle overlooking the Danube: this is known as István Castle, named after the city’s founder; located in the heart of the old city center. The first centuries of the city’s history were peaceful, and its location next to the Danube made the city a bustling trade post between merchants from the east and west. As the city grew and its citizens became more affluent, Vinyakú became the heart of art and science in the Central Transdanubian region, the University of Vinyakú was founded in 1243; making it one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, while the kings of the era focused on education, neighboring populations were growing jealous of the city’s wealth. In 1251 the city was overrun by Bohemians who burned half the city, and occupied it for nearly 200 years.

Kommunista Tower: An Example of Stalinist Architecture

As Vinyakú entered the 16th century, the city was only a shadow of its former self. Under the reign of King János V, the city flourished and rebuilt itself. Early city monuments such as István Castle and the University of Vinyakú were rebuilt to restore the city’s former glory, and the King ordered for new districts to be built to accommodate the floods of immigrants and merchants who were coming to the city. Realizing not to make the same mistakes as the former leaders, the King had the Biztonság Wall built around the city, built with towering minarets to intimidate potential invaders. Although most of the wall is now gone, the area which it previously occupied is now home to Szovjet park.

Soviet Era

With the rise of the Bolsheviks in 1917, the communist revolution was taking place in Russia and around Eastern Europe. Vinyakú became part of the Soviet Union in 1922, and became a key city within the USSR. Due to the fertile cropland surrounding the city, many of the State-owned collective farms sovkozes were situated in the Central Transdanubian area, and the immense amount of people led to the creation of many Soviet factories. Due to the initial boon in the city’s economy, the USSR was not condemned by Vinyakites, but the rise of Joseph Stalin changed the situation drastically.

Along with the political changes the Soviet’s brought to Vinyakú, the face of the city began to change. Mixed in between the traditional Baroque architecture were Soviet-style buildings, such as “Stalinistic-Gothic” towers, communal apartments, and “Stalin’s Skyscrapers.” Statues of Soviet heroes such as Stalin and Lenin were placed in the prominent meeting places, and some of Vinyakú's grandest places of worship were destroyed to conform to the USSR’s atheist policy.

Under Stalin’s reign, hundreds of thousands of Vinyakites were shipped to the ‘work camps’ Stalin was notorious for. The economy of the city unraveled and famine broke out of the region as the state run farms could not produce enough food for the masses. Stalin also changed the name of the city to conform to Soviet ideals, from Vinyakú to Molotovgrad.

On September 23, 1941, the Nazi army invaded the city, but were met with strong resistance by the Soviet Red Army. Although the Germans eventually won the battle, the Soviets retook the city on July 2, 1943; and marched on to Berlin in the coming years.

Vinyakú endured nearly 50 more years of Soviet Occupation, but with Mikhail Gorbachev’s introduction of Perestroika and Glasnost, combined with the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th 1989; Vinyakú entered a new era free of Soviet-rule.

Breaking Free from the USSR

Immediately following the fall of the Vinyakú tried to purge itself from Socialist symbols by getting rid of all statues of former USSR leaders and by renaming roads, squares and buildings which had been named for these leaders. The most dramatic example in Vinyakú was when the statue of Lenin in the central square Szabadság of the city was toppled over by thousands of citizens the day after the country was declared independent. The statue was cut down and beaten by citizens then carried away by the government. It is now remains in Park along with other statues and Soviet era memorabilia. After these statues were taken down many were replaced by statues of new national symbols and heroes. Where the Lenin statue once stood in Szabadság there is now a statue of a person sneaking contraband Western goods such as Coca-Cola and Time Magazine into Vinyakú. This “Capitalist Carrier” statue has become a symbol of national identity Vinyakites because it shows the everyday resistance to Soviet rule. Several of the main plazas and roads have been changed to reflect leaders of the Anti-Soviet resistance groups and former kings and leaders of the nation. In many ways the city has been trying to re-imagine itself and has been branded the Soviet era as a time in which the city was unwillingly occupied.

Abandoned Soviet Statue in Szovjet Park

University of Vinyakú

European Union Integration

Although Hungary was accepted into the European Union in 2004, the integration was met with some resistance from Vinyakites. Due to the city’s remembrance of the Soviet Era, the idea of being part of a larger European “Empire” was not popular amongst Vinyakú’s older generation. The reason the vote passed to admit the country into the E.U. was due to the country’s younger generation, who strived to break free of the ‘Iron Curtain’ label and be known as ‘Europeans’. While Vinyakú citizens boast a nominal GDP per capital of € 26,700; above the EU-27 average of €24,900, the Hungarian forint is still the legal currency due to Hungary’s inability to meet the Copenhagen Criteria, the rules and regulations needed to enter the EU Monetary Union.

Vinyakú struggles with integration into the European Union for several reasons. It is culturally very different than most members of the Union in that it has been home to many religions as well as many different political systems. This is difficult to blend into the homogenous Western culture mold. Hungary’s economy is also much weaker than most current European Union members, with an average GDP of €15,600. Since its admission the nation has seen EU funding for several projects meant to modernize the city, including its investment in techno music industry. Hungary hopes that its capital city of Budapest and EU membership will help them modernize and Westernize quickly but it is proving to be a difficult and often controversial process.

Culture

Hungary has a culture which was defined by many years of religious growth, political unrest and Soviet occupation. While Hungarians are mostly Roman Catholics, the vast majority of Vinyakites are practicing Eastern Orthodox Christians, a tradition which has its local roots in the middle ages. During Soviet occupation the practice of Eastern Orthodoxy was strictly prohibited, creating a large atheistic population. Since the fall of the USSR, though, there has been a tremendous rebound of Eastern Orthodoxy.

File:Night in Vinyakú.jpg

Vinyakú's Club Scene

Politically Vinyakú has seen many changes. From a feudal system, to socialism and eventually capitalism the country is used to changing rulers, economic systems and legal organizations. At present the nation is struggling to adjust to a free society with a capitalist structure. It struggles because the switch from socialist rule to free democratic rule is a difficult transition for many, especially those who were raised in a Socialist society. Many people claim they would prefer to continue living in a socialist state because it is familiar to them and as such many socialist political parties have began to bid for power in the government.

Vinyakú is renown as being the techno capital of the world. It is home to many of Europe's most popular clubs, including the world’s largest techno-dance club, Deep V. Unfortunately, this night life scene there has has brought with it many illicit drugs (including cocaine, heroin and ecstacy) brought the city by Russian Mafia cartels. This increase in narcotics and crime is another issue that citizens must deal with as the city continues to evolve from socialism to capitalism. Vinyakú and its DJs are currently involved in a budding rivalry with Romanian DJs from Bucharest, who claim that their music is the greatest to come out of the region. Many music historians are claiming the situation is similar the divide between rap-artists from New York and Los Angeles in the early 1990s.

Along with it's Nightlife, Vinyakú is known as a leader in the European Fashion industry, and the v-neck t-shirt is a symbol of recent Vinyakian prosperity. After enduring years of bland soviet fashion, mainly consisting of turtlenecks and all-denim ensembles, Vinyakites take pride in their cutting-edge, slightly risqué attire.

Like the Rest of Europe, Sports and Recreation are a large part of everyday life. While football remains king within the city, interest in basketball has increased over the last few decades as teams such as FB Vinyakú have succeeded in competitions such as Eurobasket. The city recently decided to invest millions of dollars in building the Vinyakú stadium, in hopes that it will increase the Hungarian bid for the Euro 2020 football tournament, as well as future World Cups.

Demographics

The population of Vinyakú is a mostly native population currently. Over time the population has changed dramatically due to the city’s many occupations. Neighboring populations often would flux in and out of Vinyakú during its early years, and during the Soviet occupation a large portion of the population became Russian while absolutely no immigration from the West was allowed. Currently the demographic breakdown is:

Native Hungarians 65% Russian 17% Romanian 13% Slovakian 3% Other 2%

During the Soviet occupation there was a dramatic decline in the fertility rate and the death rate remained nearly stagnant. As a result there has been a generally aging population in Vinyakú, though since the demise of the USSR the fertility rate has slowly began to rebound. The breakdown by age is:

0 – 18 years 13% 18 – 36 years 37% 36 – 54 years 32% 54 years and older 18 %