Hungarian People’s Republic (Roads and Rail)
The Hungarian People’s Republic was a Communist, one-party state which existed from 1949 until 1989. This map attempts to faithfully recreate Hungary sometime around 1960 in roughly 1:30 scale using height map data.
This version of the map contains 18 named major cities.
For more maps, see my collection: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2972427447
This map includes the Hungarian highway and road system as it existed during the communist period. The rail network is quite extensive and includes single and double track mainlines as well as a representation of the extensive branch line system. The road network is also well developed and connects the major urban centers.
There are 26 border crossings on the map, 7 large, 17 medium, and 2 small. 1 large and 3 medium border crossings are western, the rest are eastern. The border crossings represent nearly all of Hungary’s major international checkpoints and include its current international rail links as well as a few significant road crossings. There are both eastern and western power connections.
Hungary is rich in iron and coal deposits and is one of the few European countries to have a significant onshore oil industry. Coal and iron are found in the Northern Hungarian and Transdanubian Mountains while oil is found predominately on the Great Hungarian Plain. Significant aluminum deposits exists in the Transdanubian Mountains. There is a limited uranium resource in the far southern edge of the Mecsek Mountains. The Great and Little Hungarian Plains offer vast potential for agriculture.
Historically Hungary was pushed by the USSR into a Stalinist style economy with a focus on collectivization and the rapid growth of state-owned industry. In the late 1960’s this heavy state-led model was pivoted to include some market mechanisms and a relatively high amount of foreign trade. This model led to a somewhat successful economy with higher amounts of consumer goods than much of the Eastern Bloc. However, the decentralization efforts proved insufficient to overcome significant industrial inefficiency and expensive public subsidies and by the 1980’s, the system was struggling.
No matter which path of economic development you choose, agriculture and light industry, or metallurgy and heavy industry, trade or autarky, Hungary’s favorable geography and vast resources will help guide the path to communism. At least for a while.
