Hungarian forint exchange rate – HUF/PLN

The Hungarian forint appeared in Hungary in the 13th century. Its name originated in Florence, where the coins were referred to as fiorino d'oro. During the Austro-Hungarian era between 1867 and 1918, the country had two currencies in parallel – the forint and the Austrian guilders. However, the official currency of the country changed several times. In 1892, the Hungarian korona came into circulation, while from 1926, the pengő was the functioning currency in Hungary. The forint returned to favour in 1947, replacing this currency, which was plunged into hyperinflation after the World War II. After World War II, Hungary became part of the Eastern Bloc and was under the influence of communist rule. The Hungarian economy was therefore state-controlled, and the forint itself compared poorly to Western currencies. After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, Hungary moved to a market economy model, which affected the forint exchange rate. This allowed the HUF to be more flexible.

The forint is divided into 100 fillérs, although we will not find them in circulation in any form, due to the scale adopted within the HUF. Instead, we can find coins with denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 HUF, as well as banknotes with values of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000 and 20 000 HUF. On the obverse of the coins we can find their denominations and the inscription „Magyarorszag”, meaning Hungary in Hungarian translation, written in capital letters. The reverse features the country's coat of arms, rich in symbolism. On the front of the banknotes we can see, among others, Matthias Corvinus – King of Hungary from 1458 to 1490 (1000 HUF), Istvan Szechenyi – Hungarian poet who fought against Napoleon Bonaparte (5000 HUF) or Stephen I the Saint –the first ever King of Hungary, who received the title in 1001 (10 000 HUF). The back of the banknotes depicts, for example, the Hercules Fountain, designed by Giovanni Dalmata (1000 HUF), or a view of Ostrzyhom Castle (10 000 HUF). The HUF is currently one of the weakest currencies in Europe. The forint exchange rate depends primarily on the situation in the euro area and the state of the domestic economy. Although Hungary is a member of the European Union, it has not yet decided to adopt the euro as its currency, leaving the forint as the country's primary means of payment.