HuGo app launched gathering Hungary-related sites in the US

The app, nicknamed the "Yankee Hussar", is already downloadable from the App Store and will soon be available on the Google Play Store as well.

“Though it may only be known to few, but a Hungarian Hussar named Kováts Mihály played a significant role in establishing the American cavalry during the War of Independence, also giving his life in a battle. He symbolizes the role played by Hungarians both in creating the independent United States and in U.S. history, this is why we chose the hussar character for the application," said the masterminds behind the app.

According to the press release, HuGo was created by actively involving the American Hungarian organizations and was developed by the Washington-based Hungary Foundation.

“We Hungarians have been contributing to the development of America for centuries, there is almost no place within the U.S.A. without Hungarian footprint,” said Anna Smith Lacey, head of the foundation.

The app already spotted and marked hundreds of sites with Hungarian references, ranging from a chimney cake maker in California to the window of the Washington National Cathedral made by Ervin Bossányi, the Hungarian painter and master of applied art, as well as the iconic New York skyscraper (St. Moritz Hotel) designed by Emery Roth (Imre Róth).

HuGo is not only an online map marking American locations with Hungarian references but also a social application enabling users to continuously upload relevant sites and locations they discovered. The application also offers a means to Hungarians living in America to foster their community, assisting the users. Users may include those spending their vacation in the United States, as well as those living in American-Hungarian families and their American-born children in organizing social events and cultural exchange. HuGo may also come handy for Hungarian “globetrotters”, Americans who fell in love with Hungary or any organizations interested in Hungary and wishing to actively keep in touch.

"The reason for launching app 'Yankee Hussar' is the anniversary of the 1848 revolution and freedom fight, and it is also very much topical at the time of global pandemic, as individuals, families and groups are forced to isolate and are very much in need of experiencing that they belong to each other. Even if travel is limited for the time being, HuGo still helps in finding each other, at least virtually," added Anna Smith Lacey.

The social site of HuGo features a game with the main prize – beside other minor prizes – of a return flight between the United States and Hungary.