In an eastern Hungarian region urban and rural aerosol samples have been collected regularly over several years. Concentrations have been determined for 19 elements by the proton-induced X-ray emission method. The examined concentrations have been compared with other data representative for source areas influencing Hungarian atmosphere as well as for typical conditions in Western Europe. Seasonal variations, correlations with the amount of precipitation and wind sector distributions were observed for separate elements. Absolute principal component analysis revealed four typical factors contributing to the aerosol burden. Trajectory sector analysis has been used for studying the influence of long-range transport from the heavily industrialized "Black triangle" area in Central/Eastern Europe on the one hand and Saharan area on the other. Our data offer further basis to investigate the existence and nature of differences between air qualities in Western and Eastern Europe caused by structural and technological differences in the energy sector and industry of the regions mentioned.