Same in Poland. You have a legal obligation to honk a) to warn about imminent danger, b) when doing certain maneuvers (e.g. passing by, overtaking) in very low visibility conditions (e.g. dense fog). In built-up areas you'll get fined for honking for other reasons; on the countryside, you're only forbidden from "abusing" the horn.

Not sure how much culture plays into it - over here it's cars that own cities (not to the extent they do in the US, though).