Hungarians in Austria
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (July 2023) |
  | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 90,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Vienna, Burgenland, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol | |
| Languages | |
| German, Hungarian | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Hungarians |
The Hungarians in Austria (Austrian German: Österreichisch Ungarn; Hungarian: Magyarok Ausztriában) numbers 25,884 according to the 2001 Census. Of these, 10,686 were in Vienna and 4,704 in Burgenland.[2] The total number of Hungarian-speakers is estimated at around 40,000, with 6,600 in Burgenland.[2] Most of the Burgenland Hungarians live near the two district capitals of Oberwart/Felsőőr and Oberpullendorf/Felsőpulya.[2] The Hungarian Group Advisory Council is the oldest of the official minority advisory councils in Austria.[2]
History
[edit]Hungarians of Burgenland are the descendants of frontier guards sent during the eleventh century to protect the Kingdom of Hungary.[2] Burgenland place names contain the elements 'Schützen' or 'Wart' ( as in Obserschützen, Unterwart etc.) constituting the linguistic testimony of that historic period.[3] (In the following centuries many of these early inhabitants assimilated into the German-speaking population of Western Hungary.[4]) Hungarians had maintained their privileged status until 1848.[2] Burgenland was under Hungarian rule until the 1920 Treaty of Trianon.[2] Hungarian education continued in the interwar period in a number of municipalities.[2] Economic decline in Burgenland after World War II led to emigration.[2] The negative image (see Iron Curtain) of the Hungarian language by this time led to assimilation.[2]
As a result of the recognition of the Viennese Hungarians (1992[5]) as a part of the Hungarian minority, the Hungarian minority is composed of two parts, namely the Burgenland Hungarians and the Hungarians living in the Vienna region.[6]
Viennese Hungarians
[edit]Hungarians established a community in Vienna from 1541 following the 1526 battle of Mohács.[2] Towards the end of the 17th century the city became a key cultural center for Hungarians.[2] Hungarian students graduated from the Vienna University and from the 17th century onwards there was an increasing influx of Hungarian craftsmen into Vienna.[7] The first cultural associations were set up in Vienna in the 1860s.[2] 130,300 residents of Vienna in 1910 were citizens of the Hungarian part of the empire, while only 45,000 of them were also ethnically Hungarians. After World War I a re-emigration started. In censuses of the Interwar period Hungarians counted between 1,000-2,000 people.[8] Refugees from Hungary increased the numbers again in 1945, 1948 and 1956.[2] Today, some 27,000 Hungarians live in Vienna.[9]
Burgenland Hungarians
[edit]The Hungarians of Burgenland were split into four groups prior to the 1921[4] annexation of Burgenland:[6]
- Seewinkel region (Neusiedl District)
- District municipalities including the future capital Eisenstadt
- Oberpullendorf and Mitterpullendorf
- The (Obere) Wart with the settlements of Oberwart and Unterwart as well as Siget in der Wart.
The first two groups were largely absorbed after World War II, especially as a result of industrialisation after 1955.[6] When German was introduced as the official language, Hungarian was only used on a rather restricted level, mostly spoken within the family.[6] In the post-war school system Hungarian was taught as a foreign language for 2–3 hours per week even in communities with a Hungarian majority.[6]
Religion
[edit]Two-thirds of Hungarians in Burgenland were Roman Catholic in 2004;[2] Lutheran and Calvinist communities are also notable.[2]
Notable people
[edit]See also
[edit]
Citations and references
[edit]- ^ "A diaszpóra tudományos megközelítése". Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Program. 3 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Austria : Burgenland and Viennese Hungarians". Minority Rights Group International. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 2008. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
- ^ "Hungarian in Austria". Research Centre of Multilingualism. Open University of Catalonia. 1998-05-29. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ a b Paulston, Peckham, p. 20
- ^ "Jelentés az ausztriai magyarság helyzetéről (Report on the situation of Hungarians in Austria)". Foreign Ministry, Hungary. Retrieved 2009-05-25. [dead link]
- ^ a b c d e "Report by the Republic of Austria pursuant to Article 25 paragraph 1 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities - Comments by the Hungarian Minority Advisory Council". Council of Europe. 2000-11-15. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
- ^ Paulston, Peckham, p. 21
- ^ C. Paulston, D. Peckham. Linguistic Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe, p. 21
- ^ "Statistisches Jahrbuch Der Stadt Wien-2017" (PDF). City of Vienna. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
Cited sources and other sources
[edit]- "Report by the Republic of Austria pursuant to Article 25 paragraph 1 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities - Comments by the Hungarian Minority Advisory Council". Council of Europe. 2000-11-15. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24.
- "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Austria : Burgenland and Viennese Hungarians". Minority Rights Group International. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 2008.
- "Hungarian in Austria". Research Centre of Multilingualism. Open University of Catalonia. 1998-05-29.
- Paulston, Christina Bratt; Donald Peckham (1998). Linguistic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe. Multilingual Matters. ISBN 978-1-85359-416-8.
External links
[edit]- Hungarian Cultural Fellowship in Burgenland (in German)
- Bécsi Napló Magazine for Hungarians in Austria (in Hungarian)
