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| Total population | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 7,350 Hungarian Serbs (2001)[1] 2,154 Serbia-Montenegro citizens (2001)[2] |
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| Regions with significant populations | ||||||||||||||||||
| Budapest Szentendre Lovra |
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The Serbs in Hungary (Hungarian: Magyarországi szerbek, Serbian: Срби у Мађарској) are recognized as an ethnic minority, numbering 7,350 people or 0.1% of the total population (2001 census).[3] The number of Serbs in Hungary has drastically diminished; in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries large Serbian communities existed throughout Hungary, notably in Buda (western Budapest), Baja, Szentendre and Szeged. The Serbian community of Hungary has its origin in migrations from the Serbian lands during the Ottoman occupation of Serbia. Matthias Corvinus and his successors are known to have welcomed Serbs from the other side of the Danube, giving the exiled military commanders fiefdoms to rule and defend from the Ottomans. After the Treaty of Trianon signed in 1920, most Serbs joined Kingdom of Yugoslavia. [4]
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Small Serb communities are scattered in the southern part of the country.There are also some Serbs who live in the central part of the country - in bigger towns like Budapest, Szentendre, etc. The only settlement with an ethnic Serb majority in Hungary is Lórév/Lovra on Csepel Island. This small village of 307 people had 180 Serb inhabitants in 2001 (and 202 people with a Serb "cultural heritage").
The presence of Serbs in the territory of present-day Hungary date from the Middle Ages. The mother of the Hungarian king Géza II (1141-1162) was Helena of Raška, a daughter of the great župan of Raška, Uroš I. During the rule of Géza II, her brother Beluš was a palatine of the Hungarian Kingdom.
Since the 14th century, escaping from the Ottoman threat, a large number of Serbs migrated to the Hungarian Kingdom where many of them served as soldiers. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, much of the territory of present-day Hungary came under Ottoman rule. During Ottoman rule Hungarian towns began decaying and the former Magyar and German population left them. In that time, especially in the 17th century, many Serb, and other Southern Slavic immigrants settled in Hungary. It is interesting that most of the Ottoman soldiers in the territory of present-day Hungary were South Slavs (mostly Serbs).
After territory of present-day Hungary came under Habsburg rule, a new wave of Serb refugees migrated to the area in 1690, as a consequence of the Habsburg-Ottoman war. In the first half of the 18th century, Serbs and South Slavs were ethnic majority in several cities in the territory of present-day Hungary, including Buda, Szentendre, Baja, Pécs, Szeged, etc. After the devastating Ottoman wars these cities had a very low population.
In 1698, more than a half of population of Pécs were South Slavs (including Serbs). In 1715, the population of Buda numbered 1,539 houses, of which 769 were South Slavic (mostly Serbian), 701 German, and 68 Hungarian. In 1715, the population of Baja numbered 237 houses, of which 216 were South Slavic (Serb and Bunjevac), 16 Hungarian, and 5 German. In 1720, 88% of population of Szentendre were South Slavs (mostly Serbs). In 1720, the population of Szeged numbered 193 houses, of which 99 were Serbian.
In 1921, a short-lived Serb-Hungarian Baranya-Baja Republic was formed. It included the region of Baranya and the northern part of Bácska around city of Baja. The president of the republic was Petar Dobrović.
The Treaty of Trianon meant a turning point in the history of the Hungarian Serbs. After the Serb army evacuated the territory of the Baranya-Baja Republic the two countries signed a citizenship treaty. According to that treaty, members of the Serb minority gained right to opt for citizenship of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. About two-thirds of the Serbs (called optants) left Hungary in the following decade. Almost the whole Serb population of Sárok, Deszk, Újszentiván, Szőreg, Majs and Dunaszekcső became optants.
In 1910, 26,248 people in the territory of present-day Hungary spoke Serbian language. In 1920, number of Serbian speakers was 17,132, in 1930 7,031, in 1941 5,442, in 1970 11,177, in 1980 3,426, in 1990 2,953, and in 2001 3,388 (compared with 3,816 declared Serbs in the same year). [3]
Serbs left a valuable architectural heritage in Hungary. The number of Serb Orthodox churches is higher than we should expect by the small number of present-day Serb population. These Baroque churches were mostly built in the 18-19th centuries when Serb merchants formed rich and influential communities in Hungarian towns. Village churches show the historical presence of Serbs in places from where they absolutely disappeared by now.
Towns, cultural institutions, churches and monasteries:
Notable Serbs and notable persons of Serb descent from the territory of present-day Hungary include:
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