Serbs in Hungary

Serbs of Hungary
Срби у Мађарској  • Magyarországi szerbek

M. Vitkovics A. Čarnojević A. Jovanović Sebő Vukovics Crnjanski Peter Tekeli Sava Tekelija J. Damjanich Radovan Jelašić
Total population
7,350 Hungarian Serbs (2001) 2,154 Serbia-Montenegro citizens (2001)
Regions with significant populations
Budapest Szentendre Lovra
Religion
Serbian Orthodox Christian
Related ethnic groups
South Slavs

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). 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.

Geography

Main Square in Szentendre

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").

History

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).

Frontiersman from Pomorišje, first half of the 18th century.

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]

Heritage

A sunlit icon of Jesus above the gate to a Serbian Orthodox church in Szentendre.

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:

• The most complex example of Serb architectural heritage in Hungary is the old town of Szentendre (Serbian: Sentandreja), next to the Danube, with 7 Orthodox Churches (two of which have been sold), brightly coloured merchant houses and the Museum of Serb Orthodox Heritage.
• In Budapest, the Serb Orthodox Cathedral in the Tabán district was damaged in WWII and later demolished. There is an old Serb Orthodox Church in Serb Street, Pest and the famous Serb college, Thökölyanum (Serbian: Tekelijanum).
• Churches in Vác (Vac), Székesfehérvár (Stoni Beograd) with a Serbian open-air village museum, Szeged (Segedin), Baja (Baja) with two churches, Mohács (Mohač), Siklós (Šikloš), Eger (Jegra), Győr (Đur), Esztergom (Ostrogon), Hódmezővásárhely (Vašarhelj).
• Village churches in Pomáz (Pomaz) , Csobánka (Čobanac), Izbég, Ráckeve (Srpski Kovin, rare example of Serb Gothic architecture from the 15th century), Lórév/Lovra, Budakalász (Kalaz), Magyarcsanád (Čanad), Battonya (Batanja), Deszk (Deska), Szőreg (Sirig), Dunapentele (Pantelija, now Dunaújváros), Százhalombatta (Bata), Dunaföldvár (Feldvar), Alsónána (Donja Nana), Bátaszék (Batsek, demolished in the 1960s), Medina (Medina), Illocska (Iločac), Magyarbóly (Madžarboja), Dunaszekcső (Sečuj), Villány (Viljan), Sárok (Šarok), Majs (Majš), Lippó (Lipova), Beremend (Breme), Erdősmecske (Racmečka), Somberek (Šumberak), Nagybudmér (Veliki Budmir, demolished in 2001), Hercegszántó (Santovo), Újszentiván (Novi Sentivan).
• The Serb Orthodox Monastery of Grábóc (Grabovac).

Notable Serbs

Mihály Vitkovics

Notable Serbs and notable persons of Serb descent from the territory of present-day Hungary include:

• Döme Sztójay
• Sebo Vukovics
• Ignac Martinovics
• Jovan Pačić (1771-1849), poet and officer. He was born in Baja.
• Mihály Vitkovics (1778-1829), Hungarian and Serb poet.
• Sándor Petőfi (1823-1849), a Hungarian national poet of mixed Serb and Slovak descent.
• Miloš Crnjanski (1893-1977), Serbian poet, author, and a diplomat
• Petar Dobrović (1890-1942), a painter, politician, and president of the short lived Baranya-Baja Republic.
• Peter Tekeli
• Sava Tekelija
• Stojan Vujičić (1933-2002), Serb-Hungarian novelist, literature historian.
• Zorán Sztevanovity (born in 1942), singer, guitar player.
• Dusán Sztevanovity (born in 1945), lyricist.
• Radovan Jelašić (born in 1968 in Baja), a governor of the National Bank of Serbia.
• Jakov Ignjatović (1822-1899), Serbian novelist and prose writer
• János Damjanich (born Jovan Damjanić) (1804-1849), a general of the Hungarian army in 1848/1849 revolution. Damjanić is a controversial historical figure; being an ethnic Serb, he led the army that fought against his own people during the revolution. After the collapse of the Hungarian revolution in 1849, he was sentenced to death and executed together with twelve other Hungarian generals. Therefore, the Hungarians consider Damjanić a national hero, while the Serbs gave him a nickname љута гуја, српска издајица (ljuta guja, srpskа izdajica; ie "a venomous serpent, the traitor of the Serbs").
• Huba Savics
• Jovan Avakumović (poet)
• Patriarch Lukijan, of Serbs, 1908—1913.
• Teodor Nestorović
• Jakšić noble family
• Bakić noble family

See also

• Raci
• Serbian communities in Hungary
• Serbs
• Serbs of Croatia
• Serbs in Romania
• Serbs of Vojvodina

References

Sources

• Dr. Dušan J. Popović, Srbi u Vojvodini, knjige 1-3, Novi Sad, 1990.
• Dr. Aleksa Ivić, Istorija Srba u Vojvodini, Novi Sad, 1929.
• Milojko Brusin, Naša razgraničenja sa susedima 1919-1920, Novi Sad, 1998.
• Peter Rokai, Zoltan Đere, Tibor Pal, Aleksandar Kasaš, Istorija Mađara, Beograd, 2002.
• Drago Njegovan, Prisajedinjenje Vojvodine Srbiji, Novi Sad, 2004.
• Stojan Vujičić, Srbi u Budimu i Pešti, Budimpešta, 1997.
• Nada Miletić Stanić, Pravoslavne crkve u Baranji, Novi Sad, 1999.