The Serbs in Hungary (
Hungarian: Magyarországi szerbek,
Serbian: Срби у Мађарској / Srbi u Mađarskoj) are recognized as an
ethnic minority, numbering 7,210 people or 0.1% of the total population (2011 census).[1] The number of Serbs in Hungary has drastically diminished; in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries large Serb communities existed throughout Hungary, notably in
Buda (western
Budapest),
Baja,
Szentendre and
Szeged. The Serb community in the territory of present-day Hungary has its origin in migrations from the territory of medieval Serbian states during and after the Ottoman conquest of these states.
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 dissolution of Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918 and after new borders were defined by the
Treaty of Trianon in 1920, only a small fraction of ethnic Serbs remained within the borders of post-Trianon
Hungary.[6]
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 Serbia, a daughter of
Uroš I, ruler of the
Grand Principality of Serbia. During the rule of Géza II, her brother
Beloš Vukanović was a
palatine of the
Kingdom of Hungary. When the Magyars arrived to the Pannonian Basin under Arpad in 896, they met there with the already well established Slavic population. This Slavic population however was quickly assimilated or otherwise exterminated. The Serbs who later migrated into the Pannonian Basin from the Balkans, were the descendants of those Slavs who in the 7th century migrated from the Pannonian Basin southwards into the Balkan peninsula.
Since the 14th century, escaping from the
Ottoman threat, a large number of
Serbs migrated to the Kingdom of Hungary 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 administration. During Ottoman administration towns in the territory of present-day Hungary began decaying and the former Hungarian and German population left them. In that time, especially in the 17th century, many Serb, and other South Slavic migrants settled in the territory of present-day Hungary. It is interesting that most of the Ottoman soldiers in the territory of present-day Hungary were
South Slavs (mostly Serbs and Bosnian muslims).
Frontiersman from
Pomorišje, first half of the 18th century.
After territory of present-day Hungary came under
Habsburg administration, a new wave of Serb refugees migrated to the area in 1690, as a consequence of the Habsburg-Ottoman war.[7] 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 Serb), 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 Serb.
During the 18th and 19th century, the Hungarian-Serb ethnic border moved southward and fixed in the territory of present-day
Vojvodina. Following the dissolution of
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, the Serbian army and
South Slavic People's Administration from
Novi Sad controlled not only present-day Vojvodina, but also southern parts of present-day Hungary.
After the Serb-Croat-Slovene 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 in Hungary 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. 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, 2001 3,388 and in 2011 3,708(compared with 7,210 declared Serbs in the same year).[8][1]
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 (Serbian: Lovra / Ловра) on
Csepel Island. This small village of 307 people had 180 Serb inhabitants (and 202 people with a Serb "cultural heritage"). But there are other small Serb settlements in the town of
Ráckeve and the village of
Szigetcsép, also on Csepel Island. Not far to the north the
Bunjevci settlement of
Tököl is to be found. A tradition of mutual weddings between
Lórév and
Tököl existed as well as strong connections with Serbs from the villages of Medina in the south, three villages north of
Budapest --
Budakalasz,
Pomáz and
Csobánka. We also find Serbs and Bunjevci living together in other Hungarian towns,
Baja,
Gara and
Katymár, and in the following villages,
Csávoly,
Felsőszentiván,
Bácsalmás,
Csikéria,
Bácsbokod,
Mátételke and
Vaskút.[citation needed]
Serbs left a valuable architectural heritage in
Hungary. The number of
Serbian 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 Serbian Orthodox Heritage.
In
Budapest, the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in the
Tabán district was damaged in WWII and later demolished. There is an old Serbian Orthodox Church in Serb Street,
Pest and the famous Serb college,
Thökölyanum (Serbian: Tekelijanum).
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; i.e. "a venomous serpent, the traitor of the Serbs").
Radovan Jelašić (born in 1968 in Baja), a governor of the National Bank of Serbia.
Vikentije Jovanović (1698–1737), Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan of Karlovci from 1732 to 1737
Jovan Pačić (1771–1849), poet and officer. He was born in
Baja.
Sándor Petőfi (Aleksandar Petrović) (1823–1849), a Hungarian national poet of mixed Serb and Slovak descent.
Zorán Sztevanovity (Zoran Stevanović) (born in 1942), singer, guitar player.
Döme Sztójay (Dimitrije Stojaković) (1883–1946), a Hungarian soldier and diplomat of Serbian origin, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary during World War II.
Sava Tekelija (1761–1842), the first Serb doctor of law, president of the Matica srpska, philanthropist, noble, and merchant.
Mihály Vitkovics (Mihailo Vitković) (1778–1829), Hungarian and Serb poet.
Sebo Vukovics (Sava Vuković) (1811–1872), a Hungarian politician of Serb descent, who served as Minister of Justice in 1849 during the Hungarian Revolution.
^Veremēs, Thanos; Kōphos, Euangelos (1998). Kosovo: Avoiding Another Balkan War. Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy. p. 181.
ISBN9789607061409.
Gavrilović, Slavko (1993). "Serbs in Hungary, Slavonia and Croatia in struggles against the Turks (15th-18th centuries)".
Serbs in European Civilization. Belgrade: Nova, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Institute for Balkan Studies. pp. 41–54.
ISBN9788675830153.
Isailović, Neven G.; Krstić, Aleksandar R. (2015). "Serbian Language and Cyrillic Script as a Means of Diplomatic Literacy in South Eastern Europe in 15th and 16th Centuries".
Literacy Experiences concerning Medieval and Early Modern Transylvania. Cluj-Napoca: George Bariţiu Institute of History. pp. 185–195.