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Hungarians in Austria
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] HistoryHungarians 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 HungariansHungarians 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 HungariansThe Hungarians of Burgenland were split into four groups prior to the 1921[4] annexation of Burgenland:[6]
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] ReligionTwo-thirds of Hungarians in Burgenland were Roman Catholic in 2004;[2] Lutheran and Calvinist communities are also notable.[2] Notable peopleSee alsoCitations and references
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