Romanians in Hungary

Currently, Romanians in Hungary (Romanian: Românii din Ungaria, Hungarian: Magyarországi románok) constitute a small minority. According to the most recent Hungarian census of 2011 (based on self-determination),[2] the population of Romanians was 35,641 or 0.3%, a significant increase from 8,482 or 0.1% of 2001. The community is concentrated in towns and villages close to the Romanian border, such as Battonya, Elek, Kétegyháza, Pusztaottlaka and Méhkerék, and in the city of Gyula. Romanians also live in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

Romanians in Hungary
Românii din Ungaria
Total population
35,641[1]
Regions with significant populations
 Budapest6,189
 Békés County5,137
 Pest County4,000
 Hajdú-Bihar County2,000
 Csongrád County1,500
 Heves County500
 Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County500
Languages
Hungarian, Romanian
Religion
Romanian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholicism, Lutheran
Related ethnic groups
Romanians

History
Romanians in Hungary according to 1890 Census

Historically, a significant part of the modern Romanian lands belonged to Hungarian states. The oldest extant documents from Transylvania make reference to Vlachs too. Regardless of the subject of Romanian presence/non-presence in Transylvania prior to the Hungarian conquest (See Origin of the Romanians), the first written sources about Romanian settlements derive from the 13th century, record was written about Olahteluk village in Bihar county from 1283.[3][4] The 'land of Romanians', Terram Blacorum (1222,1280)[4][5][6][7] showed up in Fogaras and this area was mentioned under different name (Olachi) in 1285.[4] The first appearance of a supposed Romanian name 'Ola' in Hungary derives from a charter (1258).[4] They were significant population in Transylvania, Banat, Máramaros (Maramureș) and Partium. There is a strip in modern Hungary, near Romanian border with villages and towns dwelled by Romanians. A lot of Romanians fled from Serbia and Croatia to Hungary in medieval times. Tököl town near Budapest is known for Romanian/Vlach population known as "Bunjevici" from Croatia.[8]

In 1881, Romanian-majority settlements projected to the present-day territory of Hungary were: Bedő, Csengerújfalu, Kétegyháza, Körösszakál, Magyarcsanád, Méhkerék, Mezőpeterd, Pusztaottlaka and Vekerd.[9] Important communities lived in Battonya, Elek, Körösszegapáti, Létavértes, Nyíradony, Pocsaj, Sarkadkeresztúr, and Zsáka.[9] After the Treaty of Trianon, Hungary has become close to homogeneous ethnically, with only 10.4% minorities, of which 6.9% were Germans, and Romanians constituted about 0.3%.

The numbers of Romanians in Hungary increased briefly with the onset of World War II when Hungary annexed parts of Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia. These annexations were affirmed under the Munich Agreement (1938), two Vienna Awards (1938 and 1940). In particular, the population of Northern Transylvania, according to the Hungarian census from 1941 counted 53.5% Hungarians and 39.1% Romanians.[10]

After World War II the ethnic homogeneity of Hungary became even higher than during the interbellum, reaching over 99% by 1980 (see Demographics of Hungary for ethnic composition tables over time).

See also

References
  1. http://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xftp/idoszaki/nepsz2011/nepsz_09_2011.pdf
  2. Population by nationalities, 2001 census (English)
  3. György Fejér, Codex diplomaticus Hungariae ecclesiasticus ac civilis, Volume 7, typis typogr. Regiae Vniversitatis Vngaricae, 1831
  4. Tamás Kis, Magyar nyelvjárások, Volumes 18-21, Nyelvtudományi Intézet, Kossuth Lajos Tudományegyetem (University of Kossuth Lajos). Magyar Nyelvtudományi Tanszék, 1972, p. 83
  5. Dennis P. Hupchick, Conflict and chaos in Eastern Europe, Palgrave Macmillan, 1995 p. 58
  6. István Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars: Oriental military in the pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185-1365, Cambridge University Press, 2005, p. 28
  7. Heinz Stoob, Die Mittelalterliche Städtebildung im südöstlichen Europa, Böhlau, 1977, p. 204
  8. Karl Kaser, Household and Family in the Balkans: Two Decades of Historical Family. LIT Verlag Münster, 2012, p.112
  9. "Hungarian 1881 census" (in Hungarian).
  10. Károly Kocsis, Eszter Kocsisné Hodosi, Ethnic Geography of the Hungarian Minorities in the Carpathian Basin, Simon Publications LLC, 1998, p. 116-153 Archived 2015-04-03 at the Wayback Machine
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