Serbs of Hungary


Serbs are a recognized ethnic minority in Hungary. Throughout the history of Hungary, Serbs were present in various regions of the former Kingdom of Hungary, and also in modern Hungary, since 1918. According to data from the 2022 census, the population of ethnic Serbs in Hungary is 11,622, constituting 0.1% of the total population.

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 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 Hungarians under Árpád arrived to the Pannonian Basin in 896, they encountered there Slavic, Avar, and other populations. These populations however were quickly assimilated. 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. 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 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.
After territory of present-day Hungary came under Habsburg administration, a new wave of Serb refugees from the Balnas migrated to the area in 1690, as a consequence of the Habsburg-Ottoman war. This migration, called the Great Migrations of the Serbs, was not a single organized campaign but a series of waves of migration. In 1698, more than a half of population of Pécs were South Slavic. In 1715, the population of Buda numbered 1,539 houses, of which 769 were South Slavic. In 1715, the population of Baja numbered 237 houses, of which 216 were South Slavic. In 1720, 88% of population of Szentendre were South Slavic. In 1720, the population of Szeged numbered 193 houses, of which 99 were Serb. During the 18th and 19th century, however, the Hungarian-Serb ethnic border moved southward and fixed in the territory of present-day Serbian province of Vojvodina.
Following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary 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. The Treaty of Trianon from 1920 defined the border between Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and assigned most of Baranya and the northernmost part of Bačka to Hungary. As a response to this, a short-lived Serb-Hungarian Baranya-Baja Republic was formed in this area in 1921. The president of the republic was Serb, Petar Dobrović. After the Serb-Croat-Slovene army evacuated the territory of the Baranya-Baja Republic the two countries signed the Citizenship Treaty according to which Serbs in Hungary gained right to opt for citizenship of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. About two-thirds of the Serbs left Hungary in the following decade. Almost the whole Serb population of Sárok, Deszk, Újszentiván, Szőreg, Majs, and Dunaszekcső became optants and left Hungary.

Demographics

In the 17th and 18th centuries large Serb communities existed throughout Hungary, notably in Buda, Baja, Szentendre, and Szeged. After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918 and after new borders were defined by the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, the population of Serbs in Hungary has drastically diminished with only a fraction remaining within the borders of post-Trianon Hungary.
According to data from the 2022 census, 11,622 people in Hungary identified as ethnic Serbs and 4,249 declared their mother tongue as Serbian.
Small Serb communities are scattered mostly in the southern part of the country, near the border with Serbia, where they usually make up from 2 to 5% of the population : Battonya, Deszk, Hercegszántó. There are couple of settlements with Serb communities in wider Budapest region, on the Csepel Island: Lórév - the only settlement with an ethnic Serb majority in Hungary, and Szigetcsép.
Most ethnic Serbs nowadays are to be found in cities and towns. In Budapest, ethnic Serbs form 7th largest ethnic group with 2,818 people or 0.1% of city's population. In Szeged, third-largest city in Hungary, Serbs form 4th largest ethnic group with 758 people or 0.4% of city's population. There are also small Serb communities in towns of Baja and Szentendre.
Serbs in Hungary predominantly belong to the Eastern Orthodoxy with the Serbian Orthodox Church as the traditional church.

Heritage

Serbs left a valuable architectural heritage in Hungary. The number of Serbian Orthodox churches is far higher than would be expected by the small size of contemporary Serb population in Hungary. These baroque churches were mostly built in the 18th and 19th centuries when Serb merchants formed rich and influential communities in Hungarian towns. Village churches show the historical presence of Serbs even in many places from where they absolutely disappeared by now.
The most complex example of Serb architectural heritage in Hungary is the old town of Szentendre, with seven Serbian Orthodox churches, brightly coloured merchant houses, the Museum of Serbian Orthodox Heritage, and the Archives of the Eparchy of Buda.
In Budapest, there is an old Serbian Orthodox church in Serb Street and the famous Serb college, Thökölyanum.
Serbian Orthodox churches are to be found in following cities and towns: Szeged, Győr, Eger, Székesfehérvár, Baja, Hódmezővásárhely, Vác, Esztergom, Pomáz, Mohács, Siklós. Serbian Orthodox village churches are in Csobánka, Lórév, Szigetcsép, Budakalász, Magyarcsanád, Battonya, Deszk, Dunaújváros, Százhalombatta, Dunaföldvár, Alsónána, Medina, Illocska, Magyarbóly, Dunaszekcső, Villány, Sárok, Majs, Lippó, Beremend, Erdősmecske, Somberek.
There are two Serbian Orthodox monasteries: Serbian Kovin Monastery in Ráckeve, rare example of Serb Gothic architecture from the 15th century, and Grábóc.

Notable people