The Romanians in Hungary (Romanian: Românii din Ungaria, Hungarian: Magyarországi románok) constituted 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. As of 2011, Romanians constitute one of the largest foreign communities in the country.

Romanians in Hungary
Romanian: Românii din Ungaria
Hungarian: Magyarországi románok
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, Lutheranism
Related ethnic groups
Romanians

History

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Romanians in Hungary according to 1890 Census

Historically, a significant part of modern day Romania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary. 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.

In 1881, Romanian-majority settlements projected to the present-day territory of Hungary were: Bedő, Csengerújfalu, Kétegyháza, Körösszakál, Magyarcsanád, Méhkerék, Mezőpeterd, Pusztaottlaka and Vekerd.[8] Important communities lived in Battonya, Elek, Körösszegapáti, Létavértes, Nyíradony, Pocsaj, Sarkadkeresztúr, and Zsáka.[8] After the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, Hungary came close to ethnic homogeneity, with only 10.4% minorities, of which 6.9% were Germans, and Romanians constituted about 0.3%.[citation needed]

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.[9] According to Romanian estimates of the region before the arbitration in 1940, there were 1,304,903 Romanians (50.2%) and 978,074 (37.1%) Hungarians.[10]

In 1950, Foaia Românească ("The Romanian Sheet"; then known by another name) was founded in Gyula. It was the first newspaper of the Romanian minority in modern Hungary and currently is the one with longest and widest level of circulation within the country.[11][12]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ 2011. ÉVI NÉPSZÁMLÁLÁS
  2. ^ "Population by nationalities, 2001 census (English)". Archived from the original on 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
  3. ^ György Fejér, Codex diplomaticus Hungariae ecclesiasticus ac civilis, Volume 7, typis typogr. Regiae Vniversitatis Vngaricae, 1831 [1]
  4. ^ a b c d Tamás Kis, Magyar nyelvjárások, Volumes 18-21, Nyelvtudományi Intézet, Kossuth Lajos Tudományegyetem (University of Kossuth Lajos). Magyar Nyelvtudományi Tanszék, 1972, p. 83 [2]
  5. ^ Dennis P. Hupchick, Conflict and chaos in Eastern Europe, Palgrave Macmillan, 1995 p. 58 [3]
  6. ^ István Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars: Oriental military in the pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185-1365, Cambridge University Press, 2005, p. 28 [4][permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Heinz Stoob, Die Mittelalterliche Städtebildung im südöstlichen Europa, Böhlau, 1977, p. 204 [5]
  8. ^ a b "Hungarian 1881 census" (in Hungarian).
  9. ^ Károly Kocsis, Eszter Kocsisné Hodosi, Ethnic Geography of the Hungarian Minorities in the Carpathian Basin, Simon Publications LLC, 1998, p. 116-153 [6] Archived 2015-04-03 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Charles Upson Clark (1941). Racial Aspects of Romania's Case. Caxton Press.
  11. ^ Iova Șimon, Eva (2006). "Rolul presei în viața unei minorități. Perspectivă generală cu referire la evoluția în timp a săptămânalului "Foaia Românească"" (PDF). Studii de Știință și Cultură (in Romanian). 2 (5): 123–125.
  12. ^ Dogot, Cristina Maria (2008). "Românii din Ungaria și modul de raportare la problema identitate / alteritate reflectat în publicațiile de limbă română". In Sorin Radu, Vasile Ciobanu (ed.). Partide politice și minorități naționale din România în secolul XX (in Romanian). Vol. 3. Editura Universității "Lucian Blaga". pp. 332–362. ISBN 9789737865564.