Hungarian Cultural and Educational Center in Osijek | |
Total population | |
---|---|
10,315 [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Languages | |
Croatian, Hungarian | |
Religion | |
Catholicism and Calvinism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Hungarians, Hungarians in Vojvodina, Szekelys of Bukovina |
Hungarians are a recognized ethnic minority in Croatia. According to the 2011 census there are 14,048 people of Hungarian ethnicity living in Croatia (or 0.33% of total population). [2] Around two thirds of them (8,249) live in Osijek-Baranja County in eastern Croatia, especially in the Croatian part of the Baranya region which borders Hungary to the north. [3] There are also small Hungarian communities in other parts of the country, including areas in Bjelovar-Bilogora County in central Croatia where 881 people identify themselves as Hungarian. [3]
Hungary and Croatia have a long history dating back to the dynastic crises that followed the death of king Dmitar Zvonimir in 1089. His widow Helen II supported her brother Ladislaus I of Hungary in his claim for the kingdom of Croatia amidst the political turmoil. Two years later, Ladislaus managed to seize power and proclaim his sovereignty over the Croatian kingdom, [4] however, he and his armies were still unable to gain full control by the time of his death in 1095. It was his nephew Coloman I who finally defeated the last native Croatian king Peter II of Croatia at the Battle of Gvozd Mountain, and was then crowned as King of Croatia in capital city of Biograd on the Adriatic Sea in 1102. [5]
After the Hungarian victory, Croatia and Hungary entered into a personal union in which certain terms were agreed on. The most significant were that two would remain under Hungarian rule while some separate Croatian institutions were maintained such as the Sabor (Croatian parliament), the ban (viceroy), and retention of Croatian lands and titles. [6] The union lasted until 1918; in that time, many Hungarian military personnel settled in Croatia during the Ottoman invasion, and the borderlands of Hungary and Croatia proper blurred with the ethnic mix.
According to the 2022 Census, Municipalities with significant Hungarian minority (10 percent or more) include: [1]
The largest town with a significant Hungarian population is Beli Manastir, with 637 Hungarians (7.99%).
In addition, 10,231 people identified Hungarian language as their mother tongue. [7]
As of 2009 [update] , Hungarian is officially used in two municipalities and four other settlements in Croatia, according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. [8]
Municipality [9] | Name in minority language | Language | Affected settlements | Introduced based on | Population (2021) | Percentage of Hungarians (2021) | County |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kneževi Vinogradi | Hercegszöllős | Hungarian | Kneževi Vinogradi, Karanac, Zmajevac, Suza, Kamenac, Kotlina [10] | Constitutional Act | 3,357 | 38.70% | Osijek-Baranja |
Bilje | Bellye | Hungarian | All settlements | Municipality Statute | 4,772 | 25.94% | Osijek-Baranja |
Ernestinovo | Ernestinovo | Hungarian | Laslovo | Municipality Statute | 1,948 | 15.61% | Osijek-Baranja |
Petlovac | Baranyaszentistván | Hungarian | Novi Bezdan | Municipality Statute | 1,874 | 13.02% | Osijek-Baranja |
Tompojevci | Tompojevce | Hungarian | Čakovci | Municipality Statute | 1,116 | 9.0% | Vukovar-Syrmia |
Tordinci | Valkótard | Hungarian | Korođ | Municipality Statute | 1,657 | 18.65% | Vukovar-Syrmia |
The two main Hungarian associations in Croatia are the Democratic Union of Hungarians of Croatia (Hungarian : Horvátországi Magyarok Demokratikus Közössége or HMDK) and the Union of Hungarian Associations (Hungarian : Magyar Egyesületek Szövetsége or MESZ).
Hungarians are officially recognized as an autochthonous national minority, and as such, they elect a special representative to the Croatian Parliament. [11]
Every elected special representative since 1992 Parliamentary elections. [12]
No. | Representative | Party | Elections won | Term |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ferenc Farago | Ind. | 1992 | 1992 − 1995 |
2 | Sandor Jakab | Ind. | 1995 | 1995 − 2000 |
3 | Tibor Santo | DZMH | 2000 | 2000 − 2003 |
4 | Jene Adam | DZMH | 2003 | 2003 − 2007 |
5 | Deneš Šoja | SMU | 2007 2011 | 2007 − 2015 |
6 | Šandor Juhas | SMU | 2015 | 2015 − 2016 |
7 | Róbert Jankovics | DZMH | 2016 2020 | 2016 − |
Since 1999, the Hungarian Cultural Society Népkör have organized the "Hungarian Days" festival in Osijek. In 2000 various Hungarian cultural groups have organised Hungarian music and singing festivals.
The Educational and Cultural Center of Hungarians in Croatia is located in Osijek. In Beli Manastir, the town's public library hosts the Central Library of Hungarians in Croatia.
Bilje is a municipality in the Baranja region of Osijek-Baranja County, in north-eastern Croatia. It is 5 km northeast of Osijek, on the edge of the Kopački Rit nature park.
Erdut is a village and a municipality in eastern Croatia some 37 km east of the major city of Osijek. Lying on the border with neighbouring Serbia, it was the site of the signing of the 1995 Erdut Agreement, which initiated the UNTAES transitional administration over the Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia.
Kneževi Vinogradi is a village and municipality in Croatia. It is situated in the Osijek-Baranja County, on the southern slopes of Bansko Brdo, 11 km southeast of Beli Manastir. It lies at an altitude of 103 m. Chief occupations of villagers include farming, viticulture, livestock breeding and dairy industry. At the time of 2011 census, Kneževi Vinogradi was the only municipality in Croatia with a relative majority of Hungarians of Croatia.
Markušica is a village and a municipality in Vukovar-Syrmia County in eastern Croatia. Markušica is located south of the river Vuka and northwest of the town of Vinkovci. The landscape of the Markušica Municipality is marked by the Pannonian Basin plains and agricultural fields of corn, wheat, common sunflower and sugar beet.
Jagodnjak is a village and a municipality in the Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia. Landscape of the Jagodnjak Municipality is marked by the Drava river with surrounding wetland forest and by Pannonian Basin plains with agricultural fields of wheat, common sunflower, maize and sugar beet.
Šodolovci is a village and a municipality in Osijek-Baranja County in eastern Croatia. In the seven villages of the Šodolovci Municipality, there were 1,653 inhabitants at the time of the 2011 Census.
Vrhovine is a town and a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia. The municipality is part of Lika.
Končanica is a town and a municipality in Slavonia, in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County of Croatia.
Čeminac is a village and municipality in Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia. As of 2021, there were 2,856 inhabitants in the municipality. Čeminac is an underdeveloped municipality which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the Government of Croatia.
Popovac is a village and municipality in Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia. There are 2,084 inhabitants in the municipality. Popovac is an underdeveloped municipality, which is statistically classified as the First Category Area of Special State Concern by the Government of Croatia.
Punitovci is a municipality in Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia. There are a total of 1,803 inhabitants.
Lug is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 852 people.
Jasenovac is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Kneževi Vinogradi municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. In the 2011 Croatian census it had a population of 35.
Kamenac is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Kneževi Vinogradi municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 177 people.
Karanac is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Kneževi Vinogradi municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 1,065 people. Today, the village mainly lives on tourism. The place once belonged to the manor of Darda.
Kotlina is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Kneževi Vinogradi municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. The population is 334 people.
Sokolovac is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Kneževi Vinogradi municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 55 people.
Suza is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Kneževi Vinogradi municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 636 people.
Zmajevac is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Kneževi Vinogradi municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. The population is 974 people. Zmajevac was founded on the foundations of the Roman colony Ad Novas. In 1246, it is mentioned under the name Verusmorth.
The Serbian language is one of the officially recognized minority languages in Croatia. It is primarily used by the Serbs of Croatia. The Croatian Constitution, Croatian Constitutional law on national minorities rights, Law on Education in Language and Script of National Minorities and Law on Use of Languages and Scripts of National Minorities define the public co-official usage of Serbian in Croatia. Serbian and Croatian are two standardized varieties of the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language. The majority of Serbs of Croatia use Ijekavian pronunciation of Proto-Slavic vowel jat except in the Podunavlje region in Vukovar-Syrmia and Osijek-Baranja Counties where local Serb population use Ekavian pronunciation. Post-World War II and Croatian War of Independence settlers in Podunavlje which have come from Bosnia, Dalmatia or Western Slavonia either use their original Ijekavian pronunciation, adopted Ekavian pronunciation or both of them depending on context. In 2011 Census majority of Serbs of Croatia declared Croatian standardized variety as their first language with Ijekavian pronunciation always being required standard form in Croatian. While Serbian variety recognizes both pronunciations as standard, Ekavian is the more common one as it is the dominant one in Serbia, with Ijekavian being dominant in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia.