The Satu Mare Swabians or Sathmar Swabians (German: Sathmarer Schwaben) are a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

ethnic group in the

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; hu, Szatmárnémeti ; german: Sathmar; yi, סאטמאר or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the ...

(german: Sathmar) region of Romania.Monica Barcan, Adalbert Millitz, ''The German Nationality in Romania'' (1978), page 42: "The Satu Mare Swabians are true Swabians, meaning that their place of origin is solely Württemberg (today part of Baden-Württemberg, Germany). They were colonized between 1712 and 1815. Their most important settlements are Satu Mare (german: Sathmar) and Petrești (german: Petrifeld) in northwestern Romania." They are one of the few

Danube Swabian The Danube Swabians (german: Donauschwaben ) is a collective term for the ethnic German-speaking population who lived in various countries of central-eastern Europe, especially in the Danube River valley, first in the 12th century, and in grea ...

(german: Donau Schwaben) subgroups that are actually

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

n, and their dialect, Sathmar Swabian, is similar to the other varieties of the

Swabian German Swabian (german: Schwäbisch ) is one of the dialect groups of Alemannic German that belong to the High German dialect continuum. It is mainly spoken in Swabia, which is located in central and southeastern Baden-Württemberg (including its capita ...

dialect. Most were originally farmers in Upper Swabia who migrated to Partium (at the time Hungary, now Romania) in the 18th century, as part of a widespread eastward movement of German workers and settlers. Their principal settlements were

, Carei, Petrești, and

Foieni Foieni ( hu, Mezőfény, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Fienen) is a commune of 1,836 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Foieni. The commune is located in the western part of the county, at ...

(german: Fienen) and they also settled in Urziceni (german: Schinal),

Căpleni Căpleni ( hu, Kaplony, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Kaplau) is a commune of 4,349 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania along the border with Hungary. It is composed of a single village, Căpleni, and also included Cămin vill ...

(german: Kaplau),

Tiream Tiream ( hu, Mezőterem, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Terem) is a commune of 2,375 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Portița (''Portelek''), Tiream and Vezendiu (''Vezend''). Demographics E ...

(german: Terem),

Beltiug Beltiug (german: Bildegg; hu, Krasznabéltek or ''Béltek'') is a commune of 3,228 inhabitants situated in Satu Mare County, Transylvania, Romania. It lies on the banks of the Crasna River south of Ardud, 35 km south of the county seat, ...

(german: Bildegg), Ciumești (german: Schamagosch), and

Ardud Ardud ( hu, Erdőd, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Erdeed) is a town situated in Satu Mare County, Transylvania, Romania. It administers five villages: Ardud-Vii (), Baba Novac (), Gerăușa (), Mădăras () and Sărătura (). History It has ...

(german: Erdeed). After World War II, many evacuated, migrated, or were expelled to what became West Germany.Jacob Steigerwald, ''Tracing Romania's heterogeneous German minority from its origins to the Diaspora'' (1985), page 14: "Since the final stages of WWII, Romania has not been the only country where substantial groups of Sathmar Swabians can be found. For over thirty-five years now, there has been a growing community of Sathmar Swabians in West Germany also." Those who remain in Romania, along with other German-speaking groups in this country, are politically represented by the FDGR/DFDR ( Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania); in Germany the Landsmannschaft der Sathmarer Schwaben in Deutschland (Territorial Association of Sathmar Swabians in Germany) represents and assists them. Many are more or less magyarized and have become Hungarians.

References

Hungarian-German people Danube-Swabian people History of Transylvania (1683–1848) Maramureș Ethnic groups in Transylvania Ethnic German groups in Romania {{Germany-hist-stub