The Greeks in Hungary constitute one of the thirteen officially recognized
ethnic minorities
The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
since ''The Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities Act'' was enacted by the
Hungarian parliament
The National Assembly ( hu, Országgyűlés, lit=Country Assembly) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-propo ...
on July 7, 1993.
Hungarian law recognizes individuals' minority rights, establishes the concept of the collective rights of ethnic minorities, and states the inalienable collective right of minorities to preserve their ethnic identity. The law also permits associations, movements, and political parties of an ethnic or national character and mandates the unrestricted use of ethnic languages. To be recognized, an ethnic group must have at least 100 years' presence in the country, and its members must be
citizens
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
.
The earliest migrations of Greeks to the territory of present-day Hungary (as part of the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
) were noted in the 15th and 16th centuries and consisted primarily of isolated highly educated individuals.
Mass migrations did not occur until the 17th century,
the largest waves being in 1718 and 1760-1770;
they were primarily connected to the economic conditions of the period
It is estimated that 10,000 Greeks emigrated to Hungary in the second half of the 18th century.
Many Greeks that emigrated to modern Hungary came from the mostly ethnically
Aromanian settlement of
Moscopole
Moscopole or Voskopoja ( sq, Voskopojë; rup, Moscopole, with several other variants; el, Μοσχόπολις, Moschopolis) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial ...
, now in
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
. Historically, Moscopole was notably Greek-speaking and was influenced by Greek culture. Therefore, many of the individuals of the Greek diaspora in Hungary are considered to be in fact
Hellenized
Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...
members of the
Aromanian one.
The present-day Greek community consists primarily of political refugees from the
Greek Civil War
The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος}, ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom and ...
and numbers 3,916 people according to the 2011 census.
In the village
Beloiannisz (Greek: Μπελογιάννης ''Beloyannis''), founded in 1950 by Greek refugees, the mayor is traditionally Greek although the number of Greeks has dwindled to about 300 out of a total population of 1,200.
See also
*
Greek people
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, othe ...
*
Greek diaspora
The Greek diaspora, also known as Omogenia ( el, Ομογένεια, Omogéneia), are the communities of Greeks living outside of Greece and Cyprus (excluding Northern Cyprus). Such places historically include Albania, North Macedonia, parts of ...
*
Greece–Hungary relations
References
External links
*
Self-government of the Greeks of Hungary*
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople - Exarchate of Hungary
{{Greek diaspora
Ethnic groups in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...