History/Political Science paper by Teleky, Béla
The Hungarian Minority in Burgenland, Especially in the District of Oberwart/Felsőőr (Őrség)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
Today in Burgenland a small minority of approximately 10,000 people speak Hungarian and an even smaller group of about 4,700 people see themselves as ethnic Hungarians. Besides some Hungarian speaking areas in the north, the main regions where the Hungarian minorities are located, are Oberpullendorf/Felsőpulya and Oberwart. Since Burgenland was part of the Hungarian Kingdom until 1921, it may seem surprising that nowadays not more then 1.8 percent of the population belongs to the Hungarian minority. However, this fact is strongly linked to the history of this region. In the Middle Ages, under the rule of the Árpád’s between the 10th and the 12th century, villages in the western part of Hungary were founded to defend the Hungarian borders. Interesting in this context is the fact that even today this former „frontier-guard-villages” are the core area of the Hungarians today. Since 1526, after the death of King Lajos II. (1506–1526), West-Hungary became part of the Habsburg Empire. Due to the Reformation, the Turkish Wars, the Revolution of 1848, or the compromise of 1867 the ethnic, religious, and economic structure changed dramatically. Since 1921 Burgenland became a part of the Republic of Austria. Consequently, a lot of Hungarians left this region and the situation of the Hungarian minority declined. Linked to this history, the question I want to raise in my paper is: How has the Hungarian minority developed after 1945 in Burgenland in general? And especially in the district of Oberwart, meaning in the two “villages” Siget in der Wart (Őrisziget), Unterwart (Alsóőr) and the city of Oberwart (Felsőőr)?
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Béla M. Teleky studied History and International Relations at the University of Vienna. His Diploma-thesis about the Reformation in Western Hungary was published 2014 and awarded with the "Bischof DDr. Stefan László-Preis". Since October 2014 he is part of the Doktoratskolleg at the Andrássy University in Budapest. His PhD-thesis is about the economic relations between Austria and Hungary in the interwar period. Since October 2017 Béla Teleky is a Research Fellow of the Ministry of Science at the University of New Orleans bela.teleky@andrassyuni.hu