The latest (7th) issue of our ethnic map series of the Carpathian Basin also attempts to draft the changes that have taken place during the past five hundred years in the ethnic structure as well as to display its present-day state with the help of ethnic maps and a chart - this time referring to the present-day territory of Burgenland. The studied region is Burgenland, the easternmost and youngest province of Austria, Hungary’s western neighbour, extending over an area of 3,965 km2, accounting for 4,7% of that country’s territory. The province established in 1921, following the peace treaties of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) and Trianon (1920) comprises the strip formerly belonging to Hungary and mainly populated by native German speakers. The name Burgenland [1] given by the later chief of province Alfred Walheim is associated with the German names of west Hungarian counties ending to ”burg” (Moson-Wieselburg, Sopron-Ödenburg, Vas-Eisenburg).

The maps of Burgenland displayed on the front page are based on census data referring to 1910, 1934 and 2001, collected in Hungary (1910) and Austria (1934, 2001) and representing ethnic affiliation with pie diagrams. They show the territorial distribution of the main ethnic groups and the contemporary administrative divisions. Inscriptions of settlements contain the prevailing official names in the first place, then - in the case of towns - the Hungarian names, and, for the rest of settlements with mixed ethnic composition the locally important names are indicated. The eight supplementary maps on the reverse side show the linguistic composition of present-day Burgenland in 1495, 1784, 1880, 1910, 1923, 1934, 1991 and 2001, whereas the table displays the change in the number and proportion of the main ethnic groups between 1784 and 2001. The data prior to 1880 serving as a basis for the supplementary maps and the table referring to the ”ethnic-linguistic-origin” pattern of the population should be considered vague or of a rather varied nature. At the time of the Hungarian royal tax registration in 1495, conclusions for a probable absolute or relative ”ethnic” majority of the population living in the administrative areas of present-day settlements could only be drawn from the given sources through analyzing direct references to ”ethnic nature”, in most cases through the linguistic analyses of taxpayers’ names, etymology of geographical names and the practice of how (German or Hungarian) place names were inherited by Croatian refugees [3] settling in the region after 1515. Populated areas and existing settlements were determined on the basis of Engel, P. (2001) [4] for 1495, Neu, J. (1782-84) [5] for 1784. The ethnic majorities of the individual settlements at the end of the 18th century were indicated primarily after ”Lexicon locorum.. 1773”, Korabinszky, J.M. and Vályi, A. [6] In the period between 1880-1920 data of Hungarian censuses on native tongue were used whilst in 1923 and 1934 the lingual affiliation, in 1951 the every-day language (Umgangssprache) served as a basis for mapping. The series of maps displays ethnic majorities only in the inhabited areas of settlements mentioned in the particular sources.

According to the estimations made on the basis of the tax inventory in 1495 [7] by Kubinyi, A. (1996) [8] at that time ca 36,000 inhabitants might have been living in present-day Burgenland, in a rather uneven distribution. Within the studied area there were 16 towns; of them four (Németújvár-Güssing, Monyorókerék-Eberau, Vasvörösvár-Rotenturm, Sopronkeresztúr-Deutschkreuz) might have had Hungarian majority. At that time 54 of present-day settlements were uninhabited; in 203 there could be German majority, in 63 Hungarians formed the majority and in 7 Slovenes did (Map 1.). The ethnic pattern of population living in the area in concern was estimated vaguely, considering the number of settlements ethnically dominated by Germans, Hungarians and Slavs: ca 27,000 Germans (75%) and 8,000 Hungarians (23%) were calculated. Hungarian settlement area extended to Seewinkel in the north, Felsőpulya-Oberpullendorf and environs, Sopronkeresztúr-Deutschkreuz and Léka-Lockenhaus in the middle of the region. The strip along Pinka stream stretching up to Felsőőr-Oberwart had turned into a narrow Hungarian ethnic corridor gradually being Germanized. Since the 13th century German native speakers settled in particularly increased number on the territory of estates of Szalónak-Schlaining and Rohonc-Rechnitz. Hungarians were a dominant ethnic group in the surroundings of Németújvár-Güssing (in the Strem Valley).

Population losses caused by epidemics and wars during the 15th century could not be counterbalanced even by a steady infiltration of German speaking people into the region. So in the first decades of the 16th century a massive influx of Croats having partly escaped from the Turks occupying a considerable part of Croatia and Slavonia and partly resettled by the owners of big landed estates (aristocrats Batthyány, Erdődy, Nádasdy) into 179 villages of present-day Burgenland was welcome [9]. Notwithstanding an ever growing settlement of Croats, Ottoman (Turkish) military campaigns in 1529 and 1532 affected Moson, Sopron and Vas counties heavily, where increased depopulation was especially detrimental for Hungarians surviving in the vicinity of Neusiedler See (Lake Fertő), Léka-Lockenhaus and Kőszeg. During the 17th century repeated invasions of the Turks (1664, 1683) caused tremendous devastation. As a result Hungarians virtually disappeared from settlements along the military routes of the region. The area with Hungarian majority of population had been restricted into the surroundings of Felsőőr-Oberwart and Felsőpulya-Oberpullendorf and environs of Mosontétény-Tadten in Seewinkel (Fertőzug). Nearly two thirds of the population of Németújvár-Güssing, centre of Batthyány estates, were probably Hungarians between 1619-1668 [10]. In the Hungarian lingual islet Upper-Wart (Őrség) the survival of former frontier guard settlements was secured by the collective nobility privileges prohibiting the settlement of aliens in these villages for several centuries [11]. A planned settlement of Croats having fled from Slavonia into depopulated villages and over uninhabited woodland continued during the 16th century. The primary targets of this colonization were centres of landed estates: Vasvörösvár-Rotentum, Szalónak-Schlaining, Rohonc-Rechnitz, Kismarton-Eisenstadt [12].

After the liberation of the country from the Turks and suppression of the Hungarian war of independence led by F. Rákóczi (1703-1711) repopulation of the devastated areas ? almost exclusively by German colonists ? had gained a new impetus. As a result of these population movements, by the time of the first census (1784) population number of present-day Burgenland had risen to 180,062 with an estimated 77.5% of Germans, 17.6% of Croats and 2.3% Hungarians (Table 1.). Due to a gradual Germanization the majority population in 75 villages were Croats and in 7 Hungarians only (Map 2.). As a result of the anti-Jewish legislative measures in Austria and Moravia (e.g. 1670, 1726) and the decree issued by Austrian emperor Joseph II in 1783 (”Systematica Gentis Judaicae Regulatio”) [13] there had been an accelerated immigration of Jewish population into the western counties, among them into Burgenland during the 18th century. From the early 19th century onward - due to the grain boom generated by the military demand, closeness of the Danube as transport waterway and of Vienna as a huge market - several large manors were organized on the basis of big landed estates in Moson County, primarily in Seewinkel. Hungarian peasants moved from the Kapuvár estate and Pozsony (Pressburg, Bratislava) County and found job here. In the central and southern parts of present-day Burgenland ? after the elimination of collective nobility privileges (1848) ? descendants of the Hungarian medieval frontier guardsmen found themselves in an ethnically uncomfortable position. The abolition of collective proprietorship of nobles encouraged an ever growing influx of Germans from the surrounding villages into the market towns representing Hungarian lingual islets (Felsőőr-Oberwart, Felsőpulya-Oberpullendorf).

The first Hungarian census inquiring about the native tongue of population was held in 1880. At that time there was taken the census of nearly 266,000 people; of them 78.8% declared German as mother tongue, Hungarians constituted 4.2% (11 162 persons) and Croats made up 16.1% (Table 1.). Due to the prevailing system of Hungarian state concept, and as a consequence of a higher rate of emigration of German native speakers compared to that of Hungarians and natural assimilation of non-Hungarians, the proportion of Hungarians in present-day Burgenland had increased from 4.2 to 9% between 1880 and 1910, whereas the share of Germans dropped from 78.8% to 74.4% over the same period. During the 1910 census 800 to 1,000 dwellers declared Hungarian affiliation in Németújvár-Güssing, Kismarton-Eisenstadt, Rohonc-Rechnitz each. Rural ethnic patterns had not changed considerably in comparison to those one hundred years before - with the exception of a slow Germanization of Croatian lingual islets in the environs of Németújvár-Güssing and of the appearance of large manors with Hungarian population in Moson County, and the Hungarian-German language border remained virtually unchanged (Map 3., Map 4., front page map).

Following the First World War the peace treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919. 09. 10) awarded the westernmost territories of Hungary mainly inhabited by German speaking population to the former ally Austria. After the plebiscite (held in the wake of a massive protest from the Hungarian party) at Sopron town and in Pinka valley with a positive outcome for Hungary (1921) ”only” the present-day Burgenland were ceded to Austria. Subsequently a mass of civil servants returned to the actual territory of Hungary. Due to this large-scale resettlement the number of Hungarian native speakers had dropped by more than 10 thousand or 39% between 1920-1923 (Table 1.). This diminishment first of all affected Hungarians that lived in diaspora, whereas the number of autochtonous Hungarians only decreased by some hundred people. Migration processes and especially emigration was also general among the German and Croatian speaking population. Overseas emigrants were responsible for a loss of 22,466 persons in Burgenland between 1921-1935 [14]. As a result of emigration and statistical manipulations (e.g. 6,507 Gypsies with Hungarian or Croatian native tongue were classed to an independent category) the number of Hungarians and Croats living in Burgenland dropped to a level of 50-100 years before by the population census of 1934 (Map 5., Map 6., front page map).

After the annexation of Austria by Germany (1938. 03. 12-13) Burgenland ceased to exist as a province soon: it was divided between Styria and Lower Danube provinces. Following the ”Anschluss” the deportation of Jews (3200 people), and Gypsies (7-8 thousand) started immediately; they were transported into concentration camps [15]. Parallel with the closure of schools maintained by Croatian and Hungarian churches and under the influence of Nazi propaganda and national policy these languages became restricted to family circles almost exclusively. The young generation of Croats and Hungarians had undergone a significant mental transformation as they were ashamed of their mother tongue in the social atmosphere turned fascist [16]. In these circumstances only 17,444 Hungarians and 2,076 Croats dared to declare original ethnicity in the provinces of Syria and Lower Danube during the German census of 1939 [17]. Between 1939 and 1946 there had been a considerable drop both in the number of ethnic minorities and of total population (the latter by over 19 thousand) caused by losses in the war, enforced labour in remote areas and by the escape to the western zone of occupation of Austria in 1945 (1946: 265,884 people in present day Burgenland) [18].

Following World War Two, the communist takeover in Yugoslavia and Hungary put Croats and Hungarians of Burgenland in an awkward position because for the Austrian public events ”on the other side of the border”, ”Croat”, ”Hungarian” and ”communist” frequently were used as synonymous ones [19]. This is why during the Austrian census of 1951 only 30,599 persons declared Croatian as their ”Umgangssprache” (every-day language) and 5,251 Hungarians were recorded (Table 1.). After the Austrian statehood was restored and Soviet troops left the country (1955), during an economic boom involving industrialization and rural-to-urban migration most of the Croats and Hungarians gave up farming and found jobs away from their native village, in industrial centres and German lingual environment. They moved to other settlements or became commuters which meant a change of language and culture for the young Croatian and Hungarian generations. Following the suppression of the Hungarian revolution of 1956 there was a massive emigration to Austria but it hardly added to the number of Hungarians in Burgenland. Just the way around: an accelerated lingual assimilation, unfavourable demographic processes and a growing emigration had resulted in a drop in the number of those using Hungarian in every-day communication from 5,673 (1971) to 4,147 (from 2.1 to 1.5%). Among the Croats the issue whether lingual assimilation should have been mitigated or promoted, became a topic for political debates between their leaders along their commitment either to conservative (ÖVP) or liberal (ÖSP) platform in the matter [20]. This political split had accelerated lingual assimilation to an extent that the number of those using Croatian in every-day communication decreased from 26,259 in 1961 to 18,762 in 1981.

In the 1980s an improved image of Hungary, political steps appreciated as those made in the right direction, later the change of regime, removal of the iron curtain, permeability of the state border, the growing usefulness of knowledge of the Hungarian language exerted a positive impact on the self-awareness of Hungarians living in Burgenland. As a result the number of people speaking Hungarian in everyday life had risen by 63% between 1981 and 1991 (up to 6,763) (Map 7.). As a result of the accelerated melting of ethnic minorities in the 1990s the number of indigenous Croats fell by 15% between 1991-2001, Hungarians of Austrian citizenship living in the District of Oberwart decreased by 21.4% over the same decade. At the same time, due to migrations from the motherland for welfare, economic and political reasons (e.g. pushed by the war in Croatia), Croats as foreign citizens experienced a sevenfold increase in number whereas Hungarians of non-Austrian citizenship saw a 8.2% increase.

At the moment of the Austrian population census of 2001. 05. 15, in Burgenland 277,569 persons were registered. Of them 242,458 persons (87.4%) declared German as his/her every-day language (Umgangssprache), 19,778 (7.1%) used Croatian and 6,641 (2.4%) Hungarian language in every-day communication (Table 1.). 99% of Germans, 87.2% of Croats and 70.8% of Hungarians had Austrian citizenship.

Although the population number of the dominant German community (242,458) had grown by 1.4% between 1991 and 2001 mainly owing to the assimilation of Croats and Hungarians, but its share within resident population dropped to 84.7% due to a continuous settlement of foreigners. The most populous German communities are those of Eisenstadt (6,430), Neusiedl am See (5,186), Mattersburg (4,844), Oberwart (4,641) and Pinkafeld (4,580). In 293 settlements of Burgenland out of 318 as a total German is the dominant language (Map 8., front page map).

Of the 19,778 Croatian speakers of Burgenland only 16 283 persons ? i.e. those speaking ”Burgenland Croatian” in everyday communication ? possess collective minority rights on the basis of the Austrian Ethnic Group Law of 1976. As a result of the steady immigration from the territory of the former Yugoslavia the number of resident Croatian speakers is on the increase ? in spite of the fact that indigenous Croats are shrinking rapidly, ageing (in 38.5% over 60 years) and undergoing Germanization. The area with Croatian ethnic majority extended over 55 villages and had been restricted to 23 villages by 2001 (Map 8., front page map). The largest communities of Croats (with 700-1,000 people) are found in Siegendorf, Klingenbach, Wulkaprodersdorf, Güttenbach, Stinatz and Trausdorf.

Despite massive immigration, Hungarians vanish in Burgenland, for 38% of the indigenous population is older than 60, involving a high natural loss and lingual Germanization. Only 37% of Hungarians in the province live in the former settlements of nobility status, with Oberwart-Felsőőr (1,164), Oberpullendorf-Felsőpulya (603), Unterwart-Alsóőr (517) and Siget in der Wart-Őrisziget (193) as the largest Hungarian communities. In the two latest villages Hungarians still represent lingual majority (Map 8., front page map). In the north of the province, where due to the newly settled immigrants the number of Hungarians has been rising steadily (by 18% between 1991 and 2001), 281 persons in Eisenstadt and 209 in Frauenkirchen-Boldogasszony declared themselves Hungarian every-day speakers.