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Minority

Burgenland Croats in Austria (Burgenland Croats)

Description

The minority of the Burgenland Croats are living in the border region of Austria and Hungary. The Burgenland Croats are divided among four states: in Austria (Burgenland, Vienna), in Slovakia (several villages near Bratislava), in the Czech Republic (Southern Moravia) and in Hungary (along the Austrian border). Nowadays there are, according to estimates, about 40,000 to 60,000 people who know Burgenland Croatian in these areas, and most of them are living in Burgenland and in Vienna.

The ethnographic term of “Burgenland Croats” comprises of the descendants of the Croats that were settled by the landlords of what was formerly West-Hungary in the period of the 16th and 17th century. The reason for these settlements of Croats was the destruction of large parts of the former West-Hungarian region after an economic crisis at the end of the Middle Ages, several epidemia and the Turkish raids in 1529 and 1532.

A significant part of the minority moved to Vienna, mainly for economical reasons. This process started already after the First World War and continues until the present day. The Burgenland Croats in Vienna are well-organised, both culturally and politically.

The recognition of the minority rights of the Burgenland Croats, as well as those of the Carinthian Slovenes and therefore also the recognition of their languages – was laid down in Article 7 of the Austrian State Treaty of 1955. Since 1990, Burgenland Croatian has been the second official language of the region of Burgenland, next to German.

Size of the minority

50,000-60,000 (FUEN-HKD ) / 42,000 (Pan) / 19,400 (Ethnologue) / 31,000 (Euromosaic)

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