Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...

( hu, bolgárok) are one of the thirteen officially recognized ethnic minorities in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

( bg, Унгария, ''Ungaria''; old name Маджарско, ''Madzharsko'') since the ''Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities Act'' was enacted by the

National Assembly of Hungary 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-proport ...

on 7 July 1993. They number 2,316 and amount to 0.02% of the country's total population according to the 2001 census, but are estimated between 2,000 and 7,000 according to different authors.

History

In the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, much of modern Hungary was often under the rule of the First Bulgarian Empire. The popular Bulgarian ruler

Krum Krum ( bg, Крум, el, Κροῦμος/Kroumos), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome ( bg, Крум Страшни) was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory ...

may have been born in Pannonia, and Bulgarian dukes like

Salan ] Salan, Salanus or Zalan ( Bulgarian language, Bulgarian and Serbian Cyrillic: Салан or Залан; hu, Zalán; ro, Salanus) was, according to the Gesta Hungarorum, a local Bulgarianhttp://keptar.niif.hu/000500/000586/magyaro-honf-terke ...

, Glad (duke), Glad,

Ahtum Ajtony, Ahtum or Achtum ( hu, Ajtony, bg, Охтум, ro, Ahtum, sr, Ахтум) was an early-11th-century ruler in the territory now known as Banat in present Romania and Serbia. His primary source is the ''Long Life of Saint Gerard'', a 1 ...

Sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

and

Menumorut Menumorut or Menumorout (Modern hu, Ménmarót) was the ruler of the lands between the rivers Mureș, Someș and Tisza at the time of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 900, according to the ''Gesta Hungarorum'', a Hungarian ...

are mentioned as the lords of Syrmia,

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hunga ...

and parts of

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

proper in the 9th-11th centuries according to the ''

Gesta Hungarorum ''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medieval entertaining li ...

''. The northern Hungarian town of Szentendre and the surrounding villages were inhabited by Bulgarians since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. In the 18th century, Szentendre had a Bulgarian neighbourhood of settlers from

Chiprovtsi Chiprovtsi ( bg, Чипровци, pronounced ) is a small town in northwestern Bulgaria, administratively part of Montana Province. It lies on the shores of the river Ogosta in the western Balkan Mountains, very close to the Bulgarian-Serbian b ...

and a "Chiprovtsi church", indicating refugees from the time of the Chiprovtsi Uprising. A village near

Visegrád Visegrád (; german: Plintenburg; la, Pone Navata or ; sk, Vyšehrad) is a castle town in Pest County, Hungary. It is north of Budapest on the right bank of the Danube in the Danube Bend. It had a population of 1,864 in 2010. The town is the ...

was called ''Bolgár falu'' ("Bulgarian village") in the 16th century; Bulgarian refugees fleeing the Ottoman rule are first mentioned as inhabitants of this area on 30 December 1428. Gradually, however, these Bulgarians were assimilated into the Magyar population. A number of

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Banat Bulgarians The Banat Bulgarians ( Banat Bulgarian: ''Palćene'' or ''Banátsći balgare''; common bg, Банатски българи, Banatski balgari; ro, Bulgari bănățeni; sr, / ), also known as Bulgarian Roman Catholics and Bulgarians Paulician ...

settled in what is today Hungary as a secondary migration, establishing an early and small Banat Bulgarian community in Hungary. In Bulgarian interwar publications, their number is rounded and possibly overestimated at 10,000. However, the Bulgarian ethnic community is largely descended from

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner supplem ...

s and other professionals who migrated to

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

in large groups in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1857, Bulgarians in

Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun is the name of an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Hungary, comprising the territory of the present Hungarian county Pest and the northern part of present Bács-K ...

(not counting Pest, Buda and

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's th ...

) numbered 2,815, and their population had not changed significantly in 1870. The oldest Bulgarian organization in Hungary, the Association of Bulgarians in Hungary, was founded in 1914 on the initiative of Lazar Ivanov from

Teteven Teteven ( bg, Тетевен, ) is a town on the banks of the Vit river, at the foot of Stara Planina mountain in north central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Teteven Municipality which is a part of Lovech Province. As of Decemb ...

. The Bulgarian Church Community was founded in 1916 and the first Bulgarian school in 1918. Since then, the Bulgarian community has diversified to a great extent. The

Bulgarian Orthodox The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...

church of Ss.

Cyril and Methodius Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited wit ...

Ferencváros Ferencváros () is the 9th district of Budapest ( hu, Budapest IX. kerülete), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The development of Fe ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

was constructed in 1932. A Bulgarian newspaper, ''Balgarski vesti'', and a Bulgarian magazine, ''Hemus'', are published by the Bulgarian community, as well as various books. There exist a number of folk dance groups, a theatre, several orchestras, a Bulgarian school for the native language and a Bulgarian-Hungarian secondary school for languages named after

Hristo Botev Hristo Botev ( bg, Христо Ботев, ), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Христо Ботьов Петков; – ), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and poet. Botev is considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and nationa ...

. File:Bolgartemplom.JPG, The

Church of

Saints Cyril and Methodius Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited wi ...

, Budapest ( hu, Szent Cirill és Szent Metód Bolgár Pravoszláv templom) File:Hriszto Botev Bolgár-Magyar Általános Iskola és Gimnázium. - Budapest VI. Bajza u. 44.jpg, The

Bulgarian–Hungarian secondary school in

File:Mamakov.jpg, The Bulgarian Orthodox Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Number and share

Censuses

Number of Bulgarians according to the census over the years by counties:

People

* Klára Dobrev, politician * Balázs Nikolov, footballer

References

External links

Peykovska P., Demographic Indicators of the Ethnic and Cultural Identity within the Bulgarian Minority in Hungary in the Late 20th Century

Website of the Bulgarian community in Hungary

Bulgarian cultural forum

State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad: Hungary

Pejkovszka P., A budapesti bolgár közösség történelmi demográfiai jellemzői
{{Bulgarian diaspora *

Ethnic groups in Hungary