Danube Swabians

The Danube Swabians (German: Donauschwaben; sometimes Donau Schwabians in English) is a collective term for Germans who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially in the Danube (Donau) river valley. Because of the different development of the countries with areas settled by Germans, the Danube Swabians can not be seen as a unified people. They include Hungarian Germans, Satu Mare Swabians, the Banat Germans, and Yugoslav Germans. The Carpathian Germans and Transylvanian Saxons are not included within the Danube Swabians.

Related Topics:
German - English - Germans - Kingdom of Hungary - Danube - Banat - Carpathian Germans - Transylvanian Saxons

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Beginning in the 12th century, German merchants and miners began settling in the kingdom of Hungary to develop towns after the invitations of the kings. Although there were significant colonies of Carpathian Germans in the Spi? mountains) and Transylvanian Saxons in Transylvania, German settlement throughout the rest of the kingdom was not extensive.

Related Topics:
12th century - Carpathian Germans - Spi? - Transylvanian Saxons - Transylvania

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During the 17th-18th centuries, warfare between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire devastated and depopulated much of the lands of the Pannonian plain. The Habsburgs ruling Austria and Hungary at the time resettled the land with various ethnicities, including Magyars, Slovaks, Croats, Serbs, Romanians, Ukrainians, and Germans. These Germans came from Swabia, Franconia, Bavaria, Austria, and Alsace-Lorraine. However, despite their origin, they were all referred to as Swabians.

Related Topics:
17th - 18th - Habsburg Monarchy - Ottoman Empire - Pannonian plain - Habsburgs - Austria - Hungary - Magyars - Slovaks - Croats - Serbs - Romanians - Ukrainians - Swabia - Franconia - Bavaria - Alsace - Lorraine - Swabian

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The first wave of resettlement came as the Ottoman Turks were gradually being forced back after their defeat at the Battle of Vienna in 1683. The settlement was encouraged by nobility whose lands had been devasted through warfare, and by lauded military officers like Eugene of Savoy and Claudius Mercy. Many Germans settled in the Bakony (Bakonywald) and Vértes (Schildgebirge) mountains north and west of Lake Balaton (Plattensee), as well as around the town Buda (Ofen), now part of Budapest. The heaviest colonization of Germans during this time was in the Swabian Turkey (Schwäbische Türkei), a triangular region between the Danube, Lake Balaton, and the Drava (Drau). Other areas settled during this time by Germans were Pécs (Fünfkirchen), Satu Mare (Sathmar), and south of Mukachevo (Munkatsch).

Related Topics:
Battle of Vienna - 1683 - Eugene of Savoy - Claudius Mercy - Bakony - Vértes - Lake Balaton - Buda - Budapest - Swabian Turkey - Drava - Pécs - Satu Mare - Mukachevo

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After the Banat was annexed from the Ottomans by the Habsburgs in the Treaty of Passarowitz (1718), plans were made to resettle the region, which became known as the Banat of Temesvar (Temeschwar / Temeschburg, now Timi?oara (Rom.)), as well as the Backa (Batschka) region between the Danube and the Tisza (Theiss). Initial settlements were destroyed during another Austrian-Turkish war (1737-1739), but extensive colonization continued after the suspension of hostilities. The resettlement was done through both private and state initiatives. After Maria Theresa became Queen of Hungary in 1740, she encouraged vigorous colonization on crown lands, especially between Timi?oara and the Tisza. The land steadily rejuvenated- marshes near the Danube and the Tisza were drained, farms were rebuilt, roads and canals were constructed. Many Danube Swabians served on Austria's Military Frontier (Militärgrenze) against the Ottomans. Between 1740 and 1790 more than 100,000 Germans immigrated to the Kingdom of Hungary.

Related Topics:
Banat - Treaty of Passarowitz - 1718 - Banat of Temesvar - Backa - Tisza - 1737 - 1739 - Maria Theresa - Queen of Hungary - 1740 - Military Frontier - 1790

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The Napoleonic Wars ended the large-scale movement of Germans to the Hungarian lands, although the colonial population steadily grew and sustained itself. Small daughter-colonies developed in Slavonia and Bosnia. After the creation of Austria-Hungary in 1867, Hungary established a policy of Magyarization whereby minorities were induced by political and economic reasons to use the Magyar language and culture; many Danube Swabians were affected by this.

Related Topics:
Napoleonic Wars - Slavonia - Bosnia - Austria-Hungary - 1867 - Magyarization - Magyar

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After the treaties of Saint-Germain (1919) and Trianon (1920), the Banat was divided between Romania, Yugoslavia, and Hungary; Backa was divided between Yugoslavia and Hungary; and Satu Mare went to Romania.

Related Topics:
Saint-Germain - 1919 - Trianon - 1920 - Romania - Yugoslavia - Hungary

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During the Second World War, many Danube Swabians cooperated with the invading Nazi troops, only to flee from the Soviet Red Army in 1945. Many of the Germans from Yugoslavia were held in camps in inhuman conditions or killed. From 1945-1948, the Germans in Hungary were dispossessed and forced to "return" to Germany, although it was not their birthplace. The Germans in Romania were not dispelled but were deported within Romania. Many left Romania from 1970-1990 and emmigrated to West Germany.

Related Topics:
Second World War - Nazi - Soviet - Red Army - 1945 - Germany - 1970 - 1990 - West Germany

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Beginning in 1920 and especially after World War II, many Danube Swabians migrated to the United States of America, Brazil, Canada, and Australia.

Related Topics:
1920 - United States of America - Brazil - Canada - Australia

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:Some of this article is translated from :de:Donauschwaben of 21.6.05

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