Swabian Turkey (German:Schwäbische Türkei;Hungarian:Sváb-Törökország;Serbian:Švapska Turska) is a term describing a southwestern region ofHungary delimited by theDanube (Donau) andDrava (Drau) rivers, inhabited by theGermans of Hungary, anethnic German minority. This modern-day minority, the largest German-speaking one in Hungary, primarily lives in thecounties ofTolna (Tolnau),Baranya (Branau), andSomogy (Schomodei), and is the largest population of theDanube Swabians (Donauschwaben).[1] Despite the name, virtually noethnic Turks live in the region; rather, the name refers to the area being formerly "Turkish" (i.e.Ottoman) territory before being repopulated by Germans ("Swabians").
After theOttoman Empire was defeated in theSecond Battle of Mohács in 1687, theHabsburg monarchy forced theOttoman Turks to leave theKingdom of Hungary. Because much of thePannonian Plain had been depopulated during theOttoman wars in Europe, theHabsburgs began to resettle the land withGermans, especially fromSwabia.
German colonization in southeasternTransdanubia began in 1689. While many came from Swabia, the German settlers also came from theRhenish Palatinate,Hesse, theWesterwald,Fulda (district),Mosel-Saar-Ruwer,Electorate of Trier,Electoral Palatinate,Bavaria, and throughoutFranconia. Because of the many Swabian colonists fromUpper Swabia, northernLake Constance, upper Danube,Southern Black Forest andPrincipality of Fürstenberg settling on land previously controlled by the Turks, the region of Tolna, Somogy and Baranya counties became known as Swabian Turkey. The settlers were often induced to immigrate to Hungary with the promise of three years without taxes. The vast majority of German settlement was organized by private ventures run by the nobility or theRoman Catholic Church. Most of the German settlement was in pre-existingSlav- orMagyar-inhabited villages, but some new villages were also founded by Germans. The only two German-founded villages remaining in Swabian Turkey that were established by state ventures wereDunakömlőd (Kimling) andNémetkér (Deutsch-Ker). Germans also settled extensively in the major towns ofPécs (Fünfkirchen) andMohács (Mohatsch). Swabian Turkey is also referred to as Little Hesse, because many of the Germans settlers in the Baranya were from Hesse, especially fromFulda. Their descendants are called Stifolders.[2]
During theexpulsion of Germans afterWorld War II, many Germans from Swabian Turkey wereexpelled from their homes and replaced withHungarians evicted from Czechoslovakia; the remaining Germans were often persecuted by thecommunist government. After theFall of Communism in 1989, the Danube Swabians receivedminority rights, organisations, schools, and local councils and maintained their own regional dialect of German. However, the Germans are gradually being assimilated.
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