German:Zipser, Zipser Deutsche, and/or Zipser Sachsen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Slovakia andRomania (more specifically in present-daySuceava County,Bukovina, northeasternRomania as well asMaramureș in northernTransylvania) | |
| Languages | |
| German (with theZipser German dialect) | |
| Religion | |
| Catholicism andLutheranism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Germans,Germans of Romania (including, most notably,Transylvanian Saxons andBukovina Germans),German diaspora,Austrians,Flemings, orLuxembourgers | |
Native toCentral-Eastern Europe, more specifically to present-daySpiš region, north-eastern Slovakia (since the High Middle Ages onwards) as well as Bukovina and Maramureș, Romania (since the Modern Age onwards). |
TheZipser Germans,Zipser Saxons, or, simply, justZipsers (German:Zipser[1] or Zipser Deutsche,Romanian:Țipțeri,Hungarian:Cipszer,Slovak:Spišskí Nemci) are a German-speaking (more specificallyZipser German-speaking as nativedialect) sub-ethnic group inCentral-Eastern Europe andnational minority in bothSlovakia andRomania (there are also Zipser German settlements in theZakarpattia Oblast, in the historical region ofCarpathian Ruthenia, present-day westernUkraine).[2] Along with theSudeten Germans (German:Sudetendeutsche), the Zipser Germans were one of the two most importantethnic German groups in the formerCzechoslovakia. An occasional variation of their name as 'Tzipsers' can also be found in academic articles.[3] Former Slovak PresidentRudolf Schuster is partlyZipser German and grew up inMedzev (German:Metzenseifen).[4]
The Zipser Germans were previously native to theSzepes County (German:Zips;Slovak:Spiš,Hungarian:Szepes) ofUpper Hungary—today mostly north-eastern Slovakia—as that region was settled by colonists from present-day central Germany (and other parts of contemporary Germany) during theHigh Middle Ages, more specifically beginning in the mid 12th century, as part of theOstsiedlung.[5] Beginning in at least the 18th century, many members of this German ethnic sub-group migrated to southernBukovina,[6][7]Maramureș,Transylvania, and in the mountainousBanat (all of the aforementioned regions situated in contemporary Romania).[8] Most of the Zipser German community in Romania lives inMaramureș County and across theRodna Mountains respectively.
Occasionally, Zipser Germans are also referred to as Zipser Saxons (Hungarian:szepesi szászok or szepességi szászok, German:Zipser Sachsen), a name stemming from their geographic origin of initial settlement during medieval times corresponding to the present-daySpiš (German:Zips) region situated in north-eastern Slovakia. The county (German:Komitat) where they settled in the beginning is known in Hungarian as 'Szepes'.[9] Alongside theTransylvanian Saxons inTransylvania, contemporary central Romania, and theBaltic Germans fromEstonia andLatvia, the Zipser Germans are one of the three oldestGerman-speaking andethnic German groups inCentral and Eastern Europe, having continuously been living there since the High Middle Ages onwards.[10]
The Zipser Germans can also be equated with theGermans of Slovakia (German:Slowakeideutsche) and are part of the broader group ofCarpathian Germans (German:Karpatendeutsche), having chiefly been referred to as such along with the Germans ofCarpathian Ruthenia since the end of World War II onwards. They are also part of theGermans of Romania. The small community of Zipsers still living in Suceava County, southern Bukovina, Romania, can be perceived as part of theBukovina German community as well, in the greater sense that is.[11]
German settlers were invited to settle in theSpiš region across theHigh Tatras, present-day Slovakia, thenSzepes County (German:Komitat Zips) ofUpper Hungary in theKingdom of Hungary, beginning in the mid 12th century by formerKing of HungaryGéza II of Hungary. These settlers' occupations ranged from miners and traders to builders. The last wave of German colonists arrived during the 15th century, towards the end of the Middle Ages (or theLate Middle Ages).[12][13]
As in the cases of other historical regions from Central and Eastern Europe, this migration of German settlers at the invitation of local kings (known asOstsiedlung inGerman historiography) from several Central-Eastern European countries had the main goal to enrich the local medieval communities with more trade and urbanization as well as to fortify them in the wake of theMongol invasion (as did theTransylvanian Saxons inTransylvania, another former region of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Middle Ages).
In the particular case of present-day Slovakia, these German settlers stemmed from lowerRhine river valley (including present-dayLuxembourg),Flanders, Saxony, andSilesia (in present-day south-easternPoland).[14] They governed themselves under theZipser Willkür, a particular medieval German law (more specificallyGerman town law) which they developed there under a certain degree of local autonomy provided by the Hungarian monarch. Zipser Willkür is the oldest form ofGerman law from Slovakia.[15]
In the passing of time, as in the case of other local communities in Central-Eastern Europe colonized with ethnic Germans during the Middle Ages, these newly arrived German settlers became the dominant class and the majority ethnic group in the towns and villages they had either founded or re-populated (as other settlements were previously founded by Slovaks). They eventually became collectively known as Zipser Germans given the fact that they helped develop Szepes County. They are sometimes referred to as Zipser Saxons (German:Zipser Sachsen) as well. As in the case of theTransylvanian Saxons in Transylvania (another Central-Eastern European historical region which previously belonged to the medieval Kingdom of Hungary), the Zipser Germans founded imposing castles and fortified urban settlements.
During themodern period, as it was the case of other ethnic German groups from non-native German Central and Eastern European countries, the population of Zipser Germans gradually declined on the territory of contemporary Slovakia. Zipser German populations were still significant in several parts of central Slovakia though, but not as significant as they once were during the Middle Ages (both in absolute numbers and in social status). They also underwent forcedMagyarization during the 19th century.
Beginning in at least the 18th century, many Zipser Germans from the territory of present-day Slovakia emigrated southward toHabsburg-ruled and, later on,Austrian-ruled Bukovina (Romanian:Bucovina) and also to Maramureș, where they established or intermixed in already established Romanian rural settlements but also settled in the towns. Many of them were miners, both in Bukovina and in Maramureș.
During and afterWorld War II, most Zipsers evacuated or were expelled toWest Germany. A community of speakers remains in the Zips village ofChmeľnica (German:Hopgarten; their distinctive dialect is called 'Outzäpsersch', German:Altzipserisch, literallyOld Zipserish),[16] and others remain in Romania where they and otherGerman-speaking minority groups are currently represented by theDemocratic Forum of Germans in Romania (FDGR/DFDR) at political, cultural, and administrative levels.
Some notable localities in southern Bukovina (contemporarySuceava County) previously inhabited by a significant number of Zipser Germans includeIacobeni (German:Jakobeny),Cârlibaba (German:Mariensee/Ludwigsdorf), andFundu Moldovei (German:Luisenthal or Louisenthal).[17]
To this day, sparse Zipser German communities still reside in southern Bukovina and northern Transylvania, inMaramureș/Maramureș County more specifically, where they are also officially represented at political and administrative level (albeit only to a lesser extent) after thelatest Romanian locations which were held in September 2020.
| Total seats of the FDGR/DFDR in Vișeu de Sus (German:Oberwischau), Maramureș (German:Maramorosch) | As per the results of the2020 Romanian local elections | 1 / 18 |
Nonetheless, most of the remaining Zipser Germans in Romania live in Maramureș, northern Transylvania. Therefore, the main localities still populated by Zipser Germans in Maramureș County according to the2011 Romanian census are the following ones, both urban settlements (a town and a municipality):
In general, all the more with respect to Maramureș and Bucovina, the Zipser Germans were mainly:
Thus, from a historical point of view, their societies are mostly characterised by the rural character of their traditional occupations over the passing of time.
In medieval times, the historical occupations of the Zipser Germans in Slovakia were the following ones (as it was the case of other German-speaking groups during theOstsiedlung as part of an emergingfeudal system):
As opposed to the Modern Age societies of Zipser Germans in present-day Romania, the societies of Zipser German in medieval contemporary Slovakia had both a rural and urban character, also revitalising urbanisation on previously existing Slavic/Slovakian towns and cities.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 148,000 | — |
| 1946 | 24,000 | −83.8% |
| 1947 | 20,000 | −16.7% |
| Population statistics referring toCzechoslovakia andSlovakia only. Source:[18][19] | ||
Once, the Zipser Germans had a significant and sizeable demographic presence inCzechoslovakia and subsequently also inSlovakia, but their numbers have been constantly decreasing over the years well into the 21st century. Nowadays, relatively few live in Slovakia and even fewer Zipsers live in Romania as well.[18] The main reason why their numbers decreased considerably after World War II is because they had been expelled, as was the case of the Sudeten Germans or other German groups from Central and Eastern Europe (German:Ostmitteleuropa), thereby resettling in eitherAustria orWest Germany.
In Slovakia, the Zipser Germans and the Carpathian Germans have their own monthly publication/newspaper which is calledKarpatenblatt (the publication also has a YouTube channel).[20][21]
In Romania, the Zipser Germans hold a festival on yearly basis (just as other German-speaking and German-stemming ethnic minorities all across Romania) which is calledZipsertreff.[22] TheZipsertreff is held inVișeu de Sus (German:Oberwischau) in Maramureș and is an important celebration of the local Zipser German heritage and culture.
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