Minorities in Hungary #2 – Greeks

Just like in the case of Croatians, Greeks also came to Hungary first because of the Ottomans: the flow of refugees began when Constantinople was conquered in 1453. The fleeing Byzantines went North and West, many of them ending up in Hungary. After the tripartition of Hungary in 1526 — due to the further Ottoman expansion — Greek refugees and merchants mostly centred in Transylvania. The second and the third wave arrived after the Treaty of Karlowitz and the Peace Treaty of Passarowitz, respectively. Pasha Ali also chased away many Greeks in 1769 by pillaging Moshopolis.

According to the correspondent Sulinet page, the acceptance of Greek merchants and artisans in Hungary was difficult. Their Hungarian rivals often sabotaged them. They could no purchase anything or build houses, churches or schools. Their activity was limited to transferring goods from the Ottoman Empire to Hungary and Austria. This type of commerce was profitable for the Austrian and the Hungarian economy as well. As a result of this, the authorities of the two countries began to submit new declarations from 1720 that provided more favourable circumstances for the Greeks.

The assimilation of the Greeks was also helped by Joseph II’s decree that allowed them to build their own Orthodox churches. Besides churches, Greek schools were also constructed. More than 30 Greek Orthodox church buildings were built in historical Hungary and almost as many Greek schools.

The most notable churches were built in Békés, Pest, Eger, Gyöngyös, Győr and Hódmezővásárhely.

When we talk about Greeks in Hungary, we cannot avoid mentioning Beloiannisz. It is one of the youngest settlements of Fejér County and was founded by Greek refugees, as Szeretlekmagyarorszag.hu reported. It can be found one hour of driving from Budapest.

The establishment and construction of the village began on 6 May 1950 and resulted in 400 housings which provided shelter for many Greek families.

They were members of the second Greek diaspora that was forced to leave its homeland. The reason for their flight is related to the Second World War and the conflict with Mussolini’s troops. As the Wehrmacht interfered with the struggle between Italians and Greeks, the response was the foundation of ELAS (Greek People’s Liberation Army). Their battalions liberated the territories which were occupied by the British after the Germans retreated. After ELAS was dismissed, the persuasion of communist rebels began, which lead to a devastating civil war. That was the reason that chased many Greeks away from their home country.