Ethnic groups in Austria
6 legally accepted ethnic groups in Austria
Influences in our language
- Slovenians
- Croatians
- Hungarians
- Roma and Sinti
- Czechs
- Slovaks
- some terms of our neighbor's language e.g. lepschi (Czech), Gattihosn (Hungarian) or Gspusi (Italian)
- some terms date back to Austria's history e.g. trottoir (French) or Hawara (Jiddisch)
Slovenians
- in the South of Kaernten
- immigrated in the 6th century -> Karantaner
- mainly agriculture and religious -> conservative and clerical
- Austrians -> advanced
- unfriendly to minorities -> emigration
- conflict of topographic names
- official language in several municipalities
Population of Austria (2012)
- 11,5% of people living in Austria have foreign nationalities (971.000)
- largest group - 227.000 German people
- people from Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo 209.000
- Turkish people 186.000
- people from Bosnia Herzegovina 133.000
- Rumanian 75.000
- Croatian 70.000
- Poles 63.000
- Hungarian 46.000
- Czechian 44.000
- Italian 30.000
general influences
legally accepted ethnic groups
State treaty of St. Germain:
- bilingual topographic names
- primary school education in the mother languages
- official language in several schools and offices
- ethnic groups advisory council
- language in law affairs
- tasty foreign cuisine
- national traditional costumes
- music and songs
personal experiences
... to treat all citizens without regard to race, language or religion legally and factually right ...
- graduated school together
- several discussions
- classmate was deported
- refugees in class learned German very quickly
Croatians
- aristocrates settled Croatian people in the 16th century to Burgenland an Lower Austria (depopulated regions because of war and epidemics)
- influences in traditional costumes, music and dialects
- Croatian Culture Association
- Croatian newspaper and literature
- several schools with the Croatian language or course of choice
Czechs
- resident population since medieval times in the regions around Vienna
- they immigrated during the 30years-war and they were working people
- 1761 first Czech newspaper
- Czech language courses in University
- during the era of Franz Joseph a lot of tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, ... settled in Vienna
- many lordship-houses had Czech cookers and nurses
- many Czech associations were founded
- during the period of the 1st WW many Czech emigrated to their homecountry
- a lot of Czech schools and kindergardens
- in the period of the 2nd WW a lot of these institutions were closed
- Czech people immigrated again around 1948 -1969
- bilingual schools reopened
Roma
Hungarians
- people with their origins in India settled in the 15th and 16th century to Austria (region around Burgenland)
- they were musicians, blacksmiths and tradespeople
- 11.000 Roma before 1938 - two thirds were killed in death camps
- 1993 the "Roma and Sinti" became a legally accepted ethnic group. Sinti are the Roma of German origin
- a lot of them immigrated because of jobs
- political motivated assassination in 1995
- different associations in Vienna, Linz and Oberwart (Bgld.)
- German speaking regions of Hungary got part of Austria in 1918
- politics was against this minority
- only Hungarian primary education was held
- out of confessional matters no collaboration
- changes because of the Hungarian Culture Association in 1968
- Hungarian revolt in 1956 -> many Hungarian refugees
- became a legal ethnic group especially in Burgenland and Vienna
- bilingual schools in Vienna and language course of choice in several schools
Slovaks
- immigration to Austria (Thaya-March-Winkel) started after the 30years-war
- increased settlement out of a lack of harvest and factory workers in the 19th century
- emigration wave during the 1st and 2nd WW
- 1983 first Slovakian Culture Association
- 1993 ethnic group advisory council