Burgenland Croats (Gradišćanski Hrvati) are ethnic Croats in the Austrian province of Burgenland. Although an enclave hundreds of kilometres away from their original homeland, they have managed to preserve culture and language for centuries. According to the estimation, the total number of Burgenland Croats is 50,000. Languages Croatian Religions Predominantly Roman Catholic Related ethnic groups Slavs South Slavs Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a South Slavic people mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. ... Burgenland (Hungarian Várvidék, Őrvidék or FelsÅ‘Å‘rvidék, Croatian Gradišće, Slovenian Gradiščansko) is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. ...

History

The Burgenland Croats were given landrights by the Austrian Crown during the Turkish wars (1533-1584). This gave the Croats refuge and also provided Austria with a buffer zone between Vienna and the Turks in the South and East. The Croats fled the Turks from the riverland areas of Gacka, Lika and Krbava, Moslavina in Slavonia and an area of present day Northern Bosnia near Tuzla. Because many villages had been pillaged by the Turks, the Crown gave the new settlers land rights and independent ecclesiastic rights. As the Croats had been driven from their homes and farms, they were happy to take up the offer granted by the Kaiser. They subsequently stayed and the present day Burgenland Croats are direct descendants from these settlers. The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe marked the better part of the history of southeastern Europe, notably, giving infamy to the Balkans. ... “Wien” redirects here. ... Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the PljeÅ¡evica mountain from the northeast. ... Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the PljeÅ¡evica mountain from the northeast. ... Krbava (Latin: Corbavia) is a region of mountainous Croatia. ... Moslavina is a region in Croatia, administratively divided into the counties of Zagreb, Sisak-Moslavina and Bjelovar-Bilogora. ... Coat of arms Slavonia (Croatian: Slavonija) is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia. ... Motto None Anthem Intermeco Bosnia and Herzegovina() on the European continent()  —  [] Capital (and largest city) Sarajevo Official languages Bosnian Croatian Serbian Government Parliamentary democracy  -  Presidency members Željko KomÅ¡ić1 NebojÅ¡a Radmanović2 Haris Silajdžić3  -  Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikola Å pirić  -  High Representative 4 Independence... Municipality of Bosnia and Herzegovina General Information Entity Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Canton Tuzla Canton Land area 302,35 km² Population 165,000 Population density 545/km² Coordinates Area code +387 35 Mayor Jasmin Imamović (SDP) Website http://www. ...

The Burgenland Croats also developed their own orthography during the counter-reformation, however, assimilation soon followed with the language being banned from use in churches and schools. The Counter-Reformation or the Catholic Reformation was a strong reaffirmation of the doctrine and structure of the Catholic Church, climaxing at the Council of Trent, partly in reaction to the growth of Protestantism. ...

After falling under Hungarian rule in the Dual Monarchy, liberal laws regarding ethnicity enabled them to rekindle their language and heritage. However, when a 1900 census revealed that only 18.8% of the population of Burgenland spoke Hungarian, drastic measures of magyarisation were taken, thus revoking many individual and community rights. Sadly the Burgenland Croats were persecuted by Austro-German Nationalists after the WWI and by the Nazis in WWII and were exposed to attempts of assimilation. Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ...

The Croats gained minority status in the Austrian Treaty of Independence of 1955. Since then they and their culture have undergone somewhat of a renaissance with the language being taught at schools and spoken in Church where there is a large enough minority.

Language

The Burgenland Croats speak an older version of the modern-day Croatian language. The two variants are mutually intelligible, however, the Burgenland version of Croatian includes phrases no longer used in modern Croatian as well as certain phrases and words taken from German and Hungarian. Names are often written according to Hungarian orthography due to Magyarisation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nearly all Burgenland Croats are fluent in German. Croatian language (hrvatski jezik) is a South Slavic language which is used primarily by the inhabitants of Croatia and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina and parts of the Croatian diaspora. ... Magyarisation was the official effort of the Hungarian government and institutions to linguistically and nationally unify the Kingdom of Hungary in 19th century. ...

Famous Burgenland Croats

• Willi and Lukas Resetarits - famous Austrian music and cabaret artists
• Peter Resetarits - famous journalist
• Barbara Karlich - tv talk show host
• Lothar Rendulic - Wehrmacht general
• Andreas Ivanschitz - football (soccer) player
• Nicole Trimmel - kickboxer
• Fred Sinowatz - former Chancellor of Austria
• Terezija Stoisits - People's Advocate (Volksanwältin)
• Norbert Darabos - Austrian Minister of Defense

Wilhelm Resetarits (born December 21, 1948 in Stinatz, Austria), better known as Willi Resetarits and Dr. Kurt Ostbahn, is an Austrian singer, cabaret artist and human rights activist. ... Lukas Resetarits (born October 14, 1947 in Stinatz) is an Austrian cabaret artist and actor, best known for playing police inspector Kottan in the Austrian TV series Kottan ermittelt. ... Lothar Rendulic (November 23, 1887 – January 18, 1971) was a Colonel General in the Wehrmacht during WWII. Rendulic was born on in Wiener Neustadt, Austria to a Croatian family (Croatian spelling of the surname is Rendulić). He entered the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1910 and served during World War I... Andreas Ivanschitz wearing Panathinaikos FC shirt Andreas Ivanschitz (born October 15, 1983 in Eisenstadt, Austria) is an Austrian football player. ... Nicole Trimmel (born October 13, 1982), is an Austrian kickboxer. ... Fred Sinowatz (born February 5, 1929 in Neufeld an der Leitha, Burgenland) is a former Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Party of Austria (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, SPÖ). He was Chancellor of Austria from 1983 to 1986. ...

See also

• Burgenland Croatian dialect
• Croats