Relations between Hungary and Serbia, or Serbo-Hungarian relations form a part of the wider politics of Central and Southeast Europe. The two countries have a long relationship stretching back to the Middle Ages. History of official diplomatic relations of Hungary and Serbia dates back to 21 November 1882, when they were established between the Kingdom of Serbia and Austria-Hungary. Today, Hungary has an embassy in Belgrade and a general consulate in Subotica, while Serbia has an embassy in Budapest and an honorary consulate in Szeged.
The two countries share 151 km of common border. There are around 254,000 people of Hungarian descent according to the latest census living in northern Serbia (particularly in Vojvodina) and around 7,000 people of traditional Serbian descent living in Hungary (not counting workers and refugees from Serbia to Hungary since the 1990s). In recent years, the relations between the two countries have been characterized by a strong partnership.
Hungary and Serbia share a long historical contact, but both have been characterized between cooperation and conflict. Contacts begin with the immigration of Hungarian tribes to Pannonia around the 10th century. The first serious ties between Serbs and Hungarians came with the formation of the medieval Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Hungary. Daughter of Serbian ruler Uroš I, Grand Prince of Serbia Jelena married the son and heir of Stephen II of Hungary around 1130 while marking the first dynastic marriage between the ruling families of the two countries.[1] Later, the Hungarian princess Catherine (Katalin) will become the wife of Stephen Dragutin I, King of Serbia, while his brother, the later King Stephen Milutin I of Serbia, married the Hungarian princess Elizabeth (Erzsébet). Serbian Prince Stefan Lazarević had a great alliance with King Sigismund of Luxembourg and formed the knightly Order of the Dragon. He also received Belgrade as a gift in 1403, which then became the capital for the first time. During the defense against Turkish attacks, especially during the siege of Belgrade in 1456, the Hungarian hero John Hunyadi stood out, who is mentioned in many Serbian epic poems as Sibinjanin Janko. King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary was a great friend of the Serbs and helped the Serbian states in their defense against the Turkish invasion. After the Fall of Smederevo in 1459, he accepted thousands of Serbian refugees into Hungary and allowed the descendants of Đurađ Branković to bear the title of despot while fighting under the Hungarian flag.[2] One of them was the famous Black Army commander Vuk Grgurević-Branković, known as Vuk the Fiery Dragon, a friend of Matthias Corvinus who conquered Sarajevo and brought thousands of Serbian refugees from Bosnia to Syrmia.[3] Hungarian and Serbian refugees fled from Ottoman occupations, and used to be part of the famous Winged Hussars, a military regiment of the previous Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
However, relationship between two states turned tense in the later half of the 19th century, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbia and Serbian interests toward Bosnia and Herzegovina and Vojvodina, both have significant Serbian population. As part of Austria-Hungary, the Hungarian army formed a significant part of the invading army on Serbia at the World War I.[4] After the war, Hungary lost Vojvodina, a former territory of the Kingdom of Hungary, to Serbia.[5]
Hungary signed a non-aggression and "Treaty of Eternal Friendship" with Yugoslavia on 12 December 1940. However, Hungary participated in the Axis invasion on Yugoslavia which prompted the then Prime Minister of Hungary Pál Teleki to commit suicide.[6] In the communist era, Yugoslavia's Josip Broz Tito was against the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and supportive of Soviet military uses against Hungarians;[7] but the suppression of Hungarian protesters by Soviet army might have influenced Tito's decision to change against the Soviets at the Prague Spring a decade later.
The relationship between Serbia and Hungary went downhill in the 1990s, when Yugoslavia started to disintegrate. Hungary was one of the earliest supporters of newly independent Croatia and allowed the Croats to supply weapons through their territory.[8] However, during the NATO-led bombing of Serbia, Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán refused the requests of the United States and Great Britain to invade the north of Serbia in order to hinder the intervention of Serbian forces in Kosovo but expressed concern about the situation of the Hungarian minority in Serbia and had to cede airspace to NATO forces because it got membership in NATO before the war.[9] [10] Several protests against the bombing were also organized in Budapest.[11] Therefore, relations between the two countries slowly improved in the post-war period. During the premiership of Ferenc Gyurcsány, the relations continued to worsen, with Hungary being one of the earliest nations in the world to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.[12]
In 2013, a historical reconciliation was marked after decades of tensions between Belgrade and Budapest.[13] The President of Hungary, János Áder gave a speech in front of the National Assembly where he issued an official apology for the Hungarian role in the World War II persecution of Serbs such as Novi Sad raid.[14] In turn, in 2014 the National Assembly in Belgrade symbolically voided Yugoslav laws on collective guilt of Hungarian people for crimes committed during World War II.[15]
In 2015, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić criticised the Hungarian use of tear gas against migrants on the Hungary-Serbia border as "brutal" and "non-European", calling for an EU response.[16]
Since then, relations between Serbia and Hungary progressed to the point where the two countries are extremely friendly.[17] The project of building a high-speed railway between Belgrade and Budapest was started,[18] and the Hungarian government financed many projects in the north of Serbia, such as the stadium in Bačka Topola.[19] During the energy crisis in Serbia at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, the government in Budapest allowed Serbia to store gas in Hungarian warehouses due to a lack of space in the Banatski Dvor warehouse.[20] Also, although it officially recognizes Kosovo's independence, in many cases Hungary was on the Serbian side when Kosovo was discussed, for example it voted against Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe in 2023.[21] [22]
Neither Hungary nor Serbia have joined the sanctions against Russia following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the exception of those Hungary had to adopt as a member of the European Union. Both countries have been vocally against restricting Russian gas imports, and as a consequence have also suffered a deterioration in relations with Ukraine. On the other hand, because of their common stance, relations between the two countries have continued to improve. Recently, Serbia and Hungary started planning the construction of an oil pipeline from Hungary to refineries in Serbia.
Today, Hungary strongly supports Serbia's membership in the European Union and, along with Greece, is considered Serbia's strongest ally in the EU. Along with Poland, Serbia is considered Hungary's biggest friend in foreign policy.[23] [24] [25]
See main article: Serbs in Hungary. The presence of Serbs in the territory of present-day Hungary dates from the Middle Ages. The mother of the Hungarian king Géza II (1141-1162) was Helena of Serbia, a daughter of Uroš I, ruler of the Grand Principality of Serbia,. During the rule of Géza II, her brother Beloš Vukanović was a palatine of the Kingdom of Hungary. Since the 14th century, escaping from the Ottoman threat, a large number of Serbs migrated to the Kingdom of Hungary.
The most complex example of Serb architectural heritage in Hungary is the old town of Szentendre (Serbian: Sentandreja), next to the Danube, with 7 Orthodox Churches (two of which have been sold), brightly coloured merchant houses and the Museum of Serb Orthodox Heritage. In Budapest, the Serb Orthodox Cathedral in the Tabán district was damaged in WWII and later demolished. There is an old Serb Orthodox Church in Serb Street, Pest and the famous Serb college, Thökölyanum (Serbian: Tekelijanum).
There are Serbian churches in Vác (Vac), Székesfehérvár (Stoni Beograd) with a Serbian open-air village museum, Szeged (Segedin), Baja (Baja) with two churches, Mohács (Mohač), Siklós (Šikloš), Eger (Jegra), Győr (Đur), Esztergom (Ostrogon), Hódmezővásárhely (Vašarhelj).
There are also village churches in Pomáz (Pomaz), Csobánka (Čobanac), Izbég, Ráckeve (Srpski Kovin, rare example of Serb Gothic architecture from the 15th century), Lórév (Lovra), Szigetcsép (Čip), Budakalász (Kalaz), Magyarcsanád (Čanad), Battonya (Batanja), Deszk (Deska), Szőreg (Sirig), Dunapentele (Pantelija, now Dunaújváros), Százhalombatta (Bata), Dunaföldvár (Feldvar), Alsónána (Donja Nana), Bátaszék (Batsek, demolished in the 1960s), Medina (Medina), Illocska (Iločac), Magyarbóly (Madžarboja), Dunaszekcső (Sečuj), Villány (Viljan), Sárok (Šarok), Majs (Majš), Lippó (Lipova), Beremend (Breme), Erdősmecske (Racmečka), Somberek (Šumberak), Véménd (Vemend, demolished), Nagybudmér (Veliki Budmir, demolished in 2001), Hercegszántó (Santovo), Újszentiván (Novi Sentivan).
There are two Serbian Orthodox Monasteries, one in Ráckeve (Srpski Kovin) and one in Grábóc (Grabovac).
See main article: Hungarians in Serbia.
Parts of the Vojvodina region were included into the medieval Kingdom of Hungary in the 10th century, and Hungarians then began to settle in the region. Until the 16th century, Hungarians formed the largest part of population in today's Vojvodina. After the Ottoman conquest of Hungary, the region was devastated by the conquerors, the population were killed, or fled. By the middle of the 16th century, Serbs were the majority. Hungarians started to settle back to the territory after the Ottomans were driven out in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Count Imre Csáky settled Hungarians in his possessions in Bačka in 1712. In 1745, Hungarian colonists settled in Senta, in 1750 in Topola, in 1752 in Doroslovo, in 1772 in Bogojevo, in 1760 in Stara Kanjiža, in 1764 in Iđoš, in 1767 in Petrovo Selo, in 1776 in Martonoš, in 1786 in Pačir and Ostojićevo, in 1787 in Piroš, and in 1789 in Feketić. Between 1782 and 1786, Hungarians settled in Crvenka and Stara Moravica, and in 1794 in Kula. Between 1751 and 1753, Hungarians settled in Mol and Ada (Those originated mostly from Szeged and Jászság). In 1764–1767, Hungarians settled in Subotica, Bajmok and Čantavir, and in 1770 again in Kanjiža, Mol, Ada and Petrovo Selo, as well as in Feldvarac, Sentomaš and Turija. In Banat, the settling of Hungarians started later. In 1784 Hungarians settled in Padej and Nakovo, in 1776 in Torda, in 1786 in Donji Itebej, in 1796 in Beodra and Čoka, in 1782 in Monoštor, in 1798 in Mađarska Crnja, in 1773 in Krstur and Majdan, in 1774 in Debeljača, in 1755–1760 in Bečkerek, and in 1766 in Vršac. In the 19th century, the Hungarian colonization increased. From the beginning of the century, the Hungarian individuals and small groups of settlers from Alföld constantly immigrating to Bačka. In the first half of the 19th century larger and smaller groups of the colonists settled in Mol (in 1805), as well as in Feldvarac, Temerin and Novi Sad (in 1806). In 1884, Hungarian colonists settled in Šajkaška and in Mali Stapar near Sombor. In 1889, Hungarians were settled in Svilojevo near Apatin and in 1892 in Gomboš, while another group settled in Gomboš in 1898. Many Hungarian settlers from Gomboš moved to Bačka Palanka. After the abolishment of the Military Frontier, Hungarian colonists were settled in Potisje, Čurug, Žabalj, Šajkaški Sveti Ivan, Titel and Mošorin. In 1883 around 1,000 Székely Hungarians settled in Kula, Stara Kanjiža, Stari Bečej and Titel. In 1800, smaller groups of Hungarian colonists from Dunántúl settled in Čoka, while in the same time colonists from Csanád and Csongrád counties settled in area around Itebej and Crnja, where they at first lived in scattered small settlements, and later they formed one single settlement - Mađarska Crnja. In 1824, one group of colonists from Čestereg also settled in Mađarska Crnja. In 1829 Hungarians settled in Mokrin, and in 1880 an even larger number of Hungarians settled in this municipality. In 1804, Hungarian colonists from Csongrád county settled in Firiđhaza (which was then joined with Turska Kanjiža), as well as in Sajan and Torda. Even a larger group of Hungarians from Csongrád settled in 1804 in Debeljača. In 1817–1818 Hungarians settled in Veliki Bikač, and in 1820–1840 smaller groups of Hungarians settled in Vranjevo. In 1826, colonists from Jászság and Kunság settled in Arač near Beodra. In 1830, Hungarians from Alföld settled in Veliki Lec, in 1831 in Ostojićevo, in 1832 in Malenčino Selo near Veliki Gaj, in 1839 and 1870 in Padej, in 1840 in Jermenovci and Mađarski Sentmihalj, in 1840–1841 in Dušanovac, in 1841 in Hetin, in 1859 in Sanad, in 1869 in Đurđevo (later moved to Skorenovac), and in 1890 in Gornja Mužlja. In 1883–1886, Székely Hungarians from Bukovina were settled in Vojlovica, Skorenovac, Ivanovo and Đurđevo. Total number of Székely colonists was 3,520.The first Hungarian settlers in Syrmia moved there during the 1860s from neighbouring counties, especially from Bačka.
Hungarians of Roman Catholic faith originated mostly from Dunántúl, while Hungarians of Protestant faith originated mostly from Alföld.
A mutual trade plays an important role in the economy of both countries. In 2015, Serbia was the 18th most important trading partner of Hungary. Serbia was among the most important countries for Hungary (export: the 18th place, import: the 26th place).[26]
| Export | 1,244.019 | 1,190.983 | 1,300.511 | 1,264.637 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Import | 356.102 | 469,352 | 433.110 | 538.397 | |
| Balance | 887.917 | 721.631 | 867.401 | 726.240 |