Croats in Baranya
Máté Kitanics: Croats in Baranya (excerpt from Ph.D dissertation, 2014)

In the territory of the former Baranya County, Bosnian and Šokac Croats lived predominantly. The Baranya Bosniaks, similarly to their relatives in Somogy County, mostly arrived from the region of northern Bosnia. Their former and present settlements include Németi, Kökény, Áta, Pécsudvard, Pogány, Szalánta, Szemely, Szőke and Szőkéd. Beyond these smaller localities, their history can also be traced in Pécs and Szigetvár up to the first half of the 20th century. However, due to the stronger impact of urbanization, these communities assimilated earlier than their rural counterparts, although during the period examined here—the 17th and 18th centuries—their presence in these towns is certain.
The Šokci, similarly to the Bosniaks, also migrated from Bosnia, but from its central regions, as well as from the eastern half of Slavonia. Their migrant groups settled, among other places, in Alsószentmárton, Belvárdgyula, Beremend, Birján, Erdősmárok, Hercegszántó, Kásád, Kátoly, Lothárd, Lánycsók, Magyarsarlós, Monyoród, Maráza, Mohács, Nagykozár, Olasz, Siklós and Versend. The Baranya Croats also include those Šokci whose settlement areas were located in the former districts of Pélmonostor and Baranyavár, today on the territory of Croatia. These Šokci of the Baranja Triangle constitute the Danubian group, while the Drava-side group usually includes the inhabitants of Kásád, Alsószentmárton and Beremend.
Although the boundary between the Šokac and Bosniak groups is theoretically well defined in scholarly literature, in many cases it is not as clear-cut as one might assume based on certain works. Some authors refer to the gradual “Šokacization” of the Bosniaks, and it appears that in villages situated along the dividing line between the two ethnographic groups (Nagykozár, Szemely, Magyarsarlós), a certain duality can often be observed. The process of mixing cannot be excluded already in the 18th century, and not only in these settlements. It should be kept in mind, however, that the emergence of the categories “Bosniak” and “Šokac” in written sources largely dates to the 19th and 20th centuries; in earlier periods these groups were most often referred to by descriptors such as Illyrian, Dalmatian, Croatian, and similar terms. Thus, local identity in the period under examination cannot be traced, or only with significant limitations.
Catholic Slavic population had already been present in the county during the Middle Ages. In their lives, as in the case of other ethnic groups, the advance of the Ottoman Empire and the fall of Pécs in 1543 brought significant changes. Following the conquest, the city and its wider surroundings were for a short time located in a frontier zone, but with the capture of Szigetvár in 1566 and the fall of Kanizsa in 1600, this pressure first weakened and then ceased, reappearing only during the wars of reconquest. The situation of the Catholic population that remained or was settled there by the Ottomans was further complicated by the fact that the Bishop of Pécs, the cathedral chapter, and the clergy fled parallel with the Ottoman conquest, and during the Ottoman period their roles were taken over by Bosnian Franciscans, Jesuits, and secular priests engaged in missionary activity.
From the perspective of migration, our first, early period is dated from the beginning of the 17th century to the third decade of that century. The starting point of this early phase is placed in the 1610s, since it is during this time that the first reliable records appear in greater numbers concerning the ecclesiastical life of Catholic South Slavic communities within the county. By 1613, the Catholic Bosniaks of Pécs already had their own priest in the person of Stjepan Nikolić Radobilj, while it is also known that in the surroundings of the city approximately 30 smaller Catholic South Slavic communities were active during the 1620s. In addition to Pécs, Mohács also appears among the earliest locations mentioned in the sources, where during the 1610s the secular priest Don Simon Matkovich carried out notable pastoral work. His activity was also reported by the Dalmatian traveler Atanasije Grgicsevich during his journey from Buda toward Banja Luka.
According to the records of the apostolic delegate Petrus Masaricchi, who traveled throughout the entire territory of Baranya in 1623 and 1624, Matkovich, operating from the Mohács center, cared for approximately 5,000 Catholic believers in the surrounding area, while also maintaining a school for his clerical students. During his travels, the apostolic delegate—who preached in the Croatian language—also recorded information about a Bosnian Franciscan serving in Luč (Lőcs), and he likewise mentioned the Jesuits of Pécs, who, in addition to pastoral care, provided education and training for approximately 30 young men. Based on surviving documents and correspondence, it appears that the Croatian Jesuit Juraj Cvetich was primarily responsible for teaching. About two decades later, in 1642, ecclesiastical records already mention, alongside Luč, the settlement of Kneževi Vinograd (Hercegszöllős), where Luka and Petar of Dubrovnik provided pastoral care to Catholic believers.
After the conclusion of the first migration phase, which extended until the third decade of the 17th century, during the mid-17th century (1645–1655), in addition to the Bačka region, a larger-scale settlement can also be observed in Baranya County. Within this process, Bosnian Franciscans led approximately 2,000 families from certain monasteries into territories under Ottoman rule. The settlement of believers arriving from Bosnia in Baranya took place primarily in settlements visited in 1649 by Marin Ibrisimovich, the Bishop of Belgrade, during his canonical visitation, where he administered the sacrament of confirmation to large numbers of Catholic South Slavic believers. These locations included Luč, Bóly, Dályok, and Bezedek.
During the episcopal visitation of Bishop Matija Benlich in 1664, in addition to Bóly, the previously unmentioned parishes of Izsép (Topolje), Darázs (Draž), and Szajk were also recorded. By the beginning of the second half of the 17th century, as a result of the first two migration phases, the circle of settlements (Pécs, Mohács, Kneževi Vinograd, Luč, Bóly, Dályok, Bezedek, Izsép, Darázs, Szajk) that later formed the backbone of the Croatian settlement area in Baranya had begun to take shape. This structure was further strengthened by migration waves during the wars of reconquest, and by the early 18th century it had developed into the core Croatian settlement zone of Baranya. The third migration phase, during which large numbers of Catholic Balkan immigrants arrived not only in Baranya but also in Somogy, Bačka, and along the Danube, lasted in Baranya from 1686 until approximately 1714.
The migration peak within this period coincided with the episcopacy of Matija Radonay (Radonjić Mátyás), a Croat originally from Varaždin County (1687–1703). Radonay, seeking to restore economic strength and acting as a determined opponent of Orthodox and Reformed communities, strongly promoted the settlement of large numbers of Catholic Bosniaks and Šokci on episcopal and chapter estates. The majority of newcomers were settled in an organized manner, resulting in the formation of a group of Bosniak settlements immediately south of Pécs, while toward the southeast, stretching as far as Mohács, a chain of Šokac settlements developed.
This chain of Šokac settlements continued further south into the Baranja Triangle, encompassing the following localities: Dályok (Duboševica), Izsép (Topolje), Hercegmárok (Gajić), Darázs (Draž), Kiskőszeg (Batina), Nagybodoja (Podolje), Hercegszöllős (Kneževi Vinograd), Baranyavár (Branjin Vrh), Benge (Šumarina), Lőcs (Luč), Petárda (Baranjsko Petrovo Selo), Torjánc (Torjanci), and Kásád.
In addition to the settlements listed above, in connection with Pécs it can be noted that from the early 17th century onward Croatian immigrants from Bosnia, Dalmatia, and Croatia, as well as Bosniak and Ragusan merchants, settled primarily in the Budai quarter, on Havi Hill, around Tettye, near the Church of All Saints, and in the area extending from the Church of St. Augustine along Felsővámház Street to Balokány.
Among the settlements listed above, part of the scholarly literature considers the Šokac population of the settlements of Darázs (Draž), Márok, Izsép (Topolje), and Dályok (Duboševica), located between Batina and Mohács, to be of Bulgarian origin, associating the inhabitants of these settlements with the Paulician Bulgarian exodus of the late 17th and early 18th centuries and their resettlement in Hungary. Furthermore, after examining parish registers and population lists, it can be established that, although to a lesser extent than in Verőce County, Bačka, or the Danube regions, Catholic Bulgarians also settled in Baranya following the suppression of the Chiprovtsi Uprising (Pécs, Németi, Mohács).
It is also important to mention specific migration directions, since during the wars of reconquest a portion of the faithful belonging to the monastery of Srebrenica fled to Mohács. In addition, between 1701 and 1704, the Batthyány family settled so-called “papist Rascians” on their estates in Bóly.
As a consequence of the developments described above, according to the calculations of László Szita, immediately prior to Rákóczi’s War of Independence, Baranya contained 187 Hungarian-inhabited settlements and 25 Serbian-inhabited settlements, alongside 64 settlements populated by Šokci, Bosniaks, and Bunjevci. Rákóczi’s War of Independence affected the population of the county just as severely as that of Somogy or Bačka, as raids by Rascians and Kuruc forces also impacted Baranya.
Following the Treaty of Szatmár in 1711, the situation gradually stabilized: part of the refugee population returned to their settlements, while new waves of settlement also took place. As the closing phase of the third major migration period, in 1714 Bunjevac settlers arrived in Baranya from the regions around Ogulin and Brinje. With this, the most intensive phase of migration waves affecting Baranya from the early 17th to the early 18th century came to an end; thereafter, internal migrations became the dominant pattern.
As a supplement to the above, it is important to note that Baranya—more precisely, the territory of the Diocese of Pécs—was one of the centers of the attempt to establish church union with the Serbs, which later proved unsuccessful (alongside the Venetian Republic and the Military Frontier). Despite the general failure, some partial successes can be identified, since there were Orthodox groups in the county that were successfully compelled into Catholic union. With this, attention is drawn to the participation of populations of Serbian and Vlach origin, belonging to the Serbian Patriarchate, in the ethnogenesis of the Baranya Croatian ethnic groups discussed here.
Following the above, the three major migration phases of Croatian settlement in Baranya can be summarized as follows:
Documentable large-scale Croatian migration in the county began at the very beginning of the 17th century. As a result of this and of the second major migration dated between 1645 and 1655, by the early second half of the 17th century the foundation of the Bosniak–Šokac settlement zone in Baranya had been established. Besides Baranya, the second principal destination of this migration wave was the Bačka region.
In assisting the settlement of Catholic South Slavic believers and in providing their spiritual care, Jesuits—similarly to the northern Somogy region—also played a role alongside Bosnian Franciscans and secular priests, and to a significantly greater extent than in Bačka or along the Danube regions.
The third major migration wave took place between 1686 and 1714. Its most intensive phase coincided with the episcopacy of Matija Radonay of Pécs, who strongly promoted organized settlement.
In the ethnogenesis of the Croatian population of Baranya, Bosniaks from northern Bosnia and Šokci from central Bosnia and eastern Slavonia played the dominant role. Alongside them, in larger towns—especially in Pécs—Croats from Croatia and Ragusan merchants were also present. In considering this ethnogenesis, one must not overlook the influence of Bulgarians, whose role was smaller than in Bačka or the Danube regions, nor the role of Serbs who were forced into ecclesiastical union.
The Croatian population, similarly to that in Baranya and Somogy, suffered considerable losses during Rákóczi’s War of Independence. Thereafter, a significant portion of refugees returned to their settlements, while the last larger groups of settlers arrived in 1714 from Bunjevac settlement areas located in the northern part of Lika and between Lika and Gorski Kotar.
Regarding the internal movements that followed the end of wartime conditions and the consolidation period after Rákóczi’s War of Independence, the most significant process for us, in the Baranya–Bačka context, was the migration of Šokci toward the left bank of the Danube.