Serbs in Austria
Encyclopedia
The Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

are the third largest ethnic group of Austria. According to the 2001 census
Demographics of Austria
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Austria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

, there were 135 376 Serbs with Austrian citizenship, with 2,2% of the total population speaking Serbian
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

 as mother tongue.
The majority of Serbs in Austria have lived here since the 60s and 70s, while some have immigrated during the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...

 (1991-1996) and Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...

 (1999).

The real number of ethnic Serbs in Austria is thought to be much higher, e.g. the number of members of the ethnic Serbian associations (Savez Srba u Austriji) exceeds 250,000 people.

The Serbs have lived on Austrian territory for several centuries.

Naturalisation

According to the Naturalisation Act 1998, Austrian citizenship is based on the principle of jus sanguinis
Jus sanguinis
Ius sanguinis is a social policy by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but by having a parent who are citizens of the nation...

 and a regular waiting period of ten years for naturalisation. The new law shifted the burden of proof to the individual immigrant, who now has to show that they are sufficiently integrated
Social integration
Social integration, in sociology and other social sciences, is the movement of minority groups such as ethnic minorities, refugees and underprivileged sections of a society into the mainstream of societies...

 into Austrian society. Most importantly, the migrant has to prove that they are economically self-sufficient, that is, not in need of social assistance, and sufficiently capable in speaking German. Minor criminal offences can also constitute reasons for denial of citizenship.

History

Serbian freedom fighter Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip was the Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914...

 assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Franz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...

 and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg
Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg ; 1 March 1868 – 28 June 1914) was a Czech aristocrat, the morganatic wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. Their assassination sparked World War I.- Early life :...

, in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....

 on 28 June 1914 that led to the declaration of war against Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, an event said to have sparked the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Faced with a shortage of workers, Austria was heavily reliant on labour immigration for post-war reconstruction and economic expansion. Yugoslavia signed a bilateral agreement in the 60s with Austria.

People

  • Đorđe Joanović
  • Konstantin Jovanović
    Konstantin Jovanović
    Konstantin Jovanović was a prolific Serbian, Bulgarian and Austro–Hungarian architect known for providing the original designs of the National Assembly of Bulgaria and National Assembly of Serbia buildings.Jovanović was born in Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire, to a...

  • Pavle Julinac
  • Vuk Isakovič
    Vuk Isakovič
    Vuk Isakovič was a Serbian military commander in Austrian service during the Austrian-Turkish Wars. He was the inspiration for the main character in the Seobe-roman by Miloš Crnjanski.-Life:...

  • Dimitrije Karadžić
  • Mina Karadžić
  • Franjo Đura Kolčić
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