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The area of Romania has long been a land of ethnic diversity. In many areas of Wallachia and Moldavia the population was 100 percent Romanian. Nevertheless both had many areas of diversity, especially Moldavia. As early as the beginning of the eighteenth century, Moldovan prince and scholar Dimitrie Cantemir observed that he "didn't believe that there [existed] a single country of the size of Moldova in which so many and such diverse peoples meet." Dobruja had, and still has, many ethnic groups. The ethnic Romanian population of Dobrudja has always been under 50 percent; other groups include Bulgarians, Tatars, Russians, and Turks. Historically the most ethnically diverse areas of Romania have been the former Hungarian territories of Transylvania and the Banat. This has been a multi-ethnic region with Hungarian, Romanian, German, and Serbian inhabitants since medieval times. | The area of Romania has long been a land of ethnic diversity. In many areas of Wallachia and Moldavia the population was 100 percent Romanian. Nevertheless both had many areas of diversity, especially Moldavia. As early as the beginning of the eighteenth century, Moldovan prince and scholar Dimitrie Cantemir observed that he "didn't believe that there [existed] a single country of the size of Moldova in which so many and such diverse peoples meet." Dobruja had, and still has, many ethnic groups. The ethnic Romanian population of Dobrudja has always been under 50 percent; other groups include Bulgarians, Tatars, Russians, and Turks. Historically the most ethnically diverse areas of Romania have been the former Hungarian territories of Transylvania and the Banat. This has been a multi-ethnic region with Hungarian, Romanian, German, and Serbian inhabitants since medieval times. | ||
<u>Hungarians</u> - The largest minority group in Romania are the Hungarians who are found chiefly in Transylvania. There are | <u>Hungarians</u> - The largest minority group in Romania are the Hungarians who are found chiefly in Transylvania. There are two distinct Hungarian cultural groups, the Magyars and the Szeklers. The Magyars came into the area in 896 and shortly thereafter the Szeklers settled in southeastern Transylvania. Most Szeklers are Protestant; the majority of Magyars are Roman Catholic. When Transylvania became part of the Kingdom of Romania in 1918 nearly 200,000 ethnic Hungarians moved into the Republic of Hungary and the exodus of Hungarians from Romania continued though most of the twentieth century. | ||
<u>Germans</u> - The ethnic German component of the population is also concentrated in former Hungarian territory. The Germans are divided into two distinct groups--the Protestant Saxons and the Catholic Swabians. The Saxons arrived in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, invited by Hungarian kings. Most came from the Rhineland and settled in the south and east of Transylvania. The Saxons converted to the Lutheran faith which helped preserve their cultural identity. The Swabians settled in Romania much later, in the mid and late 1700s. They came chiefly from the Württemberg area and ended up mostly in the Banat. Since the second world war, most ethnic Germans have left Romania, ending up primarily in Germany and Austria. | <u>Germans</u> - The ethnic German component of the population is also concentrated in former Hungarian territory. The Germans are divided into two distinct groups--the Protestant Saxons and the Catholic Swabians. The Saxons arrived in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, invited by Hungarian kings. Most came from the Rhineland and settled in the south and east of Transylvania. The Saxons converted to the Lutheran faith which helped preserve their cultural identity. The Swabians settled in Romania much later, in the mid and late 1700s. They came chiefly from the Württemberg area and ended up mostly in the Banat. Since the second world war, most ethnic Germans have left Romania, ending up primarily in Germany and Austria. | ||