Géra Eleonóra Erzsébet’s (Institute of Historical Studies) new book explores one of the most dramatic and complex periods of Buda’s early modern history, when the city underwent two complete population replacements and, following its liberation from Ottoman rule, became a major political, economic, and cultural center on the eastern flank of the Habsburg Empire.
The history of Buda is unique among modern European capitals, as it experienced two complete and forced population exchanges. It was first conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1541, and then recaptured by Christian forces in 1686. Following the failed Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1684, the Habsburgs sought the Pope’s assistance to expel the Sultan from Europe. United under the banner of the Holy League, the armies of several European nations – joined by crusaders responding to the Pope’s call – encircled Buda in the summer of 1686 and succeeded in liberating it after 72 days.
The recapture of Buda was regarded as an event of great European significance. The city’s prominent status was reinforced by its role as a commercial hub and its position at the crossroads of diverse cultures. However, in accordance with Habsburg policy, Catholic Germans assumed the leading role in its redevelopment. The Castle District and the Water Town quarter came to resemble Austrian-German cities, while the nearby Tabán district – inhabited by Orthodox and Catholic South Slavs – reflected the atmosphere of the Balkans. Apart from a few baptized Muslims and several Christian South Slav or Hungarian families, no continuous population remained, and only a handful of architectural monuments bore traces of the former Ottoman rule. The newly arrived German-speaking settlers found themselves in a world that felt at once familiar and exotic.
Several Austrian, German, and Swiss urban historians (most recently Michaela Schmölz- Häberlein and Julia A. Funke) have emphasized the need for further research on German Catholic cities, which have often been overshadowed by their Protestant counterparts, as well as on the new towns established by German-speaking settlers in the eastern regions of the Habsburg Empire. In this context, the present volume represents
a significant contribution, filling an important scholarly gap from multiple perspectives.
Since antiquity, the city has served as a vital Danube crossing point, a commercial hub, and a fortified stronghold. Even after the expulsion of the Ottomans, it maintained its key role in long-distance trade, together with its sister city, Pest, situated on the opposite bank of the river. Goods arriving from the Ottoman Empire – mediated by South Slav and other Balkan merchants – were received here by German-Italian trading companies and then forwarded to Vienna and Nuremberg. On their return journeys, goods were transported back from those cities. In addition to its commercial advantages, the region’s natural resources – such as the renowned Buda vineyards – also attracted new settlers.
During the anti-Turkish wars of reconquest and the anti-Habsburg Rákóczi Uprising, Buda served as a strategically vital fortress and a key launching point for land and river campaigns toward the south and east. It was suitable for the long-term quartering of large armies, and its warehouses ensured a steady supply of food and military equipment. From the very beginning, the Viennese court referred to the burned, completely ruined, and depopulated Buda as the royal capital of Hungary. This designation made it clear to settlers that the authorities intended to restore the city as a preeminent administrative and religious center over time.
As a result of the Habsburg-led resettlement and the influx of German-speaking inhabitants, the region surrounding Buda became closely linked to Western Europe, particularly to the German cultural sphere. A large proportion of the settlers came from the Austrian hereditary provinces and territories of the Holy Roman Empire. German was the sole language of administration recognized by the monarch and his officials. From the outset, efforts were made to create a settlement modeled on the towns of the hereditary provinces.
It is therefore no coincidence that the authorities sought to attract settlers with prior experience of urban life – mainly from smaller towns, particularly in Catholic Austria and Bavaria. Alongside the predominantly German bourgeoisie appeared their Germanized neighbors of Italian origin, as well as Hungarians, Croats, Orthodox Serbs, and former prisoners of war who had converted from Islam.
The volume is not an urban history in the classical sense, nor does it examine the period primarily through the lens of public administration or political events. Instead, it adopts a microhistorical approach to explore the everyday lives of people and families of the era – how they experienced the constant presence of war, the recurring threat of epidemics, and the challenges of high mortality, as well as the coping strategies they developed. Using concrete examples, the work illustrates family life from courtship to widowhood and pays particular attention to the situation of women. It also addresses the fate of those marginalized within patriarchal society.
Furthermore, the author engages with questions that remain relevant today, such as how multiethnic communities functioned, what kinds of everyday conflicts arose among inhabitants of differing cultural backgrounds, and how these tensions were managed.
The volume was produced with the support of the Momentum Family History Research Group of the Institute of History, Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2017–2022), led by Gabriella Erdélyi, and the Thematic Excellence Program ITH “Family and Nation – Tradition and Innovation in Modern and Contemporary History” (2019–2022), conducted at our university under the direction of László Csorba.
Find more about the volume here.