The Ethnic and Religious Structure of the Population of the Present-Day Territory of Transcarpathia in 1851

Abstract

In the present study we attempted to ascertain the ethnic and religious structure of the population which in 1851 lived on the territory that is now known as Transcarpathia, based on data from the book by Elek Fényes (The Geographic Dictionary of Hungary… / Magyarország geographiai szótára…) published in the same year. According to the results of our research, we can state that the dominant ethnic community of the region at that time were the Rusyns (in Elek Fényes’s wording Russians), who lived predominantly in the mountainous territories. An important role in the ethnic structure was also played by Hungarians, Germans, Slovaks and Vlachs (Romanians). As to the religious composition, the most important denomination was that of Greek Catholics/Eastern Orthodox Christians, who formed an absolute majority in the region, their settlement area showing a close relationship with the location of the Rusyns.