Görög Örökség Ελληνική Κληρονομιά - H-ellin.com

Testators and Heirs Greek
families from the Hungarian Past.
After the expulsion of the Turks from Hungary, the time for Reconstruction came. This
means that the number of free royal cities multiplied along with the settlements in the plains. Those
settlements were relatively safe and could easily organize a business network. In those settlements
but also in the whole country there were markets organized that were gradually increasing with the
presence of traders from the Balkans, who were Turkish citizens and received a lot of tax and
custom facilitations. They were very bold and courageous business-people and prevailed in those
areas where the business spirit was absent. The Greek, Armenian and Serbian traders quickly
organized business networks in the settlements of Alföld, while at the same time, they appeared in
big cities.
At the beginning they were selling door-to-door, then appeared in fairs and later settled in
shops, which they were renting. The secret of their success was that they were selling their products
at prices lower than those of the local Hungarian and German traders and for that reason they were
constantly facing trouble with the local authorities. However, they were warmly welcomed by the
citizens and landowners. They started and prevailed as wholesalers but gradually gained reputations
as retailers, too, while the royals put pressure on them to settle permanently in the empire.
In 1774, only the Greeks who took an oath of faith and became citizens of the empire took a
license for free trading and settled in Hungary. That meant that the government of the Hapsburgs
accepted them pleasantly in other financial actions that were not involved with trading or industries.
Those who swore faith to the government gained the opportunity to buy or rent real estate, as well as
farming land. Thus, the Austrian traders and manufactures were not in danger. The Greeks settled in
the cities of Gyor, Vac, Komarom, Pest, Dunapenteld- /Dunaujvaros/Dunafoldvar, Gyöngyös
Karcag, Miskolc, Eger, Debrecen, Szeged, Szentes, Kecskemet.
Once settled in those cities as legal citizens, they continued their financial activities, created
wealth and became owners of land and real estate. A lot of them gained a title of dignity and the next
generations participated in the city's administration, even the governing of the state.
With the fortune they made, they financed the building of orthodox churches, schools and
hospitals in the biggest cities ( Gyor, Vac, Pest, Gyöngyös, Karcag, Miskolc, Kecskemet, Szentes,
Szeged etc ). In many cities they had churches together with the Serbians, who they shared the same
religious belief with. The Greek and Serbian Communities were very pleased with the Bishop of
Buda, Dionyssios Popovits, born in Kozani in 1790. From the Balkans, the traders that prevailed in
the business sector in Pest were the Greeks. One of the most important families with great influence
was the Nakou family. Christoforos Nakos along with his brother Kyrillos had bought since 1780 a
lot of acres of land in south Hungary, the county of Torontal. There, they cultivated the wheat and
developed stockbreeding. The "House of Nakou" was in Vaci street, number 9 and on the basement
there was a shop where they sold silk and fabric. In the 19' century, in Pest the Nakou Palace was
next to the Chain Bridge and was bought by the Dera family to whose possession it remained for 40
years. The Dera family was one of the richest families in Pest and assisted Szechenyi's reformative
ideas. When Georgios Sinas married Kataliné Dera, their immense family fortunes were joined
together. The Charisis family was very famous and a member of the family was the first ambassador
of Greece in Pest. Pavlos Charisis with his wife established the Chariseio Institute that helped
Greeks learn the greek language in Greece. Moreover, they financed the building of new schools in
Kozani. The Sakellaris family was involved in trading paper and leather goods and were elected tax
payers in Pest due to their vast fortune. The biggest business centre in Pest belonged to the Mano
family and one of their descendants was a banker. The family palace still exists in the county of Pest.
85