Papers by Anna Ransmayr
Menschen im Aufbruch, 2020
Administory
From the late 18th century to the end of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918, Vienna’s two Greek Orthod... more From the late 18th century to the end of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918, Vienna’s two Greek Orthodox communities administered a remarkable number of endowments. By founding endowments the benefactors acted between several spaces and subspaces. The transgression of boundaries by endowments addressed to the benefactors’ hometowns in the Ottoman Empire as well as the instability of these boundaries in the 19th century led to various problems in the interaction with the state authorities. But also endowments given to Viennese institutions were sometimes problematic, depending on the benefactors’ character as either Ottoman or Habsburg subjects. In contrast to Ottoman subjects, Habsburg subjects could also endow real estate and thus show their integration into the Viennese bourgeoisie. In this article we discuss the legal frameworks for the administration of endowments in the two Greek communities in Vienna as well as its practical realization in interaction with the Habsburg authorities.
Administory
From the late 18th century to the end of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918, Vienna’s two Greek Orthod... more From the late 18th century to the end of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1918, Vienna’s two Greek Orthodox communities administered a remarkable number of endowments. By founding endowments the benefactors acted between several spaces and subspaces. The transgression of boundaries by endowments addressed to the benefactors’ hometowns in the Ottoman Empire as well as the instability of these boundaries in the 19th century led to various problems in the interaction with the state authorities. But also endowments given to Viennese institutions were sometimes problematic, depending on the benefactors’ character as either Ottoman or Habsburg subjects. In contrast to Ottoman subjects, Habsburg subjects could also endow real estate and thus show their integration into the Viennese bourgeoisie. In this article we discuss the legal frameworks for the administration of endowments in the two Greek communities in Vienna as well as its practical realization in interaction with the Habsburg authorities.
Menschen im Aufbruch. Universitätsbibliothek und Archiv der Universität Wien im Selbstverständnis ihrer Mitarbeiter_innen, 2019
A D I N I S T O R Y 2 / 2 0 1 7 95 Nathalie Patricia Soursos, Anna Ransmayr -Akteure im Dazwische... more A D I N I S T O R Y 2 / 2 0 1 7 95 Nathalie Patricia Soursos, Anna Ransmayr -Akteure im Dazwischen Stiftungen als »totales soziales Phänomen« 9 und ihre damit verbundene Durchdringung von Ökonomischem, Sozialem, Politischem und Rechtlichem durch das transnationale Element zu erweitern.
The paper aims to give a demographic overview of Greeks in Vienna from the end of the 18th centur... more The paper aims to give a demographic overview of Greeks in Vienna from the end of the 18th century to 1918 based on sources as conscriptions, merchant directories, parish registers, and other documents from the archives of Vienna’s two Greek communities. By following the history of the two communities and the development in Balkan trade it can be asserted that Greek presence in Vienna -except for its heyday in the years between 1790-1815- remained relatively stable at a number of c. 500 persons until it experienced a considerable decline from the 1860s on. The second part of the paper deals with Greek presence in Vienna in terms of space. By using a hitherto unknown register of Greeks that were Ottoman subjects from 1808 the Greek neighbourhood can be clearly localized in the north-eastern part of the inner city. This is also confirmed by the establishment of Vienna’s two Greek-Orthodox churches as well as the systematic acquisition of houses by Greeks in this area.
Thesis Chapters by Anna Ransmayr
The present diploma thesis deals with the subject of Greek epistolography by means of the particu... more The present diploma thesis deals with the subject of Greek epistolography by means of the particular case of the letters by the scholar of the Modern Greek enlightenment Konstantinos M. Koumas (1777-1836). The first chapter gives an outline of the history of Greek epistolography from antiquity to the 19th century with its focus on the Middle Ages and the early modern period. There are treated writings about the theory of letter-writing, the lessons of epistolography in schools and the actual practice of letter-writing.
In the second chapter a short biography of Koumas with its emphasis on the issues that appear in the letters and the treatment of the question why Koumas’ correspondence is preserved only fragmentary is to be found. Subsequently an overview of the correspondents of all his preserved correspondence in order of three chronological phases in Koumas’ biography is given. Moreover, the letters are divided into the two categories “private letters” and “letters directed to a wider public” and subsequently into some further sub-categories, by means of which I try to draw some primary conclusions regarding the relation between style level and the belonging of a letter to a certain category.
In the third chapter the letters are distinguished in more detail according to the criteria of the person of the receiver and the time when the letters were written. Then they are analyzed stylistically on the basis of text samples. A division into two phases with the caesura in the year 1808 when Koumas started to apply Adamantios Korais’ language theory of the so called “middle way” can be undertaken. Before 1808 significant differences between letters among friends and letters directed to ecclesiastic dignitaries can be detected, while after 1808 a move away from the style paradigms of the traditional post byzantine epistolography is discernable. Furthermore the exceptional position of the letters directed to the philhellene Friedrich Thiersch that are written in archaizing language is to be observed as well as the continuous appliance of Korais’ language theory in letters that are intended for publication. The fourth chapter deals with the various influences that shaped Koumas’ style of letter writing. Until 1808 mainly the influence of the traditional byzantine and post byzantine epistolography, as it was taught in school lessons, was important. After 1808 the writings of Korais as well as the contemporary epistolography in German language affected Koumas’ style of letter writing. Koumas’ multifaceted style of letter writing contains the traditional rhetoric style of writing linked to the reception of the letters of the fathers of the church as well as Korais’ language theory of the “middle way” and an archaizing style of writing inspired by the philhellenic enthusiasm for antiquity. As it unifies these different approaches it can be characterized as representative of the Greek epistolography of its time. Since a complete edition of Koumas’ letters doesn’t exist so far the appendix gives information concerning the preservation of Koumas’ letters, the preserved correspondence is evaluated statistically according to various criteria. Finally, there is a register containing summaries of the 174 preserved letters to or from Koumas, which formed the empirical basis of my research, in chronological order including the respective references.
The dissertation by means of the administrative history of Vienna’s two Greek communities (commun... more The dissertation by means of the administrative history of Vienna’s two Greek communities (community of St. George of the Ottoman subjects and community of the Holy Trinity of the Austrian subjects) on the basis of hitherto mostly unpublished archival documents deals with the subject of migration from the Ottoman Empire to the Habsburg Monarchy from the 18th century to 1918. In this context the terms „Greek“ and „community“ remain ambiguous between an religious meaning, a commercial meaning that is related to the profession of merchant as well as an ethnic meaning. Thus a national historiographic perspective on the subject is misleading. It was rather the affiliation to one of the two multi-ethnic empires (Ottoman Empire or Habsburg Monarchy) that shaped the identity and consciousness of the Viennese „Greeks“ and manifested itself in the existence of two distinct church communities. The collective the communities originated from was formed by Christian merchants from the Balkan regions of the Ottoman Empire (mostly the regions Macedonia, Thessaly and Epirus) with different ethnic backgrounds that used Greek as a lingua franca of trade and education. Their professional homogeneity expressed itself in their spatial concentration in Vienna’s trade quarter with the street „Alter Fleischmarkt“ in its centre (the so-called Greek quarter) and particularly in the acquisition of real estate in this area. Due to their economic importance the communities were granted tolerance and received imperial privileges that guaranteed them an autonomous position regarding the orthodox church hierarchy as well as in an economic respect. The analysis of the legal foundations (privileges, statutes, rules of order) of the communities shows that they were adapted in reaction to internal crises and external threats due to changed conditions in relation to the definition of the communities with an emphasis on the defence of their autonomous position. The development of the communities in this context is closely linked to the general economic history of the Habsburg Monarchy. Especially in the second half of the 19th century the decline of the Balkan trade with Vienna, the transformation of the composition of the orthodox population of the city and ecclesiastical developments inside the Habsburg Monarchy as well as the geopolitical upheavals regarding the Ottoman Empire caused changes that questioned the organisation of the communities in its traditional form in general. The identities of the Viennese Greeks were multi-faceted, but the loyalties towards the Sultan or the Kaiser were of significant importance as the stability of the two empires was the basis for the economic success and social advancement of the Greek merchants in Vienna. While the community of the Holy Trinity of the Austrian subjects developed a specific Habsburg-Greek identity, the community of St. George of the Ottoman subjects found itself in an intermediate position and divided its loyalties. Nevertheless both communities were specific Austrian institutions that legitimised their existence on the basis of the imperial privileges. Furthermore the Habsburg Monarchy formed the environment of their social advancement for the members of both communities that made many of them exponents of Vienna’s business elite. The history of Vienna’s two Greek communities until 1918 shows a range of developments of the economic and ecclesiastic policy of the Habsburg Monarchy as well as its policy towards nationalities and the changing position of the Ottoman Empire.
Conference Presentations by Anna Ransmayr
As a result of the trade agreements that accompanied the peace treaties of Karlowitz (1699) and P... more As a result of the trade agreements that accompanied the peace treaties of Karlowitz (1699) and Passarowitz (1718) between the Ottoman and the Habsburg Empires merchants from the Ottoman lands started coming to Vienna in the early 18th century. While most of them were Orthodox Christians (Greeks), there was also a smaller group of Sephardi Jews as well as some Armenians and Muslims (Turks). The origins of what later became the two Greek-Orthodox and the Turkish-Israelite communities of Vienna can be traced back to the first half of the 18th century. The fact that these merchants were tolerated even though they belonged to non-Catholic confessions has to do with the trade privileges they enjoyed as Ottoman subjects based on the peace treaties between the two empires. For this reason, the members of Vienna’s Sephardic community had much more rights than the local Jews and the so-called Turkish-Israelite Community thus became the first officially legitimated Jewish community in the city. Both the Greek Community of St. George and the Turkish-Israelite Community were given documents that granted them the right to exercise their religion already by empress Maria Theresa, i.e. before her son Joseph II. published his patents of toleration for non-Catholic believers (Protestants and Greek-Orthodox in 1781, Jews in 1782).
While during the 18th century we can observe a range of similarities between the Turkish-Israelite Community and the Greek Community of St. George of the Ottoman subjects, in the course of the 19th century there are also parallels with the Greek Community of the Holy Trinity of the Austrian subjects (founded in 1787).
On the one hand this is due to the reason that the Austrian administrative authorities demanded analogous modes of organization and administration by the non-Catholic communities, on the other hand there was obviously an exchange between the Sephardic and the two Greek communities in dealing with upcoming organizational and institutional issues they faced in the 19th century. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the communities show similar features regarding their acculturation and integration into the Viennese Habsburg society.
Apart from a short presentation by myself in 2017 the relations between the Turkish-Israelite and the Greek communities in Vienna have not been studied. In my paper I want to give an overview of all aspects of the parallels and similarities in the history of these communities starting from the early 18th century and ending with World War II.
Διεθνές Επιστημονικό Συνέδριο: Παροικιακός Ελληνισμός και Ελληνική Επανάσταση Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini di Venezia 25th-27th June 2021, 2021
200 years After: Reassessing the Greek Revolution of 1821 (17. Mai 2021), 2021
In der griechischen nationalen Historiographie wird der Beitrag der Wiener Griechen zum Aufstand ... more In der griechischen nationalen Historiographie wird der Beitrag der Wiener Griechen zum Aufstand von 1821 traditionellerweise durchaus hervorgehoben, indem auf die ideologische Vorbereitung im Sinne der Verbreitung der Idee der Wiedergeburt der Nation durch die in Wien
gedruckten Bücher der griechischen Aufklärung – insbesondere manifestiert in den Schriften von Rigas Velestinlis – hingewiesen wird. Die von Seirinidou richtig beschriebene desinteressierte bis ablehnende Haltung der Wiener Griechen gegenüber dem Aufstand von 1821 wird hingegen eher ausgeklammert und das Interesse an der Geschichte der Wiener Griechen endet aufgrund einer teleologischen Sichtweise üblicherweise auch mit dem Jahr 1821.
Der Tagungsbeitrag befasst sich mit der Frage, warum die erwähnte desinteressierte bis ablehnende Haltung keineswegs überraschend ist, wenn man die Organisation der beiden Wiener griechischen Gemeinden als Zusammenschlüsse von Händlern, deren Privilegien sich aus den osmanisch-österreichischen Friedensverträgen von 1699 und 1718 herleiteten, eingehender betrachtet. Dabei kommt bei der Gemeinde zum Hl. Georg der Eigenschaft der Mitglieder als osmanische Untertanen, deren Hervorhebung diese Gemeinde von ihrer Gründung bis ins späte 19. Jahrhundert begleitete, eine wesentliche Rolle zu. Dies lässt sich durch einen Vergleich mit der ähnlich strukturierten türkisch-israelitischen Gemeinde in Wien gut illustrieren. Weiters sollte auch die aufgrund der Organisationsweise der Gemeinden untergeordnete Position der für die revolutionären Ideen empfänglichen griechischen Gelehrten in Wien beachtet werden.
Talks by Anna Ransmayr
Wien Museum Magazin, 2024
Interview mit Andrea Ruscher (Wien Museum)
Ringvorlesung Juden und Judenheit(en) in Österreich. Eine Rechtsgeschichte. (2020W): 4.11.2020, 2020
„...ein Feind Josef von Hammers“ – Habsburgisch-osmanische Beziehungsgeschichten (Ringvorlesung Turkologie WiSe 2020/21): 28.10.2020, 2020
Der Vortrag soll einen Überblick über die Geschichte der griechischen Zuwanderer aus dem Osmanisc... more Der Vortrag soll einen Überblick über die Geschichte der griechischen Zuwanderer aus dem Osmanischen Reich in Wien vom 18. bis ins frühe 20. Jahrhundert bieten. Es handelte sich bei ihnen nahezu ausschließlich um Kaufleute, die mit Rohprodukten (besonders Baumwolle) aus dem Osmanischen Reich handelten, und die aus den Balkangebieten des
Osmanischen Reichs (Makedonien, Thessalien und Epirus) stammten – daher die von Traian Stoianovich geprägte Bezeichnung als „Balkan orthodox merchants“. Diese Menschen standen in der Reichshaupt- und Residenzstadt Wien in einem besonderen Spannungsfeld zwischen den beiden Imperien Osmanisches Reich und Habsburgermonarchie. Dies zeigte sich vor allem im Verhalten in Bezug auf die Staatsangehörigkeit (Beibehalten der osmanischen oder Annahme der k.k. Untertanenschaft), die in der Existenz zweier getrennter griechischer Gemeinden (der osmanischen respektive der österreichischen Untertanen) in Wien resultierte – ein einzigartiger Fall auf dem Boden der Monarchie.
Nachdem die Balkanhändler großteils, aber nicht ausschließlich der orthodoxen Konfession angehörten, und zudem das Griechische häufig nicht ihre Muttersprache, sondern Verkehrssprache im Handel, war, soll des Weiteren darauf eingegangen werden, inwieweit konfessionelle und ethnische Zugehörigkeiten bzw. im Kontrast dazu das explizite Bekenntnis zu einem der beiden Vielvölkerreiche eine Rolle bei den wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten sowie im Selbstverständnis dieser Kaufleute spielten.
Der Vortrag beschäftigt sich mit der Geschichte der beiden griechischen Gemeinden in Wien von der... more Der Vortrag beschäftigt sich mit der Geschichte der beiden griechischen Gemeinden in Wien von der ersten Anwesenheit griechischer Händler nach dem Ende der 2. Türkenbelagerung Wiens 1683 bis zum Ende der Habsburgermonarchie 1918. Die beiden Gemeinden, die griechische Gemeinde zum Hl. Georg der osmanischen Untertanen und die griechische Gemeinde zur Hl. Dreifaltigkeit der k.k. Untertanen, unterschieden sich nach dem Kriterium der Staatsangehörigkeit zu einem der beiden Vielvölkerreiche. Entsprechend manifestierten sich auch die Loyalitäten der Wiener Griechen zu den beiden Imperien. Bei beiden Gemeinden handelte es sich jedoch um genuin österreichische Institutionen, und ihre Mitglieder entwickelten eine spezifisch habsburgisch‐griechische Identität.
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Papers by Anna Ransmayr
Thesis Chapters by Anna Ransmayr
In the second chapter a short biography of Koumas with its emphasis on the issues that appear in the letters and the treatment of the question why Koumas’ correspondence is preserved only fragmentary is to be found. Subsequently an overview of the correspondents of all his preserved correspondence in order of three chronological phases in Koumas’ biography is given. Moreover, the letters are divided into the two categories “private letters” and “letters directed to a wider public” and subsequently into some further sub-categories, by means of which I try to draw some primary conclusions regarding the relation between style level and the belonging of a letter to a certain category.
In the third chapter the letters are distinguished in more detail according to the criteria of the person of the receiver and the time when the letters were written. Then they are analyzed stylistically on the basis of text samples. A division into two phases with the caesura in the year 1808 when Koumas started to apply Adamantios Korais’ language theory of the so called “middle way” can be undertaken. Before 1808 significant differences between letters among friends and letters directed to ecclesiastic dignitaries can be detected, while after 1808 a move away from the style paradigms of the traditional post byzantine epistolography is discernable. Furthermore the exceptional position of the letters directed to the philhellene Friedrich Thiersch that are written in archaizing language is to be observed as well as the continuous appliance of Korais’ language theory in letters that are intended for publication. The fourth chapter deals with the various influences that shaped Koumas’ style of letter writing. Until 1808 mainly the influence of the traditional byzantine and post byzantine epistolography, as it was taught in school lessons, was important. After 1808 the writings of Korais as well as the contemporary epistolography in German language affected Koumas’ style of letter writing. Koumas’ multifaceted style of letter writing contains the traditional rhetoric style of writing linked to the reception of the letters of the fathers of the church as well as Korais’ language theory of the “middle way” and an archaizing style of writing inspired by the philhellenic enthusiasm for antiquity. As it unifies these different approaches it can be characterized as representative of the Greek epistolography of its time. Since a complete edition of Koumas’ letters doesn’t exist so far the appendix gives information concerning the preservation of Koumas’ letters, the preserved correspondence is evaluated statistically according to various criteria. Finally, there is a register containing summaries of the 174 preserved letters to or from Koumas, which formed the empirical basis of my research, in chronological order including the respective references.
Conference Presentations by Anna Ransmayr
While during the 18th century we can observe a range of similarities between the Turkish-Israelite Community and the Greek Community of St. George of the Ottoman subjects, in the course of the 19th century there are also parallels with the Greek Community of the Holy Trinity of the Austrian subjects (founded in 1787).
On the one hand this is due to the reason that the Austrian administrative authorities demanded analogous modes of organization and administration by the non-Catholic communities, on the other hand there was obviously an exchange between the Sephardic and the two Greek communities in dealing with upcoming organizational and institutional issues they faced in the 19th century. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the communities show similar features regarding their acculturation and integration into the Viennese Habsburg society.
Apart from a short presentation by myself in 2017 the relations between the Turkish-Israelite and the Greek communities in Vienna have not been studied. In my paper I want to give an overview of all aspects of the parallels and similarities in the history of these communities starting from the early 18th century and ending with World War II.
gedruckten Bücher der griechischen Aufklärung – insbesondere manifestiert in den Schriften von Rigas Velestinlis – hingewiesen wird. Die von Seirinidou richtig beschriebene desinteressierte bis ablehnende Haltung der Wiener Griechen gegenüber dem Aufstand von 1821 wird hingegen eher ausgeklammert und das Interesse an der Geschichte der Wiener Griechen endet aufgrund einer teleologischen Sichtweise üblicherweise auch mit dem Jahr 1821.
Der Tagungsbeitrag befasst sich mit der Frage, warum die erwähnte desinteressierte bis ablehnende Haltung keineswegs überraschend ist, wenn man die Organisation der beiden Wiener griechischen Gemeinden als Zusammenschlüsse von Händlern, deren Privilegien sich aus den osmanisch-österreichischen Friedensverträgen von 1699 und 1718 herleiteten, eingehender betrachtet. Dabei kommt bei der Gemeinde zum Hl. Georg der Eigenschaft der Mitglieder als osmanische Untertanen, deren Hervorhebung diese Gemeinde von ihrer Gründung bis ins späte 19. Jahrhundert begleitete, eine wesentliche Rolle zu. Dies lässt sich durch einen Vergleich mit der ähnlich strukturierten türkisch-israelitischen Gemeinde in Wien gut illustrieren. Weiters sollte auch die aufgrund der Organisationsweise der Gemeinden untergeordnete Position der für die revolutionären Ideen empfänglichen griechischen Gelehrten in Wien beachtet werden.
Talks by Anna Ransmayr
Osmanischen Reichs (Makedonien, Thessalien und Epirus) stammten – daher die von Traian Stoianovich geprägte Bezeichnung als „Balkan orthodox merchants“. Diese Menschen standen in der Reichshaupt- und Residenzstadt Wien in einem besonderen Spannungsfeld zwischen den beiden Imperien Osmanisches Reich und Habsburgermonarchie. Dies zeigte sich vor allem im Verhalten in Bezug auf die Staatsangehörigkeit (Beibehalten der osmanischen oder Annahme der k.k. Untertanenschaft), die in der Existenz zweier getrennter griechischer Gemeinden (der osmanischen respektive der österreichischen Untertanen) in Wien resultierte – ein einzigartiger Fall auf dem Boden der Monarchie.
Nachdem die Balkanhändler großteils, aber nicht ausschließlich der orthodoxen Konfession angehörten, und zudem das Griechische häufig nicht ihre Muttersprache, sondern Verkehrssprache im Handel, war, soll des Weiteren darauf eingegangen werden, inwieweit konfessionelle und ethnische Zugehörigkeiten bzw. im Kontrast dazu das explizite Bekenntnis zu einem der beiden Vielvölkerreiche eine Rolle bei den wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten sowie im Selbstverständnis dieser Kaufleute spielten.
In the second chapter a short biography of Koumas with its emphasis on the issues that appear in the letters and the treatment of the question why Koumas’ correspondence is preserved only fragmentary is to be found. Subsequently an overview of the correspondents of all his preserved correspondence in order of three chronological phases in Koumas’ biography is given. Moreover, the letters are divided into the two categories “private letters” and “letters directed to a wider public” and subsequently into some further sub-categories, by means of which I try to draw some primary conclusions regarding the relation between style level and the belonging of a letter to a certain category.
In the third chapter the letters are distinguished in more detail according to the criteria of the person of the receiver and the time when the letters were written. Then they are analyzed stylistically on the basis of text samples. A division into two phases with the caesura in the year 1808 when Koumas started to apply Adamantios Korais’ language theory of the so called “middle way” can be undertaken. Before 1808 significant differences between letters among friends and letters directed to ecclesiastic dignitaries can be detected, while after 1808 a move away from the style paradigms of the traditional post byzantine epistolography is discernable. Furthermore the exceptional position of the letters directed to the philhellene Friedrich Thiersch that are written in archaizing language is to be observed as well as the continuous appliance of Korais’ language theory in letters that are intended for publication. The fourth chapter deals with the various influences that shaped Koumas’ style of letter writing. Until 1808 mainly the influence of the traditional byzantine and post byzantine epistolography, as it was taught in school lessons, was important. After 1808 the writings of Korais as well as the contemporary epistolography in German language affected Koumas’ style of letter writing. Koumas’ multifaceted style of letter writing contains the traditional rhetoric style of writing linked to the reception of the letters of the fathers of the church as well as Korais’ language theory of the “middle way” and an archaizing style of writing inspired by the philhellenic enthusiasm for antiquity. As it unifies these different approaches it can be characterized as representative of the Greek epistolography of its time. Since a complete edition of Koumas’ letters doesn’t exist so far the appendix gives information concerning the preservation of Koumas’ letters, the preserved correspondence is evaluated statistically according to various criteria. Finally, there is a register containing summaries of the 174 preserved letters to or from Koumas, which formed the empirical basis of my research, in chronological order including the respective references.
While during the 18th century we can observe a range of similarities between the Turkish-Israelite Community and the Greek Community of St. George of the Ottoman subjects, in the course of the 19th century there are also parallels with the Greek Community of the Holy Trinity of the Austrian subjects (founded in 1787).
On the one hand this is due to the reason that the Austrian administrative authorities demanded analogous modes of organization and administration by the non-Catholic communities, on the other hand there was obviously an exchange between the Sephardic and the two Greek communities in dealing with upcoming organizational and institutional issues they faced in the 19th century. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the communities show similar features regarding their acculturation and integration into the Viennese Habsburg society.
Apart from a short presentation by myself in 2017 the relations between the Turkish-Israelite and the Greek communities in Vienna have not been studied. In my paper I want to give an overview of all aspects of the parallels and similarities in the history of these communities starting from the early 18th century and ending with World War II.
gedruckten Bücher der griechischen Aufklärung – insbesondere manifestiert in den Schriften von Rigas Velestinlis – hingewiesen wird. Die von Seirinidou richtig beschriebene desinteressierte bis ablehnende Haltung der Wiener Griechen gegenüber dem Aufstand von 1821 wird hingegen eher ausgeklammert und das Interesse an der Geschichte der Wiener Griechen endet aufgrund einer teleologischen Sichtweise üblicherweise auch mit dem Jahr 1821.
Der Tagungsbeitrag befasst sich mit der Frage, warum die erwähnte desinteressierte bis ablehnende Haltung keineswegs überraschend ist, wenn man die Organisation der beiden Wiener griechischen Gemeinden als Zusammenschlüsse von Händlern, deren Privilegien sich aus den osmanisch-österreichischen Friedensverträgen von 1699 und 1718 herleiteten, eingehender betrachtet. Dabei kommt bei der Gemeinde zum Hl. Georg der Eigenschaft der Mitglieder als osmanische Untertanen, deren Hervorhebung diese Gemeinde von ihrer Gründung bis ins späte 19. Jahrhundert begleitete, eine wesentliche Rolle zu. Dies lässt sich durch einen Vergleich mit der ähnlich strukturierten türkisch-israelitischen Gemeinde in Wien gut illustrieren. Weiters sollte auch die aufgrund der Organisationsweise der Gemeinden untergeordnete Position der für die revolutionären Ideen empfänglichen griechischen Gelehrten in Wien beachtet werden.
Osmanischen Reichs (Makedonien, Thessalien und Epirus) stammten – daher die von Traian Stoianovich geprägte Bezeichnung als „Balkan orthodox merchants“. Diese Menschen standen in der Reichshaupt- und Residenzstadt Wien in einem besonderen Spannungsfeld zwischen den beiden Imperien Osmanisches Reich und Habsburgermonarchie. Dies zeigte sich vor allem im Verhalten in Bezug auf die Staatsangehörigkeit (Beibehalten der osmanischen oder Annahme der k.k. Untertanenschaft), die in der Existenz zweier getrennter griechischer Gemeinden (der osmanischen respektive der österreichischen Untertanen) in Wien resultierte – ein einzigartiger Fall auf dem Boden der Monarchie.
Nachdem die Balkanhändler großteils, aber nicht ausschließlich der orthodoxen Konfession angehörten, und zudem das Griechische häufig nicht ihre Muttersprache, sondern Verkehrssprache im Handel, war, soll des Weiteren darauf eingegangen werden, inwieweit konfessionelle und ethnische Zugehörigkeiten bzw. im Kontrast dazu das explizite Bekenntnis zu einem der beiden Vielvölkerreiche eine Rolle bei den wirtschaftlichen Aktivitäten sowie im Selbstverständnis dieser Kaufleute spielten.