was mostly
Hungarian in the 15th century, Buda had a
German majority; however according to the Hungarian Royal Treasury, it had a Hungarian majority with a sizeable German minority in 1495. In 1432,
Bertrandon de la Broquière wrote that Buda "is governed by Germans, as well in respect to police as commerce, and what regards the different professions". He noted a significant
Jewish population in the city, proficient in French, many of whom were descendants of Jews previously expelled from France. Buda became part of
Ottoman-ruled central Hungary from 1541 to 1686. It was the capital of the province of
Budin during the Ottoman era. By the middle of the seventeenth century Buda had become majority
Muslim, largely resulting from an influx of
Balkan Muslims. In 1686, two years after the unsuccessful siege of Buda, a renewed European campaign was started to enter Buda, which was formerly the capital of medieval Hungary. This time, the
Holy League's army was twice as large, containing over 74,000 men, including
German,
Dutch,
Hungarian,
English,
Spanish,
Czech,
French,
Croat,
Burgundian,
Danish and
Swedish soldiers, along with other
Europeans as volunteers, artillerymen, and officers, the Christian forces reconquered Buda (see
Siege of Buda). After the reconquest of Buda, bourgeoisie from different parts of southern Germany moved into the almost deserted city. Germans — also clinging to their language — partly crowded out, partly assimilated the Hungarians and Serbians they had found here. As the rural population moved into Buda, in the 19th century Hungarians slowly became the majority there. == Notable residents ==