Illmitz

Geography

Illmitz (Illmic in Hungarian) is a market community with 2,463 inhabitants  in the district Neusiedl am See.

Illmitz ist part of the national park Neusiedler See-Seewinkel and belongs to the cultural landscape Ferto/Neusiedler See, which was appointed in 2001. The community is located at 117 m sea level and is thus has the lowest altitude of any locality in Austria. The lowest altitude in Austria (113.5 m) however is located in the neighboring community Apetlon.

Illmitz occupies the most surface area of any community in Burgenland. To the South the community borders Hungary, to the West the Neusiedlersee, to the North Podersdorf am See and to the East the (Hotter)district of Apetlon.

History

The oldest discovery in Illmitzer, a late New Stone Age grave-find (probably from the globular amphora culture), stems from the Ried “Division”. Countless stray finds, from the New Stone Age until Roman times, were excavated from the meadows of the Upper Stinkersee. The most famous is a ca. 3200 year old stone cist grave with a “Spirit hole”. The discovery is exhibited in the Natural History Museum in Vienna. In 1958 a roman votive altar, which honors the God Mithra, was found in the “Schell gardens”. Another cultural artifact from Roman times (1st-2nd century A.D.) is a relatively large (ca. 25 cm) cupid statue. It is verifiable that Auarehans (Awaren) also lived in Illmitz; on what is now Seegasse, in the former brick cavern, 17 Auarehan graves were found.

The first documented mention of Illmitz was in 1217 when it was called „Pred. Ygmeleech” or “Illmeuch’. In this year Provost Herkules from Eisenburg, from house of Ols, gave his Illmitz property (Oberillmitz) to the Eisenburg cathedral chapter. This was confirmed by Hungarian King Andreas II.



In terms of ownership the area was divided into Upper and Lower Illmitz. Lower Illmitz was owned by secular lordships. Several documents report the numerous ownership conflicts at the end of the 14th century. In 1410 Lower Illmitz was owned by the aristocratic family Kanizsai, owners of lordship of Eisenstadt. In 1622 Kaiser Ferdinand II gave the lordship Eisenstadt and the county Forchtenstein to Nikolaus I. Esterházy. With the reintegration of Eisenstadt into Hungary in 1649 Lower Illmitz became part of the Komitat Wieselburg. When the Esterházy lordship was reorganized in the 18th century Lower Illmitz was given to the lordship Frauenkirchen. Upper Illmitz remained in the hands of the church, as it belonged to the Provost of Eisenburg and, after 1217, to the cathedral chapter Eisenburg. In 1777 the chapter was relocated and ownership was transferred to Steinamanger. In 1802 and 1803 the entire area was incorporated into the state Wieselburg.

The old Martin’s church was first mentioned in documents from the year 1299. It was located in Lower Illmitz on the hill by the Kirchsee. Because the water level from the lake and ponds in the area rose it was difficult for locals to attend the church. When the community was abandoned in 1363 the church also became desolate. It could not be repaired until the year 1438. A new settlement of the area followed at the beginning of the 15th century. At this time there was already a parish school. Between 1437 and 1468 many students who acquired their fundamentals in school in Illmitz attended the University of Vienna. When the Turks wreaked havoc coming through Seewinkel in 1529 Illmitz was also suffered. Protestantism had an early foothold in the area, however by 1674 the Esterházy’s restoration efforts had succeeded and the community was predominantly Catholic.

During the Turkish War of 1683, the Bocskay Rebellion of 1605 as well as the Bethelen and Kuruzen wars of 1620 and 1704-09, Illmitz had the same fate as other communities in Seewinkel. In 1767 Empress Maria Theresia passed the Urbarial Patent, which protected farmers from the caprice of stately officials. The Liberation of the Serfs in 1848 brought the abolition of aristocratic privileges and subject subservience. Farmers had the opportunity to purchase the leased land they had cultivated, although pastures and forest still belonged to the community. At the end of the 19th century livestock farming was the most important source of revenue for Illmitz. In 1898 the first ever dairy cooperative in Wieselburg was founded in Illmitz. The “Illmitz Cheese” was well known and appreciated in Vienna as well as Budapest.

In 1905 the villages Upper Illmitz and Lower Illmitz united. From 1921 on the community belonged to the new founded federal state Burgenland.

Additional Information:

by Johannes Graf

2011.02.05