History of Rönök / Radling

The western Hungarian village of Rönök (Radling) is located between Szentgotthárd (St. Gotthard) and Szombathely (Steinamanger), east of the neighboring municipality of Inzenhof , which is located across the border in Austria. The settlement already appears in documents in the 14th Century. In 1318, a village magistrate referred to as “Paul, son of Hermann von Rennek” is mentioned in connection with a sale. In 1333 there was a dispute over ownership of a property called “Ryunuk” between a certain Petew, son of Duruzlaus, and his son Johannes and Tatamerius, the royal vice chancellor and provost of Székesféhervár (Stuhlweißenburg). A document drawn up between January 20, 1335 and May 14, 1336 names Tatamerius and his brothers Stephen and Bako as heirs of the property known as “Ryunuk. During the same time period, King Charles I ordered the Capital of Vasvár (Eisenburg) to determine the legal situation of the property. Later in 1336, the Capital reported to the King, that as per his orders, the borders of the property called “Ryunuk” were established in the presence of its neighbors on May 14th of that year and would henceforth be known as “Olsowryunuk” (Alsórönök/Unterradling) and would remain in the possession of Tatamerius and his brothers. To its west lie the area designated as “Feulseuryunuk” (Felsorönök/Oberradling), separated from it by border markers. On November16, 1336 the property Alsórönök was finally sanctioned by the king in view of the many services and diplomatic and military tasks performed by the owners.Originally, Felsorönök belonged to the parish of Güssing and it was only at the beginning of the 17th Century that it became an independent parish. Starting in 1618, Reformed and then Protestant pastors became responsible for performing church services, a duty which was given back to Catholic priests in 1652. A church inquiry in 1757 referred to the church dedicated to St. Emmerich in Felsorönök as a branch of the nearby monastery in Heiligenkreuz. In 1789, the creation of a new parish was reported. Formerly part of the diocese of Györ (Raab), the parish was transferred at the end of the 18th Century to the diocese of Szombathely, which had be founded by Empress Maria Theresia and sanctioned by Pope Pius VI in 1777. In 1950, the villages of Alsórönök and Felsorönök were united to form Rönök.

See also: The Church of Szentimre in Rönök
 

In addition, pictures are available on Hannes' current website, Scholem & Friends:

Pictures from a walk around the church

Pictures of the cemetery

by Johannes Graf

2010.12.06