Newsletter
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 156
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Our 11th Year - Issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold
October 31, 2006
(c) 2006 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved
~VISIT THE NEW BG INTERNET SHOP AT
http://www.burgenlaender.com/BG/en/BGmailOrder.html
ORDER A FREE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 50 YEARS BG FESTSCHRIFT.~
~SEE THE BURGENLAND TOUR OFFER AT ARTICLE THREE, SECTION 1 OF NEWSLETTER NO. 155~
Current Status Of The BB:
Members: 1352; Surname Entries: 4806; Query Board Entries: 3623; Newsletter Subscribers: 990; Newsletters Archived:
156; Staff Members: 13
EMAIL RECIPIENTS PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email newsletter because you are a BB member or have
asked to be added to our distribution list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send email to G. J.
Berghold with message "subscribe" or "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel membership, website listings and
newsletter.) You cannot send email to this newsletter. If you have problems receiving the newsletter as email, it
may be read, downloaded, printed or copied from the BB Homepage. There is also an archive of previous newsletters.
This first section of our 2-section newsletter concerns:
1. Chicago BG Celebrates 50th Anniversary
2. More On Burgenland Illegitimacy
3. Sample Personal Twelve Day Burgenland Tour Guide
4. Some Thoughts Concerning Burgenland DNA
5. Recent Burgenland Family Obituary
6. A Quick Trip To Burgenland Village Of Origin - Moschendorf
1. CHICAGO BG CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY
(ED. Note: The Chicago BG group was formed almost as soon as the parent Burgenland group was formed. Tom
Glatz sent me the following article. I keep thinking of that 50th BG anniversary bash in Moschendorf and the great
job Tom did for us. Dr. Walter Dujmovits was pleased as punch. He wanted to reach the younger generation by printing
the program in English as well as German. If you haven't sent for your free copy (pay postage) see the introduction
to this newsletter. The program also pictures the plaque presented by the BB.)
Tom Writes: "On Sunday, August 20th, 2006, the local Chicago Burgenländische Gemeinschaft active members held
their own 50th anniversary at the Epicurean Hungarian Restaurant in Hillside, Illinois. The food was great and all
had a good time! BG President Karl Billisits presented long time Chicago BG member Hermine Volkovits a plaque. She
was honored along with her deceased husband for founding the Chicago branch of the organization in 1956. At that
time the BG official in Burgenland, Toni Lantos, approached the Volkovits couple who immigrated from Jabing,
Austria, to help organize the Burgenländer in Chicago charter air flights for visits back home."
2. MORE ON BURGENLAND ILLEGITIMACY
BB member Arlehus(a)aol.com writes: Thanks again
for your Newsletter. Each one adds to my knowledge of the Burgenland, which was zilch when I joined your group. Your
item on illegitimacy was especially interesting because one of my immigrants, born in 1866, was illegitimate.
Knowing that programs such as the "birth houses" of Emperor Joseph II can linger long after the founder is gone, are
you aware of how long his "birth houses" program lasted?
Reply: I'm sure it evolved into the hospital care and homes we find today. Given the vast number of foster
children found in southern Burgenland through the early part of the last century, I'd say they lasted at least that
long. I have one or more foster children in my tree and you may have some as well, as often the foster children from
these houses were adopted. However, I've been told that many were ill-treated and died young. Life is precious and
nature is unforgiving but I'll bet many of these so-called "orphans" or their possible descendants became the movers
and shakers of today. It would be interesting if we had the facts.
3. SAMPLE PERSONAL TWELVE-DAY BURGENLAND TOUR GUIDE
I'm often asked to suggest a tour guide for someone wishing to visit Burgenland for the first time. We've put the
following together which should be easy to follow. (This also provides time for a visit to a family village of
origin in either the north or the south.)
Day 1 Depart USA
Depart your home city for Washington, D.C. Transfer to Dulles for the transatlantic flight to Vienna (Consider
Austrian Airlines direct flight to Vienna-Schwechat).
Day 2 Vienna/Eisenstadt
Arrive Vienna. Pick up reserved rental car. Drive to Eisenstadt, the "capital" of the Burgenland (25 mi
southeast of Vienna). Settle into reserved accommodations at attractive world class Hotel Burgenland (3 or 4
nights). Relax and freshen up. Acquaint yourself with the nearby traffic-free pedestrian mall. Have dinner at the
hotel or in any of the nearby restaurants. Hotel Burgenland
Day 3 Eisenstadt
After breakfast take a walking tour of Eisenstadt, featuring stops at Esterhazy Palace and Landesmuseum. If
schedule permits, attend a 50-minute concert at Esterhazy Palace featuring local musicians. Visit Berg Kirche
(church with Haydn's tomb and medieval stations of the cross) followed by the Haydn Museum. View the Burgenland
parliament buildings. The balance of the day is for shopping and a glass of wine or coffee at a Kondittorei. If tour
is in September, attend an evening Haydn concert at the International Haydn Festival held annually in
September at Schloss Esterhazy. Hotel Burgenland
Day 4 Rust/Seewinkel Region
Drive east to the Seewinkel (Neusiedler See). Stop first in the village of St. Margarethen to view the Roman
Quarry and museum. Due east of St. Margarethen is the lakeside free city of Rust which offers a view of the
Neusiedler See. After lunch (very nice restaurant at eastern gate), board the ferry in Rust and cross the Neusiedler
See. The village of Illmitz is located one mile inland and you may wish to walk the short distance to explore. Board
the return ferry two hours later for late afternoon arrival back in Rust. Dinner at a local restaurant. Return to
Eisenstadt for overnight. Hotel Burgenland
Day 5 Eisenstadt/Northern Burgenland exploration
Free day to drive to and explore villages or sites pertaining to your personal heritage in the north of
Burgenland. If your villages are in the south, leave Eisenstadt after breakfast and drive to Güssing/Heiligenbrunn
(this will give you a free day in the south). Hotel Burgenland or Hotel Krutzler in Heiligenbrunn
Day 6 Bernstein/Gerersdorf/Moschendorf/Heiligenbrunn
Morning drive to Heiligenbrunn (approx 80 mi) for a 4-night stay. En route, visit Bernstein Castle, a jewel of
the Burgenland. The castle, built in the 12th century, was of great strategic importance in the border skirmishes
between Austria and Hungary. It became a hotel in 1953 and its legacy is intertwined with Laszlo Almasy, the real
"English Patient." Its hilltop location gives it a birds-eye view of the peaceful Tauchen Valley, just west of the
village of Bernstein. (Note you can stay here if you wish and shorten your Hotel Burgenland or Hotel Krutzler
stays.) Visit Edelserpentine (Jade) Museum and mine if time permits. Visit their gift shop for excellent authentic
jade gifts. Continue on to Heiligenbrunn to the Hotel Krutzler and register if you haven't already done so. This is
a thoroughly modern hotel that has retained its Burgenland Gasthaus ambiance. Have your meals in this excellent
hotel. By all means try their Burgenland specialties. Castle Güssing rears against the sky to the southwest and
becomes a visible landmark as you near Heiligenbrunn (east of Güssing). Later visit Moschendorf, just a few miles
away which is the site of the annual Burgenlandishce Gemeinschaft (BG) picnic. A museum and wine tasting is
available if time permits. Hotel Krutzler
Day 7 Heiligenbrunn/Güssing
After included Hotel Krutzler buffet breakfast (cooked breakfasts available) drive the few kms to Güssing and
visit Güssing castle and Auswanderer Museum (Burgenland Emigrant Museum). Lunch at Gasthaus Tomanek, in nearby
Steingraben. Then drive to the Freilichtmuseum (outdoor museum) in Gerersdorf (a short distance), which
features old buildings from the surrounding area that have been moved to this location to serve as examples of
Burgenland lifestyle in years past. Looking at the barns, period houses with thatched roofs, wine cellars, winepress
house and workshops, you can easily envision how our Burgenland ancestors once lived. Drive back to Güssing. The
"BG", headquartered at Hauptplatz 7 in Gussing, was established in 1956 with the objective of building a global
community of Burgenländers and foster their attachment to the homeland. Visit their office on the main street and
introduce yourself - mention the BB and ask about available books. Visit church of Szt. Nikolas (12th century),
Güssing cemetery and Franciscan Cloister. If time permits, visit site of battle of Szt. Gotthard at nearby
Mogersdorf. Here, on August 1, 1664, a Christian army under Count Montecuccoli gained victory over the Turks. 12,000
Turks were killed while the Christians suffered 2,000 casualties. Drive back to Heiligenbrunn with the remainder of
the day free to explore your new surroundings (wine cellars) or take a swim in the refreshing hotel pools. Have
dinner in the hotel - for dessert have jelly pancakes or plum dumplings. Hotel Krutzler
Day 8 Gussing/Southern Burgenland Exploration
Free day to visit family villages in districts of Oberwart, Gussing or Jennersdorf. Hotel Krutzler
Day 9 Koszeg, Hungary
Cross border (at Heiligenkreuz) into Hungary today and tour the medieval Hungarian city of Koszeg and/or see
something of the Austrian/Hungarian border villages. Enjoy an authentic goulash lunch at any restaurant with
excellent Hungarian wine. On the return trip to Austria, visit the cathedral church at Jak, Hungary and the Church
of Szt. Emerich at Felso Ronok (a border crossing footpath leads to the village of Inzenhof). Return to
Heiligenbrunn. If you prefer, skip this visit and continue your ancestral village visits (particularly if you meet
up with distant cousins). Hotel Krutzler
Day 10 Vienna
Leave Heiligenbrunn early, drive to Vienna (lunch at Mattersburg and consider a stop at Castle Forchtenstein) and
register at a reserved Viennese hotel (see Internet sites for choices) located in the heart of the city. Vienna is
considered by many to be the heart of Europe. The seat of the Habsburg Empire for five centuries, Vienna's
architecture reflects the wealth of its heritage. The city center is circled by the Ringstrasse, which follows the
path of the old city walls. Your tour must include St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Opera House, Hofburg Palace
(Habsburg winter palace), and the striking Belvedere. Your hotel concierge can arrange an English-language bus tour.
Likewise consider an evening tour to drink new wine and eat apple strudel in Grinzing, maybe Sacher Torte or lunch
at Hotel Sacher (expensive but worth it).
Day 11 Vienna
Free day in Vienna. Return to St. Stephen's, shop the Graben, look for antiques (the Dorotheum), visit the Spanish
Riding School or Kunsthistorisches Museum or go to the Prater. Many other museums. Buy Burgenland books. Note: get a
city guide before you leave and plan your days hour-by-hour; there's a lot to see and do. You can also skip Vienna
(what a shame) and use the time gained to extend your village visits.
Day 12 Return to USA
Drive to the Vienna airport, turn in your rental car and board your home-bound flight. Buy last minute gifts at the
airport duty free shops - how about Mozart Kügeln for everyone back home or some fine porcelain?
4. SOME THOUGHTS CONCERNING BURGENLAND DNA
Both Oxford University and the National Geographic Society promote DNA searches. Kits are provided, DNA analyzed and
results furnished. I've used the Oxford analysis with good results. Other BB members have done likewise and some
have used the National Geographic program. My results were as expected (I have heavy Teutonic background with some
Croatian and Hungarian admixture) but, surprisingly, the origin of my DNA was west of the Alps in the region that is
today France, signifying perhaps a Frankish beginning. Others have reported Croatian and Magyar origins (see
newsletter 155).
BB member Giles E. Gerken writes: I'm writing in response to item in latest newsletter by Bruce Klemens re.
DNA testing & Geographic Group. We had DNA test via Family Tree (sample submitted by maternal cousin Leland Regal) &
also forwarded it from there to the Geographic. (National Geo. & IBM). Our Haplogroup was E3B (genetic marker M-35)
- over 80 matches on 12 marker, about 6 near matches on 25 marker, nearest being families named Civitello from
Italy, Plante from France, Lancaster of England & Douglas of Scotland. Received good data, including map showing
probable migration from Africa and description of genetic mutation. We could never find records beyond g-grandfather
(born 1781). The DNA tends to give credence to statements of Grandfather as to ancestry. Also found unknown
information on Grandmother by checking Census records of 1880 (they came to US in 1875 settling in a small village
in Iowa. I found they were neighbors to another family from Hungary that I assumed were their contacts. Tracing that
family back thru Rajka, Hungary, where they worked for the Counts Zichy of Rajka and Vienna, I was able to verify
all the family rumors, including name of person regularly sending them funds in the US. Clincher was an online photo
of person that everyone in family thought was my late Uncle Tony (Anthony L Regal). Resemblance was unmistakable.
Perhaps B. Klemens & others would be interested in the method we used.
BB Reply: DNA is interesting but we must remember that it is an indication of very old origins - it takes
many generations for the DNA to change (mutate). My g-grandmother was Hungarian (Magyar) and a g-g-grandmother was
Croatian. Neither as yet has shown in my mainstream DNA (Germanic-west of the Alps) as yet and may never do so.
Nonetheless, we know we are not Asian! There is a lot of interest in DNA among the BB members. I'll try to publish
what I receive.
5. RECENT BURGENLAND FAMILY OBITUARY
- courtesy Bob Strauch
Pauline Groller, 97, of Coplay, PA, died Oct. 7 in Liberty Nursing and Rehabilitation Center,
Allentown. She was married to the late Joseph Groller. Born in Stegersbach, Austria, she was the daughter of the
late Frank and Mary (Pendl) Switkovitz.
6. A QUICK TRIP TO BURGENLAND VILLAGE OF ORIGIN - MOSCHENDORF
Message from eric.kasper(a)lehman.com: I
will be spending 3 days in Vienna, Austria, starting October 27th, as part of a vacation tour. I would love to visit
the place my ancestors came from, but I don't have any contacts there except for the name and address of a Frederich
Gaspar, Moschendorf. Surprisingly, the house is not far from the Gaspar houses in the 1858 BB lists. Are there
any directories where I can find my relatives? Do people typically have phones and email in the village of
Moschendorf?
Reply: Moschendorf is about 2 1/2 hours south of Vienna. Rent a car or get a chauffer driven auto. Easy trip.
Three Gaspar families live there at nrs. 65, 23 and Ratzberg NB, they have phones. You also want to visit Güssing -
the castle and Auswanderer (Emigrant) museum. Have lunch at Hotel Krutzler in Heiligenbrunn nearby. Moschendorf is a
wine museum village. Most everyone has a phone - few have computers. Few speak English.
Newsletter continues as number 156A.
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 156A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Our 11th Year - issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold
October 31, 2006
(c) 2006 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved
~A SZENTPETERFA, VAS, HUNGARY ISSUE~
This second section of our 2-section newsletter concerns:
1. New Genealogical Website For Szentpeterfa, Vas, Hungary
2. House (Clan) Names Of Szentpeterfa - Book In Progress
3. What To Do With Those Original & Subsequent Burgenland Records
4. BB Staff Changes
5. Views Of The Burgenland - Burgenland Impressions -
Hagensdorf & Luising Cemetery
6. Taste Of The Burgenland - Commercial Nut & Poppy Seed Strudel
1. NEW GENEALOGICAL WEBSITE FOR SZENTPETERFA, VAS, HUNGARY
- by John Lavendoski and Steve Geosits
A new website called the Szentpéterfa Genealogical Pages has recently been launched by Burgenland Bunch
members John Lavendoski and Steve Geosits and can be found by pointing your web browser to
www.szentpeterfa.com.
We hope that the website will be of interest to those whose Burgenland research and genealogy is rooted in or
crosses over into the Hungarian border village of Szentpéterfa. Some genealogical information relating to the
surrounding Austrian villages of Eberau, Edlitz, Harmisch, Kroatisch Ehrensdorf, Kulm, St. Kathrein, and Winten will
also be found at this site.
The primary website purpose is to centrally locate genealogical source material from a variety of historical and
personal references, and to share the fruits of our labors with those who are doing their own independent research.
We hope that more photos, family histories and research data will be contributed by others, making the website a
lasting tribute to all of our ancestors.
We are continually adding content to the site and plan to add more, including the following:
1) Traditional genealogical information derived from birth, marriage and death records.
2) Family tress and charts for village ancestors and descendants.
3) Photos related to the village and people of Szentpéterfa, from the dawn of photography up to WW-II, with an
emphasis on those villagers who immigrated to America.
4) User-submitted anecdotes and personal historical accounts about their ancestors.
5) Information obtained from the Ellis Island records concerning Szentpéterfa emigrants.
6) Burial and cemetery information for Szentpéterfa emigrants and their descendants.
7) Szentpéterfa house (clan) names used locally to identify villagers and their families.
8) Information derived from Szentpéterfa and United States census data.
9) Links and data from DNA studies which are underway concerning the genetic history of Szentpéterfa villagers.
The initial core of information at the site is a combination of personal research and photos collected over the past
ten years by John Lavendoski and Steve Geosits, including information about our own (primarily Croatian) ancestors,
associated families, and other collateral families within the village.
Typical surnames of interest include such families as (but are not limited to): Anhalt, Barilovits, Borhi,
Filipovits, Geosits, Gerencser, Grabarits, Hajszan, Haklits, Harangozo, Henits, Horvath, Janny, Jurasits, Kantz,
Kurtz, Milisits, Nemeth, Paukovits, Resetar, Saisits, Sakovits, Schaffer, Skrapits, Stangl, Stubits, Szoldatits,
Takacs, Teklits, Temmel, Timar, Varga, Veszelovits, Wagner, and Zimits.
The website will rely heavily on user submitted information and visitors will be encouraged to contribute their own
family history to what is envisioned as a perpetual "work in progress" detailing the genealogical history of the
villagers of Szentpéterfa.
The website is password protected to preserve the privacy of all individuals. Those seeking access to the site
will need to submit a request to the moderators for permission to enter. As an added privacy measure, access
to information concerning any living individuals will be blocked, even if a password is assigned. Should a
living person give their permission, however, such information will be available, but only to those users who are
members of their immediate family.
Enjoy the new site. Comments and suggestions are always encouraged and will help us improve the site.
2. HOUSE (CLAN) NAMES IN THE VILLAGE OF SZENTPETERFA, VAS, HUNGARY - BOOK IN PROGRESS
- by Steve Geosits
Before the advent of any type of house numbering system in Szentpéterfa, villagers would commonly use house names to
identify houses and the families that were associated with them. This was not unique to Szentpeterfa and was quite
common throughout Hungary, Austria and most of Europe.
House names have always intrigued me and I always remembered how my family used these colorful house names whenever
they referred to other people in the village. My father's name, Janos Geosits, sounds like quite a unique name in
America. But in Szentpéterfa there may have been several people in the village with that exact same name. House
names became a convenient way of identifying villagers and their families. So, my father was often referred to as
Janos Hanzijov because he was from the Hanzijovi house and this was different from say Janos Sincsev from the
Sincsevi house in another part of the village.
With the passing of time, I became quite curious as to the derivation and meaning of these names. Fortunately, I
have relatives who were able to list these house names for me on hand-drawn maps of the village. This information,
combined with my own genealogical research, enabled me to shed light on many of these names. At times, I have even
been able to identify the probable house progenitors from whom these house names were derived.
I am currently in the process of writing a book called "House (Clan) Names in the Village of Szentpéterfa, Vas,
Hungary". The text will provide a list and description of over 250 house locations, the house names that were
applied to them, and the genealogies of families associated with them. In addition, it will contain house number and
census correlations, cross-reference maps and more, all spanning a period of over 300 years. In order to support
this effort, I have spent hundreds of hours at my local Later Day Saints Family History Center, and have transcribed
all of the birth and marriage records from microfilm between the years 1793 and 1895, as well as land and property
census data from the 19th century. I hope to have this house name book completed within the next couple of years.
In the meantime, for those who cannot wait, I would like to extend my offer to provide information on house names to
anyone who can trace their ancestry to Szentpéterfa, Vas, Hungary. Also, if anyone has information concerning house
names that they believe would be of interest, or even photos of old houses that they can share, please contact me.
3. WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE ORIGINAL (AND SUBSEQUENT) BURGENLAND RECORDS?
- suggested by Email copy from Fritz Königshofer
----- Original Message -----
From: "H.Koehler" To: <fritzkoe(a)comcast.net>
Subject: BB Surnames Pages, Burgenland Bunch, Koller, Köhler, Benedek
H. Koehler writes: I need some advice. My mother recently died and my siblings and I must decide how best to
divide the family papers that pertain to my father's ancestors that she held in trust for us. We can't agree how
this should be done - one would simply like a few pieces (ornamental ones) as a family history keepsake,
another wants a fair divide, and I would like to see a fair and historically practical divide. The papers can
roughly be grouped as follows:
- Birth records tracing our family name to the 1700's.
- Civic/church records from Komit Casstrifeiri (Vas Megye)
- Misc. papers concerning land holdings, legal matters, personal correspondence
- Trade certificates.
These papers may be of historical interest to the people of Oberwart and possibly Szombathely as well. I am
currently scanning the entire lot of them for personal archival purposes. They appear to have been the collections
of several of my father's ancestors that were given to him 20 years ago. Many of them are written in Hungarian,
still others in German and a few in Latin or Croatian.
Fritz responds: Wouldn't it be best to divide the originals equally, but make good copies so that all heirs who
want the complete set, will have a complete set? You are apparently scanning the holdings anyway.
ED. Note: Ignoring the desire of descendants for original "frameable" or "display" copies, Fritz offers the
best advice, as originals have a way of disappearing or succumbing to the vagaries of age. Written on acid paper,
most require archival treatment, often ignored. When we consider the work we've done to trace family for many
generations, it is well that we address how to preserve the results of our work as well as the documents from which
we took data. This work far exceeds the value of the original documents. In my case, I tried to cover all bases. I
copied all documents (including LDS microfilm) with appended translations and included them in published family
histories that received wide family and archival distribution. I sent Gedco files to the LDS as well as to
interested relatives. In some cases, I distributed Ahentafel (Ancestor Table) lists. I placed family histories in
the public libraries of both my own and family cities of residence and in appropriate historical societies. I also
started the Burgenland Bunch, wherein much of my own family history is preserved. Family information was also
published in Heritage Quest and Burgenländische Gemeinschaft publications. I still have some original documents
(sans archive treatment) but at this juncture, while I hope some descendant will preserve the originals, I doubt if
the data itself will ever be lost. Finally, do not ignore the archival value of sending data to the many Internet
family history sites. In the Burgenland sense, we have the BB, the BG, Burgenländers Honored and Remembered and
sites for individual villages (see Szentpeterfa articles one and two of this newsletter) and surname sites as found
in the BB URL Lists.
4. BB STAFF CHANGES
After many years of faithful service Hap Anderson, Dale Knebel and Bill Rudy no longer serve on the staff of the
Burgenland Bunch. They have our thanks for past efforts and our best wishes for the future. Hap Anderson's position
as Home Page Editor will be filled by Hannes Graf and Tom Steichen. Tom Steichen will now maintain Bill Rudy's
Village List. Dale Knebel's position as Lake Corner Editor will not be filled at this time. Tom Steichen has also
agreed to serve as the BB's Asst. Newsletter Distribution List Administrator. In this capacity he will substitute
for your editor when necessary. See the Home Page Invitation Letter for the new staff list.
5. VIEWS OF THE BURGENLAND - BURGENLAND IMPRESSIONS - HAGENSDORF & LUISING CEMETERY
- by Hannes Graf
(ED. Note: this is the second article in a planned series. Look for future ones under the titles shown above.
Our English translations do not do justice to the artistic German prose as written by Hannes and we apologize for
anything taken out of context.)
Getrennte ewige Ruhe (Eternally Separated By Peace) "Im Tod sind alle gleich" (In death is everyone the same):
This old bit of wisdom applies to the Southern Burgenland municipalities of Hagensdorf and Luising since they
share a cemetery based on where the deceased formerly lived. Hagensdorfers to the left, Luisingers to the right. The
municipal borders of Hagensdorf and Luising meet exactly in the center of the cemetery. On the left, the
Hagensdorfers are buried, on the right, the Luisingers. It is a cemetery that might have been created by Solomon.
The hill on which the cemetery is located does not favor either municipality. Neither village can be seen from the
cemetery hill. Hagensdorf is one and a half kilometers away, as is Luising.
Alles mal zwei (Everything Duplicated):
Everything is identical but fairly apportioned in the divided cemetery. There is always two of everything: a
tree for the Hagensdorfers and one for the Luisingers; a water tap for Luising, one for Hagensdorf; likewise with
cemetery plots and watering cans. The only exception to duplication is the cemetery cross, but there were two
crosses in former times, until the bishop from Steinamanger decreed that there should be only one: ONE cemetery, ONE
cross!
Vom Sterben und Leben am Hügel (From Death To Life On The Hill):
The cemetery hill was raised artificially and has a history closely connected closely with life and death in the
region.
Vom Grab zur Burg (From The Grave To The Castle):
Archaeologist Karl Kaus believes that the cemetery hill was originally a site of prehistoric graves on which a
castle with chapel and moat was built during the Middle Ages.
...und von der Burg zum Grab (And From The Castle To The Grave):
The castle and chapel eventually became a parish church located next to the cemetery but it was abandoned later,
as the distance to the villages required too much of a journey. The cemetery, however, remained.
Unusual Detail:
While children's graves are usually hidden or found near the cemetery wall in other cemeteries, in
Hagensdorf-Luising they lay at the most prominent place, beside the cemetery cross.
Zauberzeichen gegen böse Geister (Charms Ward Off Bad Spirits):
In addition, the grave markers have charm characters intended to protect the dead against evil spirits and witches.
This is truly a remarkable and interesting Burgenland cemetery.
6. TASTE OF THE BURGENLAND - COMMERCIAL NUT & POPPYSEED STRUDEL
Previous newsletters provide recipes for these delicious Burgenland specialties, but baking them is labor intensive.
Ethnic bakeries in some of the US Burgenland enclaves can provide them if you live nearby, but few other places bake
them. I recently found a holiday mail order source in The Vermont Country Store, Weston, Vermont. They are baked
fresh and shipped with 2 to 3 week delivery if you want some for the holidays. Go to
www.vermontcountrystore.com and search for item no. 47107, nut
rolls. Also see no. 47592, Apple Walnut Potica (a phyllo dough nut roll.) This mail order house has my unqualified
recommendation.
END OF NEWSLETTER
The Burgenland Bunch homepage (website) can be found at:
http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org
We can also be reached from: http://go.to/burgenland-bunch (this address
also provides access to Burgenländische Gemeinschaft web site)
Use our website to access our membership, village and surname lists, archives, internet links, maps, instructions,
ethnic song book, frequently asked questions and other information.
BB NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES (reached via Home Page hyperlinks)
Burgenland Bunch Newsletter (c) 1997
Archived courtesy of RootsWeb.com, Inc., P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798.
Newsletter published monthly by G. J. Berghold, Winchester, VA.
Newsletter and List Rights Reserved.
Permission to Copy Granted; You Must Provide Credit and Mention Source.