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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.
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