THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 53
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
March 15, 1999
(all rights reserved)
Isn't genealogy fun? The answer to one problem leads to two more!
This first section of the 3 section newsletter contains data concerning our
Recent Trip to Austria, southern Burgenland villages of Eltendorf,
Poppendorf and Heiligenkreuz, Early South Burgenland School Problems and More
on Oberkrain Music and Music in Burgenland.
RETURN FROM AUSTRIA (by G. Berghold)
Ten days in Salzburg and Vienna fly by and we are once again in our home
although we did bring snow back with us. A very pleasant trip made even more
so by the gracious Vienna hospitality of my cousin and BB member Klaus
Gerger. Meeting Klaus, his lovely wife Heidi and their two fine daughters and
Albert Schuch and his lovely and talented sister Inge were memorable
experiences. We stuffed ourselves with Heidi Gerger's excellent Burgenland
cuisine (including five desserts!) washed down with Burgenland wine and
talked for hours. Klaus had also met with me for two evenings in Salzburg
where he went for a business trip while we were there. Klaus was also able to
extend one of my Güssing family lines by a recent visit to the Güssing
cloister.
I brought home much new material in the way of books and music and will be
sharing it in future newsletters. Both Klaus and Albert gave me much material
and we discussed possible approaches to researching the Eisenstadt RC
Diocesan archives. I now have all 6 K & P "Bezirk" books (the seventh and
last, Bezirk Neuseidl is in process). I also have a list of the Güssing
cloister church record holdings courtesy of Klaus and a BB Oberwart Zeitung
(OZ) article recently written by Albert and translated by Inge. I have Robert
Hajszan's book "Die Kroaten der Herrschaft Güssing" and a cursory scan tells
me he agrees with the history (Dobrovich's) Frank Teklits has translated
which should make Frank very happy. It has an English summary which I'll
publish. Many other books I haven't had the opportunity to scan. Albert found
and gave me a delightful little book "Burgenland"-Pflagner & Marco-1970 which
pictures and describes 80 villages and sites in Burgenland with both German
and English descriptions. A cut above the usual tourist book and I plan to
use it for a new series of articles.
We had always wanted to see Austria during the winter when the countryside
was covered with snow and the tourist crowds wouldn't be so great (so we
thought). A brochure from the Lehigh University Alumni Association offered a
mid February week in Salzburg (salt fortress) plus three days in Vienna so we
convinced ourselves that we needed a mid winter break. I'm preparing a 1999
OSCAR 'Open Salt Collectors Atlantic Region' program on open salt dishes from
the A/H Empire and I also wanted to meet with Albert and Klaus, so I had lots
of excuses to go.
Lufthansa flights from Dulles to Frankfurt and Munich put us on a bus to the
Crown Pitter Hotel in Salzburg. Land (Province) Salzburg was one of the few
Austrian areas that we had not visited in depth before so a week there was
not too much. For centuries Salzburg was an extremely wealthy Bishopric of
the Holy Roman Empire, its wealth deriving from the sale of salt from mines
found throughout the area. It was the birthplace of Mozart and is now the
center of the annual world famous Salzburg Music Festival. Following an
orientation tour we went just a short distance from the well known "Getreide
Strasse, main shopping street, to the antique area in the old town called the
"Gold Gasse" (gold alley) looking for salt dishes. It was appropriately named
as most antiques were priced their weight in gold. Our guide had warned us to
beware of the "antique pirates". We did buy a pair of Monot Stumpf art glass
salts. A number of Austrian Biedermeier silver salts from the first half of
the 1800's were also available. Salzburg's china and porcelain shops were
full of modern Meissen, Herend, Rosenthal and other fine china and glass.
We visited the Dom (cathedral), museums, palaces, and churches and other
sites of interest. On the staircase leading to the main art museum we found a
magnificent fresco of a family tree tracing 7 generations of a noble family
complete with coats of arms. In the shape of a tree with leaves and roots and
in color it was breath taking. We bought many books including folk music.
While we were told it was not as crowded as usual, there were still plenty of
tourists. Salzburg derives 30% of its income from tourism. Of special note
was an evening of chamber music in the Mirabell Palace, a "Sound of Music"
tour (the Hollywood embroidered fairy tale which is bringing Salzburg much
custom), a visit to the Mozart residence, now a museum (one display shows his
complete works- a column of music ledgers ten feet high!), a blizzard while
touring the Hohensalzburg Fortress- built 1077 (we left via cog railway
before we were marooned for the night), a winter sleigh ride in the
Salzkammergut (the lake district) and a dine around package which provided
meals in six fine old restaurants. We then went to Vienna by bus and spent a
wet Sunday afternoon window shopping the antique shops (closed on Sunday)
clustered around St. Stephen's cathedral. Klaus then picked us up for dinner
as previously mentioned.
Snow and rain, so we took tours of St. Stephen's cathedral (much restoration
under way), Schönbrunn Palace and lots of antique shops including the
Dorotheum where we bought a "brautbecher" (bride's beaker). While space
prohibits further discussion of bride's beakers, they are unique European
items. The Dorotheum also had much antique art glass. On the way through the
airport as we left we found an Austrian Airlines gift shop displaying Herend
and Meissen porcelain. Look for it if you ever have time to kill at the
airport.
The weather was terrible, rain, snow, sleet, ice and slush with dark dismal
days. The sun appeared briefly on the day we arrived and when we left, but we
accomplished what we set out to do and we have another set of memories,
additions to our collections and lots of material to study until the crocus
begins to show. It's nice to be back although I wish I could visit with Klaus
and Albert more often. Too bad we couldn't visit Burgenland. Spring of the
year 2000 perhaps.
VILLAGES OF ELTENDORF, POPPENDORF AND HEILIGENKREUZ
(from the Father Leser Series, Extracts & Translations by Burgenland Editor
Albert Schuch)
Ed. Note: With # 56, the Leser village series started many issues ago comes to
an end. We owe a great debt, not only to Father Gratian Leser who found,
extracted and had this material published in the 1930's, in many cases
translating into German from the original Latin or Hungarian, but also to
Albert Schuch for his subsequent summaries and English translations. To the
best of my knowledge, these are the first English translations of this data
to appear anywhere. As such I consider it one of the most important
achievements of the Burgenland Bunch to date. Family history researchers of
southern Burgenland now have access to English translations of the earliest
source extant showing family names in the 56 villages covered (about 14% of
all Burgenland villages). This would not have been possible without Albert
Schuch's arduous, dedicated and highly skilled efforts. I might add that it
took me the better part of a week in southern Burgenland finding and copying
similar data for just two villages, since I was not aware of a central
source. Albert's expertise took him directly to the source material archived
in Eisenstadt. If any of your villages are among those covered, you owe it to
your descendants to include a copy of the data in any family history you
prepare.
Albert writes: Güssing would be # 57, but this article is very long and has
been extensively used for the "Festschrift zur Stadterhebung" of Güssing in
1973. Since you have a copy of this book in your library you have all the
information. (Ed.-I will be preparing future newsletter articles concerning
families from this city from that source) In my translated extracts of # 1-56
I had to leave out large parts, as I concentrated on the Urbaria and other
surname-data.
Ed.-The following three villages are of special interest to me since they
were the family villages of the Berghold-Neubauer families. All members with
ties to Johann Berghold, Jr 1849-1929, Poppendorf and Theresia Neubauer
1854-1918, Eltendorf please take note. Heiligenkreuz was the first Burgenland
village inhabited by Bergholds pre 1690.
54) Eltendorf
Families listed in the 1750-Urbarium: 6 GIBISER; 4 SIMANCZ, GAAL; 3 PFEIFFER,
WEBER, KEFER, PLESL, WIESNER; 2 TAPLER, RÖSLER, SPIRK, POSCH, KANTZ, ZODL,
SIMEISTER, HEILIMANN; 1 HOLLER, GRASL, EBERHARD, MARX, HEBER, LASS, KERN,
WIRTH, GRÖLLER, LANG, MERTH, FISCHL, KÖNIG, SCHERMANN, JOST, KURZ, STEIDL.
Söllner-families: 2 HEILIMANN; 1 WAGNER, PEHMANN, BRAUN, BEITL, STEIFF, DEX,
RIENER. Quarrels between the inhabitants and the "Panduren" (policemen)
during the "Kommassierung" (land surveying following the abolishment of the
"Grundherrschaft").(Ed.-Led to the death of Johann Berghold, Sr. 1830-1863).
Since ca. 1860 a "Kreisarzt" (district physician) resides in Eltendorf. The
first one was a man named GRASL. 4 physicians in 1930: Dr. Alois ZANIN
(Kreisarzt), Dr. Ludwig ZIEGELBAUER, Dr. Elise ZIEGELBAUER (DDS), Dr. Albin
GÜNTHER (veterinarian). Number of inhabitants: 1779: 135 Catholics, 376
Lutherans; 1812: 150 C, 519 L; 1930: 714 inhabitants in 141 houses.
Catholics: Children go to school in Königsdorf. Lutherans: Increased in
number around 1600, when Styrian refugees arrived. Belonged to Zahling parish
until ca. 1650, then to Königsdorf until ca. 1671. In 1783 a parish was
established in Eltendorf. Church records start in November 1783 (including
the Lutherans of Königsdorf, Rudersdorf, Poppendorf, Heiligenkreuz,
Raabfidisch, Oberradling, Güssing, Neuhaus, Tauka, Liba, Minihof, Mühlgraben
and Krottendorf). In 1792 Neuhaus became an independent parish, in 1990 Ober-
and Unterradling became parts of the new Sankt Gotthard parish, in 1922
Raabfidisch followed. Pastors in Eltendorf: Daniel KLEMENT (1783-1804),
Johann HOLNDONNER (1804-43), Franz UNGER (1843-66), Karl TOMKA (1866-1908),
Alexander EBENSPANGER (1909-30). Lutheran teachers: Samuel BECK (1787-93),
Christoph WUKY (1793-1821), Michael KNÄBEL (1821-69), Friedrich BENEDEK
(1869-1911), Samuel BAUER (1911-29), Adalbert KARNER (1929-30). 73 pupils in 1930.
(source: V+H Nr. 7/1959)
55) Poppendorf
Families mentioned in the 1748-Urbarium: 4 MEDL, JUSICS; 3 JANY, STERN,
DRAUCH, HEMMER; 2 GIBISER, FASCHING, GRÖLLER, STOLZER, HÖBER, STEINER,
GALLITZ; 1 GAMLER, ZACH, KLANATZKY, PÖTZ, KOLLER, SCHERMANN, WEIDINGER,
NIKLES, MAYER, SCHLEHNER, ZWICKL, LEITGEB, MARX, HADENWOLFF, GLLES, SPITZER,
GERGER, ZIEGER, WIRTH, POPOFCSICS, KREN, UNGER, PREINER, SCHAUKOWITSCH,
MÜLLNER. Söllner-families living on church-owned land: 3 NIKLES; 2 UNGER,
MEDL; 1 DEUTSCH, SCHRAML, PETZ, BAUMANN, DRAUCH, PREINER; Söllner-families
living in the village: 3 MEDL; 1 JANY, UNGER, DRAUCH, ZODL, KREN;
Söllner-families living on the Heidenberg: 2 GRÖLLER; 1 MATTES, ZACH, KOLLER,
HARNISCH, LEITGEB; Söllner-families living on the Goldberg: 3 JISICS, STELZER;
2 STEINER, GRÖLLER, GIBISER;1 ZWICKL, WEIDINGER, HEIDENWOLF, BRANSTEIN,
SCHERMANN, SCHLEHNER, HEMMER. Number of inhabitants: 1812: 228 Catholics, 67
Lutherans; 1876: 631 C 119 L; 1924: 554 C, 120 L; Catholics: always belonged
to Heiligenkreuz parish. Catholic teachers: Michael MAYER (1849-51); Johann
WEBER (1861), Karl KAISER (1863), Emil LANGASCH (1876-95), Adolf KÖNIGSHOFER
(1895-1914), Florian KNAUS (1914-20), Franz THALER (1920-38). Lutherans: belong
to Eltendorf parish. Teacher in 1930: Gustav EBENSPANGER. (source: V+H Nr. 8/1959)
56) Heiligenkreuz im Lafnitztal
Inhabitants mentioned in early documents: In 1639 Adam BENKÖ owns a farm that
had once been owned by a Michl PIGL, whose neighbors had been Hans PINTER
and Philipp SCHWARZ. In 1681 the widow of the miller Georg BECZKOVICS is
mentioned, in 1693 Feitl KROBOTH, Georg PAMKERER, Hans SCHABHÜTTL and Stefan
HIBER. Families listed in the 1693-Urbarium: 6 SCHMIDT; 4 BERSCHINGER; 3
STEIDL, JANY, SCHWARZ, DEUTSCH; 2 PAMKEHRER, LACKNER, PUM, POMPER,
HOFSTÄDTER, FISCHL, TURCSY, STELTZER, FAX, KLEPEIS, PLATZER; 1 SEIDL,
PETERMANN, PREISINGER, PIGL, MARTIN, GYERI, OBERECKER, SCHUSTER, STINYAKI,
JAKOSBACHER, ROSNER, MOLNAR, KNAUS, NEUBAUER, PÖTL, KOLLER, MILLNER,
SCHERMANN, ROTH, BAUER, HEMMER, TRETTNER, PINDER, TADUSICH, SERGNHOFFER,
KÖNIGRATH, FLEISCHHACKER, GERENCSER, KALCHER, KADNER, JOST,
GOTTHARD, PALANKOVICH, OSPOCHER, UNGER, SZAKACS; Libertini (free(d)
families): SCHABHÜTTL, ZACH, KROBOTH, MILLNER, STEDN, FAX, PAUKOVICH;
Söllner-families living in their own house: GIGER, PIKL, RABOLT, KOLLER,
TURCSY, NIKLES, MARX, LACKNER, ROSNER, EDER, TADUSCHIK, DEUTSCH, HAFFNER,
BAUER; Söllner-families without houses of their own ("Inwohner"): 2 BERGHOLD;
1 NIKLES, GYERI, STELTZER, STEIDL, BERSCHINGER, TURCSY, FLEISCHHACKER. Gipsy
families first mentioned in the church records 1749: SARKZI, BARANYAI,
HORVATH. In 1799 Andreas NIKISCHER, former "Richter" of the community, died
at the age of 83.
Post office transferred to H. in 1779 from Rábafüzes (Raabfidisch). First
post-master was Josef PSORNER (PSCHORNER). In 1791 his daughter Juliana died,
in 1797 his son Josef is mentioned in the records. In 1819 Johann HAUSMÜLLER,
"Ludirektor" (= teacher) of H. married Juliana PSCHORNER. In 1845 post-master
Josef PSCHORNER died at the age of 52. He was succeeded by his grandson Anton
HAUSMÜLLER, who died 1884. In 1824 almost the whole village destroyed by
fire. In 1917 16 houses burned down. Number of inhabitants: 1779: 499
Catholics, 208 Lutherans; 1876: 900 C, 296 L, 7 Jews; 1910: 1261 C, 320 L, 8
J; Catholics: In 1757 the Heiligenkreuz parish included Poppendorf,
Raabfidisch, Jakabhaza, Oberradling and Inzenhof. During the construction of
the new church in 1796, 16 year old Maria TURTSCHY fell from the tower and
died. Priests: Andreas KLÖSCHER (1698), Johann Christophorus GRAZL (1710-27),
Johann Baptist LEITNER (1727-30), Franz HAIDER (1730-32), Christian PIMPERL
(1733-55), Josef Ignatz HATZL (1755-61), Adam CSIK (1761-68), Jakob KOVACSICS
(1768-71), Johann MENGEL (1771-83), Johann Karl SZOKOLY (1783-85), Michael
GOMBAS (1785-95), Michael EBERL (1795-1811), Andreas SPANRAFT (1811-35),
Anton GRILLER (1836-49), Josef KAMETLER (1849-78), Franz EHRNHOFFER
(1878-89), Josef CZIGLER (1879-89), Anton MARTIN (1889-1916), Karl NEUBAUER
(1916-).
Catholic teachers: Karl MARX (died 1737), Philipp SAJER (ca. 1752-57),
Michael VEINER (1774-82), Anton GROSZ (died 1784), Lorenz NITSCH (ca. 1812),
Johann HAUSMLLER (1819-32), Alois POLY (1853-94), Paul KORNAUTH (1894-1907),
Michael BADER (1907-), Barbara PERENYI (1922-).
Lutherans: Pastors: Michael RICARDI (1616-20), Johann SCHEFFLER (1623-27),
Nikolaus BALOGH (1646). The Visitatio Canonica of 1698 still counts 427
Lutherans and only 169 Catholics, but the number of the Lutherans decreased
rapidly in the middle of the 18th century. Lutheran elementary school
established in 1872. Teachers: Johann BAUER (1872-73), Eduard SCHERMANN
(1873-1914), Gustav KARNER (1914-). (source: V+H Nr. 8-11/1959)
EARLY SOUTH BURGENLAND SCHOOL PROBLEMS (Fritz Königshofer)
Ed. Note: Following the reforms engendered by the Revolution of 1848,
Austrian and Hungarian school teachers had the daunting job of providing a
basic education which would eventually bring a mostly uneducated peasantry
into the modern era. Today's excellent Burgenland school system is
indicative of their success. The opportunity to achieve an education
through the doctoral degree with government support, available in Austria
today, is not matched by many countries. It would have been unthinkable in
our ancestors' time. Post-1848 school teachers had their work cut out for
them. Large classes and poor facilities were just two of their problems. Not
only did they personally have to cope with German, Latin and Hungarian
(Croatian in some cases), they had insure that their students knew enough
German and Hungarian to cope with normal bilingual relationships. In
addition, students who had the opportunity and ability to advance to
positions within the government, had to be fluent in Hungarian and often
Latin as well. We have already printed one article in which my
2g-grandfather, Mihaly Mühl, teacher in Urbersdorf coerced the authorities to
rebuild his school. Fritz Königshofer has now found further examples of the
educational struggle. He writes:
"When recently visiting Budapest, I managed to continue reading issues of Der
Volksfreund. In 1889, I hit upon a huge controversy about the circumstances
of the teacher job in Felsö-Rönök. Over several issues of Der Volksfreund,
letters were written by the various parties. I believe the core issue was
the discontent of the teacher at the time, Andreas Schlamadinger, about his
pay conditions, specifically his inability to collect the full agreed
remuneration from the families in the village and of two neighboring villages
that sent children to the school in Oberradling.
The controversy in the newspaper started in late April 1889 with an article
about the general misery of the teaching conditions, an article that for
insiders must have clearly alluded to the specific situation in Oberradling.
This was followed by a letter to the editor. Then, in the issue of May 11,
1889, the r-c pastor of Oberradling, Nikolaus Herczeg, published a statement
about the session of the village's school council, to which the village judge
Franz Artinger added a further letter. I believe both opposed the earlier
story written by teacher Schlamadinger who, they stated, was not even capable
of writing correct letters in German and thus had been helped.
The controversy continued in the issue of June 1, 1889 with a letter from
Andreas Schlamadinger who distanced himself from the original article that
had stirred up the controversy, while defending himself against the charge of
lack of German language knowledge. A correspondent with the signature
"Veritas" (truth) added a further article on the matter. (I believe that
"Veritas" was the pseudonym used by a teacher in the Güssing/Strem area.) At
that point, the debate fizzled out.
Schlamadinger must have left the position soon afterwards since the teacher
position of Oberradling was advertised as vacant in the spring of 1890. It
appears it could not be filled for some time despite the nominally decent
salary of 431 florins per year. Perhaps teachers knew about the inability of
actually collecting this remuneration. The post was readvertised in July
1890, and again in September 1890, when the offered remuneration was
increased to 497 florins and 40 kreutzer. I am not sure whether the position
was filled, but in January 1893 it was once again advertised, this time with
a remuneration of only 384 florins and 10 kreutzer, but with "decent living
quarters" added. At that time, my great-grandfather Alois Koller won the
competitive selection and became the teacher of Oberradling. Perhaps some of
the other conditions had also been changed (such as the obligation to teach
children from other villages).
The time was already additionally impacted by the new and very serious
problem of the condition of the old church, and the need to build a new one.
When the old church was closed by the authorities due to its dangerous state,
mass services and church administration were moved into the school house,
once again making life intolerable for the teachers and their families.
Frustrated, Alois Koller resigned his post in Oberradling in mid-1899. The
next teacher successfully protested the conditions. In the early 20th
century not only was a new church built (consecrated in June 1905), but also
a new schoolhouse (in September 1909).
MORE ON OBERKRAIN AND BURGENLAND MUSIC (from Gerhard Lang)
Ed. Note: Gerhard had some problems with the article concerning Oberkrain
music. As he's a musician we're thankful for his corrections. He writes: "I
don't agree with that. (explanation).... That Oberkrainer music I know well -
the typical sound with a typical accordian-accompainment with chords in five
and six voices as created about 40 - 50 years ago by Slavko Avsenik. I've
bought some literature to practice his style of playing. Most of the famous
songs of "Slavko Avsenik und seine Original Oberkrainer" - the name has been
changed from Original Oberkrainer Quintett (I guess due to the development
from pure instrumental music to being accompanied by singers and a 2nd
trumpet) - were composed by the brothers Slavko and Vilko Avsenik and are not
arrangements of what we normally understand as "traditional songs". The
typical instrumentation of an Oberkrainer-group is baritone (playing the
bass, some times solo-lines), guitar, accordion and some kinds of solo-parts)
1 or 2 trumpets and clarinet (playing the melody-line with fill by
accordion-solos). Typically there is no drum set. Some of these beautiful
melodies were written for 3 singers - two women and one man. In the last
years Slavko wrote a few songs for his son Gregor - who studied the guitar -
with difficult melody-lines for the guitar. I suggest everyone listen to
that. Slavko had to retire from the stage due to problems with his back from
playing his accordion for so many years - a typical illness for
accordionists. For anybody who's interested in getting a taste of Oberkrainer
music: prepare your browser to receive and play Midi-files, and try the
following URL: <http://members.aol.com/accrdnmn/index.html [not now a valid link]>
and look for the Oberkrainer page, select "Trompeten Echo" (Trumpet's Echo) or
"Auf der Autobahn" (On The Highway) for example and you'll soon know what
Oberkrainer music sounds like.
Tyroleans, Salzburgers and Upper and Lower Austrians and Burgenlanders and
Vorarlbergers all play this music. Most of the groups playing in the
"Oberkrainer style" use the typical elements of Avseniks' compositions.
Famous Austrian groups as the "(Zillertaler) Schürzenjäger" (Tyrol) or the
"(Jungen) Klostertaler" (Vorarlberg) and many more use(d) that style.
(Ed.-Gerhard then translates the Oberkrain songs from my album Wine &
Songs-The Original Oberkrainer Quintet Avsenik-London International Stereo SW
99500. Songs are:)
Weinfest Polka (Na vinski razstavi), - Wine-Feast-Polka
Erinnerung an Zurich (Spomin na Zurich), - Remembrance To Zurich
Hatschi-Polka (Oh ta gripa), - Sneezing-Polka ("Hatschi" would describe sound
of sneezing)
Es war so schön (Lepo je bilo), - It was so beautiful
Sitzen wir froh beim Wein - Sitting Cheerful Over Some Wine
Scherben bringen Glck (the Slovene(?) for this is Case nalijmo si,
Matterhorn Marsch (Pogled na Matterhorn), - Matterhorn-March (the translation
Slovenian title would be "Look at the Matterhorn - well-known mountain in
Switzerland)
Wigel-Wogel-Polka Vigel-vogel-polka), - Reel to and fro;-))
Der Wind bringt dir mein Lied (Veter nosi pesem mojo), - The Wind brings my
song to you
Lustiger Nachbar (Pri sosedovih na obisku), - Jolly Neighbour
Ich wart' auf dich! (Cakala bom), - I'm waiting for you!
Frohe Stunden (Vesele urice), - Happy hours
Denk mal an mich (Daj mi roko). - Think of me (I'd translate the Slovenian as
"Give me a hand")
The difference between the polka and the Ländler is that a bar in the polka
contains two beats and the bar in the Ländler contains three (maybe the waltz
developed from the Ländler but not the polka!) I can imagine that the person
who wrote that listened to a "Boarischer", which is also on two beats and
does not sound as fast as a polka....On the polka you must distinguish
between the "Oberkrainer" (faster) and the "Bohemian" style (slower). The
Bohemian style is the more traditional and I would say more typical in
Burgenland.
As far as I know Alfons Bauer was of Bavarian (German) origin and the titles
mentioned are written in a typical Bavarian dialect.... in the film (Third
Man) the zither was played by Anton Kar(r)as, the composer of the "Third Man
Theme". (Ed. note: my memory suffered a real lapse on that one)
As I'm personally interested and love to listen to that kind of music (not
only due to my job playing in a dance-band and playing some times as a
"one-man-band", I learned a few things. I recently bought a few CD-records of
a Brass Band playing Polkas in the Bohemian style. "Koch-Records" produces
most of the groups playing popular music (one CD every 3 months containing
their recordings and a printed booklet with the musical notes), ....... Good
listening is a 9 CD series (2 for district Eisenstadt and 2 for Neusiedl) of
all the Burgenland (do you say "wind-orchestras") Blasmusikkapellen called
"Blasmusik aus dem Burgenland" and documents the work of all our
"Blasmusikkapellen". It contains records of mostly all the bands of all the
seven districts - a lot of polkas, marches and waltzes and a few modern
records were made of it. As I heard some days ago only a few entire sets are
available (I guess the set costs about US $100,-- but it is worth every
cent). As you see one of my well loved things is "Blasmusik" and besides
playing clarinet and marching as the tambour on marching events, I'm a
member of the board at Rust's Musikverein (treasurer, doing public relations,
.....). Last year I've been appointed to the board of the section for the
district of Eisenstadt of Burgenland's Blasmusik-Association, concerned with
public relations.
At the moment we are preparing for our 25th anniversary at Rust's Musikverein
and we've planned a lot of events through the year 1999. The three biggest
things will be a "Straßenfest" at Whitsuntide, lasting two days with various
"Blasmusik-Vereinen" from Burgenland and abroad. One Band will be from
Styria, another from Germany and one from the Slovak Republic. Do you know
what a Straßenfest is? Two roads at Rust will be closed to public traffic and
tables and seats will be put onto the street. Booths for selling food and
beverages will be erected and music will be played from 2.00 p.m. until
11.00 p.m. Lots of people and tourists are expected if the weather is fine -
it's the first such event at Rust and people love to sit in the open air,
listening to the music and enjoying Grillhendl (fried chicken), Grillwurst
(fried sausages) and other food and wine and beer (directly out of the
barrel). In August we will be going to Switzerland. Last year we were invited
to the celebration of the 150th anniversary of a Swiss musical society. Their
president spent his holidays at Rust, saw one of our guest-concerts and
invited us to bring one of these concerts to his village. We will give a
concert and be at the parade, but it will be a lot of stress too - being 12
hours on the bus for one tour. On Nov. 13th we will have our annual
"Martinikonzert". This year we also plan to go to Eisenstadt and play in the
cultural center there, they have a room for about 700 people and everybody is
anxious about filling that enormous number of seats. It's a lot of work- and
besides, some time must be left for doing my genealogical research (grin).
(newsletter continued as 53A)
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 53A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
March 15, 1999
(all rights reserved)
This second section of the 3 section newsletter contains articles about
Ordering St. Michael History, Zahling-Eltendorf Church Records, Early Poppendorf
Village Fires, Jurasits Name & Szentpeterfa Project, LDS Coming On-Line (also
has a good description of LDS computer files), Member Query and Finding
Ancestors Via a Trip to Europe.
ORDERING CHRONICLE OF ST. MICHAEL (Albert Schuch)
This village history was mentioned in the last newsletter and we've had some
requests about how to obtain it. St. Michael im Burgenland is on route 57
between Güssing and Stegersbach.
Question: > I would be very grateful if you could send me further information
on how to obtain a copy of "Chronicle of St. Michael" by Margarethe
Matisovits, which I understand from the article is available only from the
author. Regards Erich Radakovits >>
Answer from Albert Schuch: author's postal address: Margarete Matisovits,
A-7535 St. Michael 136, Austria. Probably also available from the
Gemeindeamt: Gemeindeamt, Hauptplatz 8, A-7535 St. Michael, Austria. I do not
know the price, because I only read the book at the university library in
Vienna. I would guess 300 to 400 Austrian Schillings. ($27-$36)
QUESTIONS CONCERNING ZAHLING-ELTENDORF-KUKMIRN CHURCH RECORDS (SOUTHERN BURGENLAND)
(correspondence between Vicky Wenninger-Fritz Königshofer-Gerry Berghold)
Question: What happened in 1879? Did Eltendorf obtain its own Lutheran
parish? If so, is it possible that there were three Lutheran parishes,
namely Eltendorf, Zahling and Kukmirn, within a short distance of each other?
Did some people of Zahling report to the Lutheran parish in Kukmirn? Anyway,
the one point I cannot understand is why Kukmirn could serve Eltendorf (even
if only until 1879) when there was a much closer place for the Eltendorf
Lutherans in the form of the parish in Zahling. As for Roman Catholics, to
your knowledge, did all people from Zahling register their vital events in
Königsdorf, or is it possible that some reported to the RC parishes of
Kukmirn or Heiligenkreuz?
Answer: The confusion concerning these villages is that at one time or
another their churches were all attended by nearby Lutheran and Catholic
inhabitants. Secondly Zahling was a much larger village at one time than it
is today 1852-694 pop., 1890-1001, 1946-648, 1991-433). Kukmirn has had both
a Lutheran church and a Catholic church, Eltendorf has only a Lutheran
church; Königsdorf and Heiligenkreuz have only a Catholic church. Zahling and
Poppendorf have no church, only small Catholic chapels. All of these villages
have had a Lutheran "Betthaus" if they didn't have a Lutheran church.
Zahling was at one time the Lutheran headquarters for southern Burgenland
(pre-1780's). The Eltendorf Martin Luther Kirche was built in 1783 following
the 1781 Edict of Toleration, but the church has Lutheran records from 1770
since pre-1783 services were held in "Betthausen", in Königsdorf, Poppendorf
and Eltendorf, I believe). In the 1500's (Reformation), the Lutheran center
was Güssing (until 1684). It was then transferred to Zahling when the
Batthyány family switched back to the Catholic faith. Zahling had a very
early connection with the Lutheran faith as well as an old Lutheran school
which is currently being restored which may have accounted for its importance
in matters Lutheran, but there was also an important Lutheran school in
Königsdorf. The center was later switched to Eltendorf, see history extract
below. The Zahling church is old but small and as a result, the Lutherans
(579 in 1873, the date of the Gazetteer I use) attended the Lutheran Church in
Kukmirn. The 352 RC's went to church in Königsdorf which was closer than
Kukmirn. Zahling Lutherans started to attend the Eltendorf church in 1936.
Some may still attend Kukmirn. I also know that children went to school
partly in Kukmirn, partly in Eltendorf and partly in the Catholic school in
Zahling. Confusing to say the least.
I have a book titled "200 Jahre Evangelische Pfarrgemeinde A. B. Eltendorf".
This was issued in 1983 and carries the dates "1783-1983".
page 21 "Die Komitatsbehrden erteilten erst auf Grund besonderer Ansuchung
und etlicher Kommissionierungen im Jahre 1783 die Erlaubnis, das sich die
Evangelischen von Eltendorf, Königsdorf, Rudersdorf, Poppendorf,
Heiligenkreuz, Raabfidisch, Oberradling, Unterradling, Güssing, Neuhaus am
Klausenbach, Tauka, Liebau, Minihof, Mühlgraben, und Krottendorf zu einer
Pfarrgemeinde zusammenschliessen dürfen, als deren Sitz Eltendorf bestimmt
wurde. Schon die Wahl des Pfarrortes zeigt, dass zu den Einrichtungen der
Reformationszeit keine organisierte Kontinuitt bestand. Vermutlich war es
die zentrale Lage, möglicherweise aber auch das Fehlen einer katholischen
Pfarre, die zusammen mit einer entsprechenden Anzahl von Familien (der Ort war
fast zur Gänze evangelisch) die Ursache war, dass sich in Eltendorf die
Gemeinde sammelte."
[= The county authorities granted permission in 1783 only on the basis of a
specific request and several commissionings, which the Protestants of Eltendorf,
Königsdorf, Rudersdorf, Poppendorf, Heiligenkreuz, Raabfidisch, Oberradling,
Unterradling, Güssing, Neuhaus am Klausenbach, Tauka, Liebau, Minihof, Mühlgraben,
and Krottendorf may merge into a parish with Eltendorf established as the seat.
Even the choice of the parish village shows that, [despite] the institutions
of the Reformation, there was no organized continuity. It was probably the
central location, but possibly also the lack of a Catholic parish (the place was
almost entirely Protestant), that, together with a corresponding number of families,
was the reason that Eltendorf gathered the congregation. Not until 1939 did the
daughter churches today in Zahling and Neustift / Güssing belong to our parish.]
(this establishes Eltendorf as a Lutheran center with the establishment of their new church).
I find no significance in the date 1879. Eltendorf Martin Luther Kirche was
already almost 100 years old by that time. My history cites Eltendorf's
"Unsere Tochter" ("our daughters" - affiliated Evangelical villages) as
Heiligenkreuz (no date given [but 1783]), Königsdorf (1783), Neustift (from
Kukmirn to Eltendorf [in 1939]), Poppendorf (1783), (Lutherans bought a Gasthaus
in 1800's for a "Betthaus"), and Zahling [in 1939] (Auch hier hatte der
Protestantismus bereits Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts Fuss gefasst. = Here too,
Protestantism had already formed a foothold by mid-16th century.). The village
belonged to the parishes of Königsdorf, then Kukmirn and today to Eltendorf.
The Kirchenvisitationsprotokoll of 27 Febr. 1787 lists "Mutttergemeinde [mother
community]" Eltendorf, "Filiale Gemeinden [branch communities]" Fidisch (sic),
Ruttersdorf (sic), Heiligenkreuz, Poppendorf, Nemeth Ujvar (sic) - Güssing. (note
Zahling is missing at which time it must have belonged to Kukmirn [it did]).
From all of this, I would again suggest that members researching ancestors
from this area should search the following church records:
Eltendorf Catholics-Königsdorf Lutherans-Eltendorf
Heiligenkreuz Catholics-Heiligenkreuz Lutherans-Eltendorf
Königsdorf Catholics-Königsdorf Lutherans-Eltendorf
Poppendorf Catholics-Heiligenkreuz Lutherans-Eltendorf
Zahling Catholics-Königsdorf, Kukmirn Lutherans-Kukmirn, Eltendorf
Fritz adds: The Lutheran records for the Kukmirn parish are on four films
(0700678-81). The Lutheran records for the Eltendorf parish are on three films
(0700737-39). The Roman Catholic records for the Königsdorf parish are on two
rolls (0700675-76). The Roman Catholic records for the Kukmirn parish are on
one roll, namely 0700677. The Roman Catholic records for the Heiligenkreuz
parish are on one roll, namely 0700718. All these Lutheran and Catholic
records are the so-called duplicates that cover the period 1828 till
September 1895. The civil records for Eltendorf cover the time from October
1895 to 1920, include all denominations, and are on five rolls (0700435-39).
Considering the many inter-village marriages, I'd search them all.
My reading of the village lists (Albert's) shows Zahling RC to Königsdorf
only and LU to Eltendorf only but these lists were compiled in 1970 and
reflect the current status (as of 1970). They have changed more than once as
reflected by the entries in my 1873 gazetteer.
I might mention that the LDS also had considerable confusion concerning
Zahling and Eltendorf in that that they had no entry for Eltendorf! Took me a
year to find that they were listed under Zahling (Czahling). I wrote to then
and they corrected their index. Their problem had to do with the reading of
"Kortvelyes" - Hungarian for Eltendorf, as being the same as "Kis Kortvelyes"
- Hungarian for Zahling, but many of the Hungarian records carried "Zahling"
titles even though the data was from Martin Luther Kirche in Eltendorf. A
mystery which might be explained by a confused copyist.
Checking the latest Zahling history, I find that from 1653-1671, Zahling
Lutherans belonged to Königsdorf. This was, of course, when the Catholic church
was taken over by Lutherans who were then suppressed until the Edict of
Toleration. In 1783, Zahling became a "Tochtergemeinde" of Kukmirn, where a new
Lutheran church had been built. It also says that, in 1936, they joined
Eltendorf, to which they still belong. Population is now about split RC vs
Evang. - slightly more Evang.
RC data - The very old Zahling church (13th century) has a bell dated 1404. In
a canonical visitation of 1557, Zahling is described as the mother church of
Königsdorf parish! It is now (no date given) a "Filialgemeinde" of the parish
of Königsdorf. Kukmirn is not mentioned in this respect.
EARLY VILLAGE FIRES (Fritz Königshofer)
Both articles were written by my great-grandfather who chronicled events in
Poppendorf and surroundings for the weekly newspaper Der Volksfreund in
Szombathely.
From Der Volksfreund, 15 June 1901, page 3
Correspondence from Patafalva, 12 June 1901
Watch your fire, watch your lights!" is the tune sung by our good and dutiful
night-guard and hornist of the fire brigade, Andreas Hacker, a tune that
resounds throughout our village every night. While song and custom are
age-old, the reasons for it remain equally valid today, because it reminds us
humans about the dangers when handling fire, and especially the related
dangers that surround us at night. The tired farmer can sleep calmly knowing
that when everybody is asleep, the orderly night-guard is on his post. That
was the situation in Patafalva too.
Everybody still lay in deepest sleep, when very early in the morning of the
Corpus Christi holiday the peaceful inhabitants got awakened from their sleep
by the fire brigade's trumpet. Three houses stood in flames; the fire
brigade set out and some worked with all their strength at extinguishing the
fire, e.g., Wundeler Johann, Simitz Franz, Müller Andreas, et cetera. The
captain of the fire brigade of Heiligenkreuz, Mr. Anton Wagner was one of the
first on the site of the accident, as usual; his fire brigade soon arrived,
grouped itself under his secure leadership, and it did not take long for the
blaze to be under control. Later, the fire brigade of Körtvelyes
(Eltendorf/Zahling) arrived as well, but did not need to get into action
anymore.
The cause of the fire has not been established until now. Therefore: Watch
your fire, watch your lights, so that the good Lord will protect you!"
From Der Volksfreund, 15 November 1902, page 5
"Correspondence from Patafalva, 10 November
On the 3rd of this month, at 4:30 in the morning, the house of Franz Simitz
burned down in Patafalva. While saving the livestock, the old grandfather
received such burns, that he gave up his spirit [died] at 4 o'clock in the
evening. His son Franz - into whose hands the search for economic gain has
forced the walking stick - is currently in America, while his wife has been
stricken here by this fire and death.
"Father, when I come back, everything will be better" Franz had said at his
departure, when he pressed the dear hands for the last time. Yes, it has
become better; but not for him, but for the poor one burnt to death who has
been liberated from human suffering and who no longer needs to watch the
sorrow and worry that are once again loaded upon the shoulders of his son.
Now Franz will again be forced to stay longer than he had intended in the
far-away lands, and -- work hard and harder; this is because the damage and
loss is much bigger than what the insurance amount covers; and wherefrom take
the money other than obtain it through the hard work of his hands.
His greatest fortune is that he has a very good father-in-law, the Jost from
Unterradling, who is assisting with all his strength so that Franz does not
need to hurry back home immediately. Also within the local community there
will be assistance, as much as people can help, and the neighboring
communities will likely step in too, taking pity of the 5 underage children,
and giving them the most that is possible. The following deserve special
mentioning for their effort in fighting and extinguishing the fire: village
judge Gibiser, J. Berl, the capable unit leader of the local fire brigade, J.
Wirth, and Johann Berghold junior who excelled at saving the children. All
other village inhabitants also unselfishly contributed in fighting the fire.
In addition, the fire brigades of Rábakeresztur (Heiligenkreuz) and
Körtvélyes (Eltendorf/Zahling) showed up, but did not need to get into
action. The cause of the fire is completely unknown.
More On Fires: When recently in Budapest, I went through some more old issues
of Der Volksfreund, I noted a series of articles in the summer and early
autumn of 1890 about a series of fires in and around Kohfidisch. I believe
that eventually a 16-year old girl was identified as the arsonist, but I did
not note this fact. Anyway, the series created reactions in the form of
letters to the editor, and fear in the area. One of the letter writers was a
Sigmund Holzer. I also noted the names of the teacher Michael Ruck who was
also the commander of the fire brigade, and further letters by Georg Schück
and Georg Oswald, possibly from Kirchfidisch.
JURASITS NAME & SZENTPETERFA PROJECT (from John D. Lavendoski)
By the way, I am well into my Szentpeterfa project and have about 1500 names
and dates entered thus far. As a side project, to cut the tedium of pure data
entry, I traced out every known Jurasits birth and marriage in Szentpeterfa
and I constructed a mega tree and Excel database to show how the various
different Jurasits lines interconnect.
It looks to me like anyone who bears the name Jurasits today, must descend
from one of 7 distinct couples who were married between about 1792 and 1819.
Also, it is obvious to me that these seven progenitors also must have been
related somehow, and this will be my focus when I get those earlier
Szentpeterfa records (1682-1793) copied.
LDS COMING ON LINE (from Anna Kresh and others)
The most important sources of Burgenland family history are the LDS microfilm
copies of 1828-1921 Burgenland church and civil records. For almost forty
years genealogists have been using these records and in many cases have added
their findings to the LDS data bases. It now appears that the main lDS
computer files - The Ancestral & IGI (International Genealogical Index) files
will be coming online soon. The following was received recently via Roots/L,
Arkansas Roots/L:
Subject: LDS FAMILY SEARCH COMING SOON
As the director of a LDS Family History Center (Arkansas?), I have received a
notice from Salt Lake LDS FHL, announcing the Beta testing of FamilySearch
online. It is not yet up, a problem with a piece of equipment, but will be
starting sometime this month (ED. not up March 7) and will be up only a few
weeks as a test run. If there is not a lot of interest it will be taken off
and not put back on. So spread the word and keep trying to get through. When
it comes on line the URL will be: > www.familysearch.org <.
I have not been told exactly what will be available but know at least the
Ancestral File and Family History Library Catalog will be included. Family
Search (FS) is the name of the program we have on CDs in all LDS FHCs. Some
public libraries also have this program. FS includes the IGI, Ancestral File,
Family History Library Catalog, Social Security Death Records, Korean and
Vietnam war death records, and Scottish Church Records.
For those of you not familiar with the various searches, the IGI is the
International Genealogical Index. It includes, in alphabetical order, all of
the names that have been sent to the Temples to have ordinances performed in
their name. Names in the IGI are usually submitted by members, but not
always. Non-members also submit their family names to get them into the IGI.
Some of the marriages may have been part of extraction programs. The names
were taken from courthouse records and checked and rechecked by several
volunteers before being accepted as correct. Most people do try to send in
accurate information but there are many mistakes. My advice is, always check
the original source. Use the IGI to find where people with your surname would
have lived and order the census and court records from that area.
Ancestral File contains Gedcoms of group and pedigree sheets sent in by
members and non-members. The name and address of the submitter is included
and hopefully will allow you to contact others working on your line. If the
address is out of date sometimes a letter to the Membership dept. in Salt
Lake will get you a correct address if the person was a member of the LDS
church. Once again, the material is only as good as the research that went
into it and some of it is pretty bad. Check it out before you 'adopt' it. If
you find a mistake on Ancestral File, you can send in your corrections, along
with your sources of proof, and it will be noted in the next update. The
first submitter does not have to provide proof, but you do, if you are making
a correction. You can add additions to a file, or submit a new file. You do
not have to be a member to submit material.
The Family History Library Catalog is a listing of every book, film and fiche
available at the Salt Lake City LDS Family History Library. This allows us to
find what is available for each locality, world-wide. It includes the FHL
call numbers and a description of what is included in the film/fiche or book.
The material from the books and film/fiche will not be on line. That is not
something they can do, at this time. Hopefully it will be a possibility some
time in the distant future. The film and fiche will still have to be ordered
through FHC. Microfilm and microfiche are the property of the FHL and are
sent into the care of the LDS FHC director and must remain under her/his care
until returned. For this reason they are never allowed to be taken from the
LDS FHC. Almost all of the microfilm and microfiche at the LDS Family History
Library in Salt Lake City can be ordered into any LDS FHL, anywhere in the
world, but there are a few exceptions. Copyright laws prevent them from using
material without the written consent of the owner. Some of the film and fiche
where filmed by companies other than the LDS Church and permission to
circulate these film to LDS FHCs has been denied. There will be a notice
included in the description, saying it can not be circulated....
Ed. Note: If this becomes permanent, it will be the most important website on
the net for BB members (next to our homepage of course!)
MEMBER QUERY
(Our lists of Lehigh Valley immigrants in the last issue generated a lot of
comment. The following is typical:)
Question: << In the latest edition, you mention several names which occur in
my tree (which can be found at The Schuetter & Schafer Family Home Page),
particularly the names MUHR (I have a Theresa married to Herman Schuetter),
GRATZEL (my spelling is GRATZL, but what's a little "e" between family
members?!), KEGLOVITS (I have a KEGLOVICS and LUIPERSBECK (I've spelled it
LUISPERBECK, but I'm so sure I'm mistaken that I'm changing it to your spelling).
As far as I know, I don't have a Pennsylvania connections, but I'm open to
all possibilities. Do you think there are any connections here? Bill
Schuetter, Orland Park, IL >>
Answer: You don't say where the names were mentioned but I'm assuming you
mean the Lehigh Valley immigrants list. The more common names are found all
over the Burgenland. At least grouped between the south (below Oberwart) and
the north (above Oberwart). Spellings will change frequently - 'ics" to "its",
etc. Luipersbeck is probably also spelled Liperspeck or some other
variation. Croatian names will mostly be found in southern Croatian villages
and probably are related (albeit distantly) regardless of where they settled
in the US. The only way to know for sure is to link them through the church
records, same village, same house numbers. Otherwise you are just guessing.
Our lists of names are given to provide clues as to where to look. The Urbars
tell you that families with those names were present at the time of the
Urbar. Just a clue as to when they arrived.
FINDING ANCESTORS VIA A TRIP TO EUROPE
(We get a lot of questions like this and let me repeat that trying to find
ancestors via a trip to Europe without doing your homework is fraught with
problems. You might get lucky and get to the correct village, you might even
find a helpful relative, priest or official; but it's all very nebulous. Do
your homework first or you might be disappointed!)
Question: << I will be going to St. Michaels, Austria, and I understand from
relatives that our family was from there. The name was changed from Malajter
to Malayter. I believe they settled in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. How would
I go about tracing the family name once I get there? I also understand they
my great grandfather was a freedom fighter. Thank You S. Malayter >>
Answer: First let me say that there is more than one St. Michael. I'm
assuming you mean St. Michael im Burgenland, Austria (was Hungarian
Pusztaszentmihaly pre-1921) which is closest to the Hungarian border. There
are 4 others in Austria (2 in Styria and 2 in Carinthia) as well as 2 in
Hungary (one near Nagykanizsa) - Szentmihalyhegy near the Serbian border and
Szentmihalytelek (near Szeged) also near the Serbian border.
This is not an easy task for an amateur who has not had experience with
Austrian or Hungarian records; however I'll try to provide some help.
Austrian church records from about 1770 to present and from 1670 in Hungary
are located in the churches. If you can find the priest (I'm assuming you are
RC; Lutheran or Reformed records require a different church) and he's willing
to help, he can probably find your ancestor's birth and or marriage, unless
it's in Hungarian or German script which he may not be able to read. This
assumes you have an approximate date. I'd first look for the birth of your
immigrant ancestor and work back from there. The priest may be very busy and
if you can find someone to help, so much the better. If you don't speak
German (in Austria) or Hungarian (in Hungary), language can be a problem.
Check with the local "Gemeinde Amt" (village office) or Fremdenverkehr
(tourist office) and offer to pay someone who speaks English to be your
guide. The Gemeinde Amt also has civil records from 1896 to date and can show
you records if your ancestor fills that time frame.
Always offer to pay for copies (they'll charge very little if at all but it
makes them feel good as they are always busy and sometimes get tired of these
requests and you'll also establish yourself as a good sort). Also leave a
donation for the priest if he doesn't charge you for look up. 100 s (about
$9) is not too much.
Austrian records prior to 1770 may also be available in the Diocesan Archive
in Eisenstadt (the capital of Burgenland) at St. Rochus Strasse 21. Ask for
Dr. Hans Peter Zelfel. They will not have records post-1770 and you must know
the church your ancestors attended. Again offer a donation.
By "freedom fighter" we generally mean someone who left Hungary in the 1950's
during the brief revolt against the Communist regime. This would mean that
your ancestor (1950 freedom fighter couldn't have been your g-grandfather!)
was born in Hungary? If so you must look in Hungary. St. Michaels has been in
Austria since 1921. Thus no "freedom fighters" in Austria except for those
who crossed the border and settled there briefly before emigrating to the US.
Thus no records except those of residence.
The church records for St. Michael, Austria, are available in the US as LDS
(Mormon) microfilm 0700716-7. Civil records 1895-1920 are also available.
(newsletter continued as 53B)
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 53B
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(issued biweekly by Gerald Berghold)
March 15, 1999
(all rights reserved)
This third section of the 3 section newsletter contains a Glimpse of 1950's
Burgenland (pictures from member Prof. Andrew Burghardt), More Old Photos,
and Review of the Book "German-Bohemians", co-authored by La Vern Rippley and
member Robert Paulson.
AN EARLIER GLIMPSE OF THE BURGENLAND - 1950's
(Prof. Andrew Burghardt and Gerry Berghold)
As we view the Burgenland through available genealogical records I'm afraid
we often lose sight of how it must have looked to our ancestors. We probably
either fantasize, romanticize or imagine it has always looked as it does at
present, sans concrete, asphalt, autos, electric wires and modern
construction. Yesterday's mail brought me a gift from member Prof. Andrew
Burghardt, author of (among other works) "Borderland, A Historical and
Geographical Study of Burgenland", Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 1962, which
suggested this article.
The gift was a series of 17 enlarged photos, produced by the Wisconsin Press
from color slides taken by Prof. Burghardt and used to illustrate his book,
now out of print. Fifteen of the photos were taken in 1957, two in 1969, only
yesterday for some of us.
I've been fortunate in acquiring various books, publications and photos which
have illustrations supplying glimpses of the Burgenland both pre-camera
(drawings, paintings and word descriptions) and post-camera, such as late 1800
studio photos of my ancestors, the 1890-1910 Auswanderung years, WW-I to WW-II
photos and postcards and my own 1970, 1980 and 1990 visits. Missing were the
1950's, that all important period of reconstruction following WW-II. Prof.
Burghardt's photos capture this period admirably and I'd like to describe
them for you. The last decade has seen major changes in the Burgenland, it is
no longer old Europe, scenes of which are difficult to find. Burgenland,
while still rural in aspect, is now a part of our First World, modern in
every concept. These pictures depict it as it was just a few years ago. Most
of the descriptions are in Prof. Burghardt's own words. My (comments) are
normally at the end of the descriptions.
Plate I - The Hainburg or Carnuntum gap of the Danube (Porta Hungaria). In
the middle of the picture is the Braunsberg, site of the first Celtic
Carnuntum (most likely a typical Celtic hill fort). The Danube flows to the
left (north) of this hill. The uplands at the left are the southern most
extent of the Little Carpathians and are in Slovakia. The upland at the right
is the northernmost edge of the Hainburg Hills and bears the historic
Hainburg fortress. The city of Hainburg lies in the gap between the fortress
and the Braunsburg. The road in the foreground appears to be gravel road
lined with wooden guard posts. The only modern objects are telephone (power)
poles and lines.
Plate II - The Heidentor, a Roman arch which may have marked one of the
principal entrances into Roman Carnuntum (now a site of ruins). It stands in
the fields southwest of Petronell.
Plate III - The Hungarian Border as taken from an automobile on the highway
between Mogersdorf and Deutsch Minihof, just west of Szent Gotthard. For two
miles the road follows the boundary, so the double fences, wire and barb are
in Hungary. Just beyond the first fence is a "dirt road" which was a mine
field. (In 1993, the fence and mine fields had been removed between
Moschendorf and Pinka Mindszent although an empty guard shack remained. While
one could have crossed the border here illegally, we didn't do so but went
the long way round through the customs crossing at Heiligenkreuz. When we in
turn viewed Moschendorf from Pinka Mindszent, a military vehicle with two
soldiers was parked at the guard shack-probably alerted about the presence of
"suspicious characters!") (NOTE: I've recently been told that the wire is
again going up along the Hungarian border. The ethnic unrest in the Balkans
and elsewhere and third world problems (India) has again caused the Hungarian
border to be the target of refugees fleeing to Austria and the new world.
Austria is having trouble coping with the large numbers, hence the wire).
Plate IV - Neusiedl am See, from the rim of the Parndorf Heath. Narrow strips
of cultivated land border the village. Beyond is a belt of reeds and then
Lake Neusiedl.
Plate V - Mürbisch am See. Principal Street. Houses are white washed. Ears of
corn hanging from the side of the houses. Two ladies in black with
"babushkas", boots and staffs walking by a sign which reads "PauL Lehner
(sic), Schumacher Meister." Street appears unpaved. A single branchless tree
struggles to survive. In 1993, this same scene included pavements, paved tree
lined street, much neater and more prosperous. Well dressed locals and
tourists.
Plate VI - Unterwart. An old peasant home with thatched roof. Ancient
timbers, white washed walls. Heavy wooden shutters. Street is dirt. No
electric or phone wires in evidence. Three decades ago this was a "typical"
home; now it is a picturesque rarity. (Most houses now have red-orange tiled
roofs, but the shape and internal layout of the newer houses is as of old;
you'll find all "mod cons", double glazed windows, flower boxes everywhere,
etc.)
Plate VII - Pamhagen on the edge of the Hanság. Open space shows village
commons (with stream-ditch) between two rows of houses. Geese using a rain
puddle. No electric wires in sight. Such ditches in early times were often
one source of water, leading to much water borne disease.
Plate VIII - Eberau. Inside the "Hof", the work camp. The equipment, animals
and hired laborers are housed in the quadrangle. Long handled "puszta" well
sweep and poultry. Typical of the Alfld.
Plate IX - Stadt Schlaining. Schloss Schlaining. Fortress dominates the point
where the old road around the south flank of the Köszeg Range climbed from
the lowland onto the Bucklige Welt. The city is behind the fortress. Two
towers. Most fortresses in Burgenland have two such towers, an older round
one that was used for military purposes and a newer baroque one largely for
decoration. (Purchased by a private party and restored following WWII, the
castle is now used as a museum, hotel and conference center.)
Plate X - Güssing. A popular site for pictures. The medieval fortress sits
atop a basaltic plug which rises sharply above the water and marsh (fish
teich) at the confluence of the Strem and Zicken brooks (bach). (The capitol
of the "Mighty Counts of Güssing" and the subsequent Güssing Herrschaft. This
castle dominated most of southern Burgenland. Can be seen from all
directions. Picture taken from the south showing the paved two lane road to
Neustift and Heilgenkreuz (now considerably widened). In the foreground is a
four wheeled oxcart pulled by two white faced oxen led by a woman in
"babushka" and apron. With short dress and modern shoes (no boots) she looks
like any modern farm woman. Two children are riding in the wagon. Your editor
picnicked with family at this very spot in the 1970's.)
Plate XI - Eisenstadt. The Esterházy Schloss. The largest and most famous
palace of Burgenland; scene of the activities of Joseph Haydn. At the time
the picture was taken, the palace was being used by the provincial
government. The Russians had destroyed the old government building. Banner
hanging in front means the Landtag is in session. People in both modern and
old dress can be seen. (Scene much changed in the 1990's, with a modern car
park to the left and the front undergoing restoration. The wife of the last
Prince Esterházy still has apartments in part of the schloss -1993).
Plate XII - Eisenstadt. The entrance to the former ghetto (Unterberg).
Immediately adjacent to the Esterházy palace was this Jewish ghetto for the
Jews who managed the Prince's estates. This ghetto was a distinct political
subdivision and all Gentiles were excluded after sundown by a chain stretched
across the archway. The Nazis killed or deported most of the Jews during the
Holocaust. (The ghetto is now merely an area of low grade housing, part of
the City of Eisenstadt. Street may still -1957, be dirt covered with slush,
two men passing under the arch, one with bicycle. No one else in site. A
haunting picture. One can imagine the area under the archway once teeming
with life as inhabitants went about their daily business.)
Plate XIII - Deutsch Minihof. Peasant couple. Herr und Frau Johann Labitsch.
Could be any BB member's "Ahnen". Frau Labitsch is in black denoting
mourning with black head piece. She has a twinkle in her eyes but is not
smiling. Herr Labitsch is smiling under upturned mustache. He is wearing a
modern felt hat with brim, buttoned sweater and wool plaid shirt buttoned at
the neck, no tie. They appear to be holding hands. A pile of firewood is
behind them. Herr Labitsch was the brother of Mrs. Ludwig Lang (he was from
Mogersdorf) who moved to New York where he worked for Rupert's Brewery. Prof.
Burghardt and wife toured Burgenland in 1989 and presented a copy of this
photo to the remaining Labitsch daughter in Minihof-a photo of her parents
taken 32 years before. She was stunned.
Plate XIV - Hagensdorf. Three Peasant Ladies, returning from a pilgrimage to
Gass (for the March 25 Feast of the Annunciation). They had walked over ten
miles and asked for a ride. Automobiles were very scarce in Burgenland in
1957. The women were bone weary and were given a ride in Burghardt's tiny
Renault. He delivered them to Hagendorf and Luising. On the way home he met
another elderly woman also desperate for a ride. He gave her one and she
insisted he share her bottle of slivovitz. He says good, but.... Two ladies
are in black mourning. One has a figured dress. They appear to be wearing
shorter skirts with black stockings and shoes. Two baskets being carried are
home made. One is of store bought leather. All three are smiling, standing in
the middle of a dirt (gravel) road, obviously pleased with the results of
their outing.
Plate XV - Trausdorf Croatian Peasant Woman. Boots, kerchief (babushka),
sweater and apron. Typical older Burgenland costume, unlike rest of Austria.
Very proud of her home made basket and pleased at having it included in the
picture. Basket full of reeds used for weaving containers. Standing in a dirt
street in front of a carriage gate next to house entrance door way. (The
attic of the Berghold homestead in Poppendorf contained hand woven baskets,
now rarely seen).
Plate XVI - Frankenau. Croatian peasant costumes. Brilliant "Trachten" seen
only at rare public festivities. Picture taken June 1961 at celebration
during the unveiling of a monument to the Croatian poet, Miloradic', who was
born in Frankenau. Accompanying color photos show how striking the colors and
embroidery are. Young woman in center is most attractive with jet black hair
and eyes. Two other ladies with blonde hair, blue eyes and lighter features.
Wearing colorful headpieces, white ruffled sleeve blouses gathered with red
ribbons, fringed scarves, most colorful ankle length skirts, black aprons and
boots. Men (band) are in white costumes, black boots, black karakul (?)
Croatian hats, red embroidered vests, red neckerchiefs and black aprons with
embroidered edges.
The late 1950's early 1960's were the last time one could see the "old"
Burgenland of our immigrant ancestors. Today one has to visit local museums
or go far off the beaten tract, in very remote regions and search diligently
to find its equivalent. Our thanks to Prof. Burghardt for supplying this
glimpse.
MORE OLD PHOTOS
Among the many good things available from the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft
newsletter (membership $15/year for six issues, from Burgenländische
Gemeinschaft, 7540 Güssing, Hauptplatz 7) is a feature column called
"Erinnerungen" (memories) which reproduces old photos of Burgenland scenes.
The Jan/Feb 1999 issue featured "Hochzeit in Königsdorf" - 1924 (wedding),
"Schlittenfahren" Fürstenfeld - 1924 (sleigh rides), and "Soldat auf
Heimatlaub" Horitschon - 1944 (soldier on leave). Pictures are from collection
of Dr. Walter Dujmovits and other Burgenland archival holdings. There are also
other pictures and sometimes a little English in the newsletter if you have
trouble with German.
BOOK "GERMAN-BOHEMIANS"
One of the perquisites I enjoy as editor of the newsletter is the occasional
gift package of books and/or other publications sent by members. It's always
Christmas when that happens and a newsletter article often results. Recently
member Robert J Paulson sent me a copy of the book "German-Bohemians, The
Quiet Immigrants" (St. Olaf College Press, Northfield Minnesota, 1995) which
he and Lavern J Rippley co-authored for the German-Bohemian Heritage
Society, New Ulm, Minnesota. He also sent the book "Burgen und Schlösser
Ruinen und Wehrkirchen im Burgenland" by Harald Prickler, which will be
described later.
The "German-Bohemians" is the type of ethnic work I'd like to see produced
for the Burgenland. Complete in every detail from history and origins in
Europe to descendants today. Maps, lists of immigrant families, migration
data, folklore, world of work, music, related national events, it's all
there. While it doesn't pertain to the Burgenland (the Bohemian region is to
the northwest of today's Austria in what was Czechoslovakia - now Czech
Republic and Slovakia, a region which was part of the Austro/Hungarian Empire
pre-1918), it abounds in similar family names, customs, culture, migration
history and the fact that, like the Burgenländers, the German-Bohemians were
also migrant border settlers. The US immigrants from there settled mostly in
Brown and Nicollet Counties, Minnesota. If you have family ties to that
region, you must read this book.
Of particular interest to me is mention (and a photo) of Father Alexander
Berghold, a Catholic missionary priest from Styria in the late 1800s. He
established various congregations in the New Ulm area and is currently being
remembered by the erection of a memorial by his former parish. Father
Berghold, priest, poet and author was born near Graz, Austria, and eventually
returned there, where he died following WW-I. While not as yet linked to my
Lutheran Berghold families, it's fairly certain that his ancestors and mine
were connected pre-1600's and split probably during the counter Reformation.
Along with Fritz Königshofer, Albert Schuch and James Seifert of New Ulm, MN,
we've been researching the life of this most remarkable (albeit relatively
obscure) man and have uncovered a wealth of information.
The data and photos available in this book are remarkable for the
completeness of coverage. The maps and lists of Bohemian villages (German and
Slav names) printed on the end papers provide the first clues that this is
not your average superficial ethnic work. Very few are this detailed. Lists
of Bohemian names appearing in the various townships are thorough. A 12-page
list of immigrants, date and place of birth, year immigrated, year
naturalized, current residence and occupation follows. The Contents include:
Origins, Settling in Brown County, Departing the Homeland, Establishing the
New Homeland, New Ulm - Magnet for Immigrants, Turners and German Speaking
Bohemians, Folklore and Transfers, World of Work, Economic and Sociological
Perspectives, Music of the German-Bohemian, German Bohemians and National
Events. On-site research and help from present-day Bohemian researchers lends
additional credence to the data. A perfect example of my long-held belief
that only in-depth study of a manageable (micro vs macro) ethnic region will
result in a worthwhile addition to family history sources. This can well
serve as model for similar ethnic books. Binding, paper and printing are
first class.
La Vern Rippley, is the author and translator of many ethnic books and
publications. He received his Ph.D. from Ohio State following studies at the
Univ. of Munich. He has been a professor at St. Olaf College* since 1967.
Robert Paulson, a music teacher, studied at the College of St. Thomas and has
taught in St. Paul area schools for over 30 years. He is the founder of the
German-Bohemian Heritage Society, has done pioneering genealogical and
historical research on the German-Bohemians in America and has led several
genealogical tours to Bohemia. He has also co-authored "Border People: The
Böhmish (German-Bohemians in America).
*You may be familiar with the famous St. Olaf College Choir Christmas program
which has been televised.
END OF NEWSLETTER-EDITED & DISTRIBUTED BY GERALD J. BERGHOLD