BB News No. 139 dtd 30 Apr 2005

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 139 DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Our 10th Year - Issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold) April 30, 2005 (c) 2005 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) * POLICY STATEMENT - WE ARE A BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY SITE. WE DON'T RESPOND TO EMAIL WHICH IS NOT FOCUSED ON THE BURGENLAND. WE CAN'T HELP YOU CONCERNING SPAM, VIRUS, PHISHING, PRIVACY INVASION, IDENTITY THEFT OR OTHER INTERNET ILLS OVER WHICH WE HAVE NO CONTROL. AS A USER OF THE INTERNET, YOU MUST BECOME KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT ITS USE AND PROBLEMS. THERE ARE OTHER WEBSITES WHICH CAN HELP YOU. OUR MEMBERSHIP INVITATION LETTER STATES OUR OBJECTIVES - BE SURE YOU READ AND UNDERSTAND THEM BEFORE JOINING OUR GROUP. ** Current Status Of The BB: Members-1202 *Surnames Listed-4296 *Query Board Entries-3142 *Newsletters Archived-139 *Number of Staff Members-17 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 unsubscribe, send email with message "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel membership, website listings and newsletter.) Send address and listing changes to the same place. Sign email with your full name and include BB in the subject line. Send no attachments or graphics. To join the BB, see our homepage. If you join, your email address will be available from our websites. We are not responsible for Spam or Virus that may result. You can opt for your address to be unlisted but members will not be able to contact you. We can't help with non-Burgenland family history. Email comments are appreciated, but may be published unless we are requested not to do so. Articles without a by-line are written by the editor and reflect his views. If you join, please exchange data in a courteous and cooperative manner. This first section of our 2-section newsletter concerns: 1. Identity Theft - Latest Genealogical Internet Scare? 2. German Migration To Burgenland 3. Email Addresses In Burgenland Villages? 4. New Burgenland Book In Dialect 5. Chicago BG To Hold Martinifest & Miss Burgenland Pageant 6. LDS Family History Centers In The US & Austria 1. IDENTITY THEFT - LATEST GENEALOGICAL INTERNET SCARE? The Internet has been plagued with criminal activity as well as trash and misleading information. It seems as if there is no end to it. I often wonder what some people get out of feeding us problems. In the final analysis, I guess it just behooves us to be ever on the alert to Internet and computer misuse in the same way we've learned to deal with other criminal activity and poor television, radio and publishing. As in everything else, a little common sense and use of the delete button goes a long way. Let's not let Internet problems defeat our objectives. It seems the latest topic intended to turn us off is scare data being published which tells us if we aren't careful, criminals will steal our identity by using what we post on the Internet - particularly data posted on genealogical and family history sites like our own BB. That this is obviously garbage requires only a limited intelligence. What do we post? Your name (which can be found most anywhere), your city and state of residence, family names you are researching and their places of origin and settlement. None of us live in a vacuum and this sort of data is in the public domain in countless files, phone books, voter lists, etc. In fact most, if not all identity theft comes about from stolen credit cards, automobile licenses etc. I'm also sure that any criminal stealing your purse, wallet or mail or going through un-shredded trash can cause identity theft. By all means protect them and your social security number. The following extract deals with identity theft as it relates to Internet Genealogical sites. Recently RootsWeb Review published an interesting subject article ("Private Concerns"). A few of the queries and answers pertinent to Identity Theft are reprinted below. To read the entire article go to: RootsWeb's Weekly E-zine, 13 April 2005, Vol. 8, No. 15, (c) 1998-2005 RootsWeb.com, Inc. http://www.rootsweb.com/ Editor: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, Certified Genealogist All of what follows has been extracted from the above. Our thanks for the use of this material. "Question. What can I do if I find private information about myself and my living family members published at RootsWeb? Answer. That depends upon the nature of the "private" information and where you have found it. Most information about living individuals is not considered "private" and it is widely accessible. Names, dates, and places are public, not private, information." "Question. I'm concerned about identity theft and worry that if information about my family is found at RootsWeb it could lead to my identity being stolen. A. "Identify theft" has become a buzz word, but it is a misnomer. Actually in most instances it refers to credit card theft and most of that happens offline." "A recent survey reported on the Better Business Bureau website indicates that the vast majority of so-called "identity theft" cases involve "paper" theft -- not Internet theft. Even the cases that do involve the Internet are the result of computer viruses, spyware, stolen passwords, and "phishing" scams and are not due to information found on genealogy websites. Genealogy websites do not even represent a blip on the radar of this problem. "Ever since we saw the first "cries of alarm" over someone stealing your identity because you put your real name on one of your e-mails, Richard Pence, newspaperman and long-time genealogist, has been challenging newsgroups and mailing lists to provide him with authenticated cases showing that genealogical information was the underlying cause of an identity theft. No one has seriously tried -- except Pence claims that he did get an e-mail from someone that claimed "that it actually happened to a neighbor of my cousin." Further questioning revealed that that one statement was the extent of the sender's knowledge about the fate of the neighbor." Pence reports, "So, although I have made repeated challenges it is now approaching 20 years and no one has provided a documented case ("documented" meaning verifiable by police or court records) yet." [Roots Web Editor's note: Richard Allen "Dick" Pence is one of the pioneers of computer genealogy. He was among the first to see the value of personal computers for genealogical record keeping and began organizing his records with one of the earliest of these machines in 1978.] Keep informed about the latest news, new databases, webpages and mailing lists at RootsWeb. Subscribe to the free weekly RootsWeb Review. http://newsletters.rootsweb.com/ Search/download past issues of the RootsWeb Review: http://e-zine.rootsweb.com/ This concludes the BB extract from the RootsWeb source. 2. GERMAN MIGRATION TO BURGENLAND A correspondent writes: Why I am bothering you now is my curiosity as to how you managed to ascertain that your family moved from around Graz/Styria to Southern Burgenland (referred to in BB News No. 137), that is, what are the available sources pertaining to German migration(s) to B'land? If I remember correctly, in earlier issues of BB News you expressed doubts in connection with ever finding relevant data regarding migration of German-speaking settlers to our villages! I would also be most curious to know from what part of Austria/Germany my ancestors moved to Neutal. Reply: As you so correctly state, records from the early 1600's and before are very sparse. The best I have been able to do is find vague references to early migrations in some village "chroniks" (where the source is invariably oral tradition with little detail other than vague family memory.) In addition I find a few references in aristocratic "Urbars" as translated by various scholars. Some Canonical Visitations likewise have references. Fortunately, a Franciscan by the name of Pater Gratian Leser translated some of these for the villages in the southern districts where my family were found. In one (Rudersdorf-not far from my family villages of Eltendorf, Poppendorf and Heiligenkreuz) it was mentioned that early settlers came from Styria. I then looked for family names in that area as they exist today and found many in the area around Graz and Bad Gleichenberg - not far from the Burgenland. I researched Graz records (Bürgerbuchs) and, while I didn't find any mention of migrations, I did find family names. Listing places of residence of family names throughout southeastern Styria, I found a gradual movement over the years from a village east of Graz (Szt. Margarethe) to a village just inside today's Burgenland border (Mühlgraben) and then north to Grieselstein (district of Jennersdorf) and Heiligenkreuz and Poppendorf. While I can not link to Graz with church records there is no doubt in my mind that Styria is the area of origin given these appearances as well as the local dialect translation of my main family name Berghold (Bergholde-vineyard worker). The church records point to late 1600's as time of arrival, since no Burgenland record of that name has been found prior to that time. The religious split is obvious since the Berghold's of today in Styria are Catholic while those in the Burgenland are and have been Lutheran from the beginning, even during the counter-reformation. I assume from this that the early movement was caused by religious differences as opposed to economic reasons - otherwise they would have joined the local Catholic congregations. Eltendorf was (and still is) a Lutheran village whose church was attended by both Heilgenkreuz and Poppendorf Bergholds. Mühlgraben is also a Lutheran village. The villages mentioned in Styria are Catholic. As you can see, this is all highly conjectural but fairly obvious. Perhaps by using such fragments, you too can prepare a plausible story of origin. I have no hope of ever proving this with records but at least it appears sound. I have heard no clues as to Germanic origin in northern Burgenland other than there is mention (I forget the source) of post-1683 migration from Lake Constance. The records of migration through Vienna also speak of later migration (Donau Schwabian) from Franconia, Rhein-Hesse, etc. through the river port of Ulm). Some other village histories mention places of origin in what has become Germany, but those I have seen are based on oral tradition. In the section on Neutal, Kirsner & Peternell in "Der Bezirk Oberpullendorf im Wandel der Zeit" published 1997, says that in the middle of the 16th century, Neutal was settled (resettled) by Croatians under Esterhazy influence. The village was first mentioned in 1270 so the original inhabitants must have been lost during the Turkish wars. Obviously this will not help a search for Germanic family but I have the feeling that a search of Esterhazy records (I have no suggestions or contact as to these) might mention migration after this time by Germanic colonists. I'm afraid I've been of little help but perhaps there may be a clue in some of this. Let me know if you ever find anything. Genealogists speak of the "impenetrable brick wall" of the 16th century as it concerns family records! Let's keep chipping away! 3. EMAIL ADDRESSES IN BURGENLAND VILLAGES? Member writes: I was wondering if there is a way to locate e-mail addresses of family in Oberpullendorf. Do you know of any sites that you can put in a name and village etc and get an e-mail address? Reply: Afraid not - if you find one let me know - not that many computers in the Burgenland but I begin to feel there are at least one or two in most every village of any size. I'd try searching the village name - some of these people have websites. Be sure to check our Links web page - we list a few. (Lists of email addresses are becoming scarce due to their being harvested for SPAM.) 4. NEW BURGENLAND BOOK IN DIALECT The following may be of interest to members who read German or are interested in Hianzen or the village of Deutschkreuz. Bettina Herowitsch-Putz writes: Some time ago I sent you the link to our homepage focusing on our dialect (Hianzen). Now I am glad to let you know that we have also produced a book containing more than 60 of our texts in dialect. Most of them are funny, but there are also some that make you think and moreover there is a small section containing texts suitable for the Christmas season. The book costs 15 Euro (postage not included). The presentation of our book is going to take place next week in our home village Deutschkreutz and after that you will also find a short description of it on our homepage. 5. CHICAGO BG TO HOLD MARTINIFEST & MISS BURGENLAND PAGEANT (from Tom Glatz) Tom writes: We decided at our BG meeting last Sunday that we will hold another MartiniFest on Friday, November 4th, 2005 in the Emerald Room at the Gaelic Park in Oak Forest, Illinois. At this event we will elect a Miss Burgenland to represent Chicago at the BG 50th anniversary picnic & celebration in July 2006 in Austria. Young women ages 17-25 are eligible to enter the Chicago Miss Burgenland contest and they must, of course, have some Burgenland ancestry. More details of the event will be forthcoming. (ED Note: The New York club "Bruderschaft der Burgenlander" has also been electing a Miss Bruderschaft der Burgenlander for 68 years - the winner gets a trip to the BG picnic every July. Their "Miss" for 2005-2006 will be elected at a club function on May 22. Jaclyn Ann Tarnok was the "Miss" elected for 2004-2005.) 6. LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTERS IN THE US & AUSTRIA If you wish to trace family in the Burgenland, sooner or later you must use the Burgenland church and civil record microfilm available from the LDS. You can, of course, bypass that microfilm and go directly to the Burgenland and take your chances of getting local access to the records. Unfortunately, if you do not have experience gained from using the LDS records, you may be lost when faced with the originals. If you wish to go beyond one or two generations you must use the LDS microfilm. It is very easy to do here in the US, as there are many Family History centers; however there are not very many in Austria, so our Austrian members have a more difficult time in locating them. Of course, knowing the language, they have a better opportunity of using the local records. Use the following link to determine the location of family history centers (the Austrian sites are shown). Refer to previous newsletters to learn how to use them - you can also gain access by using our Links available from the BB homepage. In Austria there are Family History Centers in Graz, Haag Am Hausruck, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg, Salzburg Flachau, St. Polten, Vienna, Wels and Wiener Neustadt. See http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp for addresses. Newsletter continues with no. 139A.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 139A DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY (Our 10th Year-10 Pages/2 Email Sections Issued monthly by G. J. Berghold) April 30, 2005 (c) 2005 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved) This second section of our 2-section newsletter concerns: 1. Taste Of The Burgenland - Groflin-Kiflin Pastry (A Croat Specialty) - Tom Glatz 2. Taste Of Hungary - Roasting Bacon, Hungarian Style 3. Cleveland American Heritage Museum & Balaton Restaurant 4. Louisiana Hungarians - Replies 5. Recent Obituaries - Burgenland Immigrants & Other 6. Time For Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft Dues 7. Pittsburgh Austrian American Cultural Society (AACS) Photos 8. Austria-L Reports AEIOU DataBase Down & Reactivated - Charles Wardell 9. "Ich, Andreas Baumkircher" - Burg Güssing 2005 Production 1. TASTE OF THE BURGENLAND - GROFLIN-KIFLIN PASTRY (CROAT SPECIALTY) - from Tom Glatz Tom writes: Here is a Croatian recipe from Schandorf (District Oberwart) that I have wanted to share with everyone for a long time. The Karlovic family have brought these to our meetings & events (Chicago) for years. They remind me of Kolacky, but are baked to a golden brown & are not open-faced like Kolacky. These are really good! Kiflin or Groflin 1 lb. butter 8 oz. cream cheese 2 egg yolks 3 cups flour Solo brand apricot filling or ground walnuts Mix together well all of the above ingredients. Have extra flour on hand, since dough will be very sticky. Use well floured hands and form into approximately 2 inch diameter balls. Place balls on pans and flatten each making a thumb print impression. Refrigerate 6 hours - overnight. Only take one pan at a time out of the refrigerator as dough should be kept cold. Fill each Kiflin with apricot filling or ground walnuts. Form into crescents. Filling should be covered. Place Kiflin on un-greased pans - put into a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes - golden brown. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar. The Karlovics Family Recipe from Schandorf! (ED Note: Bob Strauch & I both remarked about the similarity to Kipfels, but Tom tells us that there is a considerable difference.) Tom explains, No, these are different than Kipfel. I e-mailed Steve (Karlovic) yesterday to make sure that I got it right. There is no sugar whatsoever in the dough. The powdered sugar is only sprinkled on the top of them. They might be a little smaller than 2 inches. They aren't real small. I know they were larger than an inch. I even got out a ruler trying to gauge on how big they should be. They are one of my favorites. 2. TASTE OF HUNGARY - ROASTING BACON HUNGARIAN STYLE (suggested by Bob Strauch) Bob Strauch sent me an article written by Emma Lelik from the "The Valley Independent" newspaper of Monessen, Pennsylvania, dated July 31, 1987. It dealt with ethnic Hungarians who had settled in the Monessen valley. The introduction spoke of a group of robust men with handlebar mustaches seated around an open fire roasting bacon. The rest of the article dealt with the Hungarian Workingmen's Sick Benefit Social and Literary Club of Monessen organized in 1904. They had a "bacon roast" out on the grounds of the Hungarian Club every Saturday afternoon. This article brought some memories to mind. Some years ago I read where a Gypsy was asked if he'd rather be warm or eat - his reply was "I'd sooner roast bacon!" - he would then be both warm and fed. It turns out that roasting bacon was (is) very common and popular among Magyar herdsmen and farmers. My wife and I were touring Bosnia some years before the Yugoslav breakup and we were invited to a small village in the karst hills behind the Dalmatian coast. We were given glasses of plum brandy and then seated around an open fire pit in an outdoor summer hut. Our hosts played the violin and the one-stringed gusyla and sang ancient folk melodies featuring Marko the Prince. We were given chunks of bread and raw pieces of paprika bacon on sticks and shown how to toast bacon. When it dripped well and was slightly toasted it was dripped on the bread, which was topped with an onion slice and eaten. When it ceased dripping we also ate the bacon. Accompanied with local red wine, it was very good, it tasted better than it sounds - of course today it would be viewed as a cholesterol nightmare. My Hungarian cookbook - Lang, "The Cuisine Of Hungary" - devotes a number of pages to Hungarian bacon. There are many types and they all seem to be a cut above the typical American commercial product - I've noticed European bacon always tastes better than ours. This is not to say that we don't have some excellent local products like in southern Virginia and the Amish country. We didn't know at the time that roasting bacon was a Hungarian tradition as well. Pork production was (is) big in southeastern Europe. I imagine it is part of the culture of all nomadic races to engage in campfire cookery. My maternal grandfather, a German whose family probably migrated from Swabia, but who had an Hungarian mother, loved his paprika bacon, but ate it cut into small pieces for breakfast (German speck style). I never knew him to toast it, although his immigrant Magyar neighbor and life-long friend (Mankos, by name) did. Nothing I like better than a bacon sandwich but I want it as a Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato with peanut butter yet! This open fire bit makes one think of goulash cooking over campfires, western cowboys around a chuck wagon, clam bakes in New England and Americans having a "weenie" or corn roast. Not too long ago, member Joe Jarfas sent us an article about how he cooks goulash over a campfire. Campfire cooking - a throwback to our ancestors - an open fire seems to mesmerizes us - connecting with something in our genes. My son loves to use a Dutch oven over a campfire - his beef stew is just wonderful - must be his Hungarian ancestors talking to him through his g-g-grandmother Ilona Tarafas. Next time he invites us to a campfire cook out, I'm taking some piece bacon, paprika and onion along - with a loaf of good bread as well. 3. CLEVELAND HUNGARIAN HERITAGE MUSEUM & BALATON RESTAURANT (suggested by Bob Strauch) An article dated April 16, 2005 concerns a visit to the Hungarian Heritage Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. This was the museum that, in the year 2000, exhibited a replica of the Hungarian crown of St. Stephen. The story of how this crown survived over the centuries is one I must consider publishing sometime. Of added interest is the fact that a famous Cleveland Hungarian restaurant, the Balaton, is nearby. One can view Hungarian culture and then enjoy traditional Hungarian food and wine. The restaurant, located at 13133 Shaker Sq, Cleveland, OH 44120, is named after the Lake Balaton region, which is just east of the Burgenland - an area of vineyards and lake resorts. More concerning the restaurant can be found at http://cleveland.oh.dinerate.com/balaton-restaurant~84697 It seems we have a lot to say about things Hungarian, and not too long ago a member asked me why this is. She felt, since Burgenlanders are Austrians today, speaking German for the most part, we should limit BB newsletter articles to things Germanic. I had to remind her that the Burgenland was part of Hungary prior to 1921 and had been under Hungarian administration for hundreds of years, and thus, Hungarian ethnicity was part of our heritage. As descendants of Burgenland immigrants, we can't claim to be just German, Austrian, Croatian or Hungarian - we are a mixture of all even if we claim a larger percentage of one or the other. I believe there is a little of each ethnic group in all of us (maybe some Slav and Turkish as well!). Best we refer to ourselves as Americans of Burgenland ethnic origin! Of course, too many will ask "where (what) is Burgenland?" 4. LOUISIANA HUNGARIANS - REPLIES Richard Nemeth writes: Reference BB Newsletter #138, item about Hungarians of Louisiana, and your ED. Note concerning their origin. My information is that the "Hungarian Settlement" in Louisiana was predominantly settled by Hungarians from the very large Hungarian community in Cleveland, OH. They were recruited to work in the agriculture industry, primarily strawberry farming. If there were Burgenlanders in Cleveland, some may have gone South with the migration. Bob Strauch writes: if I remember correctly, the Hungarians settlers in LA were recruited in the late 1800's among the already existing colonies in the NE (Ohio, PA, NJ) to work in agriculture. Their initial settlement was called Arpadhon (Arpad's house or home). A very good site about them is www.magyars.org/ 5. RECENT OBITUARIES - BURGENLAND IMMIGRANTS & OTHER From BG news: Bertha T. Betz - Coplay, PA - age 93, born Eltendorf Alfred Jost - Allentown, PA - age 71, born Raabfidisch (Hungary) Johann Koller - Grosspetersdorf - age 106! -he was the oldest Burgenlander Julie T. Wukovits - Quakertown, PA - age 101, born Vienna - left Kukmirn for Philadelphia 1922 From Tom Glatz, Chicago: John Radostits, Chicago, IL - age 78, born in the Fuller Park area of Chicago to immigrant parents from the Burgenland (Neuberg & Gütenbach). Family returned to Neuberg and returned to Chicago following WW-II. He was active in Austrian ethnic affairs and was president of the Chicago Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft for seventeen years and the Jolly Burgenlanders Society of Chicago for several years. He was honored many times by the Austrian and Burgenland governments for his ethnic support. Theresia Schutter, Chicago - age 94, born in Allersdorf. From Allentown. PA Morning Call: Rose Geosits, Northampton, PA - age 91, born Ormrod, PA spent her first 12 years in Szentpeterfa, Hungary, with her grandmother. Bob Strauch advised me of the death of one of our members. His data was: John P. Miksits; Bakersfield, CA. MIKSITS & SZERNSITS, Rehgraben; YANDRISEVITS, Kroatisch Tschantschendorf. Settled Allentown, PA. Obit: John Peter Miksits, 76, passed away March 11, 2005, in Bakersfield, California. Born August 26, in Northampton, PA, he was a son of the late Frank and Gisela (Jandrisovits) Miksits. 6. TIME FOR BURGENLANDISCHE GEMEINSCHAFT DUES BB members who are also members of the BG are advised that it is time to forward their annual dues of $15 to the office in Güssing - check or money order is acceptable. See page 15 (lower right hand) BG newsletter no. 393 (Jan-Mar) 2005, for announcement. Printed in German, it may not be easily noticed by non-German readers. 7. PITTSBURGH AUSTRIAN AMERICAN CULTURAL SOCIETY (AACS) PHOTOS In newsletter no. 126A-4, I reported that BB Internet editor Anna Kresh had been elected to the board of directors of the Austrian-American Cultural Society in Pittsburgh, PA. One of her tasks was to set up a web site for the Society, which she has done. The society held their annual Viennese Ball on March 27th. Photos of the ball may now be seen at their website http://www.aacs-pit.org/ Anna writes: FYI, debutante Christina Rosati is our granddaughter. Nana and PopPop are very proud. (ED Note: A third generation Burgenland descendant debuts in Viennese splendor - I'm sure her immigrant g-grandparents would also be proud. Pittsburgh area members may also find information concerning the AACS at the above site.) 8. AUSTRIA-L REPORTS AEIOU DATABASE DOWN & REACTIVATED Charles Wardell (Austria-L Administration carried by Roots-L like Burgenland-L) reports that The AEIOU - an Austrian directory at Internet - had ceased operation 01 Apr 2005. This project was an important source of information about Austrian history and culture. See http://www.aeiou.at Charles encouraged those using Austria-L to send the following short message to: Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel, Federal Chancellor of Austria Elisabeth Gehrer, Federal Ministe Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture Subject: AEIOU data base I am interested in Austrian history and Austrian culture. It is very regretable that the http://www.aeiou.at service has been shut down. Please make the AEIOU data base (the Annotable Electronic Interactive Oesterreich (=Austria) Universal Information System) available again. Austria-L correspondents must have complied since a message was just received from Peter Sammer. He writes that AEIOU is reactivated. His message (in German) AEIOU ist reaktiviert! Im Auftrag von Prof. Hermann Maurer darf ich Sie informieren, dass der AEIOU-Server (www.aeiou.at) am 13. April reaktiviert werden durfte. VIELEN DANK fuer Ihre Unterstuetzung! Mit freundlichen Gruessen Peter Sammer im Auftrag von O.Univ.-Prof.Dr.Dr.h.c.mult. Hermann Maurer Dekan der Fakultaet fuer Informatik Technische Universitaet Graz Our thanks to Charles Wardell and Austria-L correspondents as well as the administrators of AEIOU. 9. "ICH, ANDREAS BAUMKIRCHER" - BURG GÜSSING 2005 PRODUCTION Andreas Baumkircher was one of the most notable Austrian aristocrats of medieval Burgenland. One of the last of the true knightly leaders, he was active in western Hungary prior to the advent of the Esterhazy and Batthyány families. He is notable for his support of the Austrian crown (Friedrich III - Holy Roman Emperor, 1440-1493) in its attempt to claim its Bohemian and Hungarian heritage. He gained fame in the defense of Wiener Neustadt and when Friedrich was besieged in Vienna. He was one of the mightiest nobles of West Hungary. He was awarded Burg and village Alt Schlaining, which became his family seat, although he was military commander (Gespan) and castellan (Burghauptmann) of Pressburg (Bratislava) as well. He has been memorialized in art, sculpture, history and literature. The Güssing production is based on a tale by noted Austrian poet and author Peter Rosegger. Baumkircher is an important figure in Burgenland history. In 1459, I believe Baumkircher was present when Friedrich III was crowned King of Hungary at Güssing. My source says: "1459 wählte die deutsche Partei Ungarns Friedrich III. Auf Burg Güssing auch zum König von Ungarn. Baumkircher und Grafenecker (Ulrich) waren wieder dabei." (page 63, Geschichte Des Burgenlandes-Lehrbuch für die Oberstufe) The production featuring the life of Baumkircher premiers June 24 and will be presented every Friday and Saturday evening until July 23. END OF NEWSLETTER BURGENLAND BUNCH Coordinator & Editor Newsletter (Gerald Berghold) A Staff Photo may be found at BB-Staff.html BB ARCHIVES & STAFF can be reached via Home Page hyperlinks BURGENLAND HOME PAGE (WEB SITE) http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org The BB is in contact with the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, Hauptplatz 7, A-7540 Güssing, Burgenland, Austria. Burgenland Bunch Newsletter distributed by RootsWeb.com, Inc. P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; Provide Credit and Mention Source.