THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 169
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Our 12th Year- Issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold, BB Editor
November 30, 2007
(c) 2007 G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved
~WE WISH YOU A HAPPY & BLESSED HOLIDAY SEASON~
Current Status Of The BB: Members-1524*Surname Entries- 5037*Query Board
Entries-3817*Newsletters Archived-169*Number of Staff Members-15
EMAIL RECIPIENTS PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email newsletter because
you are a BB member or have asked to be added to our distribution list. To
subscribe or unsubscribe, use the change form available from our
Homepage. You cannot send email to this newsletter. If
you have problems receiving the newsletter as email, it may be read, downloaded,
printed or copied from the BB Homepage. There is also an archive of previous
newsletters.
This first section of our 2 section newsletter concerns:
1. BB Research Area
2. BB Links To Other Websites
3. Szentpeterfa, Eberau, Winten, Kulm & Military Service Records
4. Marktgemeinde, Oppidum, Market Communities
5. Book Report - Von Trapp Family & Sound Of Music
6. Links To Haydn Saal & Festival
7. Related Ethnic Websites & Events Can Provide Ambiance
1. BB RESEARCH AREA
Recently the BB staff has again discussed the borders of our research area.
We cannot do justice to areas where we have no expertise so we try to limit the
BB research area to the present confines of the Burgenland and the immediate
border areas in Hungary, the rest of Austria and Slovenia. A Slovenian or
Hungarian village within a few kilometers of the Burgenland border may appear to
be no problem, but given the ethnic mix, they often do not link to present day
Burgenland families, even though they may have contributed many immigrants to
the Auswanderung. (Had the villages contained a heavy Germanic mix, they would
have been included in the territory granted to Austria.) We thus limit our
area to about 10 kilometers from the Burgenland border. Please bear with us as
we attempt to please potential members.
2. BB LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES (from Anna Kresh)
NOTE - BB INTERNET LINKS UPDATE: Our BB Internet Links web page undergoes
periodic re-validation to remove "dead" links or to find replacements or new
addresses for "broken" links. This was done again on 10/8/07.
As you may have already discovered, several months ago non-Burgenland web
site links, which can easily be found elsewhere on the Internet, were removed
from our online BB Internet Links and saved online in a "retired" web page. This
was done to make our Links page more Burgenland-specific and easier to
traverse. The pre-04/01/07, retired, unedited, BB Internet Links have remained
available from our Links page, but they will be DELETED from our web site on
01/01/08. If you wish to retain any of these older links, please visit the online
retired list and save them in your bookmarks/favorites.
Also, please share your resources. If you encounter any such Burgenland-related
sites that might be of assistance to our membership, please forward them to Anna
Kresh to be added to our Links page.
3. SZENTPETERFA, EBERAU, WINTEN, KULM & MILITARY RECORDS (staff editor Steve Geosits)
Steve writes: I recently assisted Colette Hinds, a new subscriber to the BB,
in finding birth and marriage information about her 3rd, 4th and even 5th
great-grandparents. Fortunately, her ancestors are from the Austrian villages of
Eberau, Winten, Kulm, and Hungarian village of Szentpeterfa, and I have easy
access to them from transcriptions of the R.C. Church records of Szentpeterfa
that I obtained from both microfilm at the LDS and from jpeg photographs that
John Lavendoski made many years ago.
At this point, she would like to know how to proceed in finding military
records for her great-grandfather, Aloysius Kantz, who was born in Kulm in 1884.
Perhaps questions similar to this have been posted to the BB before, but it
probably would be worthwhile to revisit it in case there have been any updates
that you or some of our other editors may be aware. It would also be of
benefit to others whose relatives may have served in the Austrian-Hungarian military
and are on a similar quest. See her original question below.
Colette Hinds wrote: "..... The person I am trying to locate the
service record on is Aloysius Kantz, my great-grandfather. He was a cook
serving under Franz Josef? and was apparently wounded two times. One time in the
face, the other in the shoulder."
Margaret Kaiser responds: See www.familysearch.org
Click through to Family History Library Catalog. Do a Place Search for
Austria. Look at Austria - Military History & Austria - Military Records
(ED. Note: Use the BB Archives Search Facility after clicking on web page BB
Archives from the BB Homepage. A quick search on "military records" revealed
that the following BB Newsletters may be of value in answering this request: BB
Newsletter Numbers 106, 108, 113, 114, 126, 145, 134, & 164.)
4. MARKTGEMEINDE, OPPIDUM, MARKET COMMUNITY (M. Tighe-Brown, F. Königshofer, et al)
Staff member Maureen Tighe-Brown writes: "My" market town of Deutschkreutz
(Németkeresztúr, prior to 1920-1921) was a Markt Gemeinde from 1295, according
to the town's anniversary book published in 1995. However, I can't find a legal
definition, despite my perusal of Internet sources.
Reply: Maureen, You probably already know that permission to conduct a market
was a jealousy privilege of the crown or, in some instances, the aristocracy of
a given area. The early establishment of so-called "free towns" (Freistadt)
with market rights is a case in point.
The larger cities like Vienna, Buda, Eisenstadt, Rust, etc., gained their
size and importance through establishing markets - some weekly, others on various
occasions. Vienna and Buda even received (from the crown) the right to force
merchants to unload and offer their goods at those places (even though they may
have been journeying elsewhere, so-called "staple rights".) These larger
markets became "fairs" and were mostly annual affairs of international importance.
I assume the weekly markets were a necessary adjunct. (A good summary of town
development will be found in "Budapest, A History From Its Beginnings To
1998," Gero & Poor Editors, East European Monographs, No. CDLXII, distributed by
Columbia Univ. Press, 1997.)
Because of the economic value and tax benefits in holding a market, the right
was often offered as a reward or inducement for service to the crown. As
such, market communities or Markt Gemeinde were established throughout the
Germanic areas (and elsewhere as well).
I am not sure if the term "Marktgemeinde" in Burgenland has the same
connotation today. Perhaps it is now merely a historical designation? I do know that
villages are still identified as Stadt, Marktgemeinde or Katastralgemeinde or
none of the latter. In the district of Güssing (28 villages and 28 Ortsteile)
there is only one Stadt (Güssing which has weekly market) but 7 Marktgemeinden;
Eberau, Güttenbach, Kukmirn, Ollersdorf, St. Michael i. Bgld., Stegersbach,
and Stinatz. (from "Der Bezirk Güssing im Wandel der Zeit," Kirsner & Peternell.)
A history of Güssing (Stadterhebung Güssing 1973, Festschrift, Grossdurckerei
Leykam AG, Graz) has an early photo of the Güssing market. I have not searched
for its market history, although it had the status of a "castrum" in 1263 and
an "oppidum" in 1391.
Probably in order not to dilute the benefits to be received, the larger
District (Bezirk) or Gemeinde include outlying villages in their "Markt" area, as
Deutschkreuz does with the village of Girm. I am not sure if Marktgemeinde status
requires any governmental sanction today. All of my village books use the term
Markt Gemeinde, for those designated, as part of their identification. Below is
one example of many:
Horitschon (village) - Marktgemeinde; Katastralgemeinde Horitschon, Unterpetersdorf.
(from Burgenland Geschichte, Kultur Und Wirtrschaft In Biographien, Edition
Roetzer)
A. Kubinyi in "Urbanization In The East-Central Part Of Medieval Hungary"
(included in "Towns In Medieval Hungary," page 120, The Problem Of Market Towns,
edited by L. Gerevich, Colombia Univ. Press, 1990) offers some insight (the 3
items in quotes) into this question:
"The development and the status of a city, both of the Regalis Civitas
Strigoniensis and of the Civitas Archiepiscopalis (Aquatica Civitas) were ensured
by their right to stop the traffic of the markets, beside and belonging to the
harbors, and to levy a toll on the goods... such tolls were gradually
transferred into the hands of the church."
My comment: Note while specifying riparian areas, this could also apply to
the various "goods" roads that crossed borders, streams or other natural
barriers. The entire Burgenland border was a stopping and unloading place for goods
in shipment between Hungary and Austria. While much of this activity had to do
with customs levies, unloading often suggested sale of goods to preclude the
cost of reloading and trans-shipment. The village of Zahling (near Eltendorf in
southern Burgenland) has a history of having once been such a village on the
Salt Road from Salzburg to Hungary and its connection to the Fürstenfeld,
Styria, Austira-Körmend, Hungary road. Is this why nearby Kukmirn is still a Markt
Gemeinde?
"...the settlements in Hungary included not only the towns proper but also
the so-called market towns (oppida), enjoying more or less urban liberties...
Hungarian scholars use the term market town (oppidum) collectively for denoting
the franchised settlements which were not free royal towns, and whose burghers
were therefore serfs."
"The market town (a non-fortified town in its literal sense) is not a
specifically Hungarian phenomenon. It is readily comparable with the
Bavarian-Austrian Markt."
I also get the feel that most markets may have been under the control of the
local church since not only did they receive tolls and taxes but the market
places often are located near or at the church. How this all involves the
smaller villages of Burgenland is beyond me, but the similarity is there. I also
find very early mention of market privileges as you have (i.e., 1295.) Kersner &
Peternell state in Marktgemeinde Deutschkreuz (Bezirk Oberpullendorf im Wandel
der Zeit) "Wahrscheinlich schon einige Jahre vor 1429 war dem Ort das
Marktrecht verliehen worden; in der vorgenannten Urkunde wird Keresztur als "oppidum"
(Landstadt) genannt." ["Probably some years before 1429, market rights have been
awarded; in the aforementioned document, Keresztur is called an "oppidum" (rural city)."]
An interesting question. I wonder how much "work & income" the Markegemeinde
provided local villagers?
Fritz Königshofer also replies:
Wikipedia has a long entry (in German) on the terminology of the subject in
Germany which is similar to the meanings in Austria. The web address is
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemeinde_(Deutschland).
There is a shorter wikipedia entry on Austria, at
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemeinde_(Österreich)
Here is what I can pull from my head. The basic political unit has been, and
is, the Gemeinde. The Gemeinde traditionally had three tiers, namely, a
normal Gemeinde, a Marktgemeinde or Markt (market town), and a Stadtgemeinde or
Stadt (translated as city?, Latin urbs?). Market towns had the right to hold
markets. Cities had even more rights, and inhabitants with home rights in the
cities were not subject to the bondage by dominions.
Over the last century or so, the differences have been lessened, so that
today the promotion from Gemeinde to Markt or from Markt to Stadt, have more
symbolic than real importance.
5. BOOK REPORT - VON TRAPP FAMILY & SOUND OF MUSIC
Hollywood has given us an engaging but fairy tale story of the Von Trapp
family in the film Sound of Music. The truth is slightly different, but this
doesn't stop us from enjoying the film or the Austrians in the Salzburg area from
continuing the tale and benefiting by the tourist attraction. It is a portrayal
of an Austria we would all like to believe and experience. Our trips to Zell
am See (early Trapp residence), Kloisterneuberg (interim residence), and
Salzlburg (final Trapp residence) involved tourist visits to their homes and film
sites.
Elizabeth M. Campbell, a granddaughter of Georg von Trapp (1880-1947), the
patriarch and bowdlerized father in Sound of Music, has put the tale to rights
by translating a book her grandfather wrote and had published in Salzburg in
1935. Her book is called "Georg Von Trapp-To The Last Salute" (Univ. of
Nebraska-2007) and includes her introduction (much Von Trapp family data) as well as
the translation of her grandfather's book "Bis zum letzen Flaggenschuss"
containing memories of Von Trapp's days as an Austrian U-boat commander in WWI. His
expertise was wanted by the Nazis in WWII and led to the family's escape to
the United States in 1938. Von Trapp had no desire to serve the Third Reich.
It is a most interesting story, not only of the family's saga, but also a
vivid and heroic history of the Austrian Navy's little known operations in the
Adriatic and Ionian Seas during early submarine operations.
(Note: Another subject book is "The World of the Trapp Family" by William
Anderson, which I have not read. Werner von Trapp, the 2nd son and fourth child
of Georg von Trapp, died at his home in Vermont on Oct 11, 2007 at the age of
91.)
6. LINKS TO HAYDN SAAL & FESTIVAL
One of my best experiences in visiting Burgenland was a day spent with the
director of the Haydn concerts in Eisenstadt. His staff also maintain the Haydn
Museum (Saal). Contact them for concert schedules when visiting Eisenstadt. A
concert at Schloss Esterhazy or a visit to the museum is not to be missed.
Haydn Festspiele Eisenstadt
Schloss Esterházy - 7000 Eisenstadt
Tel.: 02682-61866, Fax: 02682-61805
www.haydnfestival.at
7. RELATED ETHNIC WEBSITES & EVENTS CAN PROVIDE AMBIANCE
BB members should be aware of the Burgenland ethnic mix and the historical
and cultural background of each. German ethnicity predominates but Croatian and
Hungarian can also be a majority in some villages. However, it does not pay to
spend too much time visiting German, Croatian, Hungarian or even other
Austrian websites. They can help in some respects but they may not provide
Burgenland data.
Subject ethnic groups in the United States may also have few Burgenland
links. Nonetheless, these ethnic groups (lets call them language cultural groups)
can supply ethnic ambiance. You can find recipes, music, food, etc. of interest
to those with Burgenland origins. This newsletter does publish schedules of
related ethnic activities and in this issue (section two) you will find an
announcement of a "German" festival to be held in the Lehigh Valley of PA. You
will probably encounter Burgenland ethnicity here due to the large number of
Burgenland immigrants who settled there, but you will also find much Palatinate
(PA Dutch) and other Germanic ethnicity. Of course strudel, goulash, fastnachts,
polkas, etc. encountered transcend ethnic geographic barriers; just don't be
disappointed if you are not always considered a landsman.
Newsletter continues as number 169A.
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 169A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Our 12th Year - Issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold)
November 30, 2007
(c) 2007 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved)
The BB is composed of "Genealogists researching the multi-ethnic heritage of
the Burgenland of Austria and adjoining areas of former Western Hungary"
The second section of this 2-section newsletter includes:
1. Message From BB President Tom Steichen
2. More Solar Family
3. Lehigh Valley, PA Ethnic Events
4. Vanished Grave Sites
5. Gourmet Magazine & Burgenland
6. Dr. Walter Dujmovits & Son Join The BB
7. Data For Village Of Unterkohlstätten
8. Staff Member Frank Paukowits Returns From China
9. Burgenland Immigrant Obits
10. German Festival Will Start In Allentown, PA - June 2008
11. Austrian Culture Forum Exhibition In NYC
1. MESSAGE FROM BB PRESIDENT TOM STEICHEN
Dear BB Staff, Sending you my wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. The
BB is blessed by each one of you; we share a fellowship that has given us the
satisfaction of knowing our heritage, the joy of the quest itself, and the
opportunity to give back to those still on their own quest. Thank you for making
the BB what it is today and for all the effort you still make to keep it vital
and useful for the days to come.
Yours in BB fellowship,
Tom Steichen
2. MORE SOLAR FAMILY
A correspondent writes: Just thought this was too curious
a coincidence not to mention it. I read with peaked interest the latest
Burgenland Newsletter regarding the Solar Family. I noticed that in the 1930 census
they lived at 616 Greenleaf Street (Allentown, PA). My great-grandparents,
Louis and Rose Szita lived at 617 Greenleaf Street as indicated on the same
census, which should be directly across the street. I would feel sure that they
would have known each other. My grandmother was a fur finisher at H. Leh's. I
remember the Koch Brothers (men's clothier) being mentioned, and my grandfather
previously did work as a weaver (many Burgenland immigrants worked in the
large number of Allentown Silk Mills) for a time, until he ended up working for
Mack's (Mack Truck Co. - also employer of many Burgenland immigrants and
descendants in the later period).
3. LEHIGH VALLEY ETHNIC EVENTS (Bob Strauch)
Sunday, November 11 - Jolly Joe Timmer's Grove: German Pig Roast; Joe Weber
Orchestra and the Naturalistix, 3:00 PM. $15, Point Phillips, Bath. (610)
865-1941.
Wednesday, November 14 - Lecture: "PA-Germans, and All Those Other
Hyphenated Germans": Allen Viehmeyer offers a slide presentation exploring the
immigration story of Germans to North America. Noon. Free. Schwenkfelder Library and
Heritage Center, 105 Seminary Ave., Pennsburg. (215) 679-3103.
Saturday, November 17 - Bazaar, Our Lady of Hungary R.C. Church, 1324 Newport
Ave. in Northampton, (610) 262-2227. Hours: 10 AM - 3 PM. Gerschtlsupp'n (egg-barley
soup), potato pancakes, assorted pastries.
Saturday, December 1 - Lehigh Sängerbund Christmas Concert at Egner Chapel,
Muhlenberg College, Allentown, at 4:00 PM. Dinner/dance at the Knights of
Columbus, 15th & Greenleaf Sts., Allentown, at 7:00 PM. Music by the Joe Weber
Orchestra 7:30-10:30 PM.
Saturday, December 15 - Christmas Concert and Dance, Coplay Sängerbund, 205
S. Fifth St. in Coplay, (610) 262-9937. Music by the Coplay Sängerbund Mixed
Chorus and the Joe Weber Orchestra.
4.VANISHED GRAVE SITES
New member Donald Paulson writes: Franz Joseph Molnar was a schoolteacher in
Mariasdorf in the 1890s. He had eleven sons and one daughter, Karolina, who
was my grandmother. She was born in Grodnau. She emigrated to Chicago in 1902.
Franz and his wife Rosina Teresa Weber lived in Oberschützen in 1922. He died
shortly after that and was buried in the Oberschützen cemetery. I have a photo
of his gravestone. However, in Oct 2007 I found no Molnar gravestones in the
Oberschützen (or Mariasdorf) cemetery.
Fritz Königshofer replies: Typically, there is a small annual fee for
gravesites. If the fee was not paid, it is possible that the grave of your
great-grandfather was cleared away and the site reused by another grave. The town hall
(Gemeindeamt) of Oberschützen may have records of abandoned graves. Perhaps
there is even a place where the removed gravestones are kept.
5. GOURMET MAGAZINE & BURGENLAND (Margaret Kaiser)
Margaret writes: I just received email from Donna Durling, where she advises
that she... "just found a new article in this month's (November 2007) Gourmet
Magazine on Burgenland (page 186+) entitled, Your Own Private Tuscany,
Austria's Burgenland has lush scenery, killer wines, fabulous food, and barely any
tourists, by Alexander Lobrano, photographs by Brown W. Cannon, III."
I reply: A few years ago, Gourmet also had another Burgenland (Austrian)
article by then well-known food author Lillian Langseth-Christensen. She did at
least two other books on Austria - one of which was an autobiography (her father
was in Austrian import-export living in New York; they were quite wealthy).
Lillian studied in Vienna with the avant garde and later became a wellknown
interior decorator in New York. She and her second husband eventually bought a
home in Styria where they retired and passed away a few years ago. She mentions
a local goulash which was half onions and half meat. The locals made a huge
batch once a year and had the equivalent of a "goulash festival" at their home.
She also wrote a book of Austrian recipes which can have you in the kitchen
24 hours a day - all very, very posh Viennese. The type that starts "the day
before "kill a chicken and ...!" I recommend this cookbook (reviewed below) for
its superb ambiance, pictures and associated articles as well as the delicious
recipes.
Gourmet's Old Vienna Cookbook (A Viennese Memoir) by Lillian Langseth-Christensen,
published 1959 by Gourmet Books, Inc., NYC. Reprinted 1964, 1968.
Partial menu: Vorspeisen (appetizers), Suppen und Suppeneinlagen (soups and
garnishes), Fische und Fastentiere (fish and shellfish), Fleischspeisen (meat),
Geflüel (poultry), Wildbret und geflügel (game and game birds), Gemüse
(vegetables), Teigwaren, Kartoffeln und Reis (dumplings, noodles, potatoes and rice),
Eierspeisen (eggs), Käse (cheese), Salate (salads), Saucen (sauces), Brot und
Germgebäck (bread and sweet bread), Gebäck und Kuchen (Pastry and plain cakes),
Torten (fancy cakes), Mehlspeisen und Süss-speisen (desserts), Getränke
(drinks), Menus and Memoirs. A cookbook for kitchen food it is not but you'll find
your Burgenland ancestors' favorites even though they may have some sophisticated
Viennese touches. One of my favorite pre-meal books, but when I tell Molly
I'd like this or that she invariably says "no - too much work unless you help."
She does make some of our ethnic favorites on special occasions.
This is not the first time someone has "discovered" the well kept secret of
tourism in Burgenland. I hope it doesn't lead to too many visitors and destroy
the ambiance with service down and prices up!
Having been to Tuscany, I would not compare it to the Burgenland. Tuscany is
fine but Burgenland it is not! Not enough trees, no Neusiedler See, no nearby
Hungary, wine superior to Burgenland (?) and of course a "pasta" paradise not
a "strudel" paradise. Many older ruins - city walls etc. - no Turkish-Hungarian
destruction of villages. Nowhere near the "Gmütlichkeit." Molly says Tuscan
pastry is superior while I don't agree. Of course Tuscany had Etruscan and Roman
civilization when Burgenland was still occupied by Celts and being overrun
during the Volkerwanderung. Some Italian touches (recipes for food and court
protocol) were incorporated into Hungarian culture during the medieval period.
Gourmet does a good job but I've always found them to be a little "too-too-much!
Too much sophistication turns me off unless I'm in the mood; I guess it's
my southern Burgenland peasant background.
6. DR. WALTER DUJMOVITS & SON JOIN THE BB
Our membership editor Hannes Graf does a superb job of processing new
members. I particularly like the way in which he places new members at the end of the
membership page for a few weeks before merging them into the alphabetic list.
This allows us to see who is new and who may have new data to add to our own
family data. I make it a point to check this list at least weekly. Sometimes
it suggests a newsletter article.
I missed the addition of the Dujmovits clan until recently or I would have
made a point of welcoming them personally. Hofrat Dr. Walter Dujmovits, long
time president of the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft and my alter ago with regard
to the Auswanderung, joined along with his son. I'm not sure the BB would
have been started by me without the spark struck during my first meeting with
Walter Dujmovits. You need only review the BB archives to see his many additions
to our activities. He is also an active member and officer of various ethnic
groups.
His son Walter, Jr. is also a member of the BG staff and writes an English
language column for the BG magazine. He is very active during BG affairs and
often hosts visits to the Auswanderer museum in Güssing. Our heartfelt welcome to
both - below is their family data.
Dr. Walter Dujmovits, Stegersbach, Burgenland, Austria. SPANITZ, Gerersdorf
bei Güssing. Settled Coplay, Allentown, New York. BRUCKNER, Gerersdorf bei
Güssing. Settled Coplay. All of my mother's siblings and all of my grandfather's
siblings (including himself) emigrated to America.
Walter Dujmovits jun., Eisenstadt, Burgenland, Austria. SPANITZ, Gerersdorf
bei Güssing. Settled Coplay, Allentown, New York. BRUCKNER, Gerersdorf bei
Güssing. Settled Coplay.
7. DATA FOR VILLAGE OF UNTERKOHLSTÄTTEN
Member Jeffrey A Polster writes: "It has been a while since I have last been
to the BB site. Please thank all involved. I have recently pulled the
microfilms for 1895-1920 birth, marriage and deaths for Unterkohlstätten
(Also-Szegeneto, Burgenland film LDS # 665228-665229) and surrounding areas. Many of the
records contain house numbers for the time period as well. I have only pulled
those records that appear to have a link to my searches, so far about 150 TIFF
files. If it would help anyone that may want them, I would be happy to send
them on disc so the info contained may be used for any and all on the site. I
hope that this may be useful, regardless thanks again to all for their hard
work."
8. STAFF MEMBER FRANK PAUKOWITS RETURNS FROM CHINA
In addition to seeing China, Frank had hoped to see if he could find any
Burgenland immigrants to this region. However before this was possible, his wife
suffered a fall, hurt her back and they were forced to return. We hope she is
soon well. An instance of how your BB staff tries hard to bring you family
data. Frank writes:
"Actually, before we left, I had decided to make my search for a Burgenländer
in Hong Kong rather than Beijing since we had more free time in Hong Kong.
Unfortunately, with this mishap I wasn't able to get to the Austrian Consulate /
Embassy in Hong Kong. I am disappointed in as much as I was hoping that I
could find a Burgenländer and get him/her to join the BB. It would have been a
first and have made for a wonderful article. Maybe we can make another trip
there."
9. BURGENLAND IMMIGRANT OBITS (Bob Strauch)
Hermine "Kitty" Donschietz, 86, of Allentown, died Saturday, November 17,
2007 in Fellowship Manor, Whitehall. Born in Kroatisch Ehrensdorf, Burgenland,
Austria, she was the daughter of the late George and Anna (Marth) Kiss. Hermine
was predeceased by her husband, Carl T. Donschietz in 1995.
10. GERMAN FESTIVAL WILL START IN ALLENTOWN, PA, JUNE 2008
A new four-day summer music and food festival celebrating the Lehigh Valley's
German heritage will be held in June of every year, starting in 2008.
Sommerfest will feature German music, food, drink, crafts and culture at Allentown's
Cedar Beach, site of the Mayfair festival. The Lehigh Saengerbund, celebrating
its 150th anniversary in 2008, is the principal sponsor of the event.
Sommerfest spokeswoman Danica Ettle, says "The people I talk to are very
excited about it. It is going to bring us back to our roots." The valley's high
school German language teachers are also helping with the program.
Organizers plan an authentic beer garden with music and German comfort food, as well as
a wine-tasting area. The festival will be mostly free, but admission will be
charged for areas where beer or wine are sold and for major international
musical acts.
Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski said the festival, scheduled for June 5-8, will
bridge a gap in the city's summer festival schedule. He feels it is long
overdue, especially considering the number of people of German ancestry who live in
the valley.
11. AUSTRIAN CULTURAL FORUM EXHIBITION IN NYC (Klaus Gerger)
Klaus writes: Mr. Hans-Christian Siess from Burgenland Tourismus asked me to
inform our members about the recent exhibition in the Austrian Culture Forum
in NYC. The following links were placed on the BG site:
An Article on the exhibition (English)
http://www.burgenlaender.com/wine/WineBoomExhibition.htm
and
A German Article (with many pictures)
http://www.burgenlaender.com/wine/BurgenlandGoesAmerica.htm
END OF NEWSLETTER
NOTICE (Terms and Conditions): The Burgenland Bunch (BB) was formed and
exists to assist Burgenland descendants in their research into their heritage and,
toward that end, reserves the right to use any communication you have with us
(email, letter, phone conversation, etc.) as part of our information exchange
and educational research efforts.
• If you do not want your communication to be used for this purpose,
indicate that it is "confidential" and we will abide by that request.
• Correspondents who communicate with the BB without requesting
confidentiality retain their copyright but give a non-exclusive license to the BB
allowing us to forward to BB members, publish in our monthly newsletter or on our
website, and/or subsequently and permanently archive all or parts of such
communications.
The Burgenland Bunch homepage (website) can be found at:
http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/
We can also be reached from the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft web site.
Use our website to access our lists and web pages.
Burgenland Bunch Newsletter (c) 1997 archived courtesy of RootsWeb.com, Inc.
P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798. Newsletter published monthly by
G. J. Berghold, Winchester, VA. Newsletter and List Rights Reserved.
Permission to Copy Granted; You Must Provide Credit and Mention Source.