Newsletter
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History
|
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 191
September 30, 2009, (c) 2009 by The Burgenland Bunch
All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided.
Our 13th Year, Editor: Johannes Graf, Copy Editor Maureen Tighe-Brown and assistant editor Tom
Steichen. This issue Copy Editor: Emmerich Koller
The Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, founded by Gerry Berghold (who retired in Summer, 2008, and
died in August, 2008), is issued monthly as email and available online. |
Current Status Of The BB:
* Members: 1748 * Surname Entries: 5597 * Query Board Entries: 4202
* Newsletters Archived: 190 * Number of Staff Members: 14 |
This newsletter concerns:
1) HOMEPAGE NEWS
2) BURGENLAND BUNCH OF MISSOURI - FIRST MEETING (by Linda Pehr)
3) BURGENLAND BUNCH OF MINNESOTA - NEXT MEETING (by Charlie Deutsch)
4) BURGENLAND TRADITIONS THRIVE IN CONNECTICUT (by Frank Paukowits)
5) THE BURGENLÄNDER CURRENTLY LIVING IN PASSAIC, NJ AND VICINITY (by Rudy Wolf)
6) ANTIQUE INDUSTRIAL AREA IN BURGENLAND
7) OBERWART DISTRICT LDS-FILMS (by Ed & Frank Tantsits)
8) BB-MEMBER OBITUARY
Main Theme: Schandorf - Cemba - Csem
9) FAMILY-BAUER: 1-76 - MORE TO LOVE... (by Paul A. Bauer)
10) THE BARROWS OF SCHANDORF (by Ferdinand Mühlgaszner)
11) POPULATION DEVELOPMENT 1869 - 2009
12) SCHANDORF-CEMBA-CSEM CHRONICLE (by Ferdinand Mühlgaszner) |
1) HOMEPAGE NEWS
Statistics:
The popularity of our Homepage is growing month by month. In August 2009, we had a record
11,000 plus visits with a daily average of 366.
|
2) BURGENLAND BUNCH OF MISSOURI - FIRST MEETING (by Linda Pehr)
The first meeting of the Burgenland Bunch of Missouri was held at the home of member Ron
Markland on September 10, 2009. There were 20 folks in attendance, some of whom were not
direct Burgenland descendants. The meeting opened with a surprise telephone call from Hannes
Graf in Vienna. Realizing it was 2:15 am in Austria, the unexpected greeting was greatly
appreciated by all.
It was determined that there was sufficient interest to continue to meet on a bi-monthly
basis, with the next gathering set for Thursday, November 12, again at the home of Ron
Markland. Subsequent meetings will be held at the homes of other members, with a tentative
schedule to be determined in November.
The group discussed several topics, including how their Burgenland Bunch membership evolved,
genealogical research sources for this area, and causes of Burgenland emigration. Others
shared visits they had made to the “home” country.
Members were asked to identify any specific groups and/or resources that have been helpful to
them in their genealogical research such as Hungarian church records, translators etc., and to
be prepared to share them at the next meeting. Several in attendance were interested in
learning more about how to access LDS records from Burgenland.
Linda Pehr (a Burgenländer by marriage) “volunteered” to be responsible for the minutes.
Members will receive copies of the minutes as well as a reminder email about the next
scheduled meeting.
A mission statement was developed:
The Burgenland Bunch of Missouri membership is determined to gain more knowledge of their
common heritage. This will be accomplished through sharing research sources, contributing
family stories and photos, and exchanging information about the history and culture of
Burgenland. The ultimate goal is to develop a website devoted to the group that can be used
for sharing information, photographs and other pertinent material. |
3) BURGENLAND BUNCH OF MINNESOTA - NEXT MEETING (by Charlie
Deutsch)
Our next meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, October 11, 2009, at the Germanic-American
Institute, 301 Summit Avenue in St. Paul, 1 PM to 4:30 PM. |
4) BURGENLAND TRADITIONS THRIVE IN CONNECTICUT (by Frank Paukowits)
On
September 18 and 19 (Friday and Saturday), I went to New Britain with Margaret Kaiser and
visited the Austrian Donau Society to launch our project of developing a separate module for
Connecticut on the BH&R website. Early in the day on Friday, we visited St. Mary’s Cemetery
where many of the Catholic Burgenland immigrants are buried. The Cemetery is well kept and in
a nice area of New Britain. The day was beautiful and many gravesites of Burgenländers were
found.
That night Margaret and I, along with my wife Elsie, were the honored guests of the Austrian
Donau Club at its Heurigan evening festivities. A number of BB members from outside the area
were in attendance, including Ed Ifkovits, Terry Blank (Unger) and George Tebolt, who came
down from Massachusetts. The current president of the Club, Dennis Kern, was a most gracious
host and welcomed the visiting BB members to the Club.
The Schachtelgebirger Musikanten performed at the Heurigan festivities and there was a
delicious meal for the people who were there. People didn’t want to leave. The combo was
terrific and they played great Austrian and German music. The function lasted well into the
night. Late in the evening, Ed Ifkovits picked up a buttonbox accordion and played a few tunes
for the guests who enjoyed his repertoire of old Burgenland songs.
The Club has been in
existence since 1920 and is still thriving. It started as a singing club and then a sick and
death benefit society was formed. Many of the immigrants who came to the New Britain area came
from the Jennersdorf Bezirk. Most migrated during the period from the 1890’s through the
1920’s. The people who came were industrious and worked in the many factories in the area, or
were local shopkeepers. They lived alongside one another in the Arch Street section of
downtown New Britain. Religion was an important part of their lives. St. Peter’s was the
church the Catholics attended, and St John Lutheran Church was the adopted church of many of
the Protestants, of which there were a significant number in the Jennersdorf Bezirk.
On Saturday we visited
the Fairview Cemetery where many of the Protestant Burgenländers are buried. This too is a
very nice cemetery, and again the weather was beautiful for going around the grounds of the
cemetery. Later in the morning we returned to the Club for a workshop to describe our project
and provide general information on the BB.
The people who attended the workshop were enthusiastic about what we wanted to do and are
committed to working with us to create a “Wall of Honor” to commemorate the many Burgenland
immigrants who came to the area. A plan of action was developed and activities will be
coordinated through Dennis and Frank. The goal is to have a module up and running by the end
of the year, or early next year. |
5) THE BURGENLÄNDER CURRENTLY LIVING IN PASSAIC, NJ AND VICINITY (by Rudy Wolf)
The remaining aging Burgenländer population in this area has shrunk considerably. There are no
longer any new immigrants coming to the U.S. from the homeland. The new generation also
prefers suburban living over city life in the Passaic/Clifton area in New Jersey. Ethnically
blended marriages have also merged this generation into the American melting pot.
The one mainstay through all these changes has been the Church of the Holy Trinity in Passaic.
It still remains the focal point of the local Burgenländer community and tenaciously hangs on
to ethnic traditions. Other Germanic Roman Catholic groups have also experienced similar
shrinking of their local population, namely: the Donauschwaben who immigrated from the old
Austro-Hungarian Empire from the countries of Hungary, the former Yugoslavian states and
Romania. Through this merging of common interests, the German community at the Church of the
Holy Trinity had gained strength in numbers and continued to maintain its traditions for the
last hundred years. Despite all these efforts to maintain this German community, as a means of
survival, in recent times the Church has been forced to reach out and take on the new wave of
immigrants to the area from Mexico. At one time this area had been predominantly
German-speaking. The Church of the Holy Trinity does, however, still remain the center of the
Burgenländer community in Northern New Jersey.
The current parish priest is Father Antonio Rodriguez, a Cuban national. He attended the
Seminary in Paderborn, Germany. He lived in Germany for ten years prior to arriving in the
U.S. He has over the last few years become a perfect match for this parish. He conducts the
first Mass on Sunday mornings in English, followed by the 10:00 AM Mass in German and the
12:00 noon Mass in Spanish. Additional church functions conducted in German are: the Sunday
afternoon Stations of the Cross (Kreuzweg) during Lent; as well as The Rosary
(Rosenkranzandacht) during the months of May and October.
To date the only original all-Burgenländer organization still existing in New Jersey is the
Burgenländer Benefit Society, consisting of 41 members. Edmund Trautmann (aus Glasing bei
Güssing) is President. They sponsor an annual dinner dance.
The Church Choir - A good percentage of Burgenländer from the area are active participants.
They sing every Sunday at the German Mass. Classic German Christmas songs are performed by the
choir prior to midnight mass annually. They also sing at funeral masses if German is
requested.
A Picnic - It takes place annually at the end of August on the Church grounds. Home cooked
goulash, all sorts of sausages and salads as well as homemade desserts are prepared by the
ladies of the parish. A band is provided with traditional music for dancing.
The Kolping Society - Gisela Hirmann aus Gamischdorf is President. They sponsor an annual
“Faschingfest” celebrated on the Sunday prior to Ash Wednesday.
The Austrian Weinfest - The initial idea came from Father Paul Kurz of Prostrum. He was one of
the parish priests at the time. The rest of the parish embraced the idea and a tradition was
born. This year will be the 38th annual celebration at Holy Trinity Church on November 28,
2009. Chairperson is Gisela Hirmann of Gamischdorf. |
6) ANTIQUE INDUSTRIAL AREA IN BURGENLAND
Archaeologists made a spectacular discovery in the vicinity of the Burgenland village of
Strebersdorf. They found three Roman military camps, which were once located in the centre of
an ancient industrial area.
From the height of 30 meters on a fire ladder, one has the best view. But what is there in a
field near Strebersdorf in Burgenland to be admired from such a bird's eye view? A spectacular
find from the Roman period. For the first time after almost 2000 years, sticks in the ground
show the course of the ancient Amber Road and the dimensions of the fortifications.
Researchers of the Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAI) discovered during the international
Amber Road project in Strebersdorf / municipality of Lutzmannsburg three military camps of
more than two hectares (ca. 5 acres or 20,000 square meters). The camps and the nearby
settlement lie directly on the most-important trade route of the Roman times.
The excavation was preceded by investigations using ground penetrating radar and geomagnetics.
With these modern scientific methods, it is possible to see up to three meters under the earth
in a non-destructive way i.e. without a need for digging. In this way, the archaeologists
systematically examined a 21-hectare site, and this year were able to verify three overlapping
military camps following the discovery of the settlement the year before.
The fortifications at that time were built of wooden posts, thus of perishable material.
However, their former existence can be proven by means of geophysics. The numerous coins,
parts of horse harnesses, parts of short swords (gladius) and segmented armor (lorica
segmentata) are real though and can be viewed. About 80 artifacts were recovered literally at
the last minute, as the excavation was closed the following week.
"With the finds from the site, we can prove that the first of the three military camps was
built at the beginning of the 1st century AD, during the time of Emperor Augustus," says
excavation director Stefan Groh. “That means that Strebersdorf’s first military camp is
currently the oldest fortification of a cavalry unit in eastern Austria.” According to the
current state of research, at that time Carnuntum only had riparian forests.
The three tasks of the military:
The first item found in the dig was part of a horse-gear, which proves the existence of a
cavalry unit there and hence the importance of the place since cavalry units were the elite
troops of the Romans. The military camp performed three tasks: first, the deployed troops
secured the trade route; second, they kept the province under control; third, the military
controlled the mining of natural resources.
"Central Burgenland was then an industrial area with rich bog ore deposits. It was virtually
the Ruhrpott of the province," said excavation director Groh. With geophysical research
methods one can prove the existence of blast furnaces everywhere on the site.
So under the supervision of the military, important iron was mined for the production of arms.
The smelting furnaces demanded huge amounts of wood, which had a lasting impact on the ecology
of that time.
Despite the partial closure of the spectacular discovery in central Burgenland, the
archaeologists of the ÖAI will continue digging and investigating intensely. It is important
to secure as many finds as possible to answer the many unresolved questions about the military
camps. |
7) OBERWART DISTRICT LDS FILMS (by Ed & Frank Tantsits)
District -
Oberwart
|
Town/Village |
|
|
Film # |
Item # |
Bernstein |
B-M |
1828-1895 |
700654 |
|
|
Death |
1828-1895 |
700655 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700656 |
|
Deutsch Schützen |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700697 |
|
Dürnbach |
B-M-D |
1828-1888 |
700671 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1888-1895 |
700672 |
|
Grafenschachen |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700648 |
|
Grosspetersdorf |
Birth |
1895-1903 |
700406 |
|
|
Birth |
1904-1920 |
700407 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700408 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1920 |
700409 |
|
|
Birth |
1828-1862 |
700690 |
|
|
Birth |
1862-1895 |
700691 |
|
|
Marriage |
1828-1895 |
700691 |
|
|
Death |
1828-1895 |
700691 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1845-1852 |
700692 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1852-1855 |
700692 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1856-1867 |
700692 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1867-1877 |
700692 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1878-1895 |
700692 |
|
Hannersdorf |
Birth |
1895-1920 |
700523 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700524 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1920 |
700525 |
|
Holzschlag |
B-M-D |
1861-1895 |
700740 |
|
Jabing |
B-M-D |
1852-1895 |
700749 |
|
Kemeten |
Birth |
1895-1901 |
700313 |
|
|
Birth |
1900-1904 |
700314 |
|
|
Birth |
1905-1906 |
700315 |
|
|
Birth |
1907-1920 |
700316 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1906 |
700317 |
|
|
Marriage |
1907-1920 |
700318 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1903 |
700319 |
|
|
Death |
1903-1920 |
700320 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700750 |
|
Kirchfidisch |
B-M-D |
1828-1872 |
700659 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1872-1895 |
700660 |
|
Kitzladen |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700674 |
|
Litzelsdorf |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700685 |
|
Mariasdorf |
Birth |
1895-1920 |
700371 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700372 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1920 |
700373 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700687 |
|
Markt Allhau |
Birth |
1828-1895 |
700644 |
|
|
M-D |
1891-1895 |
700644 |
|
Markt Neuhodis |
Birth |
1895-1906 |
700613 |
|
|
Birth |
1907-1920 |
700614 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700615 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1920 |
700616 |
|
Mischendorf |
Birth |
1895-1902 |
700462 |
|
|
Birth |
1903-1920 |
700463 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700464 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1906 |
700465 |
|
|
Death |
1907-1920 |
700466 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700713 |
|
Neumarkt im Tauchental |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700661 |
|
Neustift an der Lafnitz |
Birth |
1895-1906 |
700350 |
|
|
Birth |
1907-1920 |
700351 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700352 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1920 |
700353 |
|
Oberkohlstätten |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700668 |
|
Oberschützen |
Birth |
1895-1906 |
700258 |
|
|
Birth |
1907-1920 |
700259 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700260 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1920 |
700261 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1828-1872 |
700662 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1873-1880 |
700663 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1881-1895 |
700664 |
|
Oberwart |
Birth |
1895-1902 |
700262 |
|
|
Birth |
1903-1920 |
700263 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700264 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1906 |
700265 |
|
|
Death |
1907-1920 |
700266 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700665 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700666 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700667 |
|
Pinkafeld |
Birth |
1895-1920 |
700455 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700456 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1920 |
700457 |
|
|
Birth |
1895-1906 |
700458 |
|
|
Birth |
1907-1920 |
700459 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700460 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1920 |
700461 |
|
|
Birth |
1828-1862 |
700707 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1862-1895 |
700708 |
|
|
Death |
1885-1895 |
700709 |
|
|
Birth |
1828-1895 |
700710 |
|
|
Marriage |
1828-1883 |
700711 |
|
|
Marriage |
1883-1895 |
700711 |
|
|
Death |
1828-1895 |
700711 |
|
Rechnitz |
Birth |
1895-1902 |
700514 |
|
|
Birth |
1903-1927 |
700515 |
|
|
Birth |
1918-1920 |
700516 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1899 |
700517 |
|
|
Marriage |
1899-1920 |
700218 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1903 |
700519 |
|
|
Death |
1904-1920 |
700520 |
|
|
Birth |
1828-1853 |
700721 |
|
|
Birth |
1854-1895 |
700722 |
|
|
Marriage |
1828-1895 |
700722 |
|
|
Death |
1828-1877 |
700722 |
|
|
Death |
1878-1895 |
700723 |
|
|
Birth |
1828-1895 |
700724 |
|
|
Marriage |
1828-1895 |
700724 |
|
|
Death |
1828-1869 |
700724 |
|
|
Death |
1870-1895 |
700725 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1834-1895 |
700726 |
|
Rotenturm an der Pinka |
Birth |
1895-1898 |
700630 |
|
|
Birth |
1899-1903 |
700631 |
|
|
Birth |
1904-1917 |
700632 |
|
|
Birth |
1918-1920 |
700633 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700634 |
|
|
Marriage |
1907-1920 |
700635 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1902 |
700636 |
|
|
Death |
1903-1920 |
700637 |
|
|
Birth |
1828-1892 |
700751 |
|
|
Birth |
1892-1895 |
700752 |
|
|
M-D |
1828-1895 |
700752 |
|
Sankt Kathrein |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700714 |
|
Sankt Martin in der Wart |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700704 |
|
Schandorf |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700658 |
|
Siget in der Wart |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700705 |
|
Stadtschlaining |
Birth |
1895-1903 |
700617 |
|
|
Birth |
1904-1920 |
700618 |
|
|
Marriage |
1895-1920 |
700619 |
|
|
Death |
1895-1906 |
700620 |
|
|
Death |
1907-1920 |
700621 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700741 |
|
|
Birth |
1828-1895 |
700742 |
|
|
Marriage |
1828-1861 |
700742 |
|
|
Marriage |
1861-1895 |
700743 |
|
|
Death |
1828-1895 |
700743 |
|
|
B-M-D |
1841-1895 |
700744 |
|
Unterschützen |
B-M-D |
1863-1895 |
700646 |
|
Unterwart |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700647 |
|
Weiden bei Rechnitz |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700652 |
|
Wolfau |
B-M-D |
1828-1895 |
700748 |
|
|
8) BB MEMBER OBITUARY (by Kathy Bossert)
Joseph H. Tanzos
Joseph H. Skip Tanzos, 79, of Nazareth died August 10, 2009 in his home. He was the husband
of Elsie (Yagerhofer) Tanzos. They celebrated 57 years of marriage on April 26. Skip was born
November 1, 1929 in Wilson, Pa. Son of the late Joseph and Elizabeth (Lakatos) Tanzos. He
worked at the former St. Regis paper Co., Nazareth, for 37 years retiring in 1984 as
comptroller. He was a member of Holy Faith Catholic Church, Nazareth, where he was a formal
C.C.D. Teacher. He was a life member of the Holy Family Sick and Relief Society. He coached
little league baseball for 16 years. He was a former secretary of PALS. He was a former
treasurer, secretary and auditor for Bushkill Township. He was a 1947 graduate of Nazareth
High School. Skip was a loving family man who greatly enjoyed his children and grandchildren.
Survivors: Wife Elsie; daughters, Kathleen wife of David Bossert, Bethlehem, Joanne wife of
Stephen Solderitch, Wind Gap, Monica wife of Joaquim DaSilva, Hellertown, Marie wife of Scott
Beil, Nazareth; sons, John and wife Sandy, Wind Gap, Mark and wife Patti Jeanne, Nazareth,
Matthew and wife Jennifer, Nazareth, 16 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was
predeceased by sister, Mary Jane Tanzos. |
Main Theme: Schandorf - Cemba - Csem |
9) FAMILY BAUER: 1-76 - MORE TO LOVE... (by Paul A. Bauer)
Armed with only an obituary of my grandfather Michael (Mihaly) Bauer (1889-1961), and two
birthday lists, one from my father of his 8 brothers and sisters, and the second from one of
my father's sisters list of relatives in an Austrian village, I began the arduous task of
tracking down and connecting with family members. It took some six years of on and off
searching in my spare time to connect and then organize one of the biggest family reunions
this family ever had, or would dream of having.
Several reasons explain why I needed to discover my family and unite them. For personal
needs, a lonely upbringing with no siblings, very few contacts with my father's brothers and
sisters, and young childhood memories of my "great" grandfather Michael motivated me. For my
own immediate family, my reasons were to provide them with a connection to their family for
generations to come.
How real is this? Could I really find ancestors and cousins in Europe? All hope relied on one
piece of 1969 paper that I received from my distant mother sometime in the late 1980's. My
mother, divorced since I was three, stayed in contact with my father's sister, Rita. In 1969
Rita went to visit family in a small village named Schandorf (Cszem; Cemba), located in the
southern part of the Burgenland province of Austria, some 500 meters from the Hungarian
border. I had heard some faint stories and family talk of my ethnic background and was very
curious to find the truths and dispel myths.
The most used tool in my bag was the Internet. I used the Internet extensively in searching as
well as using investigative skills I acquired in my professional and business service. What I
did was a simple search of white page browsing through Austrian white pages of names and
addresses, matching them to names and addresses of people that were on a nearly 35 year old
list. I could not believe the connection I found but had doubts that I would still be
successful in confirming these names after such a long time past. I was very pessimistic that
if I made the calls that they would not understand me or remember anything about cousins
living in America. But I relied much on my experience I had living in West Berlin for four
years and made the calls.
Another tool that helped me a lot was during my Internet searches I found the Burgenland Bunch
(BB) website and organization. I was amazed that this website and group was dedicated to just
only Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History. This site was specific to the region of my
ancestors. I felt very lucky.
To do any serious research, I had to learn the environment and history of Burgenland. The BB
group helped me understand the various transitions of the province and village names, and
surnames associated with them. They even had an 1856 house list with my family's name in the
village. Today I am still astounded that this site continues to grow and stay active due in
part to the many family researches, individuals, and historians that keep it alive.
The moment of truth was about to come after several weeks of setting up and organizing family
branches on an easel with presentation paper of what little information I already had. I drew
a wire diagram so I could visualize the relationships when I was calling. After conducting
numerous searches on the Internet, I made the long-distance call to Europe and made my first
contact with Emmerich Bencsics, at #95 Schandorf, Austria. This was the same address on my
aunt's paper, and husband to my cousin Elizabeth Bauer, now both in their late 70's. I
couldn't believe that they were at the same address. This is not so common in America where
people are so mobile and fluid.
We
did not understand each other on the phone, but I mentioned in broken German, names that he
was familiar with. Being frustrated and wanting to help, he put me on the phone with his wife
Elizabeth who he hoped would understand me better. Elizabeth was not any more promising, but I
understood her some and she told me that her daughter would be better to understand English
and to call her. Her mane was Edith Mühlgaszner of Schandorf, married to Ferdinand also all
living in Schandorf. After contacting Edith, who confirmed the relationships, she gave me a
contact in Connecticut, USA: Pamela Eltrich, daughter of Apollonia Bauer Csencsics, now with
the American name spelling; Zencey. Edith had some recent contact a few years ago with Pam and
had an email address. Thus now I was armed with a solid contact in the United States.
The surname
Zencey in America is a new surname made up by one new immigrant from Schandorf with the name
Csencsics. It was original, and there may be just a couple hundred. However for me the Zencey
name was a familiar name in my hometown, Anchorage Alaska. There I was familiar with a Matthew
Zencey. He was one of the opinion editors of our local newspaper, and he was familiar with me
as a local politician. But before I was going to call the opinion editor of the newspaper, I
needed to verify a potential relationship. That's when I called another Zencey in Connecticut,
Susanne wife of Carl Zencey, brother to Matt. She confirmed Matt's relationship. The rest is
history, summed up in Matt's editorial piece "Not So Distant."
The
Zencey's were all related to me from my grandfather's sister Agnes Bauer who married Karol
Csencsics in Schandorf after returning from her first immigration to America in 1907 at the
age of 16. Agnes and Karol, later Charles Zencey, produced several family branches on the east
coast of America with one branch going to Alaska.
In just a few of weeks of learning my new family members in Alaska, I found after talking
to Pamela Bauer-Zencey-Elterich-Takasch at her home of in Trumbull, Connecticut, that I had
more family members in Anchorage from my grandfather Michael's side from his first son Joseph,
my Uncle. In the end, in the Last Frontier state of Alaska, I had 17 cousins in the same city.
Thus began my quest to bring them in and meet them with what would begin with small reunions
to the biggest to come.
I
was so excited of the new finds; I had to go meet them. I don't know what came over me, but I
had the time, the opportunity and means to travel from Alaska to New York and Connecticut and
meet new family members. Within the month, I was flying to New York. There, with my laptop and
using a family database software, I laid out the family trees and went through the confusing
task of explaining all the relationships that I found so far. Every chat gave me more clues,
and more names of other family members. Interestingly, one of my first cousins had heard of me
many decades ago, and last thought I was dead.
I went to their homes with no agenda but to introduce myself and peak their curiosity about
their family that they were not fully aware of. My genuineness and sincerity led to trust and
eventually able form more reunions. One reunion had 11 members coming to Alaska on an
invitation, my new cousins trusting me as a stranger coming into their lives. In 2005, the
third reunion counted for about 25 members.
Month
after month, and after 3 years, new names were being added to the tree. However, I felt that
if we did not make a connection to Europe, we would not fulfill the completion of the family
tree, and bind an important element to the root, because there in Schandorf, Austria, is where
it all began. Most astounding to this is that I was beginning to feel that the Bauer's and all
other surnames that followed from this tree had a very unique circumstance. Schandorf,
Austria, today a village of 300 was still the home for all of us. The seeds of many American
families can actually trace their beginnings there to this day with living relatives and
immaculate graves sites, one of which contains my great grandfather and mother, Josef (1855)
and Anna (1869) Bauer.
So 15 Americans packed their bags and made the trip to Schandorf, and gathered on the last
Sunday of July 2007. That year Schandorf celebrates the uniting of immigrant descendants. For
the Bauer's and Zencey's, it was 100 years to nearly the month and year that my grandfather
Michael and his sister Agnes immigrated to America, 1907.
The trip to Schandorf was very successful. Our European cousins made it a great affair
involving the whole village that included historical research and presentations on the
families that immigrated to America from their village. If it was not for their family branch
of Ignaz and Marie Bauer staying in Schandorf, we would not have had such a close connection
to our roots and the original home town. The research and historical validation would have
been more difficult and maybe suspect.
In
Austria we all agreed on a reunion in 2009 for the Europeans to come to New York City,
original home sites of the immigrants from Schandorf. I thought this would be simply a nice
gesture to our European cousins for what they did for us in Schandorf. However the more I
thought about this, the more I began to realize the ramifications of what I just planned for.
If this American-European reunion would happen, it would be the biggest. Since 2004, the
reunions were just small gatherings that started with 6 and up to 25-30. Now there would be
about 40-50, the biggest reunion because of the number of families that branched out since the
early 1900's were mostly still located around the New York City metropolitan area. Close to a
majority of family members would attend.
As the months leading up the next 2009 reunion continued, I kept finding more cousins in
America. I couldn't stop. After each success, I had to find more. I did not want any family
members left behind. This was an important factor for me as I searched more and more. Almost
every new story I came across I found a new family member, but many of the stories were tales
of discontent, bitterness, and loneliness. I know I was brought up alone, but I couldn't
understand why so many siblings who had so many family members felt alone and angry. It was
just the times and hardships they endured. I had a new goal; I was not going to let any
discontent stop me from bringing these people together. Many of us were getting old, many of
us didn't know about the number of families they were related to, and many did not need to
leave without knowing. In the end we are all related, we are more than friends, we are more
than acquaintances, more than some work associate, we are all of the same blood. We have
common idiosyncrasies and quirks that unite us.
If this reunion was to be successful and meaningful, and because it would include a large
group of people, several things had to happen. The marketing of the idea and purpose had to be
continuous. The announcements had to be early enough to plant the seed a year out. It had to
be thorough with facts and brief stories that would peak interest in the family. The location
was important so that most people, especially the elderly could attend. The location was also
significant to the historical aspect of the family history. It had to be amicable for
everybody, the elders, the middle-aged, and the young. A program and agenda was needed. Some
say, why structure? The most important element was to have a structure for the reunion, just
enough for keeping things organized, keeping people busy, interested, but just enough so
that it did not appear to be a commercial or convention event. That was important. Planned
attractions around the area needed to be included leading up to the big and final day event.
A variety of networking tools were used, such as a family website that was kept current,
Facebook type accounts, emails, phone calls, and yes, even regular Postal letters were needed
for those without electronic means. Communications was an on-going, weekly activity 60 days
before the reunion. Even to the day before the reunion we did not have firm numbers.
So on a very bright sunny Sunday in July, a gathering of 76 people with a common ancestral
heritage took place to meat, eat, drink and introduce themselves and their cousins and share
stories with one another. A reunion of families in common was not to be trivialized to a mere
daily interruption and inconvenience of our busy lives. It was an event that brought strangers
together, and for many of us for the first time to socialize on a different level of
commonality.
Ancient philosophers described us as social animals and what opportunity for all of us to
participate in a gathering of common ancestors and provide a memory for our children to share
in a long lost traditional event.
This reunion in July, 2009, was the most attended involving family groups from all over the
United States and Europe. The theme was a continuation from the Schandorf reunion of '07 of
learning more about each other, about our family history and roots, and about the immigration
to America from Schandorf Austria. We planned the lodging and chaperoned our European cousins
to Manhattan, Ellis- Liberty Island, the Hudson Valley, and Connecticut.
The sad part of all this for me is that during the interim of searching over the past 6-8
years I had missed cousins who passed away. Time was crucial, and the day after the reunion I
found two more cousins on Long Island, Richard and Harry Stefany (Stefanits) in their 80's,
sons of Victor and Katharina (Bauer) Stefanits from Schandorf.
Only 76 of the potential 126 made the journey. It is not over; I hope the next reunion will
bring together over a hundred. |
10) THE BARROWS OF SCHANDORF (by Ferdinand Mühlgaszner)
Seven boards line the path to the barrows of Schandorf. The path leads to the Iron Age
graveyard lying in the Schandorf forest. This burial ground consists of impressive burial
mounds up to 16m high. Most of the barrows date from the Hallstatt period around 750 BC,
others from the elder Roman Iron Age.
The area around
Schandorf was one of the first populated areas in southern Burgenland. Around 750 BC, the
region was booming due to the mining and smelting of iron ore south of Schandorf. The then
powerful iron princes of the Hallstatt period were based at the loop of the Pinka river in
Burg. The local earth castle consisted of a plateau of approximately 600m x 250m and offered
natural protection against invading enemies. Through the iron melting the "Iron Barons" became
very rich and powerful. They buried their dead in several graveyards in the hills to the
south, southeast and east of the castle. More than two hundred huge mounds were created as
lasting memorial monuments for the dead in what is now the Schandorf forest.
Inside Hill 41, which
was excavated at the southern end of Group I in 1933, a stone packing and a grave chamber of
huge stone slabs was found. The finds - two needles with more than one pin head, conical neck
vessels with black-red paintings and figural attachments, a bronze vessel, and iron tools -
suggest that it was a man's grave. The black-red painting on a conical neck vessel also shows
a stylized illustration of a man with a wide-brimmed hat, that was typical for festive
costumes.
In the Elder Iron Age (Hallstatt culture) from the 8th century BC onwards there was a
significant economic boom in the region of Schandorf-Burg-Eisenberg. The peasants of that time
increasingly specialized in the production of the sought-after and expensive metal iron. While
at first the iron was only used for jewelry and arms, with the spreading of new technology,
the new raw material was generally used for the production of tools of all kind.
In the forests of the
districts of Oberpullendorf and Oberwart about 20,000 glory holes and 1,200 slag places each
with 3 to 10 smelting furnaces, mostly dating from the late La Tène period, are today's
evidence of iron mining in central Burgenland. The most common type is a 1 meter wide,
originally nearly 1.5 meters high sunken cupola furnace with an attached work pit. This type
of furnace is known as the "Noric smelting furnace, type Burgenland" named such due to the
location where it was typically found.
The dead were burned in their festive costumes in funeral pyres. The ashes of the dead were
buried in burial chambers together with pottery vessels, which contained food and drink for
the netherworld, the burned costume and arms, tools and jewelry. Above these chambers, in
weeks of work, the relatives of the deceased often piled up mounds of earth as memorial
monuments.
So far there are five
barrow fields of the Hallstatt culture known in this region with a total of 285 burial mounds.
The smallest group with 30 hills is in Badersdorf, a larger group of 84 hills at Eisenberg in
the municipal areas of Burg and Felsöcsatár. The largest number of Hallstatt burial mounds in
this region is located in Schandorf forest, divided into three groups of 150 (Group 1), 11
(Group 2) and 9 hills (Group 4). The 73 lower hills of the groups 3 and 5 are not of the
Hallstatt type, they were built in the earlier Roman Iron Age. The burial mounds are round and
have relatively steep slopes. At the foot of many of these mounds are circular ditches, still
visible today, from where the earth was taken to build the mound.
Earth bridges can also be found across the ditches. Most of the hills are higher than 10
meters, the biggest ones are up to 16m high with a diameter of 35 to 40 meters.
|
11) POPULATION DEVELOPMENT 1869 - 2009
|
12) SCHANDORF-CEMBA-CSEM CHRONICLE (by Ferdinand Mühlgaszner)
The name's background
The name of Schandorf originates from the old Hungarian name of "Csem". In 1244 it was first
mentioned in documents originating from a lineage called "genus Chem". Around 1150 the German
forms of the name were used due to the Bavarian settlement. These were different types like
Schämendorf, Tsemensis, Schendorf and Schöndorf. The Croatian name Cemba also has its origin
in the Hungarian Csemben - which means "in Csem".
The historical development
According to the large
number of archeological excavations, the area around Schandorf was one of the first settled
places in southern Burgenland. Some excavations date from the late New Stone Age (in the 6th
millennium BC). Very interesting finds from the middle New Stone Age (around 4000 BC) that
were found in the forests around Schandorf and belonged to the government, document the early
settlement. At the beginning of the Iron Age Schandorf became more famous due to the iron ore
mined in the south of the village around the Pinka River between Burg and Eisenberg. It was
the custom of that time that the dead were burned and their ashes together with a burial gift
of food and drink were put into earthenware vessels and then buried in mounds. In the forests
of Schandorf there's one of the biggest and most famous burial hills in Europe. The iron
mining in this region was at its height at around 300 BC until Christ's birth.
During the Roman Empire this area was densely populated, but the economy changed to more
agriculture and the products were sold in nearby Savaria (Szombathely/Steinamanger). At the
end of the 6th century, the Awares and the Slavs wandered into this region. Most of the names
of the rivers in southern Burgenland come from the Slavic language. On his campaign of
conquest between 791-805 Karl the Great drove back the Awares. Now the Bavarians came to
settle down in this area and started a new rural and noble way of economy. At this time the
Christianizing of the population also began. In the 2nd half of the 9th century, the Magyars
set pressure on the Carolingian Empire. After the Battle at Lechfeld on Aug. 10th, 955 they
had to draw back and finally settled in the Pannonian Lowland. In 976 the Babenbergans
conquered the East German Mark. That was the beginning of the Hungarian Kingdom.
At this stage a new
development arose, which was very important for the following fate of the west Hungarian
region. Today's Burgenland became a borderland. In 1043 under the reign of the Emperor
Heinrich III, the dividing line to the Hungarian Kingdom was finally drawn along the rivers
March, Leitha and Lafnitz. The Hungarian Kings created so called "frontier guarding
settlements" to secure the border. Schandorf also became a border guarding settlement and it
developed to a village of its own called "Kleinschandorf' (which means Little Schandorf).
Due to the invading of the Tartars, King Bela IV (1223-1270) was forced to reinforce the
fortress lines and to build up a new system of frontier fortresses. He awarded the village
Burg to the members of the Csem lineage ruled by Earl Mod. This place had been conquered
before. In the Charter of Feb. l0th, 1244 Schandorf was first mentioned. The parish of
Schandorf was also founded at the same time. Schandorf split from the early parish of
Großpetersdorf and then became the Mother Parish for Hannersdorf, Burg, Kleinpetersdorf,
Welgersdorf and Woppendorf until 1520, for Kisnarda till 1936 and for Schachendorf until 1939.
The church building of Schandorf is of Romanesque origin. It probably emerged from an old
chapel on occasion of the raising to a parish. The new construction was planned in a way so
that the church could also be used as a place of refuge. Later on the house of God was rebuilt
a couple of times.
The members of the Csem lineage ("genus Csem") were knights of service. Although they
enjoyed the freedom of nobility, duty for the King in war was compulsory for them and they did
not belong to the high nobility. As the economic structures kept on developing, new dominating
authorities seized possession of more and more property. In 1489 the castle was destroyed. At
the end of the l5th century, those estates melted together with the estates of Schlaining,
after the owner of Schlaining, Andreas Baumkirchner, had taken possession of it. In 1527 King
Ferdinand I gave the estate to the Earl Batthyány of Güssing, but it was finally taken over by
the Earl in 1539. The Batthyánys possessed the whole property including Schandorf.
The war against the
Turks in 1529 brought serious consequences for this region. The estate in Schlaining was
terribly struck by looting and fires. Several farms were deserted. The owners of the estates
were forced to do something about the disastrous agricultural situation. Most important of all
was to get the deserted farms settled again. On May 17th, 1524 King Ludwig II agreed to let
the landowner Franz Batthyány settle some of his villagers from Croatia on the west Hungarian
estates. The resettlements with its highest rate between l538 and 1545 were planned and
organized very well. The Croatians in Schandorf have probably come from the Batthyány estate
in Garignica. The cultivation of 1576 proves the Croatian settlement in Schandorf very
clearly. By this time the village had become a community with an enormous majority of
Croatians and a remarkable Hungarian minority. The report of the Canonical Visitation of
1697/98 already calls the parish a "pure Croatica". The new settlers were usually free from
taxes and slave duties for a certain period of time.
Agricultural crises, plague epidemics and other occurrences kept deserting farms and
villages at regular intervals. Starvation followed and the people of this generation became
impoverished. The inhabitants of the villages were the ones most affected by all those
economic crises and wars. This is also documented in Schandorf by the varying number of
inhabitants. But still the village has remained Croatian till today, because there haven't
been any more settlements since then. The Reformation, the big mental and religious
revolution, forced by Martin Luther, Jan Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, brought about changes also
in the west Hungarian territory. At this time, Schandorf became Calvinistic and Stefan Szilagy
became the first known pastor in 1612/13. In 1628, the main Protestant Synod took place in
Schandorf. In the middle of the 17th century, Schandorf became Catholic again. The attempt to
transfer another protestant pastor to the village ended by banishing him in 1658. Because of
the church's arguments, but mainly also for economic and social reasons, this region had to
cope with many rebellions.
The Bocskay revolt in 1605, the Bethlen revolt in 1621 and the Kuruzzen wars (1704-1708)
devastated the country with fire and looting. Before 1757 the village church was renovated and
a new roof was set on it. The three altars, a high altar and two side altars, which dated from
the 17th century, were replaced by a plain Baroque altar. The chalice from 1762 was bought by
the parish. In 1764/65 there was a revolt by the farmers in the Komitat Vas to protest against
the burden of taxes and working duties. The villagers refused the payments and services partly
or even completely. It was the Maria Theresian land reform that brought an equal resolution
for all subjects. But it took many legal proceedings against the landowners - also in
Schandorf - until the manorial system was brought under control. In the following years, the
development of the west Hungarian region was rather calm. In 1835 the church was enlarged and
renovated.
The magnates were
still in command of the political leadership. Neither the lower nobility nor the farmers, and
least of all the common workers, had political rights. In March 1848, there was a revolution
in Hungary and ten days later on March 13, it also broke out in Vienna. Imperial troops led by
Fürst Windischgrätz and Croatian troops led by Ban Jela?i? from Croatia could suppress the
democratic movement within half a year. The ideas for a democratic state that caused the
revolution were shattered. The farmers however could improve their situation considerably. The
privileges of the aristocrats and the subservient spirit were abolished. The farmers achieved
their right of having their own property and so they were allowed to keep the land they had
already been cultivating. For the loss of land due to the new liberty for the farmers the
landowners were paid off by the state. But this was very difficult and often caused a lot of
misunderstandings, also in Schandorf, where both Rechnitz and the priest of Schandorf were
owners of some estates. By levying direct and indirect taxes, taxation was basically
modernized. The aristocrats and the farmers became equal and they paid taxes according to
their amount of property.
Now it was necessary to have a land register. Each village was prompted to have a land
register and its taxation. The measurement of property in Schandorf was ended in 1858 and then
the first land register was started. The total area of Schandorf was 1,959 acres and 590
fathoms. Until 1890 the land register was kept in the district court of Steinamanger and then
it was handed over to the district court of Oberwart. In 1940 it was renewed. The registrated
village covered an area of 1,120 hectares, 7 ares and 52 square meters. In l97l there was a
joining of acres. The resolution of 1848 also brought about a new way of administration to the
state. The villages were subordinated in all important matters to "Komitat" authorities which
were a kind of earldom authority (a judge office). These overtook most of the duties the
village judge (who was the mayor) originally had. From 1852 on the mayor was called " the head
of the village" or village chairman. Court proceedings were taken over by the juridical
district.
The municipalities
had their own administration - the municipal council. That consisted half of elected burghers
and half of aged burghers with the highest taxation. In 1860 the Hungarian administration
called up the local court. A judge (the mayor), a vice-judge, at least two men in the jury and
the notary formed the aldermen. Minor offences went through the court of the aldermen. The
expression "judge" is translated from the Hungarian word "biró" and until today the mayor in
Schandorf and other Croatian speaking villages is still called "birov". The last great change
in the Habsburg Monarchy was the Austro- Hungarian Compromise of 1867. With that the Hungarian
kingdom was alone responsible for the legislation and administration in West Hungary, today's
Burgenland. In 1868 a new law brought equal rights to all nationalities. Hungarian was the
national language. It was free to choose the language spoken at court, at church and in
confessional schools. The Croatian language was taught in Schandorf. Municipalities, in which
confessional schools didn't fulfill the laws anymore, were forced to install primary schools.
In 1900 Schandorf achieved the highest population rate ever. In 1904 there were 130 school
aged children in Schandorf. The Roman Catholic school became too small. After long discussions
the municipal court agreed to build a new school. But it was not finished until l911.
Therefore Schandorf had two schools until 1938 - a confessional one and a municipal school.
Ever since the Croatians had settled in Schandorf, the village had always been a Croatian
municipality with a Hungarian and German minority. Even after the Hungarian government had
tried to magyarize the population with laws like -the Hungarian language must be taught at
school because each child should be able to speak and write in Hungarian - the people in
Schandorf still kept using their Croatian mother tongue. Years of insecurity for the
population of Schandorf followed after the end of the First World War and the disintegration
of the Danube monarchy. In the peace treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on Sept. 10th, 1919 the
village was joined to Austria, but the Hungarians didn't agree with this decision. Only after
long negotiations and incidents caused by Hungarian guerillas, Schandorf finally became part
of Austria on Jan. 10th, 1923. Schachendorf and Schandorf became part of Austria, Felsö- and
Alsócsatár, Nagy- and Kisnarda fell to Hungary.
And so a border was drawn between the two close villages of Schandorf and Narda. This was a
disadvantage for both villages in the following decades. The economic situation of this area
grew worse because of the separation. The living conditions became increasingly worse also due
to the general economic crisis. A lot of people from the Burgenland took a new chance by
emigrating overseas. In 1923 the emigration had reached its height. A lot of people from
Schandorf also left their hometown. The number of inhabitants declined enormously. From 1925
till 1927 the church was renovated inside and outside and six years later a concrete floor was
paved.
The political
situation in the republic became critical and therefore in the Burgenland as well. The main
point of ideological arguments in the new Burgenland was the question about school. The social
democrats wanted national schools, the Christian socialists wanted confessional schools.
Schandorf was quite involved in this argument. For one thing, there was not only a national
school, but also a confessional school in Schandorf and for the other thing there was also the
question about the language being taught and spoken at school. Two of the main political
representatives in these arguments had close relations to Schandorf. One was Koloman Tomish,
born in Schandorf, the later school inspector and a social democratic member of the
Landesregierung (government in one of the States of Austria) - and the other one was Peter
Jandrisevits, pastor in Schandorf and a Christian Socialist member of the Landesregierung.
Both were representatives of the Croatians. Their tremendous and rather mean arguments
deepened the gap between the "red" (Social Democrats) and "black" (Christian Socialists)
Croatians. Although the worldwide economic crisis also struck the Burgenland, the effects
weren't that dramatic because the economic structure, which was mainly farming, was rather
weak anyway. After the Civil War in February 1934 all the institutions of the labor movement
were forbidden. The pressure of Hitler and his National Socialists grew stronger. The result
of the plebiscite in Schandorf wasn't any different from other villages in the Burgenland: 100
percent voted for the annexation to Germany.
A lot of members of the Roma ethnic group had been living in Schandorf for quite a long
time and they were also integrated in village life very much. On command of the head of the
government, Tobias Portschy, they were forced to hard labor. Besides the Jews, the Roma were
also a group of citizens in the Burgenland, who were systematically eliminated by the Nazi-
Regime. Only a few of the 70 Roma people living in Schandorf survived the brutal persecutions.
The men in Schandorf were called up to military service. Many dead, missing and wounded
soldiers were the price the people of Schandorf had to pay for their Nazi war delusion.
At the beginning of
April 1945 the soldiers of the Red Army arrived in Schandorf. Two inhabitants were killed in a
struggle between the German troops who were withdrawing and the Russian army. Four houses
together with their farming quarters and four sheds were burnt down; four houses were damaged
badly and thirteen slightly. The occupation forces were quartered in the village until Whit
Monday. The situation slowly became normal again after the official end of the war on May 8th,
1945. When in 1947 the newspapers and radio news mentioned a "population exchange" between
Austria and Yugoslavia and that Croatians from the Burgenland were also supposed to be
evacuated, the village council objected against these plans. During the intermediate stage of
war, the political power was spread clearly among the Christian Socialists and other parties,
but in the 50's the Social Democrats grew quite strong and for a short period there was even a
Social-Democratic mayor.
Due to the new communist regime in Hungary, the disadvantages of being a village next to
the border increased. The contacts to the close villages across the border in Hungary
vanished. The economic situation was very hard. Although basic living conditions were a little
better in the countryside than in the city, poverty after the war made 27 inhabitants emigrate
overseas. The treaty of 1955 gave liberty to Austria. A year later the revolution in Hungary
forced many refugees across the border. Everybody in Schandorf supplied the refugees. The Iron
Curtain, drawn by the Hungarians, made Schandorf to a village in a dead corner for many
decades. A radical change in the economic structure followed and this also struck Schandorf
very hard. More and more people were not able to survive by farming alone and so they were
forced to look for a job as a commuter in congested areas. The consequence was more migration.
The results can be seen in the population statistics. Within ninety years the population
declined by more than half (1900: 712, 1991: 342). Surprising is the fact that compared to the
average the population is actually overaged.
The year 1971
brought a drastic change for Schandorf. Due to the law of a village structure improvement, a
few small municipalities were joined to one bigger community. Since then Schandorf, Dürnbach
and Schachendorf belong to the municipality of Schachendorf. As a consequence, the primary
school in Schandorf was closed and the children of the new municipality were taught in the
school in Dürnbach. The kindergarten in Schandorf remained and is available to all children of
the three villages. In both the school and kindergarten, the children are taught bilingual.
This is important because in the last decades German has been spoken far more than the
original colloquial Croatian.
The maintenance of the typical Burgenland-Croatian dialect of this region, spoken
especially in Schandorf, becomes more difficult. People moving to Schandorf, who are not
Croatians, the influence of the media and the youth not using Croatian as the village mother
tongue are facts that endanger the substance of the Croatian language. The spoken dialect is
Stokavian and has clear influences from the German and Hungarian languages. Investigations
show that the Schandorf Croatian language, compared to the morphology, corresponds in a large
amount to the Croatian literature in the Burgenland. Yet there are some characteristic
deviations. In earlier days traditions were kept up intensively but nowadays only partly.
Modern life and new social structures replace the old traditions which had their origin in the
customs of earlier agricultural and religious life.
A very important
impulse for a possible new future of the village was brought about by the fall of the Iron
Curtain at the end of June 1989. The traditional relationship to the nearby Narda came alive
again. In spite of the negative results of the last decades, there's a chance for a positive
development in the future. The policy of the municipality however must be specific and well
planned to catch up and the population balance must be normalized again. A working village
community is one of the main factors to realize the aim. More clubs and organizations could
contribute greatly. Besides the fire brigade, which was set up in 1918, there is also a
cultural association, which was created in 1981 and there is the tamburizza group.
Furthermore, there is a money-savings organization and a tennis club. The political parties
are the ÖVP and the SPÖ and both parties have one intention that is the separation from
Schachendorf and to form a self governing independent municipality again. In a plebiscite more
than two thirds of the persons entitled to vote voted for independence. In an independent
Schandorf work would surely be more positive for the village itself.
The aims of these efforts will be to bring young families to the area, to raise the quality
of life and to raise the economic power in Schandorf. |
|
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/
Use our website to access our lists and web pages.
Burgenland Bunch Newsletter (c) 2009 by The Burgenland Bunch
All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided. |