Newsletter
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History

THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)

1) ANNA KRESH RETIRES FROM THE BB

Dear BB Membership,

We have the unwelcome task of reporting that long-time BB staff member and Vice President, Anna Kresh, is being forced to retire from BB duties due to health issues. She writes:

Anna joined the Burgenland Bunch in May of 1997, shortly after Gerry created the BB, and became a staff member in March of 1998; she has been a key contributor ever since.

Anna was born in Northampton, PA, to where her father, Ignatz Tanczos of Kroatisch Tschantschendorf, and mother, Mary Schuch of Kroatisch Ehrensdorf, emigrated to at ages 16 and 17 in 1906 and 1910, respectively. She raised 5 children with her husband, Rudy Kresh, and worked early in her career as an office manager. Later, she learned computer programming and became an independent programmer in business and accounting applications, eventually writing in four computer languages and working on programming and system analysis in business. For six years she ran a corporate training center in Pittsburgh for 62 international branches, retiring in 1991. She currently lives in Butler, PA.

Gerry recognized her skills, dedication and contributions to the BB in 2007 by asking her to serve as one of the Vice Presidents charged with making sure the BB kept on track after he stepped down as President. As always, she performed that task admirably, especially in the early days as we learned to cope without Gerry's guidance and leadership.

Anna's retirement leaves big shoes to fill. I lose one of my trusted advisors and frequent interaction with one of my friends and the BB loses her knowledge and her many contributions as Vice President and Contributing and Internet/URL Editors.

So, who will step forth to take on the mantle of Internet/URL Editor, which she has quietly done so effectively for many years? Who will provide informative and welcoming messages to new members, as she so often did when those many auto-emails arrive? Who will provide sound, well-considered advice to me when BB issues arise? As Gerry often said, he was blessed with a staff that made the BB possible and that he never had to recruit! May I be so blessed!

Anna, I will start the process of replacing you... but it won't feel right. On behalf of the membership, the staff and myself, please accept our thanks for twelve years of service well given. I'm sure, as you say, that Gerry is smiling ...and with a grateful heart for all you provided! Please take good care of Rudy and yourself and know that we will try to carry on using the strong base you helped to build.

Yours in BB fellowship,
Tom Steichen
BB President 

2) ELLIS ISLAND, APRIL 12, 1952 (by Tom Steichen)

This past month we received a New Member application that caught my eye.

John Meltsch of Northampton, PA,  wrote: Born 1943, Pernau-Pornóapáti. Went to Schwabhausen, Germany, 1946. Came to America via Ellis Island, April 12, 1952. Settled in Northampton, PA.

I found this interesting for a number of reasons. First, it is rare when a new member is the actual immigrant (usually it is parents or grandparents). However, John was writing about his own odyssey. Second, the timing suggested John was caught up in one of the many forced upheavals the Austro-Hungarian border area has endured, this one being the deportations that took place after WW-II. Third, John noted that he came through Ellis Island in 1952! ...and I was under the impression that Ellis had totally shut down as an immigrant port of entry in 1924.

Given all these interesting issues, I thought a sharing of (parts of) the ensuing email exchange with you, the readership, was worthwhile. People seldom emigrate when conditions are good; much to the contrary, it usually requires difficult times to force someone to give up all they have and all they know for a distant land. John's story is not surprising in that it was a forced move. I make no claims about being knowledgeable in these topics so I invite you to write back and correct or enhance the discussion. Perhaps we all can learn more!

I wrote to John (and copied it to the BB Staff): I'm wondering how much of the emigration process you remember... why did your family leave Hungary, especially in 1946, and why to Germany in the aftermath of the War? How difficult was it to gain entry to the US and what was the process then? Why did you emigrate to Northampton and how well were you received by the community there?

I'm also very surprised you mentioned going through Ellis Island. That facility stopped processing immigrants in 1924. After that time, Ellis became a detention and deportation processing center for American civilians or immigrants detained for fear of spying, sabotage, etc.; it was totally shut down in 1954. Are you sure you went through Ellis Island? Or just through NYC?

I ask all these questions because I think your story, if you remember enough of it, could make an interesting article for our newsletter.

Newsletter Editor Hannes Graf wrote to me: John is in the deportation list from Pernau as a little child, and is a friend of Willi Schmidt, who made it.

(Note: Hannes is referring to the deportation list posted on the BB site at http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/Emigration/Pernau.htm .)

Contributing Editor Margaret Kaiser wrote to John and I: Tom is correct. Your account would be a great addition to the BB knowledge base and our members' understanding of what took place during the Expulsion era and thereafter.

I just want to point out that I think Tom was thinking of the Ellis Island Database, which (1892-1924) does not include years post-1924. Actually, Ellis Island operated into the 1950s when pretty much the "air travel" age took over. (Also remember that Upper Class ship passengers were processed on board, never setting foot on Ellis Island, although they are listed on the ship manifests for the Port of NY.)

Any questions, please feel free to contact me. I do hope you will feel comfortable writing about your experience.

You might also want to read the BB Archives concerning Emmerich Koller's wonderful book, "Good Dogs Do Stray," about his life, which also began in Pernau-Pornóapáti.

(Note: See Emmerich's summary of his book in the May 2009 newsletter at http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/Newsletter/Newsletter187.htm.)

I replied to Margaret and John: Margaret raises a good point... the Ellis Island web site has a timeline page that states (in part) the following (I have underlined or bolded certain phrases):

The implication of this is that Ellis clearly had a secondary function as an immigration processing center after 1924 and until sometime during WW-II, when that roll was transferred to Manhattan. The function at Ellis may have resumed sometime after the war and extended until 1954, but that is not clear from this text (which implies the roll may have transferred as early as 1946).

Other text suggests that "After 1924 when the National Origins Act was passed, the only immigrants to pass through there were displaced persons or war refugees." This would be consistent with John's situation, as he is listed in the Pernau deportation lists and would be a refugee/displaced person, assuming his time in Germany did not change that status.

However, the resource cited as the source of the above claim actually says: "After 1924 the only people detained at Ellis Island were those who had problems with their paperwork, as well as war refugees and displaced persons."

So it remains not at all clear what level of immigrant processing was performed at Ellis after 1924. I'm hoping you'll help clarify this John!

John replied: I'm trying to bring back as much of what I can remember. When we left Pernau, Hungary, it was not by choice. My father and family had a small farm and house, which I think we lost. I remember my mother telling me that they had to burn the barn and slaughter the animals ...why ...I don't remember. I don't remember exactly what year we were deported to Germany... 1945 or 1946?

The first place that we came to in Germany was a town called Machelberg or Geretshauen. We lived there and my parents worked on a farm. Then, when I was 6 years old, I remember going to school in Schwabhausen. I remember we lived at the end of the town in a gravel pit where temporary housing had four units set up. The families that lived there were Edward Wolfinger & Johann Schmidt. My father was a carpenter and rode to Pensing Airport, where he worked, with his bicycle and tools.

We had photos taken for identification; I think it was our green card photo. We departed from Bremen Harbor via USS General Ballou, arriving in the port of New York. I have a manifest of the inbound passengers (aliens) class DP from Bremerhaven, dated March 31, 1952. I don't think we went to Ellis Island but we did pass the Statue of Liberty to the port of New York. We spent the day and night at a huge warehouse along with others. We actually slept on our luggage. My father was making arrangements to a new destination, which was Northampton, PA. I have the address of the original destination ...it was Michigan.

My father had an uncle, John Fixel, and also Edward Wolfinger all living in Pennsylvania. We went to a small town called Northampton, PA. The area had a lot of Austrian/Hungarian and German immigrants. I think we were sponsored by Catholic Charities for displaced refugees or something like that. I am interested in any information about persons from Pernau/Pornóapáti. The town name was changed form Pernau to Pornóapáti, or is one Austrian and the other Hungarian?

I replied to John: Wilhelm Schmidt, son of Johann (see John's second paragraph above), provided us a list of deportees from Pernau listing May 26, 1946 as date of deportation. Your name is listed (http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/Emigration/Pernau.htm ) with Schwabhausen and Machelberg as resettlement destinations. Pernau was/is the German name for Pornóapáti, Hungary. When the line was drawn after WW-I defining Burgenland, it appears the line was situated specifically to keep Pernau on the Hungarian side, thus the Hungarian name became its primary name.

Looking at a map, I see there are multiple Schwabhausens, including two not far from Munich. Yours appears to be Schwabhausen bei Landsburg (not far from Munich), as Machelberg and Geretshauen are quite near it and Pensing is only slightly further away. Machelberg is more a large farm than a town.

( Note: This ended the current email exchange; however, it does not need to end the discussion. If you have similar experiences or can contribute to the discussion, please write to me at tj.steichen@comcast.net. I will gather comments for inclusion in a subsequent newsletter.)

3) YEAR-END CLOSING (by Elfie Resch)

Since yesterday afternoon, I am back in Vienna. And even if it had only been for the New Year's Eve, it would have been enough for a year:

The trip to Burgenland is always a holiday trip. Past the motorway junction towards Mattersburg, after which, the traffic shrinks to a bearable level. The sun comes out from behind the clouds. Although after every single bend an expected, familiar image appears - it's vacation! It is comforting! It is desired and satisfactory. No matter whether it's for a day or for longer.

Well, there we drive then through the boundary area where Burgenland has put a belt around its waist, this time on the Hungarian side. Some ice on the visible water puddles. Buzzards sit on the fences and trees like a guard of honor. There are also a few left-behind storks and some deer greeting us. Regularly we have to slow down the small red car, which is rushing down the well known streets full of joy and high spirits.

Schandorf is going to be the destination of the trip. We want to thank someone for a gift of quinces we got in the late autumn. Therefore we brought a taster to give it to the donor.

Down the main road, parking in front of the beautiful wrought-iron fence and then with the box full of quince cheese and quince jam in hand we stand in front of the glass veranda. The small blond dog is barking as I ring the bell. First, nothing happens at all. We think about leaving the box with a note on the window sill, when the door opens.

A small woman with gray curls and a blue house dress opens the door briefly and before I can say a single word, she closes the door with a non-friendly "We don't buy anything, we need nothing, go away!"

I don't know what to say. Even the dog has stopped barking. I take a deep breath and ring again. A second time. She comes back again and, as fast as I can, I say "thank you for the quinces" and that I bring something we made from them and that I don't want to sell anything.

Then she opens the door and invites us into the house. I get the chance to thank them for the quinces and I hand over my products. The elderly landlord has forgotten about me, of course, and therefore his joyful surprise is touching. The woman apologized several times. She tells about Jehovah's witnesses who are around, and about people selling all kind of stuff and beggars walking through the village in recent months. Then we talk about the quinces and that I should come visit them again. I could have all of the quinces, just come and take them even when nobody is at home. The gate is always open and the dog does already know me. The quinces are only used to feed the pigs and that's a pity.

When she came to the house in the 30s, the quince trees had already been there. Her husband's father had planted them. Until a few years ago, she had dried the fruits for the wardrobe, but now it would be too much work to do. And we would always be welcome. We say goodbye with the promise to come back.

We both smile and take a small walk through the village. Next to the church we discover a nativity set with figures made of straw, and all but the deer are made of wood. Then we discover that the decorations of some houses, all together, form an Advent calendar. Each day is displayed as a number in a window.

That strangers walk through the village is not unnoticed. Discussions over the fences take a little bit longer and we are watched carefully. By saying "Guten Tag" I am easily identified as a stranger. Who doesn't say "Grüß Gott" (both means "hello") here does definitely come from far away. The window will only be closed when we have left and the border troops watch us closely.

We are just happy about it. Tomorrow the village will talk about us and the woman of Schandorf's house number 100 is going to tell, that in the afternoon of the day before, two persons came to her door and she had thought they were Jehovah's witnesses.

What Hannes caused the greatest joy is that I was speechless for once. The first time after almost twenty years - a unique experience.

The finest and largest and cheesiest red full moon crowned our departure from Schandorf. We were both happy and satisfied. It had been so touchy and crazy and unique.

It was many miles away when it came to our mind, that we don't know the names of the people and that we didn't introduce ourselves. But that's not necessary anyway, because we will never forget each other.

This feeling still holds me even now. It makes everything better and more beautiful.

4) LIVING HISTORY - BORDER TRIANGLE

Since 1921, when Burgenland became the 9th state of Austria, there is the intersection of the three states­-Lower Austria, Styria, and Burgenland­-in the valley of the Willersbach creek. Earlier, since the Bavarian settlement in  the 11th century, the border between the Duchy and later Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary proceeded in this point. The common border with Styria has been here since the 16th century, when the territory of the former county of Pitten was finally separated from the Duchy of Styria and integrated into the Duchy of Austria.

In this place had already been a great boundary stone in the 17th century. It was then called "Vierherrenschaften Stein" ("four-manor-stone", boundary description of the manor of Bärnegg). Here, the four manors of Bärnegg, Ziegerberg, Krumbach, and Bernstein met each other.

According to an eyewitness from Offenegg today's boundary stone was set in about 1914. She had been there as a little girl and could remember very well that there was a great festival with folklore groups from Styria, Hungary and Lower Austria. The stone, it is said, was brought there by 12 decorated horses. But factually reliable written records about the erection of the boundary stone do not exist.

Nowadays, annually on the second Sunday in September many people from the neighboring states participate in an ecumenical church service.

5) SMALL WORLD (by Jill Johnson)

My TSCHIDA ancestors emigrated to St. Paul, Minnesota in the 1880’s from the northern Burgenland village of Pamhagen. During the course of my genealogy research, I learned that there was a family still living in Pamhagen that was distantly related, Johann (Hans) and Käthe Andert. I had the great privilege of spending time with them during my trips to Pamhagen in 1997 and 2000. Hans and I have a common ancestor that dates back to the late 1700’s but he had welcomed me into his family as if I was a much more closely connected relative. I have kept in touch with Hans and Käthe periodically since then via letters but I had not had any contact in over a year.

Recently, Burgenland Bunch editor, Johannes Graf, whom I have never met but have gotten to know through the BB, was in Pamhagen searching for a grave for another Burgenland Bunch member. As he was walking through the Pamhagen cemetery, Hannes struck up a conversation with a woman about the US – Pamhagen connections and the woman said, "Yes I have some people in America, who also came to my home. One of them is Jill Johnson from Minnesota.”

After another round of email and my sending him a photo, Hannes confirmed that the woman in the Pamhagen cemetery was the wife of my distant cousin. Käthe Andert told him she was in the cemetery visiting her husband’s grave because he recently passed away.

How amazing that these two people so distantly connected to me would meet so that I learn of the passing of Hans Andert. Hans was a good man and I know how hard his loss will be for Käthe. I am so thankful to Johannes Graf for sharing this connection with me so that I could reach out to Käthe to send my condolences. now of Hans' death. Off now to write a condolence letter to Käthe in German. He was a good man.

6) BURGENLAND BUNCH OF MISSOURI (by Linda Pehr)

The bi-monthly meeting of the Burgenland Bunch of Missouri was held at the home of Don and Joan McDonough on the evening of March 11.

Those present engaged in a discussion of how to promote growth of the organization within the St. Louis/St. Charles area. We considered information provided by members who participate in St. Louis Genealogical Society meetings that are held at the main branch of the St. Louis County Library. Because the library branch serves as the main repository for local historical information, meetings held there can often make use of those resources. The library also provides a central gathering spot for those interested in participating.

The library does not have a group dedicated to gathering information about immigrants from the Burgenland area, therefore members were asked to explore various avenues to “spread the word” about our specialized group. We will request information about the growth model followed by several of the groups that function under the auspices of the St. Louis Genealogical Society.

It was determined that a questionnaire would be developed and sent to the membership in order to establish preferences regarding meeting places, frequency of meetings, topics to be explored, as well as the possibility of a daytime event during a summer weekend so that members who live beyond the metropolitan area would have the opportunity to participate and meet other descendants of Burgenland immigrants.

We also discussed other methods of promoting the group using free local resources that are known to members.

Watch for a brief questionnaire coming your way soon.

7) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch)

Paul Tuifel

Paul Tuifel, 79, of New Hyde Park, New York, passed away on December 12, 2009.

Born in Gaas, Burgenland, Austria, he was the husband of Hildegard (Hagen) Tuifel. They would have celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary in April.

He was a long-time active member and trustee of the Brüderschaft der Burgenländer in New York.

Besides his wife, he is survived by children Robert, Nancy, Kenneth, and 2 grandchildren.

Rev. Ladislas Parker (1915-2010)

Our heavenly Father, the Lord of the living and the dead, has called to Himself Reverendissimus Dom. Ladislas Francis Keresztesy-Parker, Abbot Founder and First Abbot of St. Michael’s in Orange, California, on Sunday, 3 January, A.D. 2010, at 12:05 A.M.

Franz Purker was born in German-speaking Vaskeresztes (Grossdorf), Hungary on December 19, 1915. He attended school in Szombathely at the Norbertine gymnasium directed by confreres of St. Michael’s Abbey in Csorna. Upon graduation Francis entered the Abbey’s novitiate and received the name of Ladislas. After novitiate and profession, he completed philosophical studies in the studium of the Abbey and was then sent to Rome where he pursued theological studies at the Gregorian University. Fr. Ladislas was ordained a priest on August 20, 1940 and completed his doctoral studies in 1942 with a dissertation on “The Doctrine of St. Augustine on Hope.” Upon return from his studies Fr. Ladislas was named master of novices and professor of moral theology at the Abbey, posts he filled until escaping Communist Hungary along with his confreres in July, 1950.

Received warmly by Abbot Sylvester Killeen and the confreres of St. Norbert’s Abbey in DePere, Wisconsin, Fr. Ladislas and his companions served in a variety of ministerial settings doing both parish and academic work in the Abbey’s widely-spread apostolates. Fr. Ladislas, though, was the driving force enabling his fellow refugees to reunite in 1957, reestablishing both the common life in Santa Ana, California and a common apostolate at Mater Dei High School, at the invitation of Cardinal James McIntyre, Archbishop of Los Angeles. He served on the faculty of Mater Dei until 1961 when in August a new foundation was opened as a junior seminary and novitiate of the Abbey of St. Michael’s in Csorna. From 1959 -1975, Fr. Ladislas was administrator of the community with its growing number of seminarians. In June 1975 the community became an independent priory and Fr. Ladislas was elected the first prelate.

In August, 1984, following the decision of the Order’s definitory, the canonry was elevated to abbey status and Fr. Ladislas was named its first abbot. Upon reaching 75 years of age in 1990, he was re-elected prelate. Abbot Parker became abbot emeritus upon his resignation in June, 1995. By that time and under his wise and loving governance the community had grown to 41 priests and nearly 60 confreres.

8) HISTORICAL BB NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

Editor: This is part of our occasional series designed to recycle interesting articles from the BB Newsletters of 10 years ago. Since we skipped a few months, we provide two articles, one from each of January and February of 2000. The first discusses sources for civil records after the formation of Burgenland in 1921; the second discusses sources for villages and the Burgenland name, also in 1921.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS No. 73
January 31, 2000

8.1) POST 1920 BURGENLAND CIVIL RECORDS (Fritz Königshofer)

The church was responsible for recording records of birth, marriage and death until 1896. At that time it became the responsibility of the village notary.

Angela Trautman Latta writes to Fritz: I have seen the microfilms for birth records from 1895-1906 and 1907-1921 for Strem, but do you know which microfilm I can order from LDS for births beginning in 1922 for Strem?

Fritz replies: Toward the end of 1921, the new Austrian province of Burgenland came into being and Hungary officially lost control of the area. Therefore, Hungary only retained the duplicates of the civil records until 1920 (I am surprised that for Strem this would also include 1921, but it may have been borderline, time wise). Only the Hungarians allowed LDS to film their records.

Anything in this century runs into the data privacy laws of Austria (just as it does in Hungary). However, you can always try to overcome the data privacy argument by a specific valid cause such as access to the records of your own ancestors, or in pursuance of the higher good of finding relatives. For the same data privacy reasons, it is also usually easier to obtain death records of the time, rather than birth records (as the latter persons might still be alive).

You would need to write to the civil office of Strem ("Standesamt, A-7522 Strem, Austria/Europe") and ask them to find specific records for you, or ask whether you would be given access if you visit. You could also write to the local parish church with the same questions ("Römisch-katholisches Pfarramt, A-7522 Strem"). While the churches from October 1895 onwards did no longer have an official recording function on behalf of the state, they continued to record vital events for their respective followers. My impression is that the roman-catholic church of Austria has more relaxed data privacy rules than the state, as I have been able to search church records well into the 1930s.

This reminds me that I do not know what actually happened to official vital recording after the Burgenland joined Austria. While Hungary had introduced civil recording since October 1895, Austria kept the service of the churches for the official recording of vital events till the 1930s. I have no idea, therefore, whether the recording in the new province of Burgenland reverted to the churches for ten years or so, or whether the Burgenland maintained the civil recording that had already been introduced by the Hungarian Government.

This is an interesting question, and I am copying Gerry, Albert, and Klaus (Gerger) to see whether one of them knows the answer. Thanks for bringing up the point.

Albert replies: The basic procedure was that all Hungarian laws remained valid in Burgenland until they were replaced by Austrian laws. The respective Austrian laws were introduced by government decrees, starting with July 1921. Since the civil recording was a "modern" system I would rather think that it was maintained. But I can't say for sure.

On your advice to write to the civil office or to the local parish church I would recommend to choose the civil office. There is a considerable shortage of priests in Burgenland and so many of them have to serve two parishes instead of one. Also, for reasons not known to me, the diocese gradually seems to stop paying secretaries for the priests. They also tried to do this in our parish (Großpetersdorf) but the priest threatened to resign on the spot, hence they will continue to pay the secretary until he retires (later this year). So priests may often lack the time for this correspondence. I should also mention that there are priests who have enough time, but simply do not care about genealogical requests and refuse to answer them.


THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS No. 75A
February 29, 2000

8.2) BURGENLAND, ITS FORMATION & NAME (G. Berghold)

Walter Schwimmer writes: Just to complete your very interesting and well performed Burgenland page: Burgenland was formed not out of some parts of three but of four Hungarian counties. The fourth is Pozsony (Preßburg, Bratislava) to which some villages in Northern Burgenland belonged.

Reply: I appreciate your kind words and your interest but I believe you'll find that only the Megyet of Vas, Moson and Sopron contributed villages to the Burgenland. The northern-most villages today in the vicinity of Bratislava (old Pozsony Megye) are Kittsee, Edelstal, Pama and Deutsch Jahrndorf. These are the only Burgenland villages which could possibly have fallen under the jurisdiction of Pressburg (Bratislava-Hungarian Pozsony Megye). I use a map with a scale of 1:200,000 (1cm=2km) and all villages are shown.

Villages in Slovakia immediately over the border are Petrzalka (Engerau) and Rusovce. Berg, Wolfsthal and Hainburg are in the province of Lower (Nieder) Austria. They may have been in Pozsony Megye, Hungary.

Joh. Dvorzsak in "Orts-Lexicon Von Ungarn," published 1877, shows the following (subsequently seconded by Josef Loibersbeck: "Am Waasen," in Volk und Heimat, 1966, and Karl Semmelweis in "Die Bezirkseinteilung des Burgenlandes nach dem Anschluss an Oesterreich im Jahre 1921," in Burgenländische Forschungen Sonderband VII, Eisenstadt 1984, ppg.378-385):

Kittsee (Hungarian name Köpcseny)
 - from Moson Megye (county), Bezirk (district) - Rajka (Ragendorf)

Edelstal (Hung. Nemesvolgy)
 - from Moson Megye, Bezirk Rajka

Pama (Hung. Kortvelyes)
 - from Moson Megye, Bezirk Rajka

Deutsch Jahrndorf (Hung. Nemet and Horvat Jarfalu)
 - from Moson Megye, Bezirk Rajka

If you know of any villages in the Burgenland which you are certain came from Pozsony Megye, please let us know. The above sources don't mention any.

The political sub divisions of Hungary pre-1918 were Megye-Comitat (county or province); Jaras-Bezirk (district). Today in the Burgenland, they use the Austrian German titles which are Land-Province, Bezirk (district or county) and Gemeinde (community of villages).

All of the remaining approximately 400 towns and villages as we move north to south came from the three Megye mentioned, most being from Vas (Vasvar).

Burgenland received its name from the "burg" ending of the names of the counties (Megye) from which it was proposed by the Treaty of St. Germain (1919) that is was expected to be derived. The four "Burgen" are Pressburg (Bratislava), Wieselburg (Moson), Ödenburg (Sopron) and Eisenburg (Vasvar), as you mention. The subsequent Treaty of Trianon (1921) and the Plebescite changed all that and the original proposed Burgenland border shifted west, leaving some villages and towns in Hungary; most important being the Ödenburg salient. (see page 173, "Geschichte Des Burgenlandes-Lehrbuch für die Oberstufe," available from the Landesarchiv-Eisenstadt). The original proposal could well have included villages from Pozsony Megye in the north as well as Ödenburg in order to include the railroad. Today all that is remembered is that these refer to castles in these places and that "Burgen" (or castles) is part of the name.

Not to belabor the issue but you'll find that Prof. Andrew Burghardt, in his English language historical geography of the Burgenland, "Borderland" (Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 1962), states on page 208, "Until the time of its transfer to Austria, Burgenland had consisted of the western portions of three Hungarian megye (being the counties of Vas, Moson, and Sopron - my addition). Each of these comitats had been focused on its own central town...".

Both the manner in which the Burgenland acquired its name, as well as the regions from which it derived, are often misconstrued as a result of changes which took place between 1919 and 1921. I believe you'll find our data correct. Much local trauma evolved from the treaties which dismembered the Empire and Hungary. Compared to the large portions of land lost to other countries, the Burgenland region was minor and meant little to Austria or Hungary. A name for the new province was the least of the problems. Nonetheless, the plebiscite contributed to the omission of the "Burgen" that today is are not part of Burgenland. It might have been better if they had selected the name "Heinzenland;" however, there are more than enough castles left in the Burgenland proper to justify keeping the name.
 

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