Newsletter
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History

1) THE PRESIDENT'S CORNER (by Tom Steichen)

VP and Members Editor, Hannes Graf, reports that the BB welcomed our 1500th US member, Bill Oliver, from Atlanta, GA, this past month. Bill just missed also being our 1800th world-wide member... I believe he was the 1799th on that scale. Bill is interested in both the Dax family from Rax and the Deutsch family, which he suspects may also be from Rax.

The embedded request at the bottom of his membership text gives me the opportunity to explain some BB philosophy and policy...

Bill writes: My wife, Elizabeth Dax Oliver's, father Karl Dax (Charles Dox) was born in Rax in 1898 and emigrated to Pittsburgh in 1906. He was the youngest boy child of the 16 children of Josef Dax and Maria Krenn of Rax. Most of the other children also emigrated to Pittsburgh, however a number of the older children remained in Austria. We visited Rax in 1991 and using information gathered in that visit along with that provided by family members in the U.S. we have a good picture of the family gong back to 1797. However, we now have a specific need to find information on the family of Henry Deutsch, the husband of Rosa (or Rose) Dax, the oldest daughter of Josef Dax and Maria Krenn. Henry Deutsch's son, Henry Anton Deutsch, born in 1906 in Austria (presumably in Rax), died in Alberta, Canada in 1967, with no wife or children but leaving a small estate. We are now being asked to find out if there were any paternal aunts and uncles, i.e., did his father Henry Deutsch (who might have died in Austria in 1926 or maybe even in the 1940's have any brothers or sisters? Rose Dax died in 1917 presumably in Austria. I would like to find a private party who could help me with this search. Bill Oliver, email billoliver(at)bellsouth.net, 770-552-1440.

The BB does not have a standard mechanism for dealing with requests of this nature... i.e., to help a member find a private party for paid research work. We evaluate such requests on an individual basis, always ignoring those we feel may have ethical concerns and only occasionally publishing even the ones that seem straightforward, largely because we don't want to bother the membership with too many of such things. In this case, Bill gets a pass because he is our 1500th US member and because his request, even though it may concern a small financial interest, does not appear unethical. Generally, though, we do not involve the BB when financial interests are present. However, if you believe you may be able to assist Bill or know of a contact who could, please contact Bill directly via his contact information above.

Consistent with the BB philosophy underlying the discussion above, I'll note that Hannes captured only the genealogical information into Bill's member listing and that I did similarly in the Surnames pages. In addition, Contributing Editor, LDS, Margaret Kaiser initially responded as if this were simply a genealogical listing.

Margaret writes: Hi Bill, again welcome to the Burgenland Bunch. Microfilm of vital parish and civil records for Rax are available from Family History Centers as follows:

Pre Oct 1895 records for Rax are included with the following parishes:
   Roman Catholic, Weichselbaum for Unterrax
   Roman Catholic, Jennersdorf for Oberrax
Post Oct 1895 records for Rax are included with Jennersdorf.

The 1857 Rax Houselist (http://the.burgenland-bunch.org/HouseList/JE/Rax.htm) lists Deutsch Families as Head of Households at following homes:

House no. 24, Deutsch Maria
House no. 12, Deutsch Franz
House no. 1, Deutsch Peter
House no. 34, Deutsch Wenzl
House no. 33, Deutsch Franz
House no. 32, Deutsch Alois
House no. 55, Deutsch Georg
House no. 51, Deutsch Josef
House no. 49, Deutsch Josef
House no. 43, Deutsch Michel
House no. 113, Deutsch Georg
House no. 117, Deutsch Georg
House no. 119, Deutsch Georg
House no. 121, Deutsch Josef

If you need assistance locating a Family History Center or have other questions, please contact me.

Bill responded: Hi Margaret Kaiser, I saw a firm posted in the BB newsletter that was doing that work but now I can't find the posting. Do you know who that was or do you have someone to suggest?

Margaret responded: I haven't had any personal experiences with any of these European researchers. I frequently see mentions of Radix, Felix Game (http://www.felix-game.ca/) and Felix Grundacker (http://www.ihff.at/) as well as a few others. Some time ago I read of one of our members complaining about one of these researchers (lack of timely response). I am going to pass your request around to our BB board members for their possible input.

Also please look at this helpful list of researcher information and choosing a researcher guidelines: http://www.cyndislist.com/profess.htm. Also Austrian genie info: http://www.cyndislist.com/austria.htm.

Margaret's response points out the rest of the reason the BB seldom involves itself when a member wants to contact a private party for paid research work. That is, we do not wish to put our reputation at risk should a BB-recommended researcher fail to provide adequate service. Generally, we will make mention of known services in our newsletter and/or on our URL/Links page, but always with a caveat emptor ("Let the buyer beware") caution. We will continue that policy, though with the hope and expectation that, should you choose to use such a service, that you will, indeed, be well-served!

2) Follow-up to: ELLIS ISLAND, APRIL 12, 1952 (by Tom Steichen)

Last month I wrote about 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.

...stating that I found this interesting for a number of reasons: that it was rare when a new member is the actual immigrant; that the timing suggested John was caught up in one of the many forced upheavals the Austro-Hungarian border area has endured; and that John noted that he came through Ellis Island in 1952!

Given all these interesting issues, I thought a sharing of (parts of) the ensuing email exchange was worthwhile, and I ended the article by inviting membership discussion. A number of you chose to respond, so here is what you said:

Wilhelm Schmidt (compiler of the BB Pernau Deportation List) wrote: John Meltsch, his sister Margaret and brothers Eugen and Joseph, are my second cousins. We were deported from Pernau on May 26, 1946 and arrived in Schwabhausen, bei Landsberg am Lech, a week later. Machelberg, the place to which the Meltsch family was taken, consisted of two farms, about a mile southeast of Schwabhausen. Just south of Schwabhausen, there was a Kiesgrube, a sand quarry. A pre-fab home, like a barrack, was built there. I believe four families, including the Meltsch family, were relocated there. My family, the family of Johann Schmidt, lived with a farmer in the village the entire time we were in Germany. I hope this note will throw some light on the situation.

Chris Rosati, of Allentown, PA, wrote: Hi, I found your "interview" w/ Mr. Meltsch very interesting because it was filled with names that sound familiar from my own family. I remember my grandmother, Anna Karner Jandris(ovits), said that when she settled in Northampton, her "sponsors" were Mr. & Mrs. Meltsch (different Melsches apparently as those would be well over 100 years old now). In fact, I met them when I was a child in the 1960s.

To quote: 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 grandmother said her original destination was Michigan to stay with relatives (but we have no idea who they were).

My father had an uncle, John Fixel, and also Edward Wolfinger all living in Pennsylvania. We went to a small town called Northampton, PA. And I also remember my family sitting around the table mentioning "Fixls" too.

Please tell Mr. Meltsch that I am looking forward to more of his story.

Chris added a follow-up message: My grandparents came from Austria; my grandmother from the Burgenland about 1914/1915. She talked about it quite a bit, including "The Kaiser", particularly in a taped interview my sister did with her in the 1980s. But now that tape is missing somewhere in the family; it was supposed to be given to me but never was.

( Ed. note: Chris, we would love to publish a transcript should you re-discover the tape!) 

3) Follow-up to: POST 1920 BURGENLAND CIVIL RECORDS (by Fritz Königshofer)

As part of our "Historical BB Newsletter Articles" series, we published a Jan 2000 article about sources for civil records created after Burgenland was formed in 1921.

Roman Paul Weber wrote (in part): BB Newsletter 3/28/2010, personally I found one of most informative of all, although all are certainly interesting and worthwhile to Burgenländers. Obviously it takes many man-hours and devotion of each staff member to keep the BB moving on.

From articles in latest NL, it seems that records only go back to 1895? Close, but my father, Ferenez / Franz / Frank WEBER, was born Steinbach, December 1894. My dad is listed on LDS film, but I think the last entry. When first a BB member and viewing LDS films, I couldn't find my dad on the film. Through the BB, I 'found' a man living in California that had researched Pilgersdorf Catholic Church records. He emailed me the LDS Line Number where my dad's Birth was recorded. Reason I hadn't been able to find my dad is that the Line entry of his Birth was "in Hungarian", or "old German shrift/penmanship". Beginning with that bit of information from California man, I ended up buying two LDS Films from Salt Lake City and spent several hours most everyday for about two years at the local Springfield, MO, LDS Library. Exciting! Couldn't hardly wait for "tomorrow" when I could get back to the library! Got back with "Schlogl" to about 1690, although last record was earlier 1770's. 1770 entry, my great++ grandpa gave ages, so figured it out had to have been born (Steinbach) about 1690.

(Ed. note:  Roman is certainly correct! LDS films do go back further than 1895. However, the article concerned itself only with civil records. The article correctly noted that "...Hungary had introduced civil recording since October 1895". LDS films prior to that date are of church records. Generally, microfilmed church records start in 1824 or 1828. It is an exception when records from further back are available -- if so, these are often "Family Books" rather than the typical church Baptism, Marriage or Death records. It appears that Roman was very lucky to be able to reach back to the 1770s via filmed records. Records often go back further than 1824, but are seldom available via LDS films. For these, one must write to the parish minister or go in person to the church archives in Burgenland.)

4) 1930 US FEDERAL CENSUS (by Tom Steichen)

Since this is a census year (have you sent in your completed form? Your great-grandchildren will thank you for doing so!), I'm reminded that the 1930 US Census records have been released for genealogical use for some time now (for confidentiality, the US Census Bureau requires that 72 years pass before the records are made available to the public... which implies that the 1940 Census will be released in just two years!). However, released or not, the 1930 Census has not been available in a free, searchable online form until fairly recently.

Footnote.com, a spin-off of iArchives, Inc., went live in January 2007. It provides digitized images of historical documents and searchable transcriptions. They provide a limited free membership as well as a more extensive paid membership (~$80/year or $12/month). Most images are available only with a paid membership, however, searches of the transcription of the 1930 Census is available with or without either a paid or free membership!

To search the Census, go to http://go.footnote.com/1930census/ and enter a name in the boxes (the ones part way down the page, not those at the very top!) and click "Search". Once you get the results for this general search, you can start refining it via the options on the results page.

For example, I put "Steichen" in the "Last Name" box and it came back with "224 matches found in 71 items" and a listing of the first 20 matches, with an option to click into additional pages for the remaining matches.

Since my family was in Minnesota in 1930, I'll refine it by clicking option "Place". It responds with both a clickable list of the most frequent places and a box where I can type in my own place... regardless, though, when you start typing a place name, it will update the clickable list with the valid choices that start with the letters you type. However, you must click your choice, even if it is the only one in the list.

Interestingly, the most frequent place for Steichen names is Minnesota (with 61), and in 7th place is Stearns (with 19), which is the County where my people were at... I can refine right to the County with one click! Doing so, I find my father in the 4th item.

One strange thing is that the search results appear to scramble people within a household; that is, the head of the household is often not listed first... but a benefit is that each person in the household is indexed and directly searchable! It also treats households that split between pages as separate items, so some caution is needed there. I recommend that you click the "Quick Look" option next to the household you are interested in. This will list the household in the order it was recorded on the page and let you know if it is possible that the household was split between pages (i.e., the people in the household are either first or last on the page). Please note that you must keep your mouse pointer in the quick look box to keep it on the screen. There is also information at the top that gives the formal "Enumeration District" code and a description of what the district covers... this could help you pinpoint where in a city your people were located.

I'll let you explore the other options on your own. I have not established a membership there (either free or paid; I've searched only as a guest), so if anyone is a member, please write and tell us about the benefits, if any, of joining.

5) THE MIDWEST BURGENLAND BUNCH (by Charlie Deutsch)

The Midwest Burgenland Bunch will meet May 16, 2010, at the Germanic-American Institute, 301 Summit Avenue, St. Paul MN 55104

Meeting hours extend from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM

After a short business meeting, we will get to the real business - studying our Burgenländer heritage.

We welcome first timers and long timers, beginners and experts, and encourage everyone to bring a family member, a photo, and a family tree.

Visit our Website at https://sites.google.com/site/bbmidwest/

Please complete the survey questions on the Website

6) BURGENLAND COMES TO NEW YORK CITY (by Frank Paukowits)

There's a new "Burgenland" restaurant and wine bar in New York City. It's called, "Seasonal" and it's located in the Central Park area of Manhattan on 58th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. The restaurant is owned by two Austrians, one of whom comes from Donnerskirchen, a town in the Eisenstadt section of the Burgenland. His name is Wolfang Bam and he is real friendly and a very welcoming host.

Recently, I went to the restaurant with my wife and enjoyed a delicious lunch of Austrian fare, alongside a tasty wine from the Burgenland. I ate Tafelspitz for my main entree with a tasty asparagus soup to start with, and  finished with a delicious homemade sponge cake with a coffee crème filling, topped with whipped cream. ( While it wasn't great for my waistline, it did a lot to satisfy my taste buds.) My wife had a vegetarian spaetzle dish of mushrooms, zucchini and cheese. She also had a salad sprinkled with goat cheese, and ended with traditional Apfelstrudel.

The luncheon menu offers a prixe fixe option for $27. It includes a choice of an appetizer, entree and dessert. Considering the quality of the food, and the ambiance and location of the restaurant, the offering is not overly pricey.

If you live in the New York City area, I would strongly recommend giving the Restaurant a try. I've attached a link to the Restaurant's website, which gives you some details and information.

Seasonal Homepage: www.seasonalnyc.com

7) SMILING AND NONSENSE IS MY WORK (by Sticksitter)

She’s a person who loves to travel and therefore difficult to catch for an appointment. Already 2 months ago, we tried to get Doris Schamp for an interview, waiting for her at Luanda-Airport, Angola where she would have a stop but, as she only had one hour to catch her connection flight to Reykjavìk, we made our trip there in vain.

Our new attempt would be a more tricky plan. We hired one of her cartoon figures “Sticksitter“ (German: Stockhocker) asking him to sit on her head one day long in order to ask the artist some questions; here is the result:

Sticksitter: So Doris, here we are, I hope you do not mind me sitting on your head asking you questions!

Doris: This situation seems to me as if being interviewed by the voice from the off! If you promise not to pee on my head while interviewing me, we can start now!

Sticksitter: You come from the Burgenland as our readers here do, right?

Doris: That’s where I come from, right from the middle of it – from Oberpullendorf. That’s where I grew up and where I went to school.

Sticksitter: LA GUGGURAZZIA is a strange name, why don’t you sign with your real name?

Doris: I work in the design-field too; that’s why I wanted to separate both fields. Besides, I see LA GUGGURAZZIA more like a project/company name than a signature.

Sticksitter: Can you tell me how it all started with your cartoons?

Doris: It happened by chance. When I was about 18, my eldest brother gave me a book about cartoon-drawing as a birthday present, so that made me a little bit curious. As a child I was the biggest fan of „Pumuckl und Meister Eder“. I knew every serial by heart. Every year at Carnival, I would dress up as „Pumuckl“. Pumuckl was more or less my identity; I was obsessed by this little goblin. At university later, one of my professors pushed me to draw more cartoons. First, I thought that’s a joke because I thought...what?...how should someone make a living out of that?
I realized very soon that the most fun I have is when I draw and create new cartoons and I love to make people laugh, so I continued! My grandfather used to have a very good sense of humor. Whenever I spent time together with him, it turned out to be a chaos, us together as the dream-team...and anything could happen. At lunch-time, we threw around the food or we gave the finest dessert to the dog right in front of the eyes of my grandmother, who was for sure ready to kill one of us because of that. My grandfather was Mr. Disaster and I was his student.

Sticksitter: As I see, you had humor already in your genes! How do you get the ideas for your cartoons?

Doris: That’s a question I am being asked many times. It hardly ever happens that a good idea for a cartoon just pops up in my head...tataaa...here it is. Much more often, it’s work. I think about a theme, make a brainstorm, create the figure and the text. It’s like being the stage director. The interesting and challenging thing about a cartoon is that the drawing and the text have to be a perfect unity. If the text is not good but the drawing is, you will not have the punch line. The same happens for sure the other way round!

Sticksitter: What plans do you have for the next year?

Doris: I will try to find a newspaper or magazine that would like to publish my cartoons on a regular basis. That’s the only way how to reach people and to get known. At the moment, I send my cartoons to publishers, as I would like to make my first cartoon-book. Until the end of the year, I will be traveling quite a lot. The next exhibition that I am part of is in Böblingen, close to Stuttgart. I am already looking forward to going there! Moreover, there are several festivals which I will go to. What I really like about the cartoon-scene is that there is a very positive atmosphere among the artists. We often help each other and show interest in the works of others.

One thing I really regret is that caricature and cartoon is a field of art which is really neglected by galleries. There are hardly any galleries which are interested in selling humorous art...although that’s something finally everybody would understand, even the young visitors!

I really don’t understand why 99% of the art being shown is the super serious one...come on, life is serious enough!!

Sticksitter: Doris, I would really love to continue this interview with you...but my stomach is sending me important messages...telling me: food, food, food.
I know you could continue talking about cartoons for hours but I think now it’s enough.

Doris: Then enjoy your lunch!!!

LA GUGGURAZZIA Homepage: http://www.laguggurazzia.at/

8) THE CASTLE OF LOCKENHAUS

The existence of the castle of Lockenhaus can already be verified for the years since 1200, when it was called “Leuca”. At that time it belonged to Bana, the prefect of Sopron from the Herény family. It was supposed to block the Zöbern valley and control the roads leading to the west. Lockenhaus’ owners changed several times, as it happened with many fortifications in the Austro-Hungarian border region, and therefore often changed its strategic orientation.

In 1241 Duke Friedrich der Streitbare (Frederik the Warlike) occupied the Hungarian border counties, but two years later the Hungarians recaptured the area. The native Bavarian Buzád-Hahold family settled people from Bavaria and Styria to the area which originally was inhabited mostly by Slavs but had been depopulated by the Mongol invasion. Count Demetrius II Csák, who was related to the Buzáds, handed over the castle to a nobleman named Torda. After Count Csák had had an dispute with the Hungarian King Béla IV, he left the dominion to his father-in-law Heinrich II of Güssing in 1270.

Heinrich’s son Nikolaus I called himself “Count the Leuka” and founded the Lockenhaus line of the counts of Güssing. His son Nikolaus II successfully defended Lockenhaus when it was besieged by his nephew Andreas in 1318. When in 1336 King Karl Robert I of Anjou broke the power of the counts of Güssing and the Voivode Stefan Láczkfi conquered Lockenhaus through treason after a long siege, the castle came into the possession of the Hungarian Crown. In 1390 King Sigismund gave the castle with the extended estate as a feud to the Kanizsay family, who kept it until 1535. They also executed the land jurisdiction. In 1405 Stephan Kanizsay invaded Austria and ravaged the border region. This resulted in Duke Wilhelm of Austria arming a punitive expedition and the conquest of Lockenhaus. Following the Peace of Pressburg, it was returned to the Kanizsays in 1409.

When in 1490 Emperor Maximilian I’s troops conquered the castle, the Kanizsays changed fronts and so could remain in possession of Lockenhaus. By the marriage of Ursula Kanizsay with Thomas Nádasdy the dominion came into possession of the Nádasdy family. Thomas had excelled in the Turkish wars and strove towards an arrangement between Emperor Ferdinand I and his rival, King Johann Zápolya. His son Franz II was married to the “blood countess” Elisabeth Báthory. It is said that after his death, she sadistically tortured and murdered 650 young girls in Lockenhaus and, mainly, at her widow domicile in Csejthe (today’s Cachtice in Slovakia).

Her grandson was Franz II of Nádasdy, who was called “Croesus of Hungary” because of his wealth. In 1636 he built beneath the stronghold the outer bailey, which was also called the “Outer Castle”. However, he mainly resided in his Castle of Pottendorf. The stronghold was no longer inhabited and was left to decay. After the execution of Franz III in 1671 because of his participation in a Hungarian magnate conspiracy, Lockenhaus came, first as a pledge than as his own property, to his son-in-law Count Nikolaus Draskovich, who was appointed guardian of Nádasdy’s children by Emperor Leopold I. In return he had to return the dominion of Hungarian Altenburg which had been pawned to him.

In 1676 Count Paul Esterházy gained the dominion. His descendants kept the castle until the middle of the 20th century but didn’t live there, so it fell to its ruins. Around the middle of the 19th century 16 families lived in the half-decayed rooms of the stronghold. During the years 1902-1906 Prince Nikolaus V Esterházy had some restoration work done. The great hall and some adjacent parts had been romantically renewed by architect Prof. Stephan Möller. The outer castle was arranged as a museum. In 1935 the chapel tower got a new roof. Towards the end of the Second World War and during the postwar period the castle had been quite devastated due to accommodations. The lower castle not only was missing the roofs, but partly also the ceilings.

In 1957 the roofs were remade, but the rescue did not happen until 1968, when the Styrian author Paul Anton Keller bought the ruinous building and had it restored. He died in 1976 and his widow placed the castle in a foundation, in which also the State of Burgenland has a share. Today Lockenhaus serves as the cultural center of the county of Oberpullendorf. Well-known became the “Lockenhaus concerts”, which take place in the summers. Next to the castle you can visit the Prof. Paul Anton Keller Museum. The outer bailey is used as hotel and restaurant. The castle is shrouded in legend more than any other in Burgenland. However, the “indelible bloodstain” in the great hall, which is said to originate from the massacre of innocent Templars, turned out to be red algae on the moist brickwork.

Most fortifications in Burgenland were greatly changed by the Hungarian magnates in the Baroque period. Lockenhaus, however, could keep its appearance of a knight’s castle. The medieval parts of the castle are well preserved. Lockenhaus is not only the oldest, but also the art-historically most significant, castle of the state. It lies on a rock, the Güns creek flowing around. While it was well protected on three sides by the steep terrain, a ditch had to be dug on the flat north side. The flattened height of the castle hill is surrounded by a ring wall fortified with seven roundels. Most of the wall dates from the 15th and 16th century.

Next to the main gate is a guard house. Passing it, you stand in the outer bailey in front of the massive complex. From a distance it seems that there are two castles ahead, but the lower one is only the outer bailey of the other one above. With its red-yellow-red painted shutters and the bright brickwork it seems, in spite of the two corner bastions, more inviting than the much older main castle. The outer bailey was built in the 17th century on the foundations of former economic and military buildings. The old sundial shows the year 1655. The northeast round tower still has key-shape arrow slits. Its base probably originates from an ancient advanced defense tower.

The two floors of the high three-wing building of the outer bailey include several with massive vaults equipped rooms. Originally from Siena architect Pietro Orsolini is considered to be the creator of the Baroque hall. Powerful barrel vaults span the basement of the North and West wing. Underneath the so-called Hajduken parlors on the east side is a mighty Gothic cellar, which was partially quarried out of the rock.

On the south side of the courtyard the picturesque gate tower with its pointed roof overtops the masonry. Passing through it, you get into the middle courtyard. Originally, there were vaulted rooms in its place, what is still indicated by different vault beginnings. Here also was a dungeon, which was quarried out of the rock by Turkish prisoners in the 16th century. A documented from 1557 reports that 16 Turks were burnt alive in the dungeon. From the middle courtyard you can enter the old kitchen of the castle, which was extended the same year by Thomas Nádasdy. The impressive hearth area is canopied by a bulky-looking chimney. Two adjacent casemates were used as pantries. A dumbwaiter led up to the stronghold.

A covered and arcaded staircase led through a reinforced gate from the middle to the polygonal upper courtyard. In its center is a hole in the ground, which illuminates a subterranean room. This so-called “cultic hall” still gives reason for mystical speculation today. It is a rectangular barrel-vaulted room with two vestibules, behind its cube walls is older herringbone patterned masonry. This type of masonry suggests that this is one of the oldest rooms of the castle. The round hole in the ceiling meets a rain water collection bowl embedded in the ground. However, the assumption that this room was a secret sanctuary of the Knights Templar lacks any scientific background. Possibly, the small hall rather had a much more prosaic purpose and served as a crypt, treasury, prison, or cistern.

On the north side of the courtyard is the massive pentagonal tower house from around 1200. Its purpose was to protect the defensive side of the castle. It, like the chapel tower and the vestibule room, is masoned of beautifully carved ashlar rocks holding stone cutters’ marks. Its merlons are hidden under a flat roof today. The gate reveal of the high entrance, which is at the height of the first floor, is still preserved. The wooden structures of the six floors were burned by uninvited visitors in the postwar period. In the 16th century, a staircase was added to the donjon, which allowed access to the other rooms of the stronghold.

In the 17th century it was only used as a powder and weapons depot. Opposite of the donjon is the hall, probably built by the Earls of Güssing, with the Gothic but heavily restored “Knights’ hall” on the ground floor. This hall is also always associated with the Knights Templar, although there is no documentary indication that they have ever owned the castle. It is a two-nave secular building with a cross rib vault borne by five octagonal pillars, rather reminiscent of a church nave. The long hall occupies the full width of the southern front and so almost half of the inhabited area of the old castle. Due to the slightly curved ground plan it’s bent in the middle. Its “Romanesque windows” originate from the historicist restoration in the early 20th century. Above this room, Paul Anton Keller installed a large concert hall. East of the donjon the chapel tower protrudes from the front wall. Its Early Gothic windows are divided by little columns with bud capitals. In front of it is a small staircase in which a snail-staircase led to the “Pfaffenstube”, the flat of the castle chaplain.

In the top floor was the belfry. The castle’s small chapel is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. It contains fragments of Romanesque frescoes from the early 13th century, which are among the oldest of Burgenland. So you can recognize Saint Nicholas in a window reveal. Traces of the Gothic elements which had been destroyed during the subsequent Baroque-ization are still recognizable. The space underneath the chapel originally served as the Nádasdy’s family tomb, but this was relocated to the crypt of the town’s parish church in 1669 by Franz II Nádasdy, who had founded the church. The other, the yard surrounding wings date from the 16th century, the quadrangular building protruding from the round old castle from the 17th century. In the southwest corner of the upper courtyard a fountain was driven allegedly almost 120 meters deep down to the valley floor in 1549.

Location:  about 16 km southwest of Oberpullendorf

Visitation: The castle is open year-round 08:00 to 17:00.

Homepage of the Lockenhaus Castle: http://www.ritterburg.at/

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.

THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS No. 78A
April 15, 2000

9) MORE ON CROATIAN NOBILITY (Gerry Berghold)

I must remind our members that our notion of nobility is based on the English or European concept, which is exemplified by the current English aristocracy who were granted (and still have) certain rights and privileges by a reigning monarch and passed entailed property and titles via primogeniture. This is not the concept which developed and prevailed in Hungary.

Here the main concept, while still one of birth (or royal grant), was more one of freedom from taxation and "robot" labor, ability to own property and limited service to the crown and populace. Entire villages would be ennobled because of some deed pleasing to the crown, but no property was included in the grant. The grant applied to the entire family not merely the eldest. As a Hungarian "noble", it was very possible to be much worse off financially than your neighbor who rented his plot from the local "Herrschaft" and performed robot labor. See previous articles for more on this subject.

For our purposes, linkage to nobility can result in the availability of more family records. If you find the term "nobilus" or its equivalent in any church or civil record concerning your family, you may wish to explore this issue further. Most of these "nobilus" entries will be among Croatians (many ennobled when they agreed to serve as border guards or effectively resisted the Turks) and Hungarians (all families who could prove descent from the original Magyar tribes claimed noble status) and date from the 16th to 18th centuries. There are very few among those of German descent. The "Princes of the Empire" (i.e. Esterhazy), nobility created or enfiefed (granted Herrschafts, i.e. Batthyány) by the Austrian and Hungarian crown, and Electors of the Holy Roman Empire are a different case entirely.

10) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES (courtesy of Bob Strauch)

Stefan Garger

Stefan Garger, age 72, of Bethpage, NY died Saturday, January 30, 2010.

Mr. Garger was born in Strem, Burgenland, Austria.

He was the son of the late Johann and Gisela (Schatz) Garger.

He is survived by his wife: Franziska (née Stipsits); son & daughter-in-law, Valentin (Andrea); daughter & son-in-law, Linda (Rod) Vanella; grandchildren, Mikey, Nicky & Sarah.

Mary C. Legath

Mary C. Legath, 103, formerly of Coplay, of Naples, Florida, went to be with the Lord on March 28, 2010 at home.

She was the wife of the late Frank Legath.

Born in Krottendorf bei Güssing, Burgenland, Austria, she was the daughter of the late Alois and Theresia (Betz) Kroboth.

Mary was a former member of St. Peter's Catholic Church, Coplay and its Altar & Rosary Society. Currently, she was a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church, Naples, Florida.

Survivors: children, Frank Legath, Jr., and his wife, Jean; Hilda Koetting and companion, William Fortney, John F. Legath and his wife, Claire, all of Whitehall, Mary Ann wife of Richard Sutton of Naples, FL; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; sisters, Theresia Dengg and Augusta Ettlinger, both of Austria.

Stephen Deutsch

Stephen Deutsch of Scarsdale, New York passed away on Thursday April 8, 2010. He was 78. The son of Johanna Deutsch and Josef Mondschein, he was born in Lancaster, PA but soon returned to Glasing, Burgenland, Austria with his family to their farm.

He emigrated to the United States in his teens to make a better life for himself, and his life as a United States citizen is a classic tale of the “self-made man”.

He joined the United States Air Force in his twenties and served in the Korean War as a pilot stationed in the Castle Harbor region of Bermuda for a number of years.

Following his military service, he returned to the United States and joined the New York State Police Department as a State Trooper.

In 1961, Stephen and his brother-in-law Hans Schanter opened a bar/restaurant/catering hall in the Castle Hill area of the Bronx, NY.

His love of Bermuda formed during his time in the air force and inspired him to name his beloved restaurant the Castle Harbour Casino, after his former Castle Harbor home.

The successful venue attracted hundreds of weddings, dinner parties, police and firemen functions, union meetings and dinner dances, with its moderate prices, storied German cuisine and Bavarian dancing troups.

For many years Stephen’s sister Rose was the driving force behind the kitchen, preparing the infamous pork and sauerkraut, Sauerbraten and sweet cabbage that made the Castle Harbour famous.

Friends and family often gathered at the Castle Harbour, particularly those of German, Austrian and Hungarian heritage, and fondly nicknamed Stephen the “King of the Castle”.

After nearly forty years of business, the Castle Harbour on Havemeyer Avenue closed its doors recently, a reflection of the changing neighborhood and the desire of the United Odd Fellow and Rebekah Home neighboring the property to purchase the site.

Stephen is survived by his loving wife Elfriede (Rita), his daughters Cynthia (Cindy) and Stephanie; son-in-law Tom Martyn; four grandchildren Caitlyn, Liam, Lauren and Ryan; his sister Rose Schanter (of Gardiner, NY), his brother Alois Mondschein (of Glasing, Austria) and many nieces and nephews including Rosemary Schanter, John Schanter, and Robert Weinhofer.

Wilhelm Jelosits

Wilhelm Jelosits, 78, of the Bronx, NY, passed away on Monday, March 15, 2010.

Born December 3, 1932 in Reinersdorf, Burgenland, Austria, he was the son of late Johann and Paulina (Sorger) Jelosits.

Emil S. Ritter

Emil S. Ritter, 91, of Nazareth died April 15, 2010 in Manicure, Easton.

He was the husband of Emnia (Zimitz) Ritter. They were married 62 years on January 31.

Emil was born October 18, 1918 in Zillingtal, Burgenland, Austria, son of the late Joseph and Katherine (Cvitkovits) Ritter.

Emil was a machinist and Mill Wright at the former Penn-Dixie Cement Co., Nazareth retiring in 1980 after 44 years of service.

Emil proudly served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church, Nazareth.

He received a diploma from French government for liberating Europe. He received the victory medal with clusters and the Infantry Combat Badge. He served as an interpreter for P.O.W.s He served in the 28 Infantry division of the Pennsylvania National Guard.

He was a charter member of the V.F.W. Post # 4366, Nazareth and a life member of the Holy Family Club.

Survivors: Besides his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Suzanne, Wife of Michael Kroboth, lower Nazareth Twp and Dr. Emilie Ritter, Nazareth.

Joseph J. Wolfer

Joseph J. Wolfer, 84, of Northampton died Sunday, April 25 at Sacred Heart Hospital.

He was the husband of Gloria (Onuschak) Wolfer for 60 years.

Born in Northampton, he was a son of the late Frank and Agnes (Jandrisovits) Wolfer (from Kirchfidisch and Tudersdorf).

Owner of Joe’s Barber Shop from 1951-1973, he was also a barber at the Cedarbrook Home from 1974-1991.

He was a musician playing the button accordion for his band, the Joe Wolfer Orchestra, and was also one of the leaders of the weekly button accordion jam sessions at the Edelweiss Haus in Northampton and the Coplay Saengerbund.

Joseph was a member and an usher at Queenship of Mary Church, Northampton.

Survivors: Daughters, Judith, wife of Art Brown, of Northampton, Nancy, wife of Michael Schneider, of Northampton; sons, Joseph Wolfer Jr., and his wife Robin, of Colorado Springs, CO, John Wolfer, of Northampton; five grandchildren, Michael, Ellie, Matthew, and Casey; and good friend, Dorothy Molchany, of Coplay.

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