^{The News}
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History

In addition to the above, we also added a house list for Sankt Michael for years 1895-1900 (this from Bernhard Antal) and a house number translation list for Rohr during 2022.



More Records: We are pleased this month to add two sets of transcribed vital records to our collection on the BB website. These are Catholic marriage and Coroner death records for Sankt Michael. Both record sets are courtesy of BB member Bernhard Antal. Copyright remains with Bernhard.

Bernhard transcribed the 1,587 marriage records for the Sankt Michael Catholic parish from 1749 to 1827.

Sankt Michael (Hungarian: Pustaszentmihály; Kroat: Sveti Mihalj) appears to have been the official Catholic recording location during this time for
- Gamischdorf (Ganócs),
- Güttenbach (Pinkóc),
- Neuberg (Újhegy),
- Rauchwart (Rábot) and
- Schallendorf (Salafa).



Bernhard also transcribed the 807 civil Coroner death records for Sankt Michael from 1894 to 1925.

These records are called Leichenbeschau (death inspection) in German and are the equivalent of what we call inquest or coroner's records in the US. Mathias Hanzl was the death inspector for St. Michael from 1894 until 1925, a role he also carried out for Gamischdorf through 1898 (and occasionally thereafter). Records for a few other locations appear if he was the only coroner available at the time of that death. These records provided the data for the official civil death certificates so should match what is in the FamilySearch civil death record images for St. Michael (though they are incomplete as other coroners covered other villages in that civil recording district).

Both collections can be accessed from this link: Sankt Michael Records.



In addition to the above, Bernhard created a house list for Sankt Michael for the 1895-1900 era. This list can be accessed here: St. Michael Houselist.

We thank Bernhard for sharing all of his work above!



SPÖ Poll Follow-up: Last month I wrote about a poll (the Sunday Question) that the SPÖ Burgenland had performed. In an Austria-wide national poll, they asked voters a two-pronged question about which (national) party they would vote for, with the prongs depending on who headed the SPÖ party: current party chairwoman Pamela Rendi-Wagner or Burgenland governor Hans Peter Doskozil. The survey showed that the federal SPÖ would do significantly better with Doskozil as the top candidate in a National Council election than with current chairwoman Rendi-Wagner.

To fully understand the significance of this result, it is necessary to explain a bit about the political system in Austria. The real political power in Austria is assigned to the National Council, which is elected by proportional representation. The party that voters give the most seats on the council (called mandates) is asked to form a government and, to do so, they may need to form a coalition with another party to have a ruling majority in the Council. Nonetheless, the Chancellor (the head of government) almost always comes from the party with the most votes.

As for the elections themselves, parties submit a numbered list of candidates for the available seats, but voters only choose among the parties rather than among the competing candidates. If a party wins X seats, then the top X candidates on their list will fill those seats. However, parties do allow voters to partially reorder the list if they so desire (by what are called preference votes) and these reorderings will factor into who on the list will win the seats. Nonetheless, most voters accept the party's numbering so the top candidates on the party list will usually win the seats and the topmost candidate will fill the Chancellor role (or whatever "most powerful" role is available to and/or within the party).

Thus you see the significance of the result... the survey indicates that the SPÖ would (currently) win more mandates with Doskozil as top candidate than with Rendi-Wagner and, as such, he would hold the "most powerful" role in the party.

As you can imagine, the result immediately sparked extensive political chatter within the SPÖ. There was clear criticism of both the question and the fact that the survey was made public. However, there also was no clear agreement in the party about the issues surrounding the poll.

Governor Doskozil reported that he was surprised by the spitefulness that hit him personally and would have preferred that the discussion was on the issues that the survey raised. He felt that the "very great spitefulness within the party... goes all the way to the top functionaries" (no surprise there!)

In an interview with ORF Burgenland he argued that "It's not about the person. It's about how I answer the questions that move people." Among those questions were the migration crisis, inflation and energy, he said.

Opinions varied across the SPÖ in Austria: Upper Austria scolded Doskozil because of the poll. Salzburg's party leader declared himself a fan of the Burgenland governor. In Vorarlberg, the chairwoman declared there is "a very clear answer to the question of the next top candidate: Pamela Rendi-Wagner with her open nature and competent approach." Tyrol did not want to take a position on the party's internal leadership debate. The Styrian leader also did not want to heat up the discussion further, saying with unity one could achieve more. SPÖ Lower Austria simply said "We do not deal with surveys" and acted as if the question did not arise: "Pamela Rendi-Wagner is a good party leader. Hans Peter Doskozil is focusing on important issues with migration and the minimum wage in Burgenland." SPÖ Burgenland, having commissioned the survey, only said it was unimpressed by the various speeches from the other federal states.



Of some interest is Pamela Rendi-Wagner's reaction to the poll. First, she did not toss out an immediate statement, instead waiting some days before commenting, and she led her comments with the German idiom for not escalating/exaggerating things: "Lassen wir die Kirche im Dorf" (Let's leave the church in the village), saying that in her time as party leader, "there have been hundreds of polls so far, and that is just one more poll."

She also turned Doskozil's words into action, reprimanding the federal government for its "lack of planning" in its measures against inflation (the SPÖ is an opposition party in the ÖVP-led federal government). She labeled their one-off payments for energy and other inflation costs as "short-term," "aimless" and "ineffective" and warned that they will cause "debts in the billions" that the next generation would have to pay. She also criticized the ÖVP's migration policy, claiming that the SPÖ was the only party with a clear plan of action. Lastly, she expressed a strong desire for unity in the SPÖ, noting that a prerequisite for unity is to participate in meetings, and that Doskozil, like all other state party leaders, was always invited.

So, credit to Rendi-Wagner for showing both restraint and action, and to Doskozil for framing the results of the poll in actionable-item terms, rather than personal preference terms.



Lake Neusiedl Low Water: The low water level of Lake Neusiedl was the subject of a meeting in early December between Burgenland Governor Hans Peter Doskozil and Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter. The major outcome of the meeting was an agreement on further steps for a water supply line to Lake Neusiedl. Specifically, it was agreed that a bilateral group of experts will examine the technical implementation details in December so that an implementation plan and schedule can be set in January.

The general belief is that a water supply from the Moson Danube (in Hungary) would require the expansion of an irrigation canal from Jánossomorja to the Burgenland border (about an 8-mile stretch). The expert group is expected to determine exactly what must be done so that Doskozil and the Hungarians can agree to a timetable and plan.

Burgenland has also been considering a completely internal Austrian solution as well as a possible joint project with Slovakia. "It is quite possible that we will implement a combination of options in order to achieve the hoped-for effect on water level protection," said Doskozil.

The water level in the lake has remained at a historically low level since March. In early December it was still over half a meter lower than the long-term average and 18 centimeters below the lowest value since 1965. The last time the lake dried up completely was around 1865.



Check, Update E-mail Address: This is a now-regular feature of my year-end BB newsletter: an annual request that you review your e-mail address on our pages and, if it is no longer correct, that you send in a correction using the BB's Change Form found here: the-burgenland-bunch.org/change.

Your e-mail address is the only way other BB members (even BB staff) can contact you; if it is invalid, you may as well not bother to list your family data with us. The Change Form also allows you to update your other information... but the starting point is a valid e-mail address, so please check it!

How do you check it: Go to our Members Pages at the-burgenland-bunch.org/Members, select the correct section of the alphabet, find your entry in the alphabetical listing, then click your name; that should open a blank e-mail with your e-mail address on the "To:" line. If the listed address is obsolete/wrong, copy it then go to our Change Form and paste that wrong address into the 3rd box on the form (we want the wrong address so we know we are fixing the right problem!). Then fill out at least boxes 1, 2 and 4, answer the "human-verification" question at the bottom of the form, then click the "send" button. We'll take care of the rest!



Help For Ukraine From Burgenland: The Mattersburg-based "Verein 2-GETthere" has had a close relationship with Caritas in the Ukrainian city of Uzhgorod for years. Now during the war, support from it and others in Burgenland is very important for many people in Ukraine.

"Verein 2-GETthere" is a youth support organization that assists students with learning difficulties, attempts to strengthen social competence and a sense of responsibility in high school students, and provides crisis intervention for youth-specific problems. They have also been supporting refugees in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhgorod and have enabled the war children to spend their summer holidays in Mattersburg.

These same children are cared for by the local Caritas. The Caritas parent organization, Caritas Internationalis, is the crisis support organization of the Catholic Church that reaches out to the poor, vulnerable and excluded, regardless of race or religion. These two organizations have been working together to support refugees from the war.

Günter Kroiss, a pastor in the district of Neusiedl am See, regularly supplies Ukraine with relief supplies. According to Kroiss, the war-displaced people are accommodated in Uzhgorod with families, in schools and gymnasiums, and also in rented apartments. "We run a children's home where about 100 children receive food every day (via Caritas), where they can study and visit recreational facilities," says Kroiss.

On a recent trip to Uzhgorod, ORF Burgenland reporter Stefan Schinkovits accompanied Kroiss and spent time with employees of Caritas in Uzhgorod. He noted that everyday life looks normal, but only at first glance. In front of shops and offices, power generators are running everywhere. Again and again, the water supply failed.

He learned that Caritas runs a coffee house in Uzhgorod where the back rooms are filled with washing machines and dryers so the war-displaced can have their laundry done. "People can come to us, we wash their laundry, dry and iron it. We do this for free for the displaced people, they have no way to do their laundry," said Irena Pavlic of Caritas Uzhgorod.

In front of another restaurant rented by Caritas, the refugee families were offered a little distraction from everyday life during the war: a St. Nicholas celebration for the children, including small gifts. Father Miroslav Rusyn of Caritas Uzhgorod said that it is mainly young mothers who come to visit; their husbands are at the front or have been killed.

"Of course we need money," said Kroiss, "we always need food, clothes, children's things. We also keep making appeals, I think things are going quite well anyway, and you have to say thank you to the people of Burgenland for that."



Peace Light Arrived In Burgenland: 36 years ago, the Peace Light was first brought to Austria on an aircraft from Bethlehem, and Burgenland was already involved at that time. Despite all the crises in this world, the small flame still finds its way back into the local lanterns every year.

The candle from the Grotto of the Nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem arrived in Burgenland on Monday, December 19th, after a long journey from Bethlehem via Vienna to Eisenstadt. For eight years now, the Boy Scouts from Neusiedl am See have been bringing the light to Burgenland. Scouts Niklas Albauer and Paul Kremsner attended the ecumenical peace light celebration in Vienna and then transported the shared flame back to the ORF Burgenland studio in Eisenstadt.

ORF distributes the Peace Light each year, making stops throughout Burgenland over three days. Thursday the 22nd, they made stops in Oberpullendorf, Oberwart and Jennersdorf; on Friday the 23rd, in Güssing, Stadtschlaining and Neusiedl am See; and on Saturday the 24th, in Mattersburg and Eisenstadt. Individuals and organizations were all welcomed to a share of the flame.



The Facebook Bunch (from Vanessa Sandhu):

Greetings, Burgenland Bunch!

It is hard to believe that 2022 is gone! We had a great year of collaboration and camaraderie in our little group. But our group is not so little anymore: we currently have 1,966 members! It is a fantastic place to explore our shared Burgenland heritage. Please consider joining us in the new year if you haven’t yet! facebook.com/TheBurgenlandBunchOFFICIAL

We were in a very festive mood this month, thanks in part to the talented musicians at the Burgenländisches Volksliedwerk. They were kind enough to share a musical Advent calendar which featured traditional music for all of us to enjoy. You can listen to it here: youtube.com/@burgenlandischesvolkslied.

We were also treated to quite a few recipes for some sweet Burgenland delicacies, courtesy of Member and Chef, Roland Schuller. Among the videos shared were those for Burgenländisch kipferl, engelsaugen and Vanillekipferl. Here is the link to Roland’s YouTube channel: youtube.com/@polsenkocht. Videos can be translated in the YouTube app: Click on the gear in the upper right corner of the screen, then select Captions —> English (auto-translated).

We saw a nice video showcasing seven interesting things about Burgenland. You can see it here: youtu.be/B-FT_9gRVz8.

Member Janet Kroboth-Weber shared a nice video about the Neusiedlersee, available for viewing here: m.youtube.com/watchRevM.

Member Bernhard Antal shared his transcript of marriage records of St. Michael from 1749-1827. The parish include the villages of Neuberg, Gamischdorf, Schallendorf, Rauchwart, Deutsch Tschantschendorf and Güttenbach.

Member Fred Knarr shared photos of the Advent celebration at the Basilica in Güssing, as well as a beautiful advent song you can listen to here: youtu.be/8K9UdFJJbnQ.

Member Karin Bruckner shared some fun photos of the Krampus out and about in Riedlingsdorf.

Member Martha Orlovits has contributed many cemetery photos to her albums found on our Facebook page. Photos have been uploaded from her trips to Moschendorf, Gaas and Heiligenbrunn. Martha has graciously offered to photograph family gravesites for our members and we are extremely appreciative of her kindness, time and hard work.

Member Werner Szendi shared information about the ancient origins of “Innocent Children’s Day”, celebrated on December 28. Werner explained “On this day we remember the newborn children in Bethlehem murdered at the behest of King Herod after the birth of Jesus. Today, the 'innocent children' in Burgenland, Styria and Carinthia are 'refreshed.' The adults get punches from the children with the birch or willow branches.”

Member Franz Stangl shared photos and videos of the blessing of the children at the Basilica Güssing. He explained, “On the 28th-December 'Festival of the Innocent Children,' the children at the nursery are blessed at the end of the mass in the Basilica Güssing. With the 'Korvatsch' (Hungarian: Rute), children wish the adults good health for the New Year. A saying is mentioned, which is regionally different, but always begins with 'fresh and healthy'."

Member Samantha Schwarz shared some beautiful photos from her visit to Burgenland this summer. Her trip included stops in Großmürbisch, Güssing, Strem, Deutsch Tschantschendorf and Gaas.

CONNECTIONS:

Member Moritz Wagner writes, “Hello everyone, I’m working on my family tree and I was wondering if anyone had information on my 2nd great grandparents. Their names were Franz Ober (born 19 Dec 1874 in Güssing) and Irma Karner (born 28 Nov 1878 in Harasztifalu). My grandfather told me that they were innkeepers in Strem. They had two daughters named Irene and Margit Ober. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about them. Maybe death dates or anything else. I’m thankful for every hint!”

Member Saša Mrak Hendrickson writes, “Hi, my ancestors were from Oberloisdorf. It start with Franz Glaser and Elizabeth Berghofer. Her mother was Elizabeth Jestl and father Paul Berghofer. Mother of Franz was Eva Resner. If there is anyone in this group that can share any information with me or we share any of the ancestors, I would be very grateful. My great-grandfather and then grandfather, who was born in Zagreb and then moved to Slovenia (where I am originally from), didn’t share any info about their family roots, so even my mom couldn’t tell me much, but I did get these records from churches dating back to early 20th century or even end of the 19th.
However, I would love to learn anything about life in Oberloisdorf in earlier centuries, anything about the Glaser, Berghofer and Resner families. Thank you so much! All best, Sasha.”

If anyone has any information for Sasha or Moritz, please contact me at HooftyRN@msn.com. I will be happy to put you in touch with them!

Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year!

Vanessa



Update for book "The Burgenländer Emigration to America": Here is this month's update on purchases of the English issue of the 3rd edition of Dr. Walter Dujmovits' book "Die Amerika-Wanderung Der Burgenländer."

Current total sales are 1705 copies, as interested people purchased 7 more books during this past month.

As always, the book is available for online purchase at a list price of $8.89 (which is the current production charge for the book, as we purposely choose not to make a profit so we can avoid dealing with the income tax consequences and so you can obtain the book at as low a cost as possible!), plus tax & shipping. Unfortunately, the price above is somewhat higher than in previous months, as our on-demand publisher, Lulu, recently raised is printing prices by 9.5%, meaning we must charge more. See the BB homepage for a link to the information / ordering page and for information about current discounts (there is at least one discount on price or shipping available most of the time... if not, wait a few days and there will be one!).

The book is an excellent read for the Burgenländers in your family.



Burgenland Recipes: (none this month; please consider sharing one!)



Note: Our recipes sortable list has links directly to the recipes or food-related articles published in our past newsletters. You can access the list by clicking our recipe box (to the right). Thanks to the contributions of our members over the years, we have quite a collection of Burgenland recipes, some with several variations.

However, whenever we use up our unpublished recipes, this recipe section will become dormant. So, if you have a favorite family recipe, please consider sharing it with us. We will be happy to publish it. Our older relatives, sadly, aren't with us forever, so don't allow your favorite ethnic dish to be lost to future generations.

You can send your recipe to BB Recipes Editor, Alan Varga. Thanks!



Words for Thought:

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."

                           — Mae West

Then Gerry says: Hardly seems possible that only half a century has passed since that idyllic scene. Today... the darkness is penetrated by light from homes and street lamps and the silence is broken by the murmur of traffic. In our hearts, however, Christmas Eve will always carry the magic of that quiet village or city neighborhood where we were born, an expectant stillness reflecting another night so long ago in Bethlehem.

Editor: Gerry chose to quote just one paragraph from Walter; I choose to quote six paragraphs (Gerry's choice was the fifth of these). Walter, of course, wrote in German; I hope my translation does no disservice to his words:



Christmas in Memory (by Walter Dujmovits)

Christmas is only in the past, in memory and not in the future. So we look back to what it used to be like in childhood. Christmas was very simple and maybe that's why it was so beautiful.

Even young people have their past and the memories of their childhood, when they still waited with palpitations for the Christ child. They think of one or the other present and also of the fact that one or the other person was still alive at the time. It makes you a little sad.

Older people will still remember Christmas during war and the time when they feared for the lives of loved ones far away. Others think of the great need, of the shooting and the nights of bombing at that time. But even with that there was Christmas for a few hours, when the guns fell silent and the song of the "Silent Holy Night" rang out in many languages over the shot-up fields.

Old people think of the simplicity of the festival, of the poverty of their childhood when there was no Christmas present apart from an apple and a few nuts. A special gift was a pencil. It was very special when it was one with an eraser at the end of the pencil. The Christmas tree was small and either stuck into a turnip at the table or hung from the ceiling.

We remember our small village, where around Christmas time there usually was snow, which fell from the sky very calmly and in large flakes. It was often very quiet until a little bell signaled the approach of a horse-drawn sleigh. You could hardly get to the neighboring village. Our small village was our small world.

When it gets quiet and we close our eyes, we can still smell the smell of gingerbread, hear the crackling of the fire in the stove and see people sitting around the Christmas tree. We think of loved ones. This is how Christmas brings people together and we also think of those who are already in eternity.

NOTICE (Informal 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, data upload, 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 attempt to 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 formal Burgenland Bunch Website Usage Agreement can be found here: Agreement

The Burgenland Bunch homepage (website) can be found at: the-burgenland-bunch.org

Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, copyright © 2022 by The Burgenland Bunch
All rights reserved. Permission to copy excerpts granted if credit is provided.