Burgenland

[Corvus]

Burgenland is the 7th largest of Austria's 9 states, or Bundesländer, at 3,962 km². The highest point in the province is Geschriebenstein, at 884 metres, the lowest point of Austria is with 114 metres above sea level (Metres above the Adriatic), in the municipal area of Apetlon.

Burgenland borders the Austrian province of Steiermark to the west, from west to north the province of Niederösterreich, to the northeast it borders Slovakia, Hungary to the east and Slovenia to the farthest south.

Burgenland and Hungary share the Neusiedler See, known for its reeds and shallowness, as well as the mild climate throughout the year. The Neusiedler See is Austria's largest lake serving as a large tourist attraction bringing ornithologists, sailors, and wind and kite surfers into the region north of the lake.

Through the history, territory of present-day Burgenland was part of the Roman Empire, the Hun Empire, the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, the Italian Kingdom of Odoacer, the Kingdom of the Lombards, the Avar Khaganate, the Slavic State of Samo, the Frankish Empire, Great Moravia, Dominion Aba belonging to the Aba (family); Aba - Koszegi, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, Austria-Hungary, Austria, and the World War II German Empire.

Burgenland is the only Austrian state which has never been part of the Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire, German Confederation nor Austria-Hungary’s Cisleithania.

[Corvus]

Prehistory and antiquity

First Indo-European peoples appeared in this region around 3300 BC. Since the 4th century BC, the area was dominated by Celts and in the 1st century AD it became part of the Roman Empire. During Roman administration, the area was part of the province Pannonia, and later part of the provinces Pannonia Superior (in the 2nd century) and Pannonia Prima (in the 3rd century). During the late Roman Empire, Pannonia Prima province belonged to larger administrative units, such are Diocese of Pannonia, Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum and Praetorian prefecture of Italy.

Early Germanic states
Ostrogothic Kingdom in Pannonia

First Germanic people that settled in this region were the Ostrogoths, who came to Pannonia in 380 AD. The Ostrogoths became allies of the Rome and were allowed to settle in Pannonia with task to defend Roman borders. In the 5th century, the area was conquered by the Huns, but after their defeat, an independent Kingdom of the Ostrogoths in Pannonia was formed. Territory of present-day Burgenland became part of the Italian Kingdom of Odoacer, but in the end of the 5th century, the Ostrogothic king Theodoric conquered this kingdom and restored Ostrogothic administration in western Pannonia.

In the 6th century, territory of present-day Burgenland was included into another Germanic state, the Kingdom of the Lombards. However, the Lombards subsequently left towards Italy and area came under control of the Avars. Briefly, in the 7th century, the area was part of the Slavic State of Samo, but was subsequently returned to Avar control. After Avar defeat in the end of the 8th century, territory of present-day Burgenland was included into the Frankish Empire. After the battle at Augsburg (955), new Germanic settlers started to settle in the area

Medieval Kingdom of Hungary

In 1043 a peace treaty between Henry III, who married later in the same year 1043 Agnes de Poitou a daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine, and King Samuel Aba of Hungary, whose descendants owned large estates in western Slavonia and whose relative married later a daughter of Agnes of Poitou, fixed the western border of the Kingdom of Hungary along the Leitha and Lafnitz rivers, among others, but large parts of the territory of today's Burgenland were owned since that time until 1360 (Treaty of Brétigny in 1360) by the most noble family of the House of Gilet, which came from the Duchy of Aquitaine in Medieval France during Robert II of France, therefore Fraknó (Forchtenstein) became owned by the Curia Regia (Royal Court of Hungary) in 1360. The current coat of arms of Burgenland imitates the coat of arms of the judge of the Curia Regia in 1360. On 20 September 1058 Agnes of Poitou and Andrew I of Hungary, whose son later married a daughter of Agnes of Poitou, met to negotiate about the border-zone. The territory of the present-day Burgenland remained the western border-zone of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary until the 16th century.

In 1440 the territory of present-day Burgenland was controlled by the Habsburgs of Austria, and in 1463 the northern part of it (with the town of Kőszeg) became a mortgage-territory according to the peace treaty of Wiener Neustadt. In 1477 King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary had retaken the area, but in 1491 it was mortgaged again by King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary to Emperor Maximilian I. In 1647 Emperor Ferdinand II returned it to the Kingdom of Hungary (which itself was Habsburg possession in this time).

In the 16th century, medieval Kingdom of Hungary lost its independence and its north-western part that was not conquered by the Ottoman Empire was included into Habsburg Monarchy. This Habsburg possession was known as Royal Hungary and it included territory of present-day Burgenland. In the 16-17th centuries German Protestant refugees arrived in Western Royal Hungary to take shelter from the religious wars of the Holy Roman Empire, particularly from the repression of the Reformation in Austrian territories, then ruled by the staunchly Roman Catholic Habsburgs. After Habsburg military victory against Ottomans in the end of the 17th century, Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary was enlarged to include much of the territory of former medieval Kingdom of Hungary. In the 17-18th centuries the region of Burgenland was dominated by the wealthy Catholic landowner-families, for example the Esterházys and Batthyánys. In 1867, Habsburg Monarchy was transformed into the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary and German-speaking population of Burgenland found itself within the Hungarian part of the Monarchy.

[Corvus]

Dissolution of Austria-Hungary

After the demise of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy in 1918, the German inhabitants of Deutsch-Westungarn (German Western Hungary, Burgenland) intended to join Austria. According to the 1910 census 291,800 people lived on the territory of present-day Burgenland. Among them 217,072 were German-speaking (74%), 43,633 Croatian-speaking (15%) and 26,225 (9%) Hungarian-speaking. Roma people were counted according to their mother language.

The area had also been discussed as the site of a Czech Corridor to Yugoslavia. The decision about Deutsch-Westungarn was fixed in the peace treaties of Saint Germain and the Trianon. Despite diplomatic efforts by Hungary, the victorious parties of World War I set the date of Burgenland's official unification with Austria as August 28, 1921. In fact, the establishment of the Austrian police control and customs was stopped on the same day, hindered by sharpshooters who offered armed resistance with the support of Hungary.

[Corvus]

In Croatian, it is known as Gradišće; in Hungarian as Őrvidék, Felsőőrvidék or Várvidék; in Slovene as Gradiščanska; and in Prekmurian as Gradišče.

As the region wasn't a territorial entity before 1921, it never had an official name. Until the end of World War I the German-speaking western borderland of the Kingdom of Hungary was sometimes unofficially called Deutsch-Westungarn (German West Hungary). The historical region included the border city of Sopron in Hungary (or "Ödenburg" in Austrian-German).

The name Vierburgenland (Land of Four Castles) was created in 1919 by Odo Rötig, a Viennese resident in Sopron. It was derived from the name of the four vármegye of the Kingdom of Hungary (in German Komitate, 'counties') known in Hungarian as Pozsony, Moson, Sopron and Vas, or in German as Pressburg, Wieselburg, Ödenburg and Eisenburg. After the town of Pozsony/Pressburg was assigned to Czechoslovakia the number vier was dropped, but the name was kept because it was deemed to be appropriate for a region with so many old frontier castles. The "Burgenland" name was adopted by the first provincial Landtag in 1922.

In Hungarian the German name is generally accepted but there are three modern alternatives used by minor groups. The Hungarian translation of the German name, "Várvidék", was invented by László Juhász, an expert of the region in the 1970s, and it is becoming increasingly popular especially in touristic publications. The other two names "Őrvidék" and "Felső-Őrvidék" are derived from the name of the most important old Magyar language island, the Felső-Őrség. This microregion is around the town Felsőőr/Oberwart so these new names are a bit misleading however they are sometimes used.

The Croatian and Slovenian names "Gradišće" and "Gradiščansko" are translations of the German name. The village of Jennersdorf is no more than 5 kilometers from the Slovenian and Hungarian borders (see the United Slovenia movement).

Alternatively, the Serbs, Czechs and Slovaks call the western shores of the Neusiedler See (lake) surrounding the town of Rust Luzic or Lusic. However, the descendants of Luzic Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats, Czechs and Slovaks were eventually assimilated into the ethnic German or Hungarian cultures over four centuries.

The province has a long history of Slavic, as well Austrian-German and Hungarian-Magyar settlement. The province's easternmost portion (the shores of the Neusiedler See) carried its own topographical term Seewinkel in Austrian-German. This is the least Austrian-German influenced area since the Hungarian and Slovak borders are less than 10 kilometers away.

[Corvus]

Due to such a diverse ancestry it is very propable that many inhabitants develop identification problems

[Corvus]

Here is a docu about this province:

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[Corvus]

And here some impressions:

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[Szegedist]

I find Burgenland to be sort of a transition zone between Hungary and Austria. It doesn't feel like Austria proper, if you know what I mean. It is a very quite place too, lots of fields and small population.

[Sisak]

I am lazy reading all this. I know that you have there many Croats.

[Szegedist]

Burgenland has Croatian (29,000 - 45,000) and Hungarian (5,000 - 15,000) minorities.

Between 1918 and 1921 Croats opposed the planned annexation of West-Hungary to Austria, and in 1923 seven Croatian villages voted for a return to Hungary. The Croatian Cultural Association of Burgenland was established in 1934. In the Nazi era (1938–45) the Croatian language was officially prohibited, and the state pursued an aggressive policy of Germanization. The Austrian State Treaty of 1955 guaranteed minority rights for every native ethnic minority in Austria but Croats had to fight for the use of their language in schools and offices even in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2000 51 new bilingual village name signs were erected in Burgenland (47 Croatian and 4 Hungarian).


The Burgenland Croatian language is an interesting 16th century dialect which is different from standard Croatian. In minority schools and media the local dialect is used, and it has had a written form since the 17th century (the Gospel was first translated to this dialect in 1711). Today the language is endangered by assimilation, according to the UNESCO "Red Book". The Croats of Burgenland belong to the same group as their relatives on the other side of the modern Austrian-Hungarian border



Hungarians live in the villages of Oberwart/Felsőőr, Unterwart/Alsóőr and Siget in der Wart/Őrisziget. The three villages together are called Upper Őrség (Hun: Felső-Őrség, German: Wart), and they have formed a language island since the 11th century. The other old Hungarian language island in Oberpullendorf/Felsőpulya has almost disappeared today. The Hungarians of Burgenland were "őrök", i.e., guards of the western frontier, and their special dialect is similar to the Székelys in Transylvania. Their cultural centre is Oberwart/Felsőőr. Another distinct Hungarian group were the indentured agricultural workers living on the huge estates north of Neusiedler See. They arrived mainly from the Rábaköz region. After the dissolution of the manors in the mid-20th century this group ceased to exist.

[Szegedist]

Little Entente wanted to make Burgeland a Czech corridor to Yugoslavia

http://oi45.tinypic.com/ptz5f.jpg

[Sisak]

Joseph Hayd whos mother was Burgenland Croat wrote a tune that later became the German national anthem Das Lied der Deutschen. and this is actually Croatian folk song "Stal se jesem rano jutro malo pred zoru" .

[Szegedist]

It was used as the anthem for Austrian Empire, and later Austro-Hungary, before it became the German anthem.

By the way I did not know he was half Croat, thanks. Dont let the pan Germanicsts know this ;)

[Sisak]

http://i49.tinypic.com/2y2w.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/t0rdee.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/2dvoh8n.jpg

http://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/hadow3.html

[Geminus]

By the way I did not know he was half Croat, thanks. Dont let the pan Germanicsts know this ;)

Well, I wouldn't have a problem if he was half Croat, but there doesn't seem to be any real evidence supporting this thesis ;)

[Sisak]

This is not only song with basic croatian melody.

Examples of themes in the works of Haydn, based on Croatian folk tunes:

Theme final 104th Symphony ("London") apparently composed on the basis of Croatian folk song "Oj, Jelena, Jelena, jabuka zelena."
Finale of 103rd Symphony begins with the theme for which is claimed to be based on the Croatian folk song "Divojčica potok gazi".
Melody, which is now known as the German national anthem, written by Haydn. Kuhac is written as a very old tune "Stal se jesem rano jutro malo pred zoru," originating from Marija Bistrica, Sv. Ivan Zelina, Medjimurje and Burgenland.
The song is very well known in Croatia, "Nikaj na svetu lepšega ni, nego gorica kad nam rodi", appears in the early part of Haydn Cassation in G major.

[Sisak]

Well, I wouldn't have a problem if he was half Croat, but there doesn't seem to be any real evidence supporting this thesis ;)

he was speaking croatian language.

[Geminus]

he was speaking croatian language.

Is there any evidence for this statement?
Still, if he were speaking the Croatian language this wouldn't necessarily mean he was of Croatian ethnicity.

[Sisak]

I was reading that he was partly Croat, I think his mother was a Croat, and that his real surname was Hajdinjak.

[Ianus]

Interisting description

[Insuperable]

Is there any evidence for this statement?
Still, if he were speaking the Croatian language this wouldn't necessarily mean he was of Croatian ethnicity.

Don't mind Scarlett. She seems a little bit:crazy: