THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 106
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Issued monthly by G Berghold)
April 30, 2002
(c) 2002 G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved)


RECIPIENTS PLEASE READ: If you don't want to receive these newsletters, email 
with message "remove". ("Cancel" will cancel membership, 
homepage listings and mail.) Send address and listing changes to the same 
place. Sign your email with your full name and include BB in the subject 
line. Send no attachments or graphics unless well known to me. Please keep 
changes to a minimum. To join the BB, see our homepage. We can't help with 
non-Burgenland family history. Appropriate comments and articles are 
appreciated. Our staff and web site addresses are listed at the end of 
newsletter section "C". Introductions, notes and articles without a by-line 
are written by the editor and reflect his views. We urge members to exchange 
data in a courteous and cooperative manner-not to do so defeats the purpose 
of our organization. 


HERZLICH WILKOMMEN Landeshauptmann Hans Niessl, LH-Stellvertreter Mag. Franz 
Steindl, Landesrat Helmuth Bieler, Landesrat Karl Kaplan, Landesamtsdirektor 
Hofrat Dr. Robert Tauber, Protokollchef Hofrat Johannes Pinczolits, 
Büroleiter Martin Ivancsics, Büroleiter Mag. Thomas Steiner, Mag. Paul 
Blaguss Jr, BG Präsident Dr. Walter Dujmovits.


This first section of our 4-section newsletter includes:

1. Burgenland Delegation To Visit US & Canada
2. Death Record Found - Poppendorf 
3. Lehigh Valley Brewery Update - Allentown
4. Long Time Member Writes - Halbturn
5. Rudersdorf & Vienna Connection Found? - Heiligenkreuz
6. New Listing For Fritz Königshofer
7. Burgenland - Learn Each Little Piece


1. BURGENLAND DELEGATION TO VISIT TORONTO, CHICAGO, LEHIGH VALLEY (PA) & NYC

In what may well be an historic first, the governor and vice governor of 
Burgenland and a delegation of other prominent Burgenland officials will be 
visiting four major areas settled by Burgenland immigrants in the previous 
century. This visit, to take place May 10-19, is occasioned by the 80th 
anniversary of the establishment of Burgenland as the ninth province of 
Austria. Prior to 1921 it was part of the Hungarian counties of Vas, Moson 
and Sopron. Over forty thousand people from this area emigrated to the 
United States and Canada during the period 1890-1924, and there was 
additional migration before and after that time. Many of the later immigrants 
are still living and socially active in the areas mentioned and retain ties 
with the homeland. There are countless descendants of these immigrants and 
almost a thousand of them are actively researching their Burgenland roots as 
members of the Burgenland Bunch.

Landeshauptmann Hans Niessl (Governor of Burgenland), VLH Franz Steindl 
(Deputy Governor of Burgenland), and Dr. Walter Dujmovits, President of the 
Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, world-wide association of Burgenlanders, will 
head up the delegation. 

A number of meetings, receptions, dinners and social events have been planned 
by local ethnic Burgenland clubs in order to welcome the party. Robert 
Strauch, BB member, Burgenland Gemeinschaft representative in Allentown, PA 
and musical director of the Allentown Austro/Hungarian Veterans' Club, has 
arranged for a welcoming dinner at the Coplay Saengerbund followed by a 
social evening at the Edelwiess restaurant. Local area BB members, your 
editor and corresponding editors Frank Teklits and Anna Kresh, will attend 
these two functions and represent the BB. A special printing of this 
newsletter will be distributed to the delegation to commemorate their visit. 
I will be staying at the Ramada Inn, McArthur Rd. & Rt. 22, Allentown from 
May 14-17, if any local BB members wish to contact me there.

We understand that many functions have already been oversubscribed, but area 
BB members are encouraged to contact BG representatives in their areas for 
further information concerning area functions and availability of possible 
reservations. Lehigh Valley members may contact Robert Strauch through email.

Bob Strauch
1024 W. Liberty St.
Allentown, PA 18102

Outline of the visitors' itinerary:

Friday, May 10 Arrival in Toronto
Sunday, May 11 Get-together with countrymen
Sunday, May 12 Burgenländer meeting
Monday, May 13 Arrival in Chicago
Tuesday, May 14 Get-together with countrymen
Wednesday, May 15 Arrival in Northampton, PA Burgenland evening
Thursday, May 16 Northampton, Coplay, Nazareth, Allentown, PA Burgenland evening
Friday, May 17 Arrival in New York
Saturday, May 18 Get-together with countrymen
Sunday, May 19 NJ Burgenländer meeting - Holy Trinity Church, Passaic, NJ


2. DEATH RECORD FOUND (from Fritz Königshofer)

(ED. Note: Family lore told of the death of my great-grandfather Emil 
Langasch, school teacher at the village of Poppendorf. He retired and 
subsequently mysteriously drowned in the Lafnitz River while returning from a 
trip to Szt. Gotthard to collect his pension. I was unable to find the civil 
record of death. It was recorded in some place other than Eltendorf, at that 
time the administrative center for Poppendorf. Recently the civil records of 
border villages, which remained in Hungary, were copied by the LDS. Fritz 
Königshofer and Margaret Kaiser have been scanning those records, and 
recently found the death record for me.) 

Fritz writes:
The films of the civil records of Rábafüzes have arrived. I only ordered 
those with the civil death records of October 1895-April 1898, and 1902-
October 1906. I looked through the second film and found that the following 
villages were recorded in Rábafüzes: Rábafüzes (Raabfidisch), Rábakeresztur 
(Heiligenkreuz), Felsõ Rönök (Oberradling), Borosgödör (Inzenhof), Sándorhegy 
(Tschanigraben), and Jakabháza (Jakobshof).

Gerry, I was lucky to find the death record of your great-grandfather Emil 
Langasch in the second of these films. At last, we are filling the puzzle! 
His death was recorded by Franziska Langásch (Ed: Emil's daughter, my grandmother) 
of Poppendorf 42. According to the record, Emil died on January 2, 1903 in 
the area of Heiligenkreuz, retired teacher, age 67, born in Bécs (Vienna!!). 
I'll copy this civil death record and mail it to you.

Today, I discussed some illegible parts of the death record with a Hungarian 
colleague. These are his readings:

The status of Franziska Langasch (who reported the death) is given as jári 
munkás which translates to factory worker. The profession of the father of 
Emil, János Langasch, is stated as lottó jövedéki tiszt which means civil 
servant tax man at the lotto office. The reason of death reads valeset "vizbe 
fulás" which means accident, drowned. 

 
3. LEHIGH VALLEY BREWERY UPDATE (from Edward J Tantsits)

Our article (BB News 103C) concerning the beer industry in the Allentown, PA 
area, as it relates to Burgenland immigrants, created some interest. 

Member Ed Tantsits sent the following:
Here is an update to the info on the brewery in Fogelsville, PA.
1971 - Schaefer bought land and built brewery for $46.5 Million.
1981 - Stroh purchased the brewery
1999 - Pabst bought brewery and shut it down in 09/2001 
2001 - Guinness North America (GNA) purchased brewery for $29.8 million in Nov. 
GNA then subcontracted Total Logistics Control, a Zeeland, Mich. subsidiary of 
C2 in Milwaukee to produce Smirnoff Ice. The plant does not brew Smirnoff Ice. 
Rather it will mix the products and bottle them. It is a blending operation, 
like soft drinks. The copper kettles visible to travelers on I-78 in the 
windows are not in use. They may be used down the road when subcontracting 
for other brewers.

I will be visiting my cousins in Gussing, Rosenberg and Langzeil this summer.


4. LONG TIME MEMBER WRITES - HALBTURN (from Giles Gerken)

(ED. Note: In the early days of the Bunch, we heard from Giles, who was 
researching a village which he thought was in Transylvania. Turns out it was 
in the Burgenland. We haven't heard from Giles for a while so it was nice to 
hear that he was having success.) 

He writes:
Thanks mostly to help from the group over the past few years, I have now 
completed a lot of the history of my mother's family (Regl) back to 
Grt-Grandfather in 1781. Now listed on LDS "Pedigree Resource File" via my
niece's computer, you can find names of 43 people in the family. Thanks to 
everyone who helped. I still continue searching thru Aust/Hung. Military 
records for info on Grt-Grandfather. I also have tried to be of help to 
other members whenever I could, and will continue to do so. 

Giles E Gerken, Martell, California Researching 
VOLLIGRAND at Halbturn, REGL (REGAL), KAPELLER at Mosonszolnok (Hungary).


5. RUDERSDORF & VIENNESE CONNECTION FOUND? - HEILIGENKREUZ (from Fritz 
Königshofer)

(ED. Note: Like all of us, Bob Unger has an elusive ancestor. He found 
mention of her in Rudersdorf and in Vienna, but the birthplace defied 
research. Recently Margaret Kaiser was scanning the Heiligenkreuz records and 
knowing of Bob's search, forwarded a record to him and Fritz.) 

Fritz writes:
Margaret sent me a copy of a birth record she found in the Heiligenkreuz 
records. As you know, this birth record has the precise birth date of 
Therese Bernitz (whose recently located US marriage record states that she 
and her mother were indeed born in Heiligenkreuz).

As stunning as it is, the birth record clearly names the mother as Maria 
Stetuczky (and not Bernitz!), szolgáló (maid), and Roman Catholic. Everything 
in this record is correct, such as the first names of daughter and mother and 
the birth date, except the last name of the mother.

The last name is completely uncommon in southern Burgenland. Stetuczky (or 
Stetutzky) sounds Czech to me. I wonder how this woman came to Heiligenkreuz.
Perhaps she was one of the Vienna orphans, but I am not sure these orphans 
had been placed in foster care in Western Hungary as early as  1870 or so 
(when this mother was likely born, or even earlier). It would be  even more 
mysterious if this Maria Stetuczky had been born in Heiligenkreuz as the US 
marriage record of Therese states.

When you receive the Heiligenkreuz film, look whether this Maria Stetuczky, by 
any chance, married after the April 9, 1888, birth of Theresia, or whether she 
died soon after the birth (but in this case, the fact of the identical 
mother's first name remains as another strange coincidence). Perhaps little 
Theresia was adopted by a Bernitz or Pernitz family. On the other hand, we 
know from you that your aunt Theresia Bernitz lived with the Ungers in 
Rudersdorf before Johann and Maria had her join them in the US.

You need to write to the parish of Heiligenkreuz and have them take a look at 
the original matrikel entry of this birth, as any name change or other event 
may subsequently have been recorded there. The duplicates (as filmed by LDS) 
were not amended as soon as the yearly record was sent in to the diocese. 
You absolutely need to see the original birth entry.


6. NEW LISTING FOR FRITZ KÖNIGSHOFER

(ED. Note: We once published members' data and changes in the newsletter. 
Then we grew, ran out of space and discontinued the newsletter entries. 
However, in Fritz we have someone who not only deserves, but will always get 
special treatment, and I'm listing his changes. He must be commended for the 
work he does supporting the Burgenland Bunch with his numerous articles, 
answers to the Query Board, and original research. In addition, he's one fine 
friend and he uncovered my Langasch family history.) 

Fritz writes to Hannes Graf:
Please see some changes and additions (in blue) to my BB member entry. I am 
also copying Tom and Bill as they maintain the name and village lists.

Fritz Königshofer; Bethesda, MD (hometown Graz, Austria); 
searching names KOLLER, TIVALD (DIWALD, TIBOLD), CZENCZ (CZENTZ, ZENZ), 
KLEIN, BEIERNSTEINER (PRAITENSTAINER), POSCH, PAUR, mostly in Rechnitz 
(Rohoncz); FÜRSATZ (FÜRSZACZ), BERGER, STEINER, SCHREINER, WITMON (WITTMANN), 
in Rohrbach (Nadasd), Marz (Marcz), Loipersbach (Lepesfalva), Pilgersdorf 
(Pörgölény); SZÁK in Pinkafeld (Pinkafö)... but where did this name 
originate?; RATHNER (RATNER), LEPOSCH, GRUBESCHITZ, in Lockenhaus (Léka); 
BÉRY (BÉRI) in Zala and Somogy megye, SZABADOS in Vas megye.


7. BURGENLAND - LEARN EACH LITTLE PIECE

I began my study of the Burgenland almost seventy years ago in the kitchen of 
my grandmother. She left Güssing in her late teens and without much 
education; her knowledge of her homeland was limited. I also interviewed many 
immigrant relatives and friends in my desire to learn more. None of them had 
higher education and their knowledge was also limited. When I retired, I 
began research in-depth. I read everything available in English and 
eventually taught myself to read German. When I did, a whole new world opened 
up. In my search, I acquired a library of books and publications relating to 
the Burgenland. In addition I have file folders and computer files labeled 
with every conceivable Burgenland subject. 

My research has now spanned over 20 years and I doubt if I will ever stop. 
The more I learn, the more doors open for me. I don't think one can ever 
finish the study of a given culture. A cousin asked why I felt that I had to 
look into every family history nook and cranny, why turn over every stone? 
Wasn't it enough to link a few generations of family, discover villages of 
origin and learn a little family history? I guess I'm like so many others 
who become enamored of a given subject and pursue it endlessly. I am riding a 
hobby, it is exciting and adventuresome and it gives me pleasure. In 
addition, I am archiving a wealth of information in English that others can 
plumb now and in the future. A very good Austrian friend pleased me no end 
when she told me "your articles cause us to look at our homeland with new 
eyes." I might add that my research and the creation of the Burgenland Bunch 
has resulted in many new friends, contacts with long lost relatives, some 
personal honors and numerous opportunities to broaden my knowledge. The 
benefits of the family history research, which has become my primary avocation.

When I visited the cathedral of Jak, Hungary, recently, I was able to buy a 
book of early Vas Megye scenes on post cards, written in German, Hungarian 
and English. The English introduction*, obviously translated with difficulty 
from the more poetic Hungarian, began "You start (to) really love your 
homeland with a truer, deeper love, after you have learnt its each little 
piece." 

Auf Deutsch:
"Der Mensch beginnt erst dann seine Heimat, sein Geburtsland selbstbewusst, 
mit einer schätzbaren Liebe zu lieben. wenn er sie in all ihren Feinheiten 
kennengelernt hat." Dr. Samu Borovszky

I believe this answers the questions posed above. One's homeland is every 
place one's family has lived... and I do look for each little piece.

* From "Vas Megye" települesi kepes levelezölapapokon, "The Settlements of 
County Vas on Postcards" - Klara P. Köszegfalvi, Szombathely 1999.

Newsletter continues as no. 106A


THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 106A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Issued monthly by G Berghold)
April 30, 2002
(c) G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved

This second section of our 4-section newsletter contains:

1. Ellis Island Burgenland Translations
2. 5th Annual Midwest BB Picnic
3. New Member Searches
4. History Of Szt. Peterfa - Book
5. New Britain, CT - Burgenland Enclave


1. ELLIS ISLAND BURGENLAND TRANSLATIONS

As we search family history records that have been "writ by hand" we enter 
into a never-never land of translation problems. We must become well versed 
in the script of some long gone recorder and the geography of our places of 
origin. Research is becoming easier, as helpful people everywhere digitize 
some of these records for us, translate and compile typed lists and make them 
available on the internet. We must, however, always look upon such copies 
with a jaundiced eye. Where the data isn't obvious, we should revert to the 
original, translate it ourselves or get help.

A case in point are the Ellis Island (EI) records. Lately, many new BB 
members are using these records to determine unknown villages of origin. Some 
of the names are easily recognizable, even if improperly spelled. Others are 
figments of someone's imagination. Don't misunderstand, I have nothing but 
the utmost admiration for those intrepid souls who are digitizing these ship 
manifests, a labor of love. I've searched some of them and the translations 
are a real challenge. It would require someone well-versed in a particular 
geographic area to determine the proper names of some of the towns and 
villages mentioned... when even the immigrants didn't know how to spell them. 
Many furnished the name of the largest nearby city. I also am certain that 
some of the recorded places of origin where taken from papers carried by the 
immigrants. These documents quite often carry the name of the place where the 
documents were issued, the district city or capital, not their actual place 
of residence.

For some time, I tried to find my grandfather Berghold's first entry to the 
United States. I knew he came in 1902, married, had three children, returned 
to Burgenland, built a new house there and later again migrated to the US 
(1912). The second voyage record is easily found, the first was prey to a 
host of translator's misspellings. After many attempts, I found him under the 
name Barghold. This may mean that the first search for a misspelling might 
best be made by substituting vowels in the spelling of the name. A "B" is 
easy to recognize (sometimes mistaken for a "P") and the vowels "a"-"e"-"o" 
and "u" are often improperly translated. I had first tried various phonetic 
spellings (another good approach) without success. I finally found a record 
for Johan Barghold (should be Johann Berghold), Hungarian, place of residence 
...ut Gothand (should be Szent Gotthard), date of arrival November 26, 1902, 
age 25, male, single, arrived on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse from Bremen, 
ultimate destination Allentown (correct spelling). No doubt this was my 
grandfather, everything fits. The ut Gothand for Szt. Gotthard was obvious 
when I checked the original manifest but, if you weren't aware of this place, 
you'd never translate what was written as such. Szt. Gotthard in 1902 was 
the district capital (Hungarian - Jaras, German - Bezirk) for Poppendorf, which 
was the real village of origin for my grandfather. Without my lengthy 
experience and knowledge of my family's history, I could be left with the 
idea that the family name was really Barghold and that they came from some 
unknown Hungarian place called ut Gothand. I could also spend months 
searching Szt. Gotthard church records for the Barghold family, when they are 
under the name Berghold in Eltendorf (Lutheran church for Poppendorf). See 
what I mean? I wonder how many EI record searchers are making that very 
mistake? It was interesting that the manifest pages before and after this 
entry were almost completely filled with Hungarians and Hungarian place 
names - very few of which were spelled correctly. I pity the poor soul who had 
to translate them and make some sense out of the records, they were probably 
expert in some unrelated aspect of family history - maybe Hispanic or Asiatic, 
but not Austro/Hungarian!

I've had correspondents take issue with me over my interpretation of the 
misspellings of village names they have found. After all, they say, it came 
from an "official" record and must be correct! Even after I point out the 
obvious, they'd much rather believe what was written. So be it - they face 
hours of unrewarding research. My grandmother Mühl-Sorger and her mother have 
perfect EI records except that their place of residence is shown as Vienna. I 
know they never lived there and I have their complete itinerary. They stopped 
in Vienna and changed trains for Antwerp. Some less experienced searcher 
would now say that Vienna is their place of origin and get lost in the record 
morass of that great city. My great-aunt Franziska, who arrived one year later,
is shown as coming from Nemet Ujaar, Hungary (no such place). This should be 
Nemetujvar, the Hungarian name for Güssing. My grandfather Sorger is shown as 
coming from Balazsfoln, Hungary. This is probably Balogunyom, which was the 
nearest railhead to where he was working at the time. 

By all means, search those EI records--they are priceless--but don't accept 
them as gospel without further proof. Data for three out of my four 
grandparents was in error. At best, they are another clue to your correct 
family history and a good place to find and buy a picture of their 
immigration ship to show grandchildren. Obsession with an immigrant's date of 
arrival in the United States is referred to as the "Mayflower syndrome, but 
it's a major part of an American family history and the EI records are the 
place to look.


2. FIFTH ANNUAL MIDWEST BB PICNIC (From Susan M Peters)

Mark your Calendars! The Fifth Annual Midwest Burgenland Bunch Picnic will 
be held on Saturday, 24 August from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Wabun Park in 
Minneapolis, Minnesota. See BB Homepage for details and map.


3. NEW MEMBER SEARCHES

Many new members don't know how to proceed and if they don't have help, they 
can soon get discouraged. While there is a wealth of information available, 
finding it can often be confusing. Sometimes all it takes is a start. Perhaps 
the following will help if you are stuck. Merely substitute your family names 
and villages in the following article.

Frank Palmer, new member writes:
<< Burgenland Home Page, Worldgen Web Burgenland Query Board, Burgenlandische 
Geneinschaft. When I enter these website names they all come up with zero searches.
I do not know what I am doing wrong. >>

Reply: It is always possible to draw a blank when scanning computer records. 
Sometimes there is no data. Sometimes your spelling may be in error (i.e. 
Geneinschaft). Other times you must be a little innovative and search under 
different spellings or keywords. Some sites have their own search engines; be 
sure to read their instructions. Search engines can take you on a long 
journey, be sure to complete the search at the present site before going 
world-wide. Bookmark (add address to favorites) any site you find interesting.

This all presupposes that you know how to use your computer search engine. 
You do this by placing the curser at the beginning of the page of text shown 
on the screen, you then go to your toolbar (Windows), click on Edit, click on 
Find In Top Window, enter keyword (name you are searching for) and click on 
Find. Repeat the process to find more as the keyword may appear more than 
once per page. When I search the BB Homepage in this manner for your names 
Pollak & Novesel and villages Narda and Neuberg, I find the following:

> From Members List - there are 3 BB members searching Pollak, Polak

> From Surnames List - same thing plus Novasel

> From Village List - one person (Petti) searching Narda, 12 members searching 
Neuberg plus short history of Neuberg (click on blue village name) from 1750 
showing Novasel families (5) living there at that time

> From Albert's List - Neuberg is number 251 in the Bezirk of Güssing and shows 
Hungarian and Croat names, parish

> From Map List - (BB Map Site) - House Lists - Güssing District - Neuberg, 
I find Nowosel, Josef as head of household at house number 107 from 1857 land 
register. Don't be concerned about the spelling - this is undoubtedly your 
family.

> From Archive Search - using Neuberg as keyword, I find Neuberg mentioned in 
newslettr no. 38

> From the WGW Message Board - searching on Pollak, Polak I find over 50 
messages! (choose all boards as well as Burgenland board), likewise over 50 
for Novosel.

At this point I stopped searching although I'm sure I could find more. You 
now know how your surnames have been spelled and what the villages of origin 
are. You have a list of members to contact to see if there are any links. You 
know one of your families were in their village of origin as early as 1750. 
You have already used the Ellis Island Lists. Now what?

Time to check the US census (1910-20-30) - use our computer URL list (links) to 
find options on how to search them. Not yet available on Internet (although 
some sites may provide an index or commercially available data). You can 
order or rent microfilm from various sources but you need a microfilm reader. 
The LDS Family History Centers are your best bet and can also supply church 
records as below.

It is time to check the great Burgenland LDS microfilm church records (most 
important). See our archives on how to do this if you don't know how (search 
on LDS). Only this way will you find previous generations and prove links 
(birth-baptism-marriage-death). Look under Narda and Neuberg in the LDS index 
(click on Internet Links). I did a film search for you. You'll find Narda 
church records 1722-1895 in the Hungarian index as Nagynarda under microfilm 
numbers 0601442-443. Neuberg 1847-1895 church records are under the Austrian 
Index under microfilm number 0700736, prior to 1847 (Albert's List tells you 
this) under St. Michael 0700716-717. Civil Records 1895-1920 are under 
0700476-488. 

Using these records you can trace your family to the 1700's if desired. Keep 
you busy for some time.

LDS microfilm is NOT available via the internet. You must visit an LDS Family 
History site to order film (little cost) and read it using their equipment. 
They provide this as a service to anyone. No charge except to mail microfilm. 
See our link with the LDS to learn more and our archives to learn how to read 
these records.

Hope this helps and gets you on track again. 


4. HISTORY OF SZT. PETERFA - BOOK (Eva Hergovich-Bintinger)

Eva writes:
Please find below the message that I sent to Mr. Teklits. I thought this 
might be of interest to a number of people who are from this village as there 
are a number of immigrants in the U.S. from Szentpeterfa.

"I am a member of the Burgenland Bunch and I happened to come across a book 
which I thought might be of interest to you. It deals with the history of 
Szentpeterfa (Petrovo Selo, Prostrum) 1221-1996. The book is written in 
Hungarian and Croatian by Stefan Geosits. ISBN 3-85063-2105, Copyright 1996, 
published in Austria by Tusch Druck GmbH, Wien."

Frank replies: "Thanks for the input and associating me with Szentpeterfa. I 
have had a copy of this text for years & refer often to it. There is, 
unfortunately, a tragedy associated with the book, at least in my view. There 
must be thousands of this text in the USA, but I have yet to come across an 
individual who can interpret all three languages, Hungarian, Croatian, & 
German, used in the text. I actually attempted to interpret it, but lacking 
any knowledge of Hungarian, I soon realized that it was a lost cause."


NEW BRITAIN, CT - BURGENLAND ENCLAVE (From Robert Wolf, Jr.)

New member Robert Wolf, with ties to southern Burgenland, is also president 
of the local New Britain Austrian club. 

He writes:
"By using the net I have come across your site and noticed you were doing 
research or looking for information regarding Muhlgraben. Others were looking 
for the town of Minihof-Liebau. We have relatives in these villages with the 
names of Wolf and Uitz. I am also president of the Austrian Sick Benefit 
Society, or Donau Club, located in New Britain, Connecticut. There are many 
Austrians who immigrated here to work in the factories from 1900 to about 
1960. While we as a club are lacking records from long ago, we still have 
some old timers that have knowledge of immigrants who came here to live. If I 
can be of any help to you in this regard, please contact me. I have also been 
to the towns of Muhlgraben and Minihof-Liebau many times. Best wishes."

"Yes, please enter my name and our club in your organization records. We are 
the Austrian Sick Benefit Society at 545 Arch St. New Britain, Conn. 06051. 
Presently we have no web address. My address is 48 Garden St., New Britain, 
Conn. 06052."

"As regards the interesting fact of there being Lutheran congregations in a 
predominately Catholic region is certainly an interesting circumstance. My 
grandmother was Catholic and my grandfather was Lutheran and I, as a young 
person, always found this to be incongruous in a country that was 98% (ED. 
84% Catholic). I will tell you what I was told in my visits to relatives in 
Muhlgraben. The Turks as you probably know, ravaged the area around the 
1680's. The people were killed off or fled and the countryside was laid waste. 
After the defeat of the Turks outside the gates of Vienna in 1683, and their 
subsequent retreat and further defeats, they were pushed out of Austria proper, 
including the Burgenland area. To repopulate the area after its devastation, 
the nobles ruling the area appealed to the rulers of Saxony for subjects to 
repopulate the area and replenish the land. The Saxons at that time, and even 
today, are still Protestants. The area I am writing about is basically the 
Minihof-Liebau to Neuhaus area. I cannot speak for other areas of 
Burgenland. In Neuhaus are two churches right next to each other. One is 
Catholic and the other is Lutheran. So while I am certainly no historian, a 
relative of mine had done some research some years ago and told me this 
version of events. Apparently it had nothing to do with the Reformation. To 
this day in New Britain, there are two churches where the Burgenlanders who 
immigrated here attend. One is St. Peter's, a Catholic church, the other is 
St. John's, a Lutheran church. Some of the names of the Burgenlanders who 
came here are Ruck, Weber, Mautner, Poglitsch, Kogelman, Kern, Maitz, Knaus, 
Jud, and Pfister. Again, if I can be of further help, please let me know. I 
also have a few books in German regarding the history of the area above."

Newsletter continues as No. 106B


THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 106B
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Issued monthly by G Berghold)
April 30, 2002
(c) G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved


This third section of our 4-section newsletter contains:

1. Recollections of Jews from Burgenland - Schlaining
2. On-line German Dictionary Correction
3. Güssing Civic Leaders 1853-1953
4. Taste Of The Burgenland (Gurken)
5. Finding An Elusive Changed Name - Tonkovic To Tonk
6. LDS Communications - Digitized Records - Szentpeterfa & St. Kathrein
7. Kroatisch Minihof

1. RECOLLECTIONS OF JEWS FROM BURGENLAND (from Regina Espenshade)
 
The following address will take you to a website that features recollections 
of Jewish family histories from the area around Schlaining. Well done, with a 
lot of personal family data: http://www.forschungsgesellschaft.at/vertrieben.htm.

Regina Espenshade has just returned from a visit to Austria, where she met 
with various people, including Burgenland editor Albert Schuch, in order to 
discuss additional enhancements to the website. She continues to develop the 
Welcome to Schlaining Project. Her visit was triggered by what she called 
"An unbelievable fare for that date from Washington DC direct to Vienna was 
advertised at $299." 


2. ON-LINE GERMAN DICTIONARY CORRECTION (from Inge Schuch)

Thank you for your latest newsletter, and thank you for adding the bit about 
the online German-English dictionary (BB News 105B-1). I hope BB readers will 
find it useful. Unfortunately the link quoted in my original source did not 
work and the mail in which I corrected it appears to have gone awry: the 
correct link is http://www.linguatec.net/online/dict/ 


3. GÜSSING CIVIC LEADERS 1853-2002 
(continued from newsletter 104A; check for your family names)

Güssing, one of the seven Burgenland district cities, has been recognized as 
a "stadt" or 'civtas" or "varos" or "oppidum" since the 14th century (1355). 
As part of Hungarian Vas Megye, Komitat Eisenburg prior to 1921, it was 
also a district city (Jaras Nemetjuvar) administering 51 villages. Throughout 
the periods mentioned, many men have served as civic leaders. This list 
concludes the series.

Stadtrichter, Ortsrichter und Bürgermeister von Güssing*.
1851-52 none listed
1853 Josef Mundo
1854 Anton Hess
1860 Franz Schrammel
1861 Josef Karlburger
1863 Josef Pokomandy
1864 Franz Schrammel
1869 Josef Pokomandy
1871 Anton Petz
1875 Josef Herbst
1876 Benedikt Walter
1886 Franz Seier
1886 Johann Meixner
1892 Dr, Nikolaus Magassy
1892 Johann Meixner
1892 Josef Herbst
1895 Alexander Mayer
1899 Samuel Schalk
1906 Georg Szalay
1912 Samuel Schalk
1919 Hermann Tancsics
1919 Samuel Schalk
1921 Johann Salvachrist
1921 Julius Fischer
1926 August Artinger
1929 Dr. Karl Vestner
1930 Robert Potzmann
1936 Josef Kramer
1938 Walter Pölz
1938 Theodor Schwarz
1939 Alois Matschnigg
1945 Leo Glaser
1945 Ignaz Mazgan
1953 Karl Holper
1980 Ludwig Krammer
1992-present Peter Vadasz

*data taken from Stadterhebung Güssing 1973 - Festschrift & Burgenland 
Geschichte, Otto Meir - Edition Roetzer.


4. TASTE OF THE BURGENLAND - GURKEN (PICKLES)

As a child, I spent a lot of time at my grandmother Sorger's house on Jordan 
Street, Allentown, PA. She had been a cook and maid in the Burgenland and was 
very familiar with the food of the area. She cooked Burgenland specialties 
everyday (my grandfather demanded it), and also canned and preserved fruits 
and vegetables in the Burgenland manner. The basic differences being the 
spices and liquids used.

In late July or August, Mom would tell me to get my American Flyer wagon and 
walk with her to the farmer's market at 7th & Allen Streets, eight blocks 
from home. In the early cool of the morning, we would meet the farmers as they 
unloaded their produce. We would look for small cucumbers (3 to 4 inches) 
for canning as pickles. They were sold by the hundred and we would count a 
few hundred into a basket on my wagon. Mom would test them to see that they 
were fresh and firm. 

When we got home, the cucumbers were washed and trimmed and put in sterilized 
jars with pickling liquid, herbs and spices. The whole house would smell of 
pickle and the stove alcove would steam from the boiling water bath. Later 
the cellar shelves would sparkle with jars of bright green pickles showing 
dill and pickling spice. We never had a lunch or Sunday supper without a dish 
of those great pickles. 

I have no record of the recipe Mom used. It was in her head and, while I have 
her cook-books and recipes, I don't know how she made her great tasting 
pickles. To a pickle fancier, there is a lot of difference between pickles. 
They can be too sour, have too much dill or whatever. The salt pickle found 
in delicatessens is better than no pickle, but not a favorite. Sweet pickles 
and bread & butter pickles are great, but they can be cloying. Most 
commercial dills are too sour. Commercial pickles are made with commercial 
vinegar, which does not impart the flavor that apple or wine vinegar does. 

I often improve commercial pickles by removing some of the liquid and filling 
the jar with watered fruit vinegar and a few herbs or spices. It helps and 
approximates Mom's blend. Sometimes I add a little red pepper. (I also like a 
fresh "Gurkensalat" made with thinly sliced cucumbers and onions in a 
dressing of: oil 1 cup, sugar 2 cups, wine vinegar 3 cups, garlic, salt and 
pepper to taste, sprinkle with paprika. Oregano or dill can also be added.)

On a trip to Burgenland, I bought a jar of Gurken in an A&O store in 
Eltendorf. I opened it with a picnic lunch and, lo and behold, there was the 
taste of Mom's pickles. Whenever I visit, I now buy a jar or two. I also 
notice that Buschenschank (Heuriger) pickles have the same taste. Someday 
I'll hit on the right combination or find a Burgenland housewife who will 
tell me exactly how these pickles are made.

At least one Burgenland firm (Felix Austria of Mattersburg) produces a 
complete line of canned and pickled foodstuffs including a very good 
Delikatessgurken. 


5. FINDING AN ELUSIVE CHANGED NAME - TONKOVIC TO TONK

I received a query from one Jack Tonk recently. He was having no luck in 
researching his name, although he had some very good links to the Burgenland. 

He wrote:
My father was born in Kroatisch Minihof in 1910. He emigrated to the US 
in 1913 with his mother and siblings. Grandfather came earlier. There are no 
records at Ellis Island of any one with the name Franz Tonk emigrating. He 
had to come in 1912 or early 1913 because grandmother had a child not yet a 
year old when she came.

Reply: 
"Since you know where your father was born, we can assume that your 
grandfather was born somewhere in the region of today's Burgenland. I'm not 
familiar with the name Tonk, but suggest you search the Austrian phone 
directory. I'd go back to the Ellis Island site and search again using name 
variations like Tunk or Tank or even Tenk. To the best of my knowledge, Tonk 
is not a Germanic name, perhaps Hungarian or Croatian. Another possibility is 
that the name was changed, perhaps from a Croat name like Tomsics."

This possibility intrigued me and I searched a few of my Croatian sources. I 
found the following: 

It became obvious that the Tonk name is the Croatian Tonkovic, Tonkovits 
(medieval Thonkoyth), shortened to Tonk. In the history of the Croatians in 
the Burgenland, which our Croatian editor Frank Teklits translated a few 
years ago, the Tonkovic (Thonkoyth) name appears; it is printed below. The 
name appeared in print in 1558 in Grossmutschen, in the district of 
Oberpullendorf, the same district for Kroatisch Minihof. Obviously there was 
movement from one village to the other. Grossmutschen is just south of 
Kroatisch Minihof. 

The Domain of Nebersdorf
The villages of Nebersdorf (Susevo), Grossmutschen (Mucindorf), Kleinmutschen 
(Pervane), and the youngest village of the district, Langental (Longitolj), 
belonged to this Domain. Nebersdorf was in the possession of the Hungarian 
Magnate Niczky family from 1340 or 1348 until 1944, while Gross and 
Kleinmutschen belonged to the Hungarian Aristocrat Sennyey. According to Dr. 
E. Moor, the Croats in Nebersdorf took over a Hungarian village. Dr. Moor 
claims that Grossmutschen was also a Hungarian village like Nebersdorf before 
the settlement by the Croats. In 1557, John Kovacsi and Benedict Tornazczi 
paid the Weinzehent (a 10th of the years wine production) in Grossmutschen, 
where Croats were already living in 1558, and who were named Blasius Markovic 
(Markoyth), Benedict Barilic (Barylyth) and Phillip Tonkovic (Thonkoyth). 

Digging a little deeper, I also found the following:

In the German language book "Die Kroaten der Herrschaft Güssing" by Dr. 
Robert Hajszan, 1991 Literas-Verlag, Vienna; page 25 shows a 1538 Urbar 
(inventory of possessions, tenants and serfs) of the Batthyány family and 
lists one Tonkowyth, as a tenant or serf.

The spelling Tonkowyth is a Croatian one and corresponds to the German and 
English Tonkovits. Later, on page 99, the author compares that name to 
Tomkovic which appears in a 1486 Batthyány urbar for the village of Plaski, 
district of Modrus, in today's Croatia. Modrus (another fief of the 
Batthyány) has castle ruins still extant and is located just to the NE of the 
Croatian city of Senj - SW of Karlovac. The data comes from microfilm of the 
original Batthyány archives (destroyed) in the National Library of Hungary in 
Budapest. 

What this all means is that the name traces from the US (1900's) to the 
Burgenland (1500's) to Croatia (1400's). The Croatians from Modrus were part 
of the southern Cakavci tribe of Slavic Croatians. Their earlier history can 
be found serialized in our newsletter archives beginning with newsletter no. 
55A. We should all be so lucky.

In the transition from Slavic (Croatian) to Latin to Hungarian to German to 
English there are certain letter substitutions which frequently occur. They 
are:

B to P to B
T to D to T
N to M to N
V to W to V
YCH to ITS to IC

This explains the spelling differences encountered. Every so often I get a 
query which is both interesting and challenging and which responds to 
available research. So it has been with the surname Tonk.


6. SUMMARIZATION OF LDS CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING DIGITIZED RECORDS
From Frank Teklits

Frank writes: I've copied you on every piece of correspondence with the LDS 
so you have a good grasp of what's been said. I thought that I'd summarize 
some of it for the membership.
 
LDS to catalogue the digitized church records for Szentpeterfa (1681-1796) 
& St. Kathrein (1804-1831).

Frank writes: I have written a series of newsletter articles in the past for 
the membership concerning the digitizing of old church records, accomplished 
by BB member John Lavendoski and myself.

These digitized records, consisting of 4 bound volumes and a CD containing 
all of the birth & marriage files have now been forwarded to the LDS and are 
in process of being catalogued and added to the records of the Family 
History Library in Salt Lake City. The LDS cannot as yet catalogue the 4 
bound Image File Locater volumes & Image CD until permission is received 
from the holders of the original records. However, they will try to obtain 
the necessary approvals to add them to the Library.

The family history philosophy of the BB is manifested in the many excellent 
translations of old church records, and the well documents historical data of 
Burgenland villages, published in the monthly newsletters. The addition of 
these records to the Family History Library continues that tradition. 

The LDS has provided some insight of their efforts to digitize the many 
media forms in their possession and I thought it would provide interesting 
reading to the membership. As you will note, my congratulatory note for their 
vision, has been forwarded to the LDS.

The following was received from the LDS: "We certainly agree that digitizing 
is the way to go and are spending a great deal of effort to convert our 
microfilming cameras over to digital, revamping all of our contracts, 
experimenting with ways of converting existing microfilms over to digital, 
looking at various options for preserving digital images, indexing digital 
images and migrating images to various reading devices. I'll let you know 
what we are able to do with the digital images you sent."
 
My reply: "This is a very encouraging note, and I'm absolutely delighted to 
see that the LDS is actively involved in assessing the need for transition as 
well as to remain abreast of the telecommunication capabilities that 
continue to evolve. The LDS' huge collection of genealogical data dictates 
that it remain abreast of the technological changes as they swirl around us.

My congratulations to you and the LDS for assessing digital capabilities, and 
how best to migrate from the existing media. The genealogical world will reap 
the full benefit of your actions."

Frank concludes: Please mention the many contributions of Albert / Inge 
Schuch, Fritz Königshofer, and yourself that continue to be published in the 
newsletter. They portray the multi-faceted talents of the membership.


7. KROATISCH MINIHOF

Query Received: <<Is Minihof a village or a parish or a county or what? I 
can't find it on a map. The Ellis island records show that grandmother came 
from a town called Maloukaza.>> 

Reply: Minihof is a village. Its full German name is Kroatisch Minihof, 
signifying it was settled by Croatians in the 16th century as they fled from 
the Turkish invasion. Some Croatians were also brought into this region 
earlier to serve as border guards. Burgenland's population consists of 14% 
Croatians. From 1848-1918 the village was known by its Hungarian name of 
Malomhaza, which undoubtedly is the name Maloukaza with corrupted spelling on 
the Ellis Island records. It was known to the Croatians by the name Mjenevo 
which means "small estate." It was part of the 12th century holdings of the 
Monastery of Heiligenkreuz, located in the Vienna Woods. 

In 1873, when it was part of Hungary (under the Dual Monarchy), it was in the 
Jaras (Hungarian) or Bezirk (German) district (English) of Pulya (Pullendorf) 
in the Megye-Comitat-County of Sopron. Since 1921, when this region was ceded 
to Austria by the Treaty of Trianon, it has been known by its German name of 
Kroatisch Minihof. In 1971, it merged with the villages of Nikitsch and 
Kroatisch Geresdorf. They share the same village administration. In these 
three villages, there are now 1685 people and 921 houses. In 1873, K. Minihof 
alone had a population of 1054 Roman Catholics and 16 Jews. It has its own 
church since 1871, prior to that it was in the parish of Nikitsch.

To find it, you'll need a map with a scale of 1:200,000 or smaller. It lies 
right next to the Hungarian border, about 20kms south of Sopron, Hungary 
along the Nikitschbach (Nikitsch brook). You'll find maps on our website. 

Newsletter continues as no. 106C


THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 106C
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Issued monthly by G Berghold)
April 30, 2002
(c) 2002 G. J. Berghold-all rights reserved


This fourth section of our 4-section newsletter contains:
1. Unger Burgenland Trip - 2001 Part II
2. Burgenland Plate Puzzle
3. BB Staff


1. UNGER BURGENLAND TRIP - 2001 PART II (by Bob Unger)
(continued from newsletter no. 105C)

June 5: Honored a prearranged visit with one of the Austrian Burgenland Bunch 
staff members, Klaus Gerger, meeting at the Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft 
office in Güssing. Had a very pleasant meeting with Klaus and his family at 
his Güssing residence. It was interesting swapping World War II stories with 
Klaus' father who served in the German army on the Norwegian and Russian 
fronts - using Klaus to translate. Visited cousin Ingrid Unger and her family 
- learned that she had a new granddaughter.

Dinner at the Mirth Gasthof, then a stroll around Eltendorf - people-watching 
and observing the activities of a stork nest at the village square. 
Every where you looked there was a picture postcard view, flower boxes adorned 
every house, flowers carefully tended along the walkways and parkways.

June 6: Drove to the Lipizzaner stud farm in Piber - about 32 km east of 
Graz. On a previous visit to Austria in 1997 we saw the Lipizzaner horses 
perform in Vienna, so looked forward to seeing their stud farm with all the 
new foals and their dams. We purchased a Piber Lipizzaner book which 
contained many excellent pictures of the facility and the horses, with 
captions in German and in English. 

I again stress that these very special attractions are not highly advertised 
or promoted. One needs to know of their existence and search for them. (ED. 
Note: Before a trip, do your homework!)

Mathias Mirth informed us that they had dinner guests from near Philadelphia 
and asked if we would like to meet them - people from the USA in this part of 
Burgenland are few and far between. The Browns were from Doylestown, PA, and 
Mary Brown's father was born in Zahling. Mary and her husband were hoping to 
learn if Zahling still existed - because her father believed that the village 
had long vanished. To her surprise she found that Zahling is currently a 
lovely, thriving community (north of Eltendorf). I informed Mary of the 
existence of the Burgenland Bunch, in addition to telling her that a book had 
recently been published on Zahling. Arranged for Mary to get a copy. She 
commented that her father will be very surprised. Mary added that she grew up 
in the Allentown, PA area and by chance may know some of the Berghold family 
now living there. I encouraged her to give the Burgenland Bunch a try. (ED. 
Note: much Zahling material in our archives.)

June 7: Visited the Rudersdorf Gemeinschaft office and talked with 
Bürgermeister Tauss hoping to find in the Rudersdorf civil records 
information that could lead to finding the birth place of my grandmother, 
Maria Pernitz/Bernitz. Their records revealed nothing of use - but it was 
suggested that I try the Rudersdorf Catholic Church records, and the civil 
records at the nearby town of Fürstenfeld.

Drove to Güssing in search of a Burgenland flag. The Güssing tourist office 
directed me to the Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft office next door. There I 
talked with Renate Dolmanits who was very accommodating. She said that she 
would try to get me a flag and deliver it to the Mirth Gasthof. Walked 
through the business district of Güssing, mostly people watching and some 
shopping. 

Drove to Kohfidisch to visit the area and store where the author of the book, 
"Twenty-five Years of My Life in My Homeland", by Robert Unger, once lived. 
Met Rudy Unger's cousin, Gunter Baumann, the current owner/operator of the 
store. I pictured it as a small store with an adjoining tailor shop - but in 
reality it is a very large modern grocery, part of a large grocery chain in 
Burgenland known as A&O Nah & Frisch. On display were pictures showing the 
evolution of the store over the past 100 years. It was a thrill to be at the 
place that was mentioned so much in the book. After a tour, Gunter took us to 
a large manor house (Schloss) nearby where we met the book author's sister. 
The manor appeared to be in a run-done condition, but it would be 
interesting to learn of its history. Upon my return home, I called Rudy to 
tell him of my visit to his father's home. When I mentioned the castle, he 
immediately identified it as the Erdödy palace. He also said the castle was 
mentioned several times in the book. I went to one of the Burgenland tourist 
web sites http://www.tiscover.com for further information about the castle 
and typed in "Kohfidisch". After using an on-line German/English translator 
and some editing, the following was revealed:

Cordial welcome to Kohfidisch, located in the southern castle country. The 
place, Kohfidisch, was first mentioned in the year 1221. In the 17th century 
it became the estate of the counts Erdödy. After the devastation of Erdödy 
(property) in the year 1945, renovation began in the 70's. The site consists 
of three floors around a courtyard. Visit the area and experience the charm 
of a Pannonian aristocratic seat! It also mentioned the existence of a Roman 
milestone. During my discussion with Rudy Unger, he said the estate was 
granted to the Erdödy by the Hungarian crown for saving the life of one of 
the royal family. 

June 8: During the morning we drove to Rudersdorf and sat in the car people 
watching. This may sound like an odd way to spend a vacation in Burgenland - 
but you can learn a lot by simply relaxing and observing people as they go 
about their daily lives, such as elderly ladies cycling to market, observing 
the dress code of the day, noticing the high degree of community spirit via 
the care given to the flowers adorning the village. Most older women wore 
long dresses at below the knee length, most younger women wore a pullover 
blouse that extended below the waist, and teen-aged girls for the most part 
wore pants with short tops so their navels showed.

Had lunch with cousin Rosa, a delightful 79 year old lady who lives in a 
large house in the center of the village. She is the eldest of my cousins in 
Rudersdorf and thus keeps all the family records, cares for the family 
cemetery plot, in addition to maintaining her house which includes a very 
large flower and vegetable garden. After our meal, Rosa joined us for a trip 
to the family cemetery plot - I took pictures of all the gravestones to 
further document the Unger Family History. 

Returned to the Mirth Gasthof and spent some time with the Mirth family. 
Mathias handed me the Burgenland flag that I had requested. Apparently Renate 
Dolmanitis from the Güssing Burgenlandische Gemeinschaft office had 
immediately ordered the flag and then delivered it to the Mirth Gasthof. 

June 9: During breakfast at the Gasthof we met two English speaking men. They 
were employees of a General Electric facility across the border in Hungary. 
They said that they preferred the food and accommodations in Burgenland to 
that available in Hungary.

Joined most of our Burgenland relatives for another night out at one of their 
local Heurriger. These wine tavern restaurants are located throughout 
Burgenland (ED Note: also called Buschenschank). We traveled along a remote 
winding road and finally stopped at a Heurrigaer adjacent to the 
Burgenland/Hungarian border - overlooking large vineyards stretching off into 
the distance. There we sampled the owner's wine and special food. Each 
Heurriger has its own unique home grown food. 

June 10: This Sunday morning we met Christian and Christine Kogelmann for an 
area flight. As stated previously, Christian is a pilot and also belongs to a 
flying club in Fürstenfeld. There we took a four-seater, high wing, plane for 
a 50 minute flight. What impressive sights from the air - especially the 
castles! Many of the Burgenland castles are built on high volcanic 
out-croppings. Viewed from the air, the high vertical walls at the base of 
the castle structure gave clear evidence as to how this type of structure 
offered such excellent defense.

Returned to Rosa's home for the purpose of recording some family history 
documents. Rosa had a large collection of family pictures, passports, 
employment record books, etc. Cousin Christine Kogelmann accompanied us and 
translated, as I used my new digital video camera recorder to view each 
document while voicing a description. 

June 11: Drove to the Landtechnik-Museum in St. Michael. We had previously 
visited this museum in 1998 and found it so fascinating that we just had to 
see it again. During our prior visit they had little printed information 
about the museum and its contents, but this time they had a 278 page book 
filled with pictures and commentary in German. This gem of a museum does not 
get a lot of advertising, but I judge it to be one of the finest museums of 
Austria. In fact I would classify this museum as the Austrian version our USA 
Smithsonian, on a smaller scale, of course. Gathered here is everything 
imaginable that may have been used by our ancestors, food, clothing, farm 
implements, wine making equipment, machinery, tools, crafts, etc. 

Spent some time with cousin Ingrid Unger and her family. Her grandson Marcus 
was very interested in comparing Burgenland and US money. We also discussed 
the differences in farm structures. In the USA the farm land usually 
surrounds that family home, while in Burgenland the farmer's home is in the 
village and the farm is a portion of land on the outskirts. Marcus is eleven 
years old and is helping his father by driving the family tractor. He showed 
us the family computer, and told us of his interest in his school's computer 
classes. 

June 12: Said our good-byes to the Mirths and departed the Gasthof for our 
drive to Munich and our subsequent return to San Diego. Information about 
their Gasthof can be found on the web http://members.aon.at/gasthof-mirth. 
It was recently enlarged and modernized and is a very beautiful facility 
that can accommodate events for as many as 300 persons. Much of the food 
served comes from their family farm. The rate for their rooms, double 
occupancy is only about $18.10 per person including breakfast. 

Drove the 280 miles from Eltendorf to the town of Landshut, Germany - located 
just north of the Munich airport. We found this facility during our 1998 
visit and liked it so much that we decided to make it our stopping off point 
in our journey back home. It is called the Rasthauss Hachelstuhl, and is run 
by the Ecker family - located on Route 15, just a few kilometers south of the 
town of Landshut. 

June 13: Had a 45 km = 27 mile drive to the airport. Being on the North side 
of the airport we experienced no traffic problems or trouble. Our Us Airways 
plane took off on time at 12:15 - departing the friendly skies of Europe. But 
upon our arrival in the Philadelphia area were welcomed to the unfriendly 
skies of the USA traffic control and customs systems. Suggestion - try to 
pick another entry point for your return to the USA. Taking off from 
Philadelphia to San Diego was another event - air traffic control problems 
again. Finally arrived back in our house at 11 pm, 28 hours after our wake-up in 
Munich that morning.

It was a great trip - we thoroughly enjoyed seeing and socializing with our 
Burgenland friends and relatives. Prior to the trip I had Burgenland Bunch 
business cards printed - and I used those cards to promote the Burgenland 
Bunch. I had completed a 199 page Unger Family History - and during the trip 
I presented relatives with copies. Upon my return I received a very 
interesting email message from Herr Peter Sattler, school teacher and the 
editor and publisher of the Rudersdorf internet newspaper, "Der 
Bankerlsitzer". One of my relatives had shown Herr Sattler a copy of the 
Unger Family History for his review and he was very impressed.

Burgenland has not changed much since my last visit in 1998. The most 
significant change observed was the increase in truck traffic going to and 
from the Hungarian border, and the wide use and acceptance of credit cards - 
even in the rural areas of Burgenland. Our thanks go out to all our relatives 
in Burgenland for all their hospitality - especially to Christine and 
Christian Kogelmann.


2. BURGENLAND PLATE PUZZLE

My wife and I have an interest in glass and china which often takes us to 
auctions and antique shops. We've acquired a very interesting plate. It is 12 
1/2 inches in diameter and is made of high quality china. The design, 
antique red on white, contains a woodland scene, a lake or river with boat, 
castle and village. On the reverse is the mark of the well known porcelain 
firm of Villeroy & Boch, Metlach and the words "Made in France-Saar Economic 
Unit" with an embossed "3" mold cast. Beneath all is the word "Burgenland."

Was this name selected as a design for a set of dishes with castle scenes or 
does it actually refer to our Burgenland? Villeroy & Boch have been in operation 
from 1813 to the present. This is obviously a post WW-II product.


END OF NEWSLETTER

BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF (USA unless designated otherwise)
Coordinator & Editor Newsletter: (Gerald J. Berghold)
Burgenland Editor: (Albert Schuch; Austria)
Home Page Editor: (Hap Anderson)
Internet/URL Editor: (Anna Tanczos Kresh)

Contributing Editors:
Austro/Hungarian Research: (Fritz Königshofer)
Burgenland Co-Editor: (Klaus Gerger, Austria)
Burgenland Lake Corner Research: (Dale Knebel)
Chicago Burgenland Enclave: (Tom Glatz)
Croatian Burgenland: (Frank Teklits)
Home Page village lists: (Bill Rudy) 
Home Page surname lists: (Tom Steichen)
Home Page membership list: (Hannes Graf, Austria)
Judaic Burgenland: (Maureen Tighe-Brown)
Western US BB Members-Research: (Bob Unger)
WorldGenWeb-Austria, RootsWeb Liason-Burgenland: (Charles Wardell, Austria)

BB ARCHIVES (can be reached via Home Page hyperlinks) 
facility (enter date or number of newsletter desired) 

WORLDGEN WEB BURGENLAND QUERY BOARD
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=localities.ceeurope.austria.Prov.burgenland

The BB is in contact with the Burgenländische Gemeinschaft, Hauptplatz 7, 
A-7540 Güssing, Burgenland, Austria. Burgenl.gem@bnet.at

Burgenland Bunch Newsletter distributed courtesy of (c) 1999 RootsWeb.com, 
Inc. P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798 

Newsletter and List Rights Reserved. Permission to Copy Granted; Provide 
Credit and Mention Source.