Newsletter
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 158
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Our 11th Year - Issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold)
December 31, 2006
(c) 2006 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved
~"THE YEAR IS DYING IN THE NIGHT;
RING OUT WILD BELLS AND LET HIM DIE."
(Tennyson: In Memorium cvi.)~
~HAPPY NEW YEAR~
Current Status Of The BB:
Members: 1371; Surname Entries: 4605; Query Board Entries: 3650; Newsletter Subscribers: 1003;
Newsletters Archived: 158; Staff Members: 14
EMAIL RECIPIENTS PLEASE READ: You are receiving this email newsletter because you are a
BB member or have asked to be added to our distribution list. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send
email to G. J. Berghold with message "subscribe" or "remove". ("Cancel"
will cancel membership, website listings and newsletter.) You cannot send email to this
newsletter. If you have problems receiving the newsletter as email, it may be read, downloaded,
printed or copied from the BB Homepage. There is also an archive of previous newsletters.
This first section of our 2-section newsletter concerns:
1. Schönbrunn and Landtechnische Museum at St. Michael
2. Genealogy Versus Burgenland Family History
3. Village Histories Project
4. New Staff Positions - Steve Geosits & John Lavendoski Now Croatian Editors
5. Gereresdorfer Surname
6. BG Publishes 400th Newsletter
7. Lehigh University - Lehigh Valley Burgenland Descendant Goal
8. Greetings From Hotel Krutzler In Heiligenbrunn - "Come Stay With Us For A While"
9. Growth Of Burgenland Immigrant Descendants
1. SCHÖNBRUNN & LANDTECHNISCHE MUSEUM
- from Bob Unger
In newsletter 157B, there were suggestions for a 12-day Burgenland Itinerary which included a
visit to the Schoenbrun Palace. I have been there six times and found that the very best way to
get the most satisfaction from the visit is to rent an English audio guide. The advantage is
that you can go at your own pace and take as much time as you want. The system automatically
selects the proper recording as you approach each room. By contrast, when you're on an English
speaking guided tour, there is a good chance that you will miss some of the features or will be
hurried from place to place, or have problems keeping up with the group. They offer two
different tours, a short one and an extended one. I highly recommend the extended tour. If there
are others in your group, make sure that each person has their own ticket because attendants
might ask to see your pass to determine which tour you are on.
Getting to the Schoenbrun Palace is very easy using the Vienna subway system; as Charles
mentioned, it stops only one block from the Palace. A one-day subway pass is a real bargain.
Another place that I consider a must for a 12-day Burgenland tour is the Landtechnische Museum
at St. Michael; located about nine kilometers north of Güssing, off of route 57. I have
mentioned this museum several times in articles I have written for the BB newsletter. Apparently
because it is not advertised and a little hard to find, little interest has been generated. I
consider this museum one of the best of its kind in all of Europe. In fact, for the items
displayed, I judge this museum to be equal to or better than the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
The museum is filled with a large variety of items, including life-size and scaled-down models.
Some of these are operational. They have special docents to operate several items of machinery.
Let me know what you think of this museum. When I mentioned that it is a little hard to find,
that includes finding it on the Web. Below is a web site guide.
First Google St. Michael Burgenland; This first entry will be as follows:
Webseite der Gemeinde St. Michael im Burgenland
Where the slopes of the Alps greet the Hungarian border lies the market community of St. Michael
im Burgenland (southern Strem Valley.)
www.st.michael-bgld.at/
Click on Highlight - Tourism - then select LANDTECHNIK-MUSEUM for info on the museum.
2. GENEALOGY VERSUS BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
One BB member took me to task for my article (BB News No. 157B) about the aftermath of the 2nd
siege of Vienna. He thought I had done Islam a disservice and pointed out that Christian Europe
had engaged in activity as bad as that of the Islamic East. He was perturbed by my comment that
if the Turks had taken Vienna, there would be no Iraq problem today. He holds that madmen and
oil are the causes of that problem.
I tried to present a well balanced "what if the Turks had won" scenario, casting no blame and
suggesting historical possibilities in the event of a Turkish success. I personally feel it is
impossible to separate triggers of aggression; all factors can have an effect, but I do not wish
to debate philosophical, religious or political matters.
I started the Burgenland Bunch in order to help Burgenland immigrant descendants find answers to
what were mainly genealogical questions. Our first queries concerned such matters as the use of
LDS microfilm records, availability of other records, location and names of villages of origin,
Burgenland surnames and so forth -- all genealogical matters. Having once built
multi-generational pedigrees, members then wanted to know more about ethnic food, pre-Burgenland
origins, reasons for migration, the tenure of the times, etc. The emphasis moved from genealogy
to family history, and my newsletter articles followed suit.
To conclude that the Turkish Wars were not inspired or triggered by religious beliefs is naive
at best and it must follow that a Turkish victory at Vienna would have greatly changed history.
That Christianity and/or Western Europe reacted in similar fashions, both before and after the
event, is begging the issue and I made (make) no apologies or justification for what has
transpired.
The second siege of Vienna was one of a series of unsavory events which generated Burgenland
family history in the modern era: the Reformation, the 30 Years War, the Counter Reformation,
the Turkish Wars, the Hungarian revolutions, to name a few more. They all impacted the formation
of the Burgenland and the eventual Auswanderung to the Americas and hence our own existence. If
any one of them had ended other than they did, it's extremely doubtful if we would have had
ethnic migration and the eventual formation of the Burgenland. I feel that given a Turkish
victory, there would be no Burgenland Bunch today. This is the gist of my article.
The history of south-eastern Europe is also the history of Burgenland family history. They
cannot be separated. To ignore this would be counter productive. It would be best to now label
our newsletter and group as "family history" as opposed to "genealogical" - our website title
not withstanding.
3. VILLAGE HISTORIES PROJECT
We receive many requests for Burgenland village histories. While none have been published in
English, the German language publications do provide data, pictures, maps, etc. They are thus
very desirable for supplementing family histories.
Village histories are archived in the Land (state) Library in Eisenstadt. Copies may be
available there as well as at the village Gemeindeamt (civil office) or from some village
contact. The demand is small and the number published is minimal. Publishing life and subsequent
shelf life can be very short. The customer base is small. Even so the supply can be exhausted
early. The State Library maintains lists of all publications for which they can furnish copies.
The village offices can also tell us if copies are still available. We also publish articles
telling of new histories and how they may be purchased.
Hannes Graf (Membership & Homepage Editor) has recently begun a project in which he plans to
build a list of village histories as archived in the Land Library. He will indicate if copies
are available and instructions for purchase. When completed, he will provide a web page linked
to the BB Homepage for your use. We will advise when this web page is available. At that point I
hope to be relieved of answering queries concerning village histories. The new web page will
also be of value to those making trips to the Burgenland. A trip to the Land Library will
provide copying facilities or ability to purchase copies. This is another worthwhile BB project
instituted by Hannes. (ED. Note: newsletters 119C, 135, 136, 138 & 138A also deal with this
subject.)
4. NEW STAFF POSITIONS - STEVE GEOSITS & JOHN LAVENDOSKI
NOW CROATIAN EDITORS
With the resignation of longtime BB Croatian Editor Frank Teklits, we began searching for a
replacement. We didn't have to wait long as both Steve and John volunteered. Along with Frank,
they had formed part of a Croatian triumvirate very active in BB Burgenland Croatian matters.
Both have developed their own subject websites and are well qualified to fill the position.
Steve is in the process of writing a book concerning his southern Croatian villages and John was
instrumental in capturing Szentpeterfa Church records, digitized by Frank Teklits. Steve has
many relatives and direct contacts in the village of Szentpeterfa and in New York City and
Chicago. He was born in Szentpeterfa and speaks a Croatian dialect. John was born and raised in
the Lehigh Valley among Croatian Burgenland ethnic groups and has been an avid BB member from
its inception. Please join me in welcoming them. To see their pictures click on Homepage "BB
Staff" - Steve is on extreme left, John (and Burgenland falcon) at extreme right. Email can
reach them at:
sgeosits(at)gmail.com (Steve
Geosits)
john(at)prodicus.com (John
Lavendoski)
5. GERERESDORFER SURNAME
Frank Paukovits' travel report covering Croatia (BB News No, 157) mentioned a grave containing
the subject surname. We wondered if this family came from the southern Burgenland village of
Gerersdorf.
Charles Wardell enlightens us by writing: "I actually knew Hans (in German or Ivan in
Croatian) Gereresdorfer in Zagreb. He had an amazing collection of clocks, watches and musical
gadgets. See:
http://www.mdc.hr/mgz/eng/fs-files/49.html. In the late '60s he was called to London to
repair Big Ben. Anyway, Gereresdorfer was a well known, noble family in Croatia."
Frank Paukovits adds: "When I first saw the gravestone I thought the family came from
Gerersdorf bei Güssing. However I just checked Mapquest, and found numerous Gerersdorfs in both
Germany and Austria. Also, when I searched the Ellis Island site, I found two Gerersdorfers who
came to the USA via Ellis Island, one from Zagreb and another who was born in a town called
Rodlingersdorf in Niederosterreich. One can only speculate from whence the roots of that family
in Zagreb actually stem."
6. BG PUBLISHES 400TH NEWSLETTER
We congratulate editor Dr. Walter Dujmovits and staff for achieving this milestone of the
Burgenländische Gemeinschaft house organ. Having recently celebrated the BG 50th anniversary,
they've published in excess of eight copies a year, quite an achievement. Taken together they
form a vast archive of Burgenland "Auswanderer" Material. This edition's feature article
concerns another 50th anniversary, that of the Hungarian "freedom fight" of 1956. Over 200K
people eventually were forced to flee Hungary; most came through the Burgenland, aided by the
inhabitants. Many eventually emigrated to the Americas and now form a large Hungarian ethnic
group. The BG News may be read, download or ordered by going to:
www.burgenlaender.com/BG.
Parts of the BG News are written in English (including articles by your editor). BG membership
is available from the same source. Pictures of Burgenland ethnic events and families worldwide
are included.
7. LEHIGH UNIVERSITY - LEHIGH VALLEY BURGENLAND DESCENDANT GOAL
In 1856, Asa Packer, Pennsylvania coal and railroad baron (Lehigh Valley Railroad), established
Lehigh University on the slopes of South Mountain, Bethlehem, PA. It was to be a male college,
producing mining and civil engineers. A college of arts and sciences and a business college were
added later and it became an accredited university. It has always been a prime institution of
higher learning in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, although I believe Muhlenburg College in
Allentown as well as Moravian College for Men and Moravian College for Women in Bethlehem all
achieved later university status. Graduates swelled the ranks of the Bethlehem Steel Co., local
railroads and firms seeking engineers. Later firms throughout the United States also actively
recruited graduates with other than engineering degrees.
Education of Burgenland immigrants rarely went beyond the equivalent of 6th grade. Nonetheless,
they recognized the importance of education. Many of their first generation descendants received
high school diplomas. Few of that generation went on to college, however, as the Depression
arose and money for tuition became tight. The third and subsequent generations did swell the
enrollment of nearby colleges and Lehigh was then the ultimate goal for males (Lehigh is now
co-educational). With the advent of the GI Bill, higher education attracted veterans and Lehigh
received its share; Frank Teklits and I among them.
Most of these later generation Burgenland students were so-called "town students" either living
at home or boarding in Allentown, Bethlehem or nearby. They were an older group and most also
had jobs of one sort or another. They occasionally gathered for social affairs (Town Council
Meetings or ALO events -Alpha Lamda Omega social fraternity, aka - Allentown Lehigh
Organization) but they were not your typical university student. Immigrant status among students
has faded but we can still identify those at Lehigh by examining surnames. I see enough of them
in the Lehigh Alumni Bulletin to know that Lehigh is still a prime choice of Burgenland
descendants, now both male and female. At least four of the BB staff are Lehigh graduates, if
there are others among the membership, please let me know.
8. GREETINGS FROM HOTEL KRUTZLER IN HEILIGENBRUNN -
"COME STAY WITH US FOR A WHILE"
Helmut und Ingrid Krutzler of the Hotel-Restaurant Krutzler in Heiligenbrunn, a favorite
Burgenland Gasthaus, send the following (I'll let you translate it): "Kommen's a bisserl her
zu uns ..."Fröhliche Weihnachten ! Liebe Freunde, Gäste und Kollegen. An den Fenstern haben
Frauen buntes Spielzeug fromm geschmückt, tausend Kindlein stehn und schauen, sind so
wunderstill beglückt."
Ihre Familie Krutzler, samt den Mitarbeitern
A-7522 Heiligenbrunn 16
E-Mail: post(at)hotel-krutzler.at
Internet: www.hotel-krutzler.at
9. GROWTH OF BURGENLAND IMMIGRANT DESCENDANTS
Starting with one set of g-grandparents and including marriages, my Berghold genealogy lists 583
descendants through 2003.
BB member and cousin Lea Simitz Buzby writes:
"I work on my research when I can though mostly I'm busy recording current additions and
events - this is our family from our parents on down at this time - wouldn't they be amazed? The
family of Anna Berghold Simitz and Rudolph Simitz includes 8 Children, 32 Grandchildren, 3 Step
Grandchildren, 58 Great Grandchildren, 12 Step Great Grandchildren, Great Great Grandchildren,
47 In-law Spouses."
Have you recorded all of your immigrant descendants?
Newsletter continues as number 158A.
THE BURGENLAND BUNCH NEWS - No. 158A
DEDICATED TO AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BURGENLAND FAMILY HISTORY
(Our 11th Year - issued monthly as email by G. J. Berghold
December 31, 2006
(c) 2006 G. J. Berghold - all rights reserved
~BURGENLAND 2007 TOUR OFFER AT ARTICLE THREE-SECTION 1
OF NEWSLETTER NO. 155, CONTACT:
KLAUS.GERGER(at)USA.NET~
~CLICK ON HOMEPAGE "BURGENLAND BUNCH STAFF" FOR NEW STAFF PHOTO~
~Bob Unger reminds us:
"From Vienna: The NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION" (2007.)
Zubin Mehta conducts the Vienna Philharmonic. Check your local Public Television station for
time. This 1 1/2 hour performance is broadcast in the San Diego area Public Television station
on 1/1/07 @ 9.00 pm - listed under Great Performances.~
This second section of our 2-section newsletter concerns:
1. BB Internet Links - New/Revised - 12/6/06 (Anna Kresh)
2. Taste Of Hungary (Margaret Kaiser)
3. Bells And The Burgenland
4. Burgenland State Library (Hannes Graf)
5. Origin Of Croatian Settlers In Dürnbach (John Lavendoski, et al.)
6. German World Magazine
7. "Im Burg'nland, do steht unser Haus" (Bob Strauch & Staff)
1.BURGENLAND BUNCH INTERNET LINKS
- ADDITIONS, REVISIONS 12/06/06
- from Internet/URL Editor Anna Tanczos Kresh
Items of particular interest are:
AUSTRIAN, AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN INTERNET LINKS
· Szentperfa Genealogical Pages <http://www.szentpeterfa.com>
- under development by BB Members John Lavendoski and Steve Geosits; some genealogical info
relating to Szentperfa and the surrounding Austrian villages of Eberau, Edlitz, Harmisch,
Kroatisch Ehrensdorf, Kulm, St. Kathrein, and Winten; photos, family histories and research
data; site is password-protected to preserve privacy - free registration. See BB Newsletter
No. 156A for more.
BURGENLAND INTERNET LINKS
· BG 50th anniversary <http://www.the-burgenland-bunch.org/BG-50/>
- picture show - Many pictures of local scenes, Gerger family, Tom Glatz, Eisenstadt, ferry on
the Neuseidler, political figures, etc.
· BG Internet Store <http://www.burgenlaender.com/BG/en/BgmailOrder.html>
- you can send a US check or use PayPal - YOU CAN ALSO SECURE A BG MEMBERSHIP AT THE SAME PLACE.
HUNGARIAN INTERNET LINKS
· Hungarian Names 101 <http://www.geocities.com/athens/1336/magyarnames101.html>
- Excellent Hungarian Names overview; Origins of Hungarians; Hungarian Language and Alphabet;
Pronunciations; Hungarian Men's and Women's Names.
LANGUAGE AIDS - TRANSLATORS, DICTIONARIES, etc.
· GenealogyRO Dictionaries <http://www.genealogy.ro/dictionary/>
- online (Latin to English, Hungarian to English) dictionaries that translate words and phrases
used for genealogical investigation.
PASSENGER SHIP/IMMIGRATION INTERNET LINKS
· Bremen Ship Passengers 1904-1914 <http://www.feefhs.org/frl/spl/bremenmf.html>
- major port of departure for emigrants; information on passenger list microfilms
URLS NEW OR CHANGED
· Lavendoski, John <http://www.szentpeterfa.com/>
- Texas; Jurasits/Yurasits Family Tree; see also <http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/a/v/John-D-Lavendoski/?Welcome=1021258630>
· Kustelski, Jim <http://james.kustelski.googlepages.com/home>
- San Antonio, TX; Ancestors from Poland and Germany, plus Wolkerstorfers, Tschidas, Anderts,
Kieriens, Koppis from Pamhagen, Burgenland.
2. TASTE OF HUNGARY
- courtesy Margaret Kaiser
Links to more Hungarian good eating:
Hearty Hungarian cuisine fits the bill - ABC7Chicago.com [1st December, 2006] Today's
blast of winter is well-suited for heartier eating and Hungarian cuisine fits the bill.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=restaurants&id=4813514
Warm up with Hungarian comfort food (MSNBC) [13th December, 2006] Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner
of Wallsc) in New York City serves his traditional goulash with homemade spaetzle.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16171967/
Recipe: Hungarian Stuffed-Under-the-Skin Chicken Adapted from Mindel Appel (New York
Times) [13th December, 2006]
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/dining/132hrex.html [Ed: Requires free registration to
NY Times to access)
Recipe: Hungarian Eggs with Tomatoes, Peppers and Onions (Letcho) Adapted from Rebekka
and Jacob Freund (New York Times) [13th December, 2006]
www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/dining/131hrex.html (Ed: Requires free registration to NY
Times to access)
From Hungary, for Hanukkah, From Long Ago (New York Times) [13th December, 2006] The
women of the Satmar Hasidic community have preserved delkelekh and shlishkes, and staples of the
Hungarian Jewish kitchen.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/dining/13hanu.html (Ed: Requires free registration to
NY Times to access)
3. BELLS AND THE BURGENLAND
Burgenland churches, Protestant as well as Catholic, have bell towers and, unlike many churches
in this country, they contain bells that are used almost daily. To my mind there is no nicer
sound. During the wars, many were taken and melted for ordnance but, following each war, they
were replaced. Many immigrants donated money from abroad to re-supply church bells. There are
still a few ancient bells that bear the legend "me fecit anno xxx" (so and so made me in year
xxx) - relics of the past.
There is a small Greek Orthodox community where I live and they have a lovely church just
minutes from my home. We attended their annual Xmas bake sale and bought "baklava" and other
Greek specialties. Baklava reminds me of strudel - both a product of Turkish influence. This
church has an exterior double bell tower and they often rang the bells on Sunday. I asked why I
hadn't heard them recently. I was told that neighbors complained about the noise and the bells
are now rarely rung. Makes you wonder what is happening to us. I don't think people in the
Burgenland would put up with such nonsense. Will any of us hear bells ringing in the New Year? I
sincerely hope so!
Toll ye the church bell sad and slow,
and tread softly and speak low,
For the old year lies a-dying.
Tennyson: "The Death of the Old Year."
4. BURGENLDISCHE LANDESARCHIV-BURGENLAND STATE LIBRARY
- from Hannes Graf
Concerning the many recent queries re: availability of village histories, Hannes says:
"In case our members forget, the state library has at least one copy:"
A link to their online catalogue:
http://195.58.177.110:58905/PSI/redirect.psi
Email address:
post.kultur(at)bgld.gv.at
Surface mail:
Burgenldisches Landesarchiv
Europaplatz 1
7000 Eisenstadt, Austria
Telefon: 057-600/2358
5. ORIGIN OF CROATIAN SETTLERS IN DÜRNBACH
- John Lavendoski, Fritz Königshofer, et al.
Markus Dobrivits writes to John Lavendoski: "I'm searching for my ancestors in
Duernbach/Burgenland. Mr. Königshofer told me that maybe you can tell me where the Croatian
settlers of Dürnbach had their origin in Croatia."
John replies: "It is true that I was involved in some work in this area a few years ago
and continue to be. I am not however familiar with the Croatian settlers in Dürnbach
specifically. (ED. Note: Dürnbach is in the district of Oberwart and now allied with
Schachendorf.) The item I contributed to had more to do with the original research of Father
Stefan Geosits in his book on the Croatians in Szentpeterfa, Hungary and the surrounding
Croatian villages in Burgenland, Austria which is some distance from Dürnbach. I am interested
in helping. Can you tell me which dialect of Croatian is spoken in Dürnbach... Sto or
Cha?"
To which Fritz adds: "Let me chip in from the sidelines. Dürnbach, officially called
Dürnbach im Burgenland, is indeed in southern Burgenland. When still in Hungary, it had the name
Incz. Its 800 inhabitants were almost entirely Croats. Dürnbach lies west of Schachendorf, and
southwest of Rechnitz (Rohoncz) (ED. Note: It had been in the Batthyany Domain of Rechnitz at
time of Croat settlement.) A half-brother of my g-grandmother, a priest with name István
Béry, had his first assignment as a parish priest in Incz. He must have been fluent in Croatian,
as he was the author of some school books for learning the language."
Editor's comments: As mentioned before, the origin of Croats in Burgenland is well
established. They were settled there by aristocratic families (mainly Batthyány, Erdödy and
Nádasdy) with holdings in both Croatia and western Hungary. As the Turks overran Croatia, these
families resettled their peasantry and lesser nobility in Hungary. Dürnbach was part of one such
settlement. To trace their origin, I use two main reference works: Robert Hajszan's "Die Croaten
der Herrschaft Güsing" Literas Verlag, Wien 1991 and Johann Dobrovich "People on the
Border," Burgenland Research Paper, volume 47, as translated into English by Frank
Teklits. The latter is available serialized in ten editions of the Burgenland newsletter; use
our Archive Link from the BB Homepage. There are other references, but I don't have copies. Page
47 of the Teklits' translation covers the District of Oberwart that contains the Rechnitz Domain
of the Batthyány. An excerpt from Homma's "History of the Domains of Southern Burgenland"
mentions that between 1538 and 1545, Croats were settled in eight villages, Dürnbach included.
Three others including Rechnitz follow. On page 31, we find "Batthyány led many of the
Fronbauern (bondmen-peasants) from the neighborhoods of Kopreinitz (Koprivnica) into southern
Burgenland and into the vicinity of Rechnitz and Güssing. I would assume this includes Dürnbach.
Present day villages in the region of Koprivnica (across the border just south of Nagykanizsa,
Hungary) existing in the 16th century would most likely be the villages of origin. From what is
included (pages 32-36) they spoke the "Sto" dialect.
6. GERMAN WORLD MAGAZINE
- courtesy Anna Kresh
Audra Dax writes: "I just learned of a publication called "German World" magazine. The
publication is bilingual German/English and is for Austrian, German, and Swiss-American culture.
It might be of interest to other members of "The Bunch." German World is also the only print
publication that prints the TV guide for German channels on Dish Network in America. Here is a
link to the website: www.german-world.com.
7. "IM BURG'NLAND, DO STEHT UNSER HAUS"
- Bob Strauch and the BB Staff
(ED. Note: Hannes Graf, Anna Kresh, Tom Steichen, Bob Strauch and I just concluded a lengthy
email thread concerning the above song "In Burgenland Stands Our House." It was brought to our
attention some time ago as one of the recordings by member Al Meitzler. Terry Hurst (nee
Theresia Gabriel) asked if we would include it in our homepage songbook (Hannes Graf & Tom
Steichen editors.) This occasioned some concern about composer and copyright infringement. The
thread was finally settled by the following from Bob Strauch. It's a great song and you'll like
it. We'll include it in our song book when and if we determine copyright.)
Bob writes to Anna Kresh (copy to staff) after much email exchange:
"According to Walter Dujmovits' book, "Die Amerikawanderung der Burgenlder", the song was
written in 1923 by Karl Beidl, who was a school teacher in Gamischdorf at the time. It has the
distinction of being the first song containing the name "Burgenland".
The version on Al Meixner's CD is one of 2 known here in the Lehigh Valley. The first version
(on CD) has 2 parts: a verse and a refrain. In the second version, the refrain of the first
version becomes a song of its own (with different melody variations) with multiple verses which
are humorous and often self-deprecating. I never heard the first version (verse/refrain) or its
lyrics in Burgenland, only the second version. No one here knows for sure where the first
version came from (those who might have known are long gone). The first version is more refined
and has a definite Viennese lilt. The second is more "countrified" and is more of a Wirtshaus
song. So which version did Karl Beidl come up with? I suspect it was the first version. The
second version was probably the result of countless bottles of Uhudler wine from Heiligenbrunn.
It would be interesting to see Beidl's original version and to know when and where it was first
publicized. Walter Dujmovits might know that, or possibly the Burgenldisches Volksliedwerk
(Bgld. Folk Music Society and Archive) in Oberschzen.
The first version:
Ein Land so schön wie keines Land, das ist das schöne Burgenland,
nicht weit vom Donaustrand, das ist mein Vaterland.
Die Luft weht von den Alpen her, bringt viele liebe Grüße her,
das bleibt mir so im Sinn, darum singen wir immerhin:
(A land as beautiful as no other, that is the beautiful Burgenland,
not far from the shore of the Danube, that is my fatherland.
The breeze blows from the Alps and brings many greetings,
that's always on my mind, thus we still sing:)
Refrain:
Im Burg'nland, do steht unser Haus, im Burg'nland, do san ma zu Haus',
im Burg'nland, do gibt's fesche Leit, recht fleissig und voll G'miatlichkeit.
Und singan, das tuan ma so gern, und wenn wir a Musi spüln hern,
a G'wissn so rein und so guat, denn das liegt schon bei uns im Bluat!
(Our house stands in Burgenland, we are at home in Burgenland,
in Burgenland the people are nice, diligent, and good-natured.
We like to sing, and when we hear music play,
a clear and good conscience, that's in our blood)
The second version: (example of possible verses)
Im Burg'nlaund, do is's holt so schen,
wann's regnt, kaunnst nit foahrn, kaunnst nit gehn.
Die Haisa san baut aus an Kot,
und drinn sitzt an olta Krowot!
(In Burgenland it's so beautiful,
when it rains, you can't drive, you can't walk
The houses are built of dirt,
and inside sits an old Croatian!)
Im Burg'nlaund trinkan die Männa vül Wein,
die Weiba, die schenkan iahn' ein,
im Burg'nlaund, do is so da Brauch,
wenn's rauschi sein, gehn's olli noch Haus!
(In Burgenland, the men drink a lot of wine,
and the women pour it out for them,
in Burgenland, that's the tradition,
when they're loaded, they all go home!)
(I can't imagine a village school teacher of that era writing the second version.)
END OF NEWSLETTER
The Burgenland Bunch homepage (website) can be found at:
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We can also be reached from:
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Gemeinschaft web site)
Use our website to access our membership, village and surname lists, archives, internet links,
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Burgenland Bunch Newsletter (c) 1997-2006
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Newsletter published monthly by G. J. Berghold, Winchester, VA.
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