!!!Burgenland
Burgenland: area 3,965.68 km%%sup 2/%; pop. 270,880 (1991); pop.
density 68 per km%%sup 2/%; capital Eisenstadt; buildings 103,541;
households 95,154; 2 free towns (towns with statutory
privileges); 7 districts; 7 judicial districts;
170 municipalities (13 towns and 57 market towns);
Provincial Supreme Court in Vienna; Provincial Court in Eisenstadt.
\\
''Location:'' Located in the easternmost part of Austria, the province
of Burgenland has the 3%%sup rd/% smallest area and the 2%%sup nd/%
smallest population of the Austrian provinces. Historically and
geographically a borderland region, Burgenland is a narrow belt of
land stretching from Slovakia in the north, along the Hungarian border
in the east, the Styrian and Lower Austrian borders in the west, and
south to the Slovene border. The province virtually seems to be split
in two (near Sieggraben its east-west extension narrows to a mere 4
km).
\\
''Landscape:'' Burgenland´s geographical pattern is made up of
the foothills of the Central Alps (Hundsheimer Berge Hills,
Leithagebirge Mountains, the hilly region around Rust, Rosaliengebirge
Mountains, Oedenburg Mountains, Landsee Hills, Bernstein Mountains,
Guens Mountains); the outer edges of the Pannonian Lowlands (Heidboden
and Parndorf Plain being deposits of the Old Danube and Leitha rivers
in the north and the rivers Pinka and Lafnitz in the south); Lake
Neusiedl and the Seewinkel area; Wulka Plain (the granary of
Burgenland); Riedel landscapes (narrow ridges of land separating two
parallel valleys) which establish a geomorphological link between the
Alpine Vienna basin in the north, the Graz basin in the south and the
Pannonian lowlands (extending from the hilly region of the Bucklige
Welt to central Burgenland and from the hilly region of Eastern Styria
to southern Burgenland). The Hainburg, Bruck and Wiener Neustadt gaps
connect the region with the Vienna basin. Set amidst the flat steppe
landscape of the Hungarian puszta, Lake Neusiedl and the Seewinkel
area provide a haven for a large and outstanding variety of fauna,
perhaps the most outstanding in Central Europe. Burgenland´s
rich mineral resources are only exploited to a limited extent:
limestone quarries on the fringes of the Leithagebirge Mountains and
in the hilly region around Rust (especially near
St. Margarethen); sub-bituminous coal deposits near Tauchen;
chalk pits near Muellendorf; copper pyrites; antimony ores; sulphur
pyrites; serpentine is commercially mined near Bernstein. Bad
Tatzmannsdorf, Bad Sauerbrunn, Deutschkreutz and Sulz near Guessing
are famous for their mineral springs and mineral water.
\\
Burgenland drains towards the east to the Danube river system, its
rivers and streams (Leitha, Wulka, Aubach, Rabnitz, Guens, Pinka,
Lafnitz, Raab, Stoober Bach, Zoebernbach, Tauchenbach and Strembach)
emptying into the River Danube. Located between the Central Alps and
Pannonian Lowlands, Burgenland has a largely Pannonian climate.
Geographically, Burgenland is divided into three parts: the low-lying
lands of Burgenland around Eisenstadt, Neusiedl and Mattersburg to the
north of the Oedenburg Mountains; the hilly region of central
Burgenland near Oberpullendorf, between Oedenburg and Guens Mountains;
and the hilly region near Oberwart and Guessing south of the Bernstein
and Guens Mountains.
\\
''Climate:'' Burgenland is part of the alpine-pannonian border region,
and as such is in the pannonian climatic zone.
\\
''Population:'' Burgenland is densely populated. 88.3 % of the
population are German-speaking; 7.2 % are Croats (compared to
13.5 % in 1934); 2.5 % are Magyars (compared to 3.5 %
in 1934); 2.1 % belong to other nationalities. The Roma and
Sinti peoples have also lived in Burgenland for several centuries. As
a result of Burgenland´s former location within Hungary,
13.7 % of the population are Protestants (compared to the
Austrian average of 5.0 %). Burgenland was home to a relatively
large Jewish population in both urban and rural areas before 1938, but
only a few Jewish families returned after the Holocaust. - The
population of Burgenland speaks various Austrian vernaculars (the
ui-dialect is spoken in the Heanzen region).
\\
The prevailing types of farmhouses in Burgenland are the Streckhof and
Hakenhof; in southern Burgenland also the Dreiseithof and Vierseithof.
In the region around Lake Neusiedl and in the Lafnitz and Raab valleys
villages are either of linear type or built around a green; in
southern Burgenland villages of the linear type and scattered
settlements prevail. There are no large towns or cities in Burgenland,
the average population of towns varying between 1,696 and 10,349.
\\
8.7 % of the population are employed in agriculture and forestry
(compared to 33.6 % in 1966); 43.0 % are employed in trade
and industry. Since the building and construction industry does not
provide enough jobs for the population of Burgenland a large number of
people have to commute to Vienna, Lower Austria or Styria to earn
their living (1971: 47,140 commuters; 1981: 63,039; 1991: 73,580). As
Burgenland is dominated by large estates and a lack of industry, many
people have even been forced to leave their homes and seek work
elsewhere; only about 25 % have returned.
\\
''Agriculture:'' Despite increasing structural problems and a recent
drop in sales in the agricultural sector, which has resulted in a
reduction in the number of self-sufficient farms and agricultural
land, Burgenland´s economy is still predominantly agricultural.
In 1989, Burgenland´s agriculture contributed as much as
3.24 billions of ATS to the Austrian GNP, thus ranking Burgenland
above the provinces of Tirol, Salzburg, Vienna and Vorarlberg.
winegrowing plays an important role in Burgenland as compared to the
Austrian average. In 1997, vineyards covered an area of 17,048 ha
(32.5 % of the total area). In 1997, agricultural land accounted
for 48.8% of the total area (forest 30.9%; vineyards 5.4%).
\\
''Economy:'' Burgenland's economy has been shaped by one major factor:
Burgenland´s position as a borderland region. Industrial
production, which is generally declining and accounted for slightly
more than 31% of the province's total creation of wealth in 1996, was
long focused on the processing of local mineral resources and
agricultural products; currently, the electrical and electronics
industry (1992: 20.4%), clothing (1992:16.7%) and the food and
beverage industry (1992:22.2%) account for fairly large shares in
value added, while almost two-thirds are accounted for by the services
sector and only 3.4% by agriculture and forestry. However, as a result
of structural problems Burgenland´s economy is still clearly
behind the Austrian average, as has been shown by its distinctly
smaller share in GNP, a high commuter rate and a higher than average
unemployment rate (7.5% in 1992 and 9 % in 1998).
\\
''Tourism:'' started to play a major role in the 1970s. An increase in
overnight stays from about 1 million in 1970 to 2,2 million in 1998
was recorded in Burgenland (the number of beds available for
accommodation has risen from 10,600 to 21,300). 59 % of overnight
stays are recorded in the region around Lake Neusiedl; 24 % in
the region around Oberwart; 7 % in the region around Rosalia;
5 % in the region around Jennersdorf; 3 % in central
Burgenland; and 2 % around Guessing;. The municipalities of
Podersdorf am See (390,288 overnight stays) and Bad Tatzmannsdorf
(442,186 overnight stays) remain by far the most attractive
destinations for tourists, with 38% of all overnight stays. Burgenland
is mainly dependent on summer tourism, the tourist season starting in
May and going through to October. However, Burgenland has recently
started promoting high-quality individual and health tourism, which
has had a positive effect on winter tourism figures, as witnessed by
an increase in overnight stays in well-known spa regions such as the
Bad Tatzmannsdorf and Jennersdorf (spa at Loipersdorf)as well as at
the new spa resorts at Lutzmannsburg and Stegersbach.
\\
''Transport:'' the location of communication routes in Burgenland was
determined by the fact that Burgenland was formerly part of Hungary.
When Burgenland became part of Austria, the country´s railway
system was split in two and partly destroyed when the border was
closed in 1945. Accordingly, a railway line was built from Pinkafeld
to Friedberg in 1925; thus the Pinkatal valley could be reached by the
Aspangbahn railway line; later on, the line was extended via Oberwart
and Grosspetersdorf to Rechnitz. The railway system of Burgenland is
basically dominated by railway lines not suitable for express trains.
Northern Burgenland has, however, been integrated into the
interconnected transport system of eastern Austria (Verkehrsverbund
Ost-Region) by the rapid transit line No. 60 from Vienna to
Neusiedl am See, and by two local railway lines running from Neusiedl
am See to Nickelsdorf and Wulkaprodersdorf. The largest volume of
traffic, however, is carried by roads. Burgenland has a modern system
of motorways (A 2, A 3 and A 4), Schnellstrassen
(S 4, S 31) and other federal roads, which connect the
various parts of the province with each other and with the rest of
Austria. The A 2 (South Motorway) connects the formerly isolated
southern part of Burgenland with Vienna and Graz; it is frequented by
commuters and owners of second homes. In 1991, the A 4 (East
Motorway) to Parndorf in northern Burgenland was opened and further
extended to the border-crossing point of Nickelsdorf in 1994. The
A 3 Oedenburger Bundesstrasse (B 16) went to as far as the
road traffic junction of Eisenstadt in 1999 and has since been further
extended. By creating interconnected transport systems
(Verkehrsverbund Burgenland Nord and Burgenland Mitte) attractive
prices can be offered to commuters using the local bus and rail and
service. The opening of the Hungarian border and the crisis in former
Yugoslavia resulted in a large increase in cross-border passenger
transport (in 1985 1.8 million people crossed the national border
compared to 18.7 million in 1991), and accordingly to a higher
traffic burden on the local population.
\\
''Cultural Life:'' Even though many medieval architectural and
artistic monuments were destroyed in the course of the Turkish
invasions, the province of Burgenland is still well-known for its
large number of castles, palaces, fortified towers and churches dating
from the Gothic (Baumgarten, Gaas, Guessing, Rust,
St. Margarethen, Stadtschlaining, Breitenbrunn, Marz) and Baroque
periods (Eberau, Eisenstadt, Frauenkirchen, Halbturn, Kittsee,
Loretto, Bernstein, Forchtenau). Especially in northern Burgenland
many villages devastated in 1683 were rebuilt in the Baroque style.
Several representatives of the Classicist period lived and worked in
Eisenstadt, among them Canova und Moreau. Eisenstadt, for many years
home to the great Austrian composer J. Haydn, was the first town to
revive cultural traditions; since then the whole province of
Burgenland has followed suit, as is evidenced by the activities of
65 schools of music organised by the Volksbildungswerk, an
association providing adult education particularly in rural areas, and
the international Bildhauersymposion annually held in the quarry near
St. Margarethen, which also serves as a natural stage on which
passion plays and opera festivals are performed, and the Moerbisch
Lake Festival. Folk art, too, has been particularly promoted in
Burgenland, especially by its Croatian minority (Tamburizza music). A
great number of museums have been set up in the course of this revival
of cultural traditions, and great efforts have been made to preserve
historic town centres, architectural monuments and traditional types
of houses. Moreover, the population of Burgenland is increasingly
becoming aware of the importance of protecting the region´s
natural fauna and flora.
\\
Education: Burgenland provides for secondary education. A law
regulating the education of ethnic minorities (1937) provided primary
education either in the Croatian or Hungarian language as well as
bilingual primary education in the autochthonous areas. On September
9, 1994 a new law regulating compulsory education of ethnic minorities
entered into force. In the 1997/98 school year bilingual education
(German and Croatian) was offered in 29 primary schools; education in
the Hungarian language was provided in two bilingual primary schools,
one bilingual secondary school (Hauptschule) and one bilingual
Polytechnischer Lehrgang course; education in the Croatian and
Hungarian languages was offered in five secondary schools
(Hauptschule). In the 1997/98 school year 1,392 pupils of a total of
22,211 pupils attended bilingual primary schools. Burgenland´s
Hungarian and Croatian-speaking communities have contributed a great
deal to the region´s great variety of traditional clothes, folk
music, popular plays and folk dance.
\\
''History:'' The youngest province of Austria, Burgenland derived its
name in 1919 from the endings of the four predominantly
German-speaking border districts or comitats of western Hungary:
Pressburg/Bratislava, Wieselburg/Moson, Oedenburg/Sopron and
Eisenburg/Vasvár (originally the name "Vierburgenland" - land
of four castles - was proposed). The oldest settlement dates back to
the Mesolithic Age (10,000-5,000 B.C.). Farmers settled in the
low-lying areas around Lake Neusiedl and the Pullendorf basin as early
as the Neolithic Age (around 5,000 B.C.). Copper and antimony have
been mined in the hilly regions of Rechnitz and Bernstein since the
Copper and Bronze Ages. Wine-growing started at the beginning of the
early Iron Age around 700 B.C. In approximately 450 B.C. the
country was settled by Celts; around 15 B.C. Roman troops occupied the
country, which was incorporated into the Roman Empire as part of the
Roman Province of Pannonia. The prehistoric Amber trading route, later
a Roman Imperial route from Aquileia to Carnuntum, passed through the
country. At the time of the Migration of the Germanic Peoples Huns,
Goths, Langobards and Avars settled in what now is Burgenland. In 800
the Avars were defeated by Charlemagne, and the country became a
border province of the Frankish-Bavarian kingdom until it fell under
Magyar domination in 907. The rivers Leitha and Lafnitz, which today
form the natural border with the provinces of Lower Austria and
Styria, had formed the border between Austria and Hungary from the
11%%sup th/% century onwards. German-speaking farmers and craftsmen
settled in the areas between Magyar border villages; Benedictine and
Cistercian monks devoted themselves to cultivating the land.
\\
In the High Middle Ages, southern Burgenland was the principal seat of
the Guessinger family; northern Burgenland was dominated by the
Mattersdorfer-Forchtensteiner family. The Coat of arms of Burgenland
(as created in 1922) combines the Coat of Arms of the Forchtensteiner
(Mattersdorfer) family and that of the Guessinger family. The peace
treaties of Oedenburg (now Sopron) (1463) and Pressburg (now
Bratislava) (1491) provided that several west-Hungarian territories
came under Habsburg rule; most of them were leased to members of the
Austrian nobility; in 1647, however, these territories were
reincorporated into Hungary. From this time up to 1918 both civil and
religious life were dominated by Hungarian law (Hungarian principles
prevailed in the fields of administration, administration of justice
and education). In the 16%%sup th/% century Croats settled in the
country devastated as a result of border fights in the Late Middle
Ages and the Turkish invasions (1529 and 1532).
\\
In the 17%%sup th/% century northern and central Burgenland was the
principal seat of the influential Esterházyfamily; they turned
Eisenstadt into a centre of music and architecture which became well
known beyond national borders. Southern Burgenland was the principal
seat of the Batthyány family. Under common rule from 1526,
Austria and Hungary started to strengthen their economic and cultural
ties, especially with the Austrian capital, Vienna. In the
19%%sup th/% century Hungarian farmers exported a large part of their
products to Vienna and to the industrial regions of Austria, where
several 1,000 migrating workers from Hungary earned their living. This
is basically why a large number of the German-speaking population of
western Hungary (now Burgenland) sought union with Austria after the
disintegration of the Habsburg Empire in 1918.
\\
The peace treaty of Saint-Germain (1919) provided that the
predominantly German-speaking parts of western Hungary (with the
capital Oedenburg/Sopron) were ceded to Austria; as a result of armed
resistance by Hungarian irregulars, however, Austria was only able to
take them over with the help of local police and the armed forces in
1921. Austria nevertheless had to cede Oedenburg/Sopron and eight
municipalities to Hungary, which was decided by a plebiscite in which
a majority voted for union with Hungary ( Abstimmungsgebiete). This is
how Burgenland lost its natural capital Oedenburg/Sopron. In 1925
Eisenstadt became the new capital. The town has been expanded by a
large number of administrative buildings ever since.
\\
In 1926 the province of Burgenland was given its own constitution,
which preserved many Hungarian principles in the fields of
ecclesiastical law, marriage law and compulsory education ( Burgenland
school system), and thus was different in certain respects from the
constitutions of the rest of Austria. Even though Burgenland had never
been a homogeneous entity in the past, the population of the province
soon developed a strong Austrian identity (they stopped calling
themselves "Heanzen" and adopted the name "Burgenlaender" instead).
Between 1938 and 1945 Burgenland was divided between "Niederdonau"
(the Nazi name for Lower Austria), which incorporated northern and
central Burgenland, and Styria (southern Burgenland). In 1945 it
resumed its name and status as autonomous province.
\\
The new constitution of the province of Burgenland was adopted on
September 14, 1981 and entered into force on October 4, 1982.
(Original version - LGBL/Provincial Law Gazette number 42/1981 as
amended in LGBL/Provincial Law Gazette number 19/1992). Burgenland
elects 6 deputies to the Nationalrat and 3 deputies to the Bundesrat;
the Landtag consists of 36 members. The Landeshauptmann was a
member of the SPOe (Austrian Socialist Party) from 1945 to 1956; of
the OeVP (Austrian People´s Party) from 1956 to 1964; and of the
SPOe again since 1964; the provincial government (1996) is composed of
3 representatives of the SPOe (now Austrian Social Democratic Party);
3 representatives of the OeVP and 1 representative of the FPOe
(Austrian Freedom Party). At municipal level, the Amtmann, an
institution dating from Burgenland´s Hungarian past, is
entrusted with the administrative duties by the mayor of a
municipality. From 1922 to 1960 Burgenland had an Apostolic
administration; since then it has been a diocese in its own right
(Diocese of Eisenstadt).
!Literature
Allgemeine Bibliographie des Burgenlandes, part 1,
Geowissenschaften, 1987, part 3, Geographie, 1964, part 4,
Geschichte, 1959, part 5, Volkskunde, 1965, part 7,
Topobibliographie, 4 vols., 1987-1991, part 8, Karten und
Plaene, 1970-1972; Bgld. Heimatblaetter 1-7, 1932-1938;
Wissenschaftliche Arbeiten aus dem Burgenland, 1954ff; B. Forschungen,
1977ff; Urkundenbuch des Burgenlandes, 4 vols., 1955-1985; R.
Zimmerl, Die Inschriften des Burgenlandes, 1953; Burgenland-Atlas, ed.
by H. Hassinger and F. Bodo, 1941; Historischer Atlas der
oesterreichischen Alpenlaender: Landgerichtskarte B., 1958, Kirchen-
und Grafschaftskarte, 1951 (commented); Allgemeine Landestopographie
des Burgenlandes, vol. 1, Bezirk Neusiedl am See, 1954,
vol. 2, Bezirk Eisenstadt und die Freistaedte Eisenstadt und
Rust, 1963, vol. 3, Bezirk Mattersburg, 3 vols., 1981-1993;
L. Schmidt, Bgld. Volkskunde 1951-55, 1956; A. Ernst, Geschichte des
Burgenlandes, %%sup 2/%1991; E. Zimmermann, Burgenland. Bilder aus der
Vergangenheit und Gegenwart eines oesterreichischen Grenzlandes, 1985;
Oesterreichisches Staedtebuch, vol. II, Burgenland, ed. by the
Austrian Academy of Sciences, %%sup 2/%1995; Oe. Staedteatlas, ed. by
the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Town History Research (Eisenstadt
and Rust), 1988; Oe. Kunsttopographie, vol. 24, Eisenstadt and
Rust, 1932, vol. 40, district of Oberwart, 1974, vol. 49,
district of Mattersburg, 1993; Dehio-Handbuch B., 1980; A. Schmeller,
Das Burgenland. Seine Kunstwerke, hist. Lebens- und Siedlungsformen,
1965; V. Mayer, Burgenland, Bau- und Wohnkultur im Wandel, 1993; H.
Prickler, Burgen und Schloesser, Ruinen und Wehrkirchen im Burgenland,
1980; H. Lajta, Burgenland, Ein Kunst- und Kulturlexikon, 1983;
Austrian Academy of Sciences (ed.), Theatergeschichte Oe., Burgenland,
vol. VIII, 2 issues, 1980, 1995; G. Schlag, B., in: E.
Weinzierl and K. Skalnik, Oesterreich 1918-38, vol. 2, 1983; E.
Deinhofer and T. Horvath (eds.), Grenzfall Burgenland 1921-91, 1991;
Burgenland, Geschichte, Kultur und Wirtschaft in Biographien,
vol. 1, 20. Jahrhundert, 1991, vol. 2, Gemeinden,
Buergermeister, 1993; A. Berger and A. Lang (eds.), Landwirtschaft im
Burgenland. Strukturen, Probleme, Perspektiven, 1995; B. Schreiner,
Das Schicksal der burgenlaendischen Kroaten durch 450 Jahre, 1983; F.
Robak, Kroaten im Burgenland, 1985; S. Geosits, Die burgenlaendischen
Kroaten im Wandel der Zeit, 1986; K. J. Homma, Die magyarische
Minderheit im Burgenland, Europa Ethnica 24, 1967; C. Mayerhofer,
Dorfzigeuner. Kultur und Geschichte der Burgenland-Roma von der
1. Republik bis zur Gegenwart, 1989; Statistisches Handbuch des
Burgenlandes, ed. by the Burgenland Office of the Provincial
Government; G. Baumgartner et al. (eds.), Identitaet und Lebenswelt,
1989; H. Fassmann and U. Proell (eds.), Standort Burgenland, 1990.
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