Gyӧrkӧny in the Tolna The barren flatlands that would later become the site of Gyӧrkӧny were part of the land holdings of a nobleman from Western Hungary, Jónas Meszlenyi. He was heavily involved in the administration of the Counties of Raab and Veszprem and served in the capacity of vice-sheriff for over thirty years.. …
Category: Western Hungary
Ödenburg
Ödenburg The history of the Royal Free City of Ödenburg is closely associated with that of the much larger epic story of the Burgenland: The Land of Fortresses. This was Western Europe’s attempt at creating a defence system of settlements and fortresses along the invasion routes from the east and those that lay to…
Kaltenstein in the Heideboden
Kaltenstein in the Heideboden The Heidebauern village of Kaltenstein is now known as Level. It lies only a few miles south of Strasssommerein, the border crossing between Austria and Hungary, now known as Hegyshalom. The village lies only a few kilometres north of Altenburg and is somewhat south of Ragendorf. A Latin document…
Origin of Family Names in Kaltenstein
Origin of Family Names in Kaltenstein The following information finds its origin in “Festschrift zum 200 Jährigen Jubiläum der evangelischen Kirche in Kaltenstein” published in Veszprem, Hungary in 1989. This brief study attempts to unravel the mystery of various family names to be found in Kaltenstein and their probable origins. The first six…
St. Johann and St. Peter in the Heideboden
St. Johann and St. Peter in the Heideboden The source of this article is “Das Vergessene Heideboden: St. Johann und St. Peter” by Rudolph Kleiner published in 1993 in Vienna and is my personal translation and summarization of its content. From the Roman period of occupation to the coming of the Magyars, the…
The Heideboden
The Heideboden The Heideboden is located partially in the present day Sopron and Moson Counties in Hungary and the state of Burgenland in Austria. It covers the general area between the Neusiedler Sea and the Danube River as it flows south from present day Bratislava that was previously known as Pressburg. The designation itself…
Zanegg in the Heideboden
The following article is based on: Das War Zanegg, the Heimatbuch of Zangegg in Moson County (Weisselberg) in Western Hungary by Johann Neuberger published in May of 1989 and is my own translation. Currently the name of the village is Mosonszolnak and it is located 30 kilometres east of the Neusiedler See; 70…
Final Phase of the Counter Reformation in Hungary
The following article is based on several chapters of History of the Lutheran Church in Hungary by Mihaly Bucsay and is my translation of the original German. As a result of the Landtag (Translator’s note: An assembly of nobles, higher clergy and representatives of Royal Free Towns in Hungary to enact laws and…
Family Names in Kaltenstein
Kaltenstein was among the Heidebauern villages on the Ungarisch-Altenburg Domain that once belonged to Queen Maria of Hungary, the widow of Louis II who lost his life and the Kingdom of Hungary at the Battle of Mohács against the Turks. It was also one of the six Heidebauren communities where Lutheranism survived. Today the community…
Heidebauern in Zurndorf in the Heideboden
There is little known of Zurndorf’s prehistory. The first documentation of this Heidebauern community as a market town first appears in 1207. The names of landholders in 1546 included: Gleichentheill Grummensteiner Teutscher Strobner Rueprecht Fleischacker Druffet Vischer Reissner Lohmer Strobbl …