A Lesson In Creativity – Understanding Burgenland (The Lost Lands #51)

Burgenland is like the person who gets invited to dinner and the guests forget they are there. After the meal is finished someone out of politeness finally asks them a question and is perplexed by the answer. The guests mutter to themselves, “what are they doing here?” No one answers and everyone goes back to ignoring them. Burgenland is the unexpected guest who is happy to never call attention to themselves. It does not ask for attention and affirmation. Burgenland is one of those places that does not make sense and somehow still does. It is the Austrian equivalent of the middle of nowhere. And for me, nowhere is the place to go.

Ideal setting – District of Oberwart in Burgenland (Credit: Zeitblick)

Becoming Burgenland – Bordering On War
Burgenland’s creation was improbable. I find that to be one of its most attractive traits. The phrase, “you can’t make this stuff up” comes to mind.  As a province, Burgenland never existed prior to the birth of Austria. It was cobbled together from the counties of Moson, Vas, and Sopron that had been in the Kingdom of Hungary. The name was contrived and to a certain extent so was its territory, but there was a certain logic to its creation. Two-thirds of the inhabitants in the 1910 Austro-Hungarian census of the region that would become Burgenland were German speakers. They were the descendants of ethnic Germans who migrated to the area in several waves over the previous 500 years. Putting them in Austria was logical. Hungary was not happy with the creation of Burgenland. They were in no position to do much about it, but that would not stop some nationalists from trying.

Burgenland became another of the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders. This was grudgingly accepted, but a backlash led to an uprising in West Hungary. The result would be Hungary gaining the city of Sopron and its outlying area through a plebiscite. The rest of Burgenland would remain as the eastern extremity of Austria. Burgenland would become a borderland in more ways than one. How many provinces can say that they share a border with three different countries, two of which – Slovenia and Slovakia – have a shorter existence than Burgenland. Like many borderlands, Burgenland was also a source of conflict during its birth. Two failed states arose there after World War I, the Republic of Heinzenland and Lajtabansag (Banate of Leitha). Burgenland might have been a backwater, but many of the inhabitants felt the land was worth fighting for.

Putting together the pieces – Burgenland’s Districts

Flip Sides – Going In Reverse
On a map, Burgenland looks like it was thrown together from disjointed parts grafted onto each other.  There is a symmetry to this that involves a geographical role reversal. Burgenland was the flip side of the same coin for Austria and Hungary. It was the westernmost part of the Kingdom of Hungary before it then became the easternmost extent of Austria. For the longest stretches of its history, Hungary administered the region, but Hungarians were never the majority ethnic group. In the early 20^th century, ethnic Germans outnumbered Hungarians eight to one. Astonishingly, ethnic Croatians also outnumbered Hungarians by almost two to one. Hungarians either owned large-landed estates, acted as border guards or were bureaucrats. This meager Hungarian presence made Burgenland an easy grab for the treaty makers as they created Austria. While this ended up working out, it is hard not to feel that there was a make it up as you go mentality.

Burgenland has a strong north-south orientation (166 kilometers) and a weak east-west one. It is much longer than it is wide. A traveler who wants to keep within the borders will inevitably find themselves going either north or south. The slenderest portion of the province is only five kilometers in width. That narrowness has presented problems in the past. During the Cold War, trains heading either north or south at one point would cross into Hungary. The doors were sealed so no one could leave the train while it transited this Iron Curtain corridor. Today, that is no longer a problem since Austria and Hungary are both in the Schengen Zone. I know from experience that it is easy to get around Burgenland despite its strange geography. It is helpful to remember that Burgenland’s shape was the product of a peace conference. That makes it easier to understand why it looks so strange on a map. This can be of benefit to the traveler.

Gloom & room – Courtyard at Burg Lockenhaus (Credit: Monyesz)

Casting Shadows – Gloom & Room
There are very few places with such a long and unique history that a traveler can cover in a couple of days or less. Burgenland is one of them. Driving the entire province from north to south takes as little as three hours. For those who want to see more, nothing is ever far off the beaten path. A comprehensive trip can cover Burgenland’s seven districts in less time than it takes to visit three or four museums in Vienna. It is bound to be more relaxing. Burgenland may be Austria’s smallest province, but it is also the least populated. Time moves to the rhythm of rural life. This allows for visiting the most important historic places at a leisurely pace. There are a couple of can’t miss castles for very different reasons. These are Burg Forchtenstein and Burg Lockenhaus. The former is associated with the Esterhazy’s, the pro-Habsburg Hungarian noble family par excellence whose splendid palace also adorns Eisenstadt.  

Lockenhaus casts a much darker historical shadow as it is one of Elizabeth Bathory’s old haunts. Putting her name with the place is bound to get attention as the infamous Blood Countess was reputedly the worst female serial killer in history, though that is open to debate. After contemplating Bathory’s exploits, everyone is bound to need a break. Burgenland’s diverse landscapes provide that. In the north, flat and rolling farmland predominates. The further south one travels, the hillier and more forested the terrain. Forchtenstein feels positively gloomy, perched on an outcropping of dolomite. In the southern reaches of Burgenland lies the warmest area of Austria. Positively balmy compared to the country’s Alpine areas. By this point, the traveler should have a good understanding of Burgenland’s geography and an idea of its history. Few travel the length of this lost land, but those who do will never forget it. Burgenland is nothing if not memorable. If only more people knew that.

Click here for: A Tale of Political Adventure – Heinzenland (The Lost Lands #52)

Itinerary Traveler – Burgenland By Way Of Comparison (Lost Lands #50)

Austria may be repressively pristine, but it is a traveler’s dream if they can afford it. This makes Burgenland the easiest of the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders in which to travel. There is safe and reliable public transport. For anyone with their own vehicle, the roads are in excellent condition. Accommodation is plentiful, and infrastructure throughout Burgenland is top notch. Historic sites are well done, with exhibits in multiple languages. Though the landscape is nowhere near as stunning as the alps, Burgenland’s pastoral beauty is pleasing to the eye. If this all sounds like an advert for visiting Burgenland, well that is just the way Austrians like it. The province might not be perfect, but Austrians have tried and succeeded in making the visitor experience memorable. It is impossible not to compare this with the other lost lands, which are not nearly as refined. This is part of their allure, but it does have drawbacks. 

Rising to the sky – Rainbow in Neusiedler See-Seewinkel National Park
(Credit: Leander Khil)

Tripping Out – Pressed For Time
The largest portion of the lost lands is in Romania. They are so vast that one could spend a lifetime exploring them. That sounds wonderful, but the traveler is always pressed for time. Shrinking an itinerary down to something more doable will still result in having to cover a large swath of territory on either trains or buses that often do not run on time. The alternative is driving in a country with substandard roads and aggressive drivers. That is still the preferred option for the adventurous. Transylvania, Szekelyfold (part of Transylvania), Timișoara (Temesvar) and Oradea (Nagyvarad), are the four best places to understand the lost lands. I visited each of them over a seven-year period and still did not do them justice. Taking a trip to all four in the same journey would be an exercise in exhaustion and superficiality. The lost lands in Romania require multiple trips to see the most important sites and gain a thorough understanding of their history. Unfortunately, most travelers do not have the time, patience or curiosity needed to pull this off.

Slovakia has the second largest amount of territory that Hungary lost in the Treaty of Trianon.  Slovakia’s Hungarian population lives in the southern part of the country. That makes visiting the lost lands on a single trip easier than Romania, but it still be a daunting task. Bratislava (Pozsony) and Kosice (Kassa) – Slovakia’s two biggest cities – are the ones most important to Hungarian history and understanding the Treaty of Trianon. The two cities are on opposite sides of a mountainous country. Between them there is the Spis region which has been influenced by Hungarians. It should not be missed, both for its history and spectacular beauty. To give the lost lands in Slovakia their due diligence takes at least two trips. 

Timeless scene – Vineyard and house in rural Burgenland (Credit: Michellethewise)

Balkanization – Going Remote
Serbia’s lost lands can be done in a single trip. Most of the traveler’s time will be spent in Subotica and Sombor rather than exploring a flat and mostly featureless agriculture landscape. Slovenia’s Prekmurje region is a rural outlier with a small ethnic Hungarian population. There are few notable sites, and none of these attract a great deal of attention. On the other hand, there are few more illuminating experiences than spending time in rural villages frozen between past and present. This is how most Eastern Europeans used to live and some still do. The lost lands in Ukraine are remote geographically and geopolitically. Located in the shadow of the Carpathian Mountains, few foreign visitors ever make it there.  Because Ukraine is currently defending itself against Russian aggression in the largest war in Europe since 1945, travel in the region is difficult. That is nothing new. This is one of the poorest areas in Ukraine with infrastructure to match. The Hungarian influence is notable in a few places, but nothing that would detain the traveler for more than a single trip.

Croatia is another outlier. It enjoyed more autonomy than other areas of the Kingdom of Hungary. The intertwined relationship between Croatians and Hungarians stretches back to the Middle Ages. This connection moderated much of the Hungarian rancor caused by Trianon in the other lost lands. Croatia went quietly. The parts of Croatia with Hungarian influence are not those found in popular images sold to western tourists. The Dalmatian coastline could not be further from eastern Croatia and the region of Slavonia. Working the land was as important in these areas as it was in Hungary. Baroque manor houses that went up after the Turks were expelled from the region in the early 18^th century are worth the effort it takes to get there. The traveler can be forgiven for thinking they have not strayed far from Hungary. The same could be said in different forms and fashions across the lost lands.

The long view – Burgenland (Credit: Grenzlandpoetin)

Charm Offensive – There For The Taking
That brings us to Burgenland. The lost land that does not feel like it is lost at all. Burgenland is just sort of there, waiting to be noticed. It is used to being ignored in Austria, as it was in the Kingdom of Hungary. Why should it expect anything else from foreign travelers? Its fellow citizens are beating the doors down to get there. They have other things on their mind, like Vienna. One of the oddest aspects of Burgenland is how its northern part can be so close to Vienna, and it is still overlooked. If not for the composer Joseph Haydn, would anyone be able to connect a person or place with Burgenland. I seriously doubt it.

Burgenland is the very definition of a place that is neither here nor there. Do foreigners know when they are passing through the province? Do they care? The inhabitants of Burgenland are at home, but no one is knocking. They do not seem to mind being ignored. Anonymity has its virtues. Those virtues are waiting to be discovered. Burgenland could use more wine enthusiasts, birders, Haydn obsessives. history lovers and ethnographers. Burgenland is a land of fascination if you know what to look for. Its subtle delights and rural charms are there for the taking. I can hardly wait.

Click here for: A Lesson In Creativity – Understanding Burgenland (The Lost Lands #51)

Secrets & Lies – Doubting Austria (The Lost Lands #46)

I knew this day was coming. I both feared and looked forward to it. Ever since I began developing my itinerary for the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders, one country kept raising doubts in my mind. This country was not one of the usual suspects such as Romania with its bad roads, Slovakia with the speed demon drivers, Ukraine with Russia aggression breathing down its neck or Serbia fueled with fiery nationalism. The country that I doubted the most is the most organized and prosperous. The one that if a vote was taken today, would get voted most likely to continue succeeding. A country that despite the more unsavory aspects of its history is held in high regard across the world. This country is Austria. It might come as a surprise to many, but the nation known for The Sound of Music and Sacher Torte also has a darker side. Just ask its neighbors. The Czechs and Austrians were at loggerheads for centuries. There is still tension between Italy and Austria over the divided Tyrol. Slovenia and Austria fought an armed struggle in 1918-19 over Lower Styria and Carinthia. Last, but not least is Austria’s tumultuous historical relationship with Hungary.

Light and shadow – Schonbrunn in Vienna (Credit: Zyance)

Clever & Duplicitous – Matters of State
Of all the countries that Hungary lost lands to following World War I, Austria is the most improbable. Austrians literally dragged Hungary into what turned out to be a disastrous war. Hungary’s leader at the time, Istvan Tisza tried to resist involvement, but caved in under intense pressure. This put Hungary in a no-win situation. If Austria-Hungary won the war, then it would almost certainly acquire more territory in the Balkans which would marginalize Hungary’s influence in the Dual Monarchy. Dualism could become Trialism with Slavic subjects of the empire as its third ruling component. This was a nightmare scenario for Hungarians who guarded their status as the ruling authority in their half of the empire. If Austria-Hungary lost the war, the consequences would be dire. That is exactly what happened and led to the loss of historically Hungarian lands.

To add insult to injury, the clever and duplicitous Austrians stole a march on Hungary gained what became the Burgenland (formerly known as West Hungary) at their former ally’s expense. Oddly, I have never heard a single Hungarian lament the lands lost to Austria despite the fact this led to an armed uprising. One memorable result of the uprising was a plebiscite where two-thirds of the inhabitants in the city of Sopron (Odenburg) voted to remain in Hungary. Perhaps this small win for Hungary amid all its other postwar territorial losses was enough to mitigate any lingering bitterness. Today, Hungarians share the same starry-eyed admiration for Austria that has made it the gold standard of nations in Europe. This admiration betrays little hint of just how difficult relations between Hungary and Austria have been in the past. A Hungarian once told me they see Austrians as their brothers-in-law, then added, “but we didn’t like them either.” Hungarians have numerous historical reasons to hold grudges against Austrians. They are not the only ones.

Habsburgs over Hungary – Coronation of Franz Joseph I at Matthias Church, Buda

Left Unspoken – Waldheim’s World
The First World War would not be the first, nor the last time, that Austria did better than they had any right to expect from a situation they helped instigate. Statecraft has always been one of Austria’ specialties. Personally, I find something Austria’s duplicitous behavior distasteful. They always manage to get off easy compared to the wrongs they have committed. Austria’s trickery has fooled many others who were not Hungarians. For instance, Austrians have portrayed themselves as victims of Nazi Germany’s excesses. Their argument is that Hitler’s Anschluss was irresistible because of the Third Reich’s military power. Left unsaid is that many Austrians agreed with assimilation into a greater Reich. That was the most expedient course of action at the time. When it was no longer expedient after the Second World War. Austria suddenly became a victim. This volte-face approach managed to seduce the west, which was less concerned about punishing Austria, and more focused on helping it achieve neutrality as a buffer state against the Eastern Bloc. The Austrians used this to secure themselves a peaceful coexistence with both sides.

The essence of Austria’s duplicitous behavior was native son Kurt Waldheim, who first ascended to the position of Secretary General of the United Nations and later to the presidency of Austria. While campaigning for the presidency, Waldheim’s role in Nazi atrocities leaked out. This included a stint at the Jasenovac concentration camp in Yugoslavia where he denied knowledge of the horrific crimes against humanity that took place there. The most remarkable aspect of Waldheim’s amnesia was not his cynicism, but that the rest of the world had been gullible (or culpable) enough to believe him. This same type of duplicitous behavior continues with the current Austrian government, which remained notably silent about Russia’s war in Ukraine. The not so dirty little secret is that Austria continues to make a mint off its economic connections to Russia. These examples prove that Austria abuses the trust other nations place in it.

Splendor and Gloom – Austria under the cover of clouds (Credit: Thomas Pintaric)

Throwing Shade – From The Top Down
Austria is the one country in my lost lands itinerary that is as much a source of depression as it is fascination. I view Austria as an opportunistic nation that plays by its own cleverly devised rules, or more precisely, malevolent ruses. How they manage to do this repeatedly without ever getting called out is a tribute to their sleight of hand diplomatic machinations. It is not hard to see how the Austrian led Habsburg Empire ruled over such a large swath of central and eastern Europe for hundreds of years. In any deal, economic, geopolitical or otherwise, Austria always finds a way to come out on top. I cannot help but believe that vanity plays a large role in Austria’s influence with its friends and foes. An alliance with Austria is like marrying a millionaire who then demands you pay their bills. All of this throws shade on my journey to the lost lands of Historic Hungary in the Burgenland. That said, there are still aspects of this overlooked part of Austria that I look forward to exploring further in depth.  

Click here for: Split Ends – Neusiedler See’s Inflows & Outflows (The Lost Lands #47)

Consumer Culture – A Place Called Parndorf (The Lost Lands #45)

The town of Parndorf in northern Burgenland is well known for one thing that has nothing to do with the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders. This is a shame because from my perspective the town of 4,800 has a lot to recommend it. Parndorf, Pandorfalu, Pandrof was one of the first things I noticed while researching the town. The first two names did not come as much of a surprise, the third is what caught my eye. Parndrof is the town’s Croatian name. This was evidence that the ethnic Croatian presence in the town is more than nominal. I was able to verify this by locating a city limits sign that had the Croatian name beneath the German one. This is a relative rarity in Burgenland when compared to signs where the second name is in Hungarian. Such details might seem trivial, but I am willing to dig deep to find the multicultural roots of Burgenland.

Parndorf’s Croatian name getting second billing on the sign is a bit of poetic justice that links back to its early history. In those dark ages, the town was named Perun, after a Slavic mythological deity.  Thunder, lightning, rain, and storms were all part of Perun’s powers. Since he came from Slavic lore, Perun fits in well with Croatians. They are the only Slavs of the three main ethnic groups in the Burgenland. The latest Austrian census showed that Burgenland Croatians made up 17% of the town’s population. Visitors to Parndorf have little time to think about this. Though I have not visited Parndorf, I can say with assuredness that the hundreds of thousands who do, have consumer culture rather than Croatian culture on their minds. That is because the town’s star attraction is the Designer Outlet Parndorf. 

Consumer culture – Outlet Mall in Parndorf (Credit: Steindy)

Power of the Purse – Watchtowers to Wallets
Burgenland brings to mind lots of images for me, one of them is not an outlet mall. The opposite is true for the legions of shopaholics who descend on the place each day. Clothes, shoes, handbags, and all kinds of other material objects are their fixation. The last thing they would want to discuss is the ethnic history of Parndorf. History cannot compete with consumerism. It is an intellectual endeavor; the Parndorf Designer Outlet is an emotional one. The differences between the two are easy to discern. History uses dates to establish chronology, Outlet malls use deep discounts to attract the masses. They do a much better job than historians do to get the masses interested in the past. If all the marketing and salesmanship that goes into Designer Outlet Parndorf went into teaching and understanding the multi-ethnic history of Burgenland, the masses would have a greater history of their shared past.

I should not have been surprised that Parndorf had an outlet mall. If there is one thing all western societies have in common it is consumerism. Some areas more than others. Just 25 kilometers east of Parndorf is another large outlet mall across the Hungarian border to Hegyeshalom. I cannot imagine what the thousands of tourists who make the journey from Vienna to Budapest must think when they first cross the Hungarian border and find a large outlet mall. Rather than being aghast, perhaps all they can say is “charge it” in both a physical and monetary sense. How things have changed in less than two generations across this borderland. Travelers to the Eastern Bloc used to be greeted by watchtowers, frozen faced border guards, and eyed with the deepest suspicion. Now they are given an open invitation to capitalism at its finest. The same holds true for Austria which is well versed in a more prosperous version of socialism. This does not preclude their citizenry from spending small and large fortunes at the Parndorf Designer Outlet.  

Croatian connection – Sign of Parndorf-Pandrof

Charge It – The Euro Zone
The outlet mall in Parndorf is both a competitor and compliment to the one at Hegyeshalom. There is enough shopping to go around for everyone since Vienna, Bratislava, and Sopron are all within an hour’s drive. I seriously doubt that when the border between Austria and Hungary was being negotiated at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, any of the experts had an inkling that the area would one day become a hub for outlet malls. It is incredibly ironic that this is a sign of progress. One way of bringing Germans, Hungarians, and Slavs together is by shopping. The latest in fashion at up to 50% off is something they can all agree on. A plebiscite is held each day in Parndorf with consumers signaling approval by voting with their wallets. The Parndorf Designer Outlet is a byproduct of open borders between Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. Nothing stands in the way of shoppers from all three countries converging on it.

Parndorf’s Outlet Mall is strategically placed not far off the A4 motorway. This allows for easy access so everyone can find a bargain. Never mind that outlet malls are as soulless as any group of buildings one is liable to find in Austria or on earth. They are the consumer equivalent of a casino. There is nothing historic about them. Nor will they ever be. Outlet malls are shopped and then dropped. Parndorf’s outlet mall tries to take the concept to a higher level, by using the term “designer.” The stores have high end brands at a deep discount. Sales slogans that allude to the region’s history are not en vogue, but I feel it necessary to offer a couple of options for cost conscious shoppers.  Make money not war and make peace with every purchase. This is the stuff outlet sales are made of.

Unknown Parndorf – Pfarrkirche (Parish Church) in town center (Credit: Jacquesverlaeken)

Deep Discounts – Coming In First
Discovering the outlet, designer or otherwise, did not endear me to Parndorf. The idea of purchasing the latest striped shirt and slacks as I straddle a geopolitical fault line in blissful ignorance shows just how far this part of Europe has come. It also shows how far humanity has fallen. While I decry the banality of the outlet mall, I must admit that it is much better than hot or cold wars. Capitalism has helped tame the region. It is a lot easier to open one’s wallet or purse than dodge bullets. In that sense, Parndorf Designer Outlet is a winner. And let’s face it, the winners are usually the ones who write history. As for the town’s ethnic Croatians, they will have to wait in line.

Click here for: Secrets & Lies – Doubting Austria (The Lost Lands #46)

Invisible Forces – Making A Mint in Burgenland (The Lost Lands #44)

For all my misgivings about Austria, I am still susceptible to its charm offensive. Austrians have a way of making you think everything is perfect even when it is not. I remember one of the first times I realized this was at the Vienna Hauptbahnhof (Central Station). While waiting in line to purchase a ticket, a Viennese pensioner decided to jump the line in front of me. My stunned disbelief lasted longer than it should have. I was confused. Everything I had experienced in Vienna up to that moment was neat, clean and uber organized.

Surely, an Austrian would not dare to cut in front of me for a train ticket. In any other European country except Germany, I would have shrugged it off. In this case, I did the opposite and ordered the man to take his rightful place in line behind me. He acted surprised that anyone, let alone a foreigner, called him out. This was not my last experience with line cutters in Austria. I told myself not to be fooled again. Of course, Austria and Austrians have seduced me several more times since then. The oddest part is that I felt complicit in these affairs. I thought there must be something wrong with me. Austrians were a representation of their country, picture perfect.

Down the road – Rural pleasure in Winten, Burgenland (Credit: Darinko)

Perfectionistic – A Lifetime Supply of Anti-Depressants
I wonder how many Hungarians realize that Austria pulled West Hungary right out from under them. These lands were lost due to the Treaty of St. Germain-en Laye (set Austria’s border) and Trianon (set Hungary’s borders). This inspired a short-lived uprising where Hungary managed to claw Sopron back into its borders. Then the issue was never raised again. The Austrians probably had Hungarians thinking they got a good deal. Anytime a Hungarian crosses the border into Burgenland (formerly West Hungary) they are probably like me, wondering why everything can’t run as smoothly in their own country as it does on Burgenland’s roads.  One of the things I am looking forward to in revisiting the area is the blissfully perfect highways. Ribbons of pavement unwind across rolling hills. It is enough to make me want to let the road, rather than the map, lead me to the next destination. The scenery, while subdued by Austria’s alpine standards, induces a state of trance. There is bucolic, and then there is Burgenland.

The rural landscape is covered with immaculately manicured fields, interspersed with inviting forests. Vineyards climb hillsides, low mountains loom in the distance, castles and palaces await discovery. The villages look as though they were painted yesterday. The effect is like a lifetime supply of antidepressants. Burgenland values cleanliness, order, and thrift above all. A scrap of paper blowing down a sidewalk could be considered scandalous. There is a seductive ease in Burgenland that disguises the mania that lurks behind the perfectionistic streak. It is as though Austrians have done everything possible to hide any blemishes. They must be proud of all they accomplished, even if in Burgenland it came at the expense of those who spent centuries molding the land and townscapes. Today the expenses are paid by tourists. Prior to 1920, it was Hungarians, Croatians, and Jews in addition ethnic Germans. The non-Germans are as much a part of Burgenland’s past as the Austrians who now dominate it. This is hard to see without history or guidebooks pointing the way.

Off roading – View from Oberwarter Strasse in Burgenland (Credit: Funke)

Home Economics – Ties That Bind
The legacy of the Hungarians, Croatians, and Jews that lived in the Burgenland during the early 20^th century can be difficult to discern. Those still living there today are mostly invisible. Rediscovering their lives and legacies is one of the reasons I am putting several places in the Burgenland on my itinerary for the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders. Burgenland offers a unique challenge for anyone looking at its multiethnic past. While the Austrians do nothing overt to disguise that past, prosperity has made the non-ethnic Germans more likely to assimilate. Grappling with the past is harder when the future is filled with the promise of comfort and leisure.

How can Hungarians in Burgenland complain about the region not being part of Hungary when they have won the lost lands version of the lottery? Why would Croatians in Burgenland want to go back to the land of their ancestors when by comparison they are enjoying the good level. Consider that Burgenland has the lowest average GDP per person in Austria at 32,000 Euros. This is almost twice as high as the average GDP per person in Hungary and Croatia. No one is going to raise a banner for revanchism with the kind of pay they are getting in Burgenland.

A thick wallet filled with euros will go a long way in making people enjoy the present and look forward to the future. Hungarians in the lost lands can find plenty to complain about politically, economically, and socially. In Burgenland, they enjoy a livelihood that their ethnic kin can only dream about. All of them must be relieved that Burgenland stayed west of the Iron Curtain. I once met an ethnic Hungarian who now lives in America who told me his father moved from Burgenland back across the border to Hungary. He felt Hungary was the right place for him due to family ties. Then the Iron Curtain descended. His son had made the economically based decision to get out for good. If the man’s father had stayed in Austria, the son would likely be living in Burgenland today. 

Lasting legacy – Forchtenstein Castle in Burgenland was one of the Hungarian Esterhazy family’s castles (Credit: Fortepan – Akos Schermann)

Wealth Management – A Notable Exception
Burgenland is the lost land by which all the other lost lands should not be judged. The province has managed to escape its past. Hungary just happens to be a nearby neighbor with historical ties. Those ties are still strong, but that is because of cross border trade and travel.  Ethnic Hungarians in Burgenland are relatively few. For those that remain, Austria is a welcoming place. They enjoy the benefits of Austria while carrying little of the historical baggage that Hungarians in Slovakia, Romania, and Serbia do. Burgenland has been so good to its Hungarian and Croatian populations that I barely noticed their existence during my first visit. This next visit will be different.

Click here for: Consumer Culture – A Place Called Parndorf (The Lost Lands #45)

Kuruzzenschanze – Tracing A Path To Parndorf (The Lost Lands #43)

One of the most satisfying aspects of travel is stumbling upon something very different than what was expected. Such surprises have a way of upending expectations, and becoming the memory that lingers longest after a trip has ended. One example that comes to mind for me occurred in Vienna, at the Michaelerplatz, a star-shaped square in front of the Habsburg’s most famous royal palace, the Hofburg. That was where I came upon a site so stunning that the surrounding Baroque architecture might as well have vanished. These were the ruins of civilian houses that stood just beyond the walls of Vindobona, a 1,900-year-old Roman Legionary camp.

The rather modest ruins were such a counterpoint to the surrounding splendor that they caught my attention. Such was their age and association with ancient Rome, that the Hofburg looked like a pretentious, distant cousin that was trying way too hard for attention. The ruins of Vindobona turned out to be one of my most enduring memories of Vienna. Every time I read something referencing the Hofburg, I think of the ruins instead. The thrill of that moment is one I hope to repeat no matter where I go in the lost lands beyond Hungary’s border. While researching the next stop on my itinerary, I came across another understated historical scene stealer close to the town of Parndorf.

Losing more than land – World War I monument with Hungarian names in Parndorf
(Credit: Jacquesverlaeken)

Ground Truths – Tracing The Past
Many years ago, I lived in Wyoming, the most sparsely populated state in America. Because of the dry climate and lack of development there are still unique traces of history that can be seen. I was guided by a friend who had intimate knowledge of the Overland Trails (Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer and Pony Express) that pioneers used to travel west in pursuit of land and gold. The path of iron wheels (known as trail ruts) had been carved into the earth by tens of thousands of wagons making the trek. Some of the trails looked as though the pioneers had just passed that way a few hours earlier. The passage of time and human development had only eroded, but not erased many sections of the trail. Following the trail ruts reminded me that history preserved in situ is often more powerful than when it is preserved in a museum. History does not happen in a vacuum. Place is one of its most powerful contexts.

The remnants of the Overland Trails are the Euro-American equivalent of ancient ruins. I was astonished that in a country as developed as the United States such remnants still existed and only a miniscule amount received so much as a historical marker. In Eastern Europe, the remnants of those who came before are usually sculpted in stone. Ruins from Ancient Rome can still be found in Austria, Hungary, Romania, and the Balkans. No matter the climate, stone has a much better chance of surviving the natural and human upheavals of history. Whatever was not made of stone is likely to vanish with very few traces.

Many archaeological sites have been discovered by accident because they either got buried beneath the earth or became an imperceptible part of it until some happy accident of serendipity brought it to light. Much of the fertile land in Central and Eastern Europe has been worked and reworked for several thousand years obliterating earthen traces of history. A prime example is Austerlitz in Moravia. Most of the battlefield where Napoleon won his most famous victory is now farmland. When I visited, it was hard for me to believe that so many men fought a world historical battle on a landscape that bore few traces of the fighting. On the ground traces of the battle had long since disappeared beneath the plow. This is why I immediately think of stone anytime that I hear about historic ruins in Europe. 

Ground truth – Kuruzzenschanze (Credit: Robert Hellinger)

Past Tense – Magyar Monuments
The most prevalent traces of the past that can be found in the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders are castles, fortifications, and buildings. Many of the latter from the 19^th and early 20^th century are still in use today. When Hungarians either voluntarily or forcibly moved from the lost lands, newly dominant ethnic groups moved in to use the existing housing stock. This was especially true in the aftermath of the Second World War in regions like Burgenland that were the scene of vicious fighting. Housing was in short supply after the war and anything that had not been rendered uninhabitable was deemed usable. Other remnants of the ethnic Hungarian presence in the lost lands such as monuments and statues erected during the most intense periods of Magyarization were destroyed or removed so the stone could be put to other uses. There are still a few of these around, but compared to how many once stood, they are few and far between.

Interestingly, one surviving monument in Parndorf was erected after it had become part of the Burgenland. The Hungarian World War I monument in Parndorf lists the Magyarized names of those from the town who died in the conflict. Surviving remnants associated with Hungarian history prior to the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867-1918) are much rarer. One of the rare exceptions can be found stretching from the Danube through the Parndorf area and onward to Neusiedl am See. This is the Kuruzzenschanze (Kuruc rakpart) built by Habsburg Austrian troops to defend against kuruc incursions that threatened Vienna during Rakoczi’s War of Independence from 1703 – 1711. The kurucs were Hungarian (and Slavic) forces from the middle or lower nobility and peasantry. They were fighting to free Hungary from Habsburg rule which was being reinstated with a heavy hand after the Turks had been expelled from Hungarian territory. The Kurucs were aligned with Protestantism and opposed the Catholic Habsburgs and the Hungarians who sided with them. Kuruc forces had also been responsible for uprisings during the Turkish occupation, sometimes aligning with their foes.

Line on the horizon – Kuruzzenschanze (Credit: Josef Moser)

Tracer Fire – Tangible Proof
The Kurucs were a formidable fighting force that was a cross between guerrilla warriors and a voluntary army. They won many victories against Habsburg forces, but never complete victory in war. Their threat was taken with the utmost seriousness. This can be seen in an 18-kilometer section of the Kuruzzenschanze that is still visible and runs through the Pandorf area. That might not seem like much but finding anything of military value that existed prior to the 19th century not sculpted in stone can be an impossible task. The Kuruzzenschanze is more than just a fortification line. It is tangible evidence of the conflict between Austrians and Hungarians that defined the history of East-Central Europe in the early modern period. The evidence of their conflict has mostly vanished, but not in Burgenland.

Click here for: Invisible Forces – Making A Mint in Burgenland (The Lost Lands #44)

I Could Do This Forever – Burgenland: Canvas For Curiosity (The Lost Lands #42)

I could do this forever. From the armchair or preferably on the road. At some point while developing my itinerary for the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders, I became entranced by the idea of spending weeks, months, years, going from one place to the next and finding anything of interest related to the multi-ethnic history of Burgenland. The idea of doing this has brought me to a point of complete intoxication. All I need is curiosity and a map. There are an infinite number of places, people, events, and topics waiting to be explored. A multiplicity of details worthy of investigation in the pursuit of greater truths past and present. Burgenland is first and foremost on my mind at this moment. That is bound to change whenever I step across the next border. The languages and cultures may shift, but my focus remains the same. To experience and learn everything possible while on this ever-expanding journey.

While the history I am pursuing is very old, it is all new to me. I have no prior association with the lost lands other than the few months I have spent in them over the past twelve years. And yet I feel a deeply personal connection with these regions. An intuition that makes my curiosity come alive. The only way I can explain this urgent obsession is to say that it feels like the first time you fall in love. It is unlike anything you have ever experienced before or ever will again. You cannot imagine what it was like before falling in love, and you cannot imagine what it would be like to fall out of that love. You are smitten. Only later do you realize that the object of affection is something you cannot live without. This is followed by the perpetual fear that one day you could lose it all. And that day you will lose it all.

Golden path – Birch trees at a park in Burgenland

Visiting Rights – A Canvas For Curiosity
The lost lands are a vast canvas where my curiosity is set free. While maps make the lost lands look finite, in the mental makeup of those who long to have them back, they go on forever. Officially, they are all the lands Hungary lost due to the Treaties of Trianon and St. Germain-en-Laye. Another, way of defining them is that they are all the lands surrounding the borders of present-day Hungary, and then some. In certain places those lands expand, such as from the Crisana to Transylvania in Romania or from the Danube in southern Slovakia to the Polish border. In the Burgenland, they are a narrow strip of land stretching from the edge of Bratislava all the way down to the Croatian border. Not unlike a defile that empires, nations, and peoples have fallen into. They have spent over a century trying to pull themselves back out of that defile. Try as they might, the force of geopolitical gravity pulls them back down.

Everyone has their limit, but the lost lands do not. Their spiritual existence is much larger and stronger than their physical one. Imagine living in a country that is besieged on all sides by its own past. They get to see their ex being repeatedly ravished by someone else. The European Union has given them visiting rights, but even that has prolonged the suffering. The relationship between past and present never made a clean break. Rather than a fresh start, there is a festering wound. One that no amount of fury, resolve or romanticism will ever cure. Time does not heal all wounds. In the lost lands it has hardened them, except in a couple of unique cases. The most noticeable of these is the Burgenland.

On the border – Map showing the location of Burgenland

The Happy Face – Well Above Average
Burgenland is the closest thing to a happy face that anyone could put on Trianon. All the boxes have been checked by Austria. Minority rights, check. Prosperity, check.  Assimilation and allowance for differences, check. If the ethnic minorities they inherited cannot be Austrians, at least they will be good Europeans. The situation is as good as it will get for ethnic Hungarians and Croatians. The Austrian government implicitly asks nothing more than that they abide by the law, work hard, and enjoy the benefits that the creation of wealth bequeaths to all the citizens of Austria. Why make trouble, when there is none. Go about your business and everything will work out for the best. I doubt many ethnic Hungarians or Croatians in the Burgenland care to dredge up the ghosts of Trianon. Where would they go with historical grievances except back across the Hungarian border. That is a chance few would care to take. This is the paradox of being part of the ethnic minority abandoned by force of a treaty. The country which adopted them was better than the one they were meant to call their own. .

The Austrians made a beautiful world out of the Burgenland. It is also different in many respects from the rest of the country. Burgenland comes with wine rather than beer, castles and palaces that look like they were built for tourists rather than wars, Hungarians and Croatians who speak fluent German and do not mind doing so. Burgenland ranks last in GDP per person in Austria, and the standard of living is well above average. The mountains are low, the forests are tame, the ground fertile. This is a part of Austria that defies its popular image. One where foreigners are few, and the wanderer is left to their own devices. A lost land that no one is looking to recover. These paradoxes and contradictions are sources of exhilaration that inform my latest obsession. I long to make a separate peace with the Burgenland.

The unknown Austria – Water well and thatched structure in Burgenland (Credit: Corradox)

The Outlier – A Breed Apart
I never cared for Austria before the Burgenland. It was a nation that adhered to the straight and narrow. Stiff, stodgy, and snobbish. The finer things in life honed to their sharpest image and then ground down to extreme dullness. Burgenland is a breed apart. Something about it does not feel completely Austrian to me. I suspect it has something to do with the lost lands. A legacy it wears so lightly that it barely ever gets noticed. It is that legacy which is luring me onward to a place called Parndorf.

Click here for: Kuruzzenschanze – Tracing A Path To Parndorf (The Lost Lands #43)

The Places In Between – Journey To Kittsee (The Lost Lands #41)

Twenty years ago on a single trip I managed to visit Havre, Harlem, Inverness, Kremlin, and Zurich all on the same day. These visits occurred over a four-hour period. I did not even need a passport because I was in Montana. As the story goes, when the American railroad baron James J. Hill was trying to decide the names for towns that would spring up on his Great Northern Railway he came up with a novel idea. Hill would spin a globe and whatever place his finger landed upon would be a town name along the Great Northern. This name game was a sales pitch. Exotic place names would help immigrants to settle one of the remotest regions in the United States. The Great Northern Railway made Hill’s vision a reality. The exotic place names still mark tiny towns on US Highway 2 across the aptly named Hi-Line.

I had Hill’s innovative approach to creating place names in mind as I started scouring the map of Burgenland (Austria’s easternmost province) for places to visit. These would be part of my itinerary for the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders. Picking out random spots on the map would help me resist the urge to follow in my own footsteps from an earlier trip to Burgenland. As much as I enjoyed that trip, new discoveries must be made. I want to find places that give me a sense of the region’s multi-ethnic character both past and present. 

Hidden away – Road sign for Kittsee (Credit: Izmaelt)

Hungarian Influences – Searching For Signs
My previous visit to Burgenland left me baffled. I found it hard to believe the region had been part of Hungary only a century ago. Burgenland was so thoroughly Austrian that anyone without knowledge of its pre-1920 history would have believed it had always been that way. There were just a few Hungarian reminders to jog the memory. One was the bilingual road signs with the city, town, or village’s name listed in German on top and below that in Hungarian. I later discovered that there are also some signs that have the Croatian names of towns and villages. What a thrill it would be to find a few of those. Speaking of road signs, they also announced Hungary’s presence by pointing the way out of Burgenland to cities such as Sopron and Szombathely across the border. When Austrians see these signs, low prices begin dancing in their head. A drive across the border for bargain shopping in Hungary happens frequently. Austrians have been known to refer to Szombathely as the discount store.

Another reminder of the Hungarian historical legacy is what I call the Esterhazy effect. The family name needs no introduction for Hungarians. The Esterhazy’s were one of the country’s most famous aristocratic families. They managed to stay on good terms with the Habsburgs by siding with them over the centuries. Sometimes this meant going against the broader interests of the Hungarian people. Staying close to the Habsburgs helped the Esterhazy’s acquire massive land holdings. With their wealth they built castles and palaces, many of which can still be visited today. A couple of the Esterhazy’s most famous holdings are in Burgenland. The previously mentioned Forchtenstein Castle, and the delightful crème colored Esterhazy Palace in the center of Eisenstadt (Kismarton). These are among the most obvious signs of Hungarian historical influences. Finding others requires more detective work.

Destination known – Finding Kittsee

Action Packed – An Inspired Choice
Searching a map of Burgenland for a place to start my journey began by looking beyond Deutsch Jahrndorf, which was the last place I listed on my lost lands itinerary. I had traveled several of the nearby roads on previous trips to Bratislava and the Roman ruins at Carnuntum in Lower Austria. I noticed one road in particular – Number 50 – that had eluded me on those earlier journeys. This road went through the town of Kittsee. I have virtually no knowledge of the German language, but Kittsee did not sound very Teutonic to me. Its Hungarian name, Kopcany. did sound intriguing. That was enough to pique my interest. My hopes were not high for Kittsee, but I had to start somewhere. The choice proved to be an inspired one. For a small town, it had much more going on historically than I could ever have imagined.

Kittsee had been the marshalling ground for a crusader army, the site of a royal wedding, a treaty signing, the meeting place for one of Hungary’s greatest military heroes and a visit from a future Holy Roman Emperor. Kittsee had also been in the path of Ottoman Turkish forces on their way to besieging Vienna. It is common historical knowledge that the Ottoman Turks failed twice to conquer Vienna in 1529 and 1683. Along the way they destroyed Kittsee both times. The Esterhazy’s ended up gaining title to the town. Later, the Batthyánys – another of Hungary’s most exalted aristocratic families – took ownership of Kittsee. Hungarian connections extended into the early days of Burgenland. In the province’s first year as part of Austria, a Hungarian physician and member of the Batthyány family founded its first hospital which still serves today as a medical center in the area. For a town of 3,100, Kittsee packs a historical punch far beyond its size. 

A rich history – Rendering of Kittsee Castle in 1680 (Credit: M Greischer)

Going Deep – Needle & Vein
Kittsee serves as a reminder that the present often disguises the depth of a place’s past. Just because Kittsee gets bypassed by travelers rushing between Bratislava and Vienna, does not mean it lacks interest. Kittsee is an example of Burgenland’s multi-layered history. Do a little bit of digging in a small town or village and the surprises will start cropping up. All of us would do well to remember that there are hundreds of Kittsees in East-Central Europe, The cumulative weight of all that has happened in them serves as a counterweight to the more popular places which dominate historical narratives. We should never forget that there are more needles than haystacks in history. Kitssee is one needle worth sticking in a vein to see what can be drawn out. I will take the Kittsees of Burgenland any day over all the cities such as Vienna that monopolize the past. A town like Kittsee is only anonymous to those who have yet to discover it. 

Click here for: I Could Do This Forever – Burgenland: Canvas For Curiosity (The Lost Lands #42)

Opening The Prison – The Road To Deutsch Jahrndorf (The Lost Lands #37)

I start to feel depressed when studying the early 20^th century demographic statistics for cities, towns, and villages in the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders. Those statistics make me realize how much ethnic diversity has been lost. The frontiers of Historic Hungary were home to a wide array of people, languages, and religions. Those same places today are for the most part ethnically homogenous. While multiculturalism has been all the rage in the European Union for several decades, this is nothing compared to pre-World War I eastern and Central Europe. The early 20^th century was the peak of diversity in Eastern Europe. Villages often had two, three or four sizable ethnic groups. That is no longer the norm. As part of my itinerary for visiting the lost lands, I plan on visiting villages which were once highly diverse. In a few of these, such as Rusovce and Jarovce in Slovakia, and Rajka in Hungary, a semblance of that diversity still exists today. In others, such as Deutsch Jahrndorf in the easternmost tip of Austria, the villages are even more German than they were over a century ago. Before I go there, a lesson in class hierarchy and ethnicity is in order.

In the good old days – At a guesthouse in Deutsch Jahrndorf 1908

Class Consciousness – Together & Unequal
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was called the prison of nations because of all the different ethnic groups subsumed within the empire. These groups lived in close proximity to one another in both urban and rural areas. Each had their own way of life with unique customs and traditions. They had also developed ways of interacting with each other. Coexistence was based upon hierarchy. Aristocracy played a role in the class system, but the defining factors were ethnicity and language. The two were synonymous with one another. They separated the haves and have nots. As might be expected in the Hungarian administered portion of the empire (Transleithania – east of the Leitha River) Hungarians were on top. This was followed by ethnic Germans (Swabians and Saxons), Croats, Slovaks, Serbs, Romanians, and Rusyns. Of course, these are generalizations. A more nuanced view does show some of the complexities. For instance, many Hungarians were still at the level of serfdom. Aristocrats thought they were better than non-nobles though many of them were living on the edge of poverty.

Ethnic Germans in Transleithania were usually more prosperous than other ethnic groups, including Hungarians. Jews, who had been given equal rights in 1867, were the most upwardly mobile. They were skyrocketing into the professional classes. This left the previously all-powerful nobility angry. This would later lead to catastrophic consequences for Jews. Differences in equality caused tensions that threatened to explode and upset the ruling order. Nationalism aligned with ethnicity was incendiary. Hungarians were able to push policies that furthered their status. Every other ethnic group was left seething and striving – often both – for their own nations. This would prove to be an existential threat to the empire. Keeping a lid of nationalism meant the Hungarian ruling class imposed their preferences with a heavy hand. The backlash to this was kept under tight control because Hungarian leaders realized this could lead to the empire’s destruction and the end of their leading role across a large swath of Eastern Europe. They were right to worry because that is exactly what happened at the end of World War I. The ultimate outcome was Hungary losing all but its core lands in the Treaty of Trianon.

A not-so-distant memory – Austro-Hungarian era building in Rajka (Credit: Attila Terbocs)

Escape Valve – The Distant Shore
Another element that threatened to upend Austria-Hungary was technological change. It was becoming harder and harder to keep the peasants down on the farm. Technology was leading to rapid changes in the economy, transport and living standards. Those who could not get ahead due to the strictures of class and ethnicity, could try their luck by moving to the cities for jobs in factories. If this option did not work out, advances in transport allowed them to emigrate across the Atlantic. Emigration abroad was an escape valve that saved the empire from having hundreds of thousands of malcontents. The critical masses needed for a revolt dispersed to distant shores. Those who stayed behind enjoyed less competition and in some cases, greater opportunities. Others sat and stewed, eventually turning to radical ideologies that held out hope for the world to be remade for the benefit of working classes.

Industrialization added to the tinder box as the downtrodden came together to toil in undesirable conditions with few labor protections. This led to the push for worker’s rights and the pushback from conservative forces. If all this sounds like a recipe for revolution, the powers that be could see it coming. That is why they were more than happy to see the lower classes fleeing the empire. The ethnic balance was delicate. Anything that might upset it could lead to a death spiral. There simply were not enough Hungarians in the empire to establish complete dominance over all the other ethnic groups. Furthermore, great masses of Hungarians also emigrated in search of the prosperity that had for so long eluded them at home. A potential solution to all these troubles would be to share political power among all the ethnic groups. Easier said than done in societies that were marked by centuries of inequality. The Hungarians had ruled over Slovaks, Romanians, Rusyns, and to a lesser extent Croats and Serbs for so long that this seemed like the normal course of affairs to them.

Parting ways – Border crossing between Hungary and Austria at Jarovce in 1936
(Credit: Fortepan)

Magyarization – A Negligible Result
The less equal ethnic groups were finding their voice, but the Hungarian government was determined they would only have a minimal say at best. Instead, they tried Magyarization by encouraging, imposing, or trying to force all the other ethnic groups to speak, act, and think like Hungarians, This did not work very well because learning the Hungarian language was too difficult. Many a peasant would say impossible. Plus, all the non-Hungarians already had languages of their own that defined their identity. Trying to force the other ethnic groups to become Hungarians, more often led to the opposite. This goes a long way in explaining how the lost lands of Hungary were lost long before Trianon. The upshot was bitterness, vindictiveness and/or indifference. The latter sums up the experience of Deutsch Jahrndorf where Magyarization. The result was negligible. 

Click here for: One Side of the Equation – Blurring The Lines In Deutsch Jahrndorf (The Lost Lands #38)