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)

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)