A Two-Day Affair – The Hopelessness of Heizenland (Lost Lands #52c)

Provincial towns are not the standard settings for historical events. At least not in the popular imagination. The most important ones are made to seem like they occurred on a grand historical stage. In castles and palaces, on battlefields, and within major cities that are all larger than life. These are places that match in size and scale an event’s historical importance. The most popular parts of the past are rarely provincial. One of the reasons I fell in love with history was because it was a way to escape from the dullness of daily life in a small town. The idea that history would occur in a provincial backwater never crossed my mind. That belief was a false, and myopic view of history. Perhaps that is why I find it fascinating when I discover a history-making event that happened in a provincial town. Even if the event is more anonymous than famous, the fact that someone took the time to document it in a work of history is noteworthy. I discovered one such example while developing my itinerary for the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders. This one involved the short-lived Republic of Heinzeland and the town of Mattersburg, West Hungary (now Burgenland in eastern Austria).

Waiting game – Mattersdorf in the early 20th century (Credit :Stadtgemeinde Mattersburg)

Future Uncertain – Declaration of Independence
In the final months of 1918, the newly formed Republic of German-Austria worked hard to bring West Hungary under its control. In this effort, pro-German-Austria propaganda was distributed throughout the region’s towns and villages to persuade the ethnic German population that it was in their best interest to join their ethnic kin. The locals were content to take a wait and see approach. This was the most prudent course considering that no one knew what the future would hold with the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s disintegration. The situation was chaotic and liable to change. Local advocates who wanted the region to join German-Austria made inroads with parts of the population. For example, ethnic German children in Mattersburg (Mattersdorf until 1924/Nagymarton in Hungarian) were reported to have tossed their schoolbooks onto the floor and began chanting “We do not want to learn Hungarian anymore.” Hungarian civil servants were also forced to flee the town due to threats of violence.

This was just the prelude to a bizarre and historic event that took place on December 5^th when. Hans Suchard, a local politician and passionate pro-German-Austria advocate, declared the Republic of Heinzenland.  This signaled that those in favor of German-Austria would go to extreme lengths to get their way. At the same time, Heizenland was a ridiculous proposition. The Republic was a political ruse more than a viable potential state. It was a way to move the region towards union with German-Austria. Suchard’s declaration did not have the force of law. Nor did it have any powers other than the ones Suchard and his supporters might declare. There was no upswell of public support for leaving West Hungary. Thus, the supporters of Heizenland would be forced to act on their own. The only way Heinzeland would have staying power was through force of arms. Weapons and ammunition were the preferred strong-arm tactics. To that end, weapons started being shipped into the region. The Hungarians intercepted one delivery. Another consisting of 300 rifles made it to Mattersburg. A showdown with Hungarian authorities looked imminent. 

Sending a message – Postcard from Mattersburg in 1900

A Dangerous Idea That Made No Sense
No sooner did the supporters of Heinzenland begin to prepare for military action than the Hungarian authorities acted. They sent in forces with machine guns and an armored train. This put an end to Heinzenland after just two days. The so-called Republic lacked widespread support. Those who supported it failed to take control of Mattersburg or anywhere else in the region. They were not willing to risk a violent clash for their poorly conceived idea. Propaganda, ruses, and low-level subversion were not going to be enough. This was a political adventure that mercifully ended before anyone lost their life. Faced with serious opposition from the First Hungarian Republic’s forces, the Republic collapsed after just two days. It had been a dangerous idea that made very little sense. Heizenland was over almost before it started.

The Hungarian authorities suspected higher level involvement by the government of German-Austria in the Heizenland affair. The leaders of German-Austria denied any knowledge or involvement with the creation of Heinzenland and distanced themselves from the debacle. There was evidence to the contrary, but Hungary did not pursue the matter for very long. The last thing German-Austria needed was a war with Hungary. Heinzenland turned out to be a small part of a much larger failure. German-Austria’s most important priority was to create a union with Germany. The victorious powers were adamantly opposed to this. The idea went nowhere. Adding millions more Germans to Germany was a non-starter for France and Great Britain.

The Republic of German-Austria soon became the First Austrian Republic. In an ironic twist, West Hungary did become part of Austria. Rather than at the barrel of a gun, it happened with the stroke of a pen when the Treaties of St. Germain-en-Laye and Trianon went into effect. The Republic of Heinzenland was relegated to a footnote in the history books. There was nothing notable about it. Heizenland accomplished nothing other than provoking the Hungarian authorities to take action to put a quick end to it. The Republic had been one in name only. The only notoriety was a lack of longevity. 

Same town, different country – Mattersburg after becoming part of Burgenland

A Bizarre Sideshow
Heizenland was one of several forgettable republics that formed and dissolved in the immediate period after World War I. They either disintegrated or were assimilated into larger states. Mattersburg’s role in the affair was as short-lived as Heinzenland. There were more important things for those who lived in the town to worry about. Heinzeland could not solve Austria’s many woes. It was nothing more than a bizarre sideshow that had virtually no chance of succeeding. Heizenland was the product of wild ambition, political machinations, and impulsive declarations. Combined, those were a recipe for complete failure. Heizenland was soon forgotten, as was Mattersburg’s role in. That is except for a few works of history that document the unhappy history of a two-day Austrian affair.

Click here for: Property of a Lady – Elizabeth Bathory & Lockenhaus (Lost Lands #53)

Behind The Facade – From Mattersburg To Heinzenland (The Lost Lands #52b)

Seven years ago, I drove into the town of Mattersburg in the northern part of Burgenland. My destination was Burg Forchtenstein, a gloomy castle situated upon a slab of dolomite. Mattersburg sits 253 meters below Forchtenstein. I had not given much thought to the town beforehand. Imagining it as nothing more than a place I had to pass through on the way to the star attraction. Winding my way through the neatly kept streets and colorful houses, I felt the allure of small-town life that has been all but lost in America due to suburbanization. Mattersburg was the way I went to remember a town. People with shopping bags strode down the sidewalk, the storefronts were filled with merchandise, park benches were conveniently situated, everything was within walking distance. I was sure gelato lurked less than fifty meters from any place in the town center. What could possibly be better than that. Mattersburg struck me as the kind of place that takes pride in itself. The town was an Austrian version of Norman Rockwell.

I have my doubts about Austria with its oppressive cleanliness, neat freak neuroses, manic precision and people whose silent intensity makes me nervous. What I do not have my doubts about is that Mattersburg presents a pleasing prospect to visitors. I lost myself in a sort of nostalgic revelry for a world that I thought no longer existed and wondered if it ever really did. Mattersburg made a believer out of me. Lost in this revelry were my usual forebodings that a darker history was hidden by the happy face of Austria. I knew that conflict had happened in these small towns, and those events were still within living memory. There were still other similar ones which were not much more than a century old. The pristine image Austria now presents to the world obscures its tumultuous past. Even a provincial town like Mattersburg was not able to escape the maelstrom. In one case, they were at the center of it.

Storm warning – Lightning strikes in Mattersburg

A Bad Marriage – Powerful Versus Pugnacious
I did not learn the post-World War I history of Mattersburg (Mattersdorf until 1924/Nagymarton in Hungarian) until long after my visit. While working on my itinerary for the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders I came across one of those obscure footnotes of history, the Republic of Heinzeland, that keep me up at night. This led me right back to Mattersburg. The town had played an outsized role in an Austrian attempt to sever West Hungary from the newly formed First Republic of Hungary. This was not all that surprising. During the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austrian and Hungarians were bound together in the equivalent of a bad marriage where they stayed together for the kids. The marriage dissolved once the kids left home (the empire’s nine other ethnic groups) at the end of World War I. Austria and Hungary then reverted to exchanging pleasantries while subverting one another. Austria had always been the stronger sibling, while Hungary played a pugnacious role. After the war ended, both were in survival mode. Securing the future might come at the expense of a former imperial partner.

Of the two, Austrians had always been the more conniving. They had inherited this trait from centuries of Habsburg rule. The Austrians knew how to stir up unrest among different groups to benefit themselves. If this included their ethnic kin in West Hungary, they were willing to do it. There were violent movements cropping up all over the former empire after the war. Austria was a terrible mess. Famine was stalking the streets of cities, towns, and villages. Hungary, which had been the empire’s breadbasket may have had more food, but their government was weak. Revolution was in the air. Soldiers had come back from the front and were adding to the chaos. They had been militarized in the trenches. Using armed force had become a way of life. Trying to create some sense of order out of this chaos would have taxed the resources of any government. The ones in Austria and Hungary were also trying to figure out their way forward in a world where they were at the mercy of forces beyond their control.

Deceptive calm – Postcard of Mattersburg

Nation Building – Disputed Territory
The Republic of German-Austria. The name sounds like an expression of the obvious. Instead, it was the initial iteration of what was to become the First Austrian Republic. It consisted of the old Austrian Empire’s Alpine and Danubian crownlands. This rump nation needed all the ethnic Germans it could get. The idea was not to create an independent Austrian state, but to instead form a union with Germany. By doing this, the core Austrian lands would safeguard their future by becoming part of a much more powerful Germany. This made sense because if left as a standalone independent state, Austria would be weak and its territory vulnerable to attack from neighboring states filled with ethnic groups it had once ruled over such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The problem was that German-Austria’s leaders were in no position to dictate a union with Germany to the victorious powers who would decide the fate of postwar Europe.

The victors were not about to allow Austria to team up with Germany and create the kind of formidable German state they had just spent four years and the lives of millions defeating. France and Great Britain wanted Germany weakened so that it could not start another war. German-Austria was already weak. Its leaders saw an opportunity in West Hungary to boost their prospects by taking control of the territory. German-Austria could not afford to get into an outright war with Hungary. Their best bet was to stir up unrest among the ethnic German majority who made up two-thirds of the population in West Hungary. Hungarians were only the third largest ethnic group in the region. (Croatians were second). They would have trouble keeping control if there was a groundswell of popular support for the region becoming part of German-Austria. That was not going to be easy.

Tidy town – Mattersburg

Shadow War – A Surreptitious Setup
The First Hungarian Republic was involved in trying to keep territories on its frontiers from breaking away. To that end they sent officials from the Hungarian National Council into West Hungary to make sure this did not happen. Opposing them was the Westungarische Kanzlei (West Hungary Council) setup surreptitiously by officials in the Republic of German-Austria to lobby ethnic Germans into breaking away from Hungarian rule. Ground zero for this movement would become Mattersburg, the place that was soon to be identified with the Republic of Heinzeland.

Click here for: A Two-Day Austrian Affair – The Hopelessness of Heizenland (Lost Lands #52c)

A Tale of Political Adventure – Finding Heinzenland (The Lost Lands #52a)

When traveling in provincial areas of Eastern Europe, I always get the sense that there is much to these places than I could possibly ever find out. This makes me want to dig deeper, but sources in English are limited. Nonetheless, I am always on the lookout for any information that might be intriguing. Many times, while reading about one thing, I come upon another. This is what happened the other day while I was researching Burgenland. I came upon a stillborn republic that preceded it. I had never heard of this republic before. I doubt many in Austria have either. That is because it lasted only two days.

Happy Days – Mattersdorf (Nagymarton) before the war

Power Vacuum – An Unprecedented Opportunity
Throughout history, ambitious, infamous, and ridiculous people have dreamed of creating their own fiefdoms. They imagine these filled with like-minded people that share the same interests. Such dreams rarely come to fruition. Very few people are willing to act on what they imagine. They lack the agency or will to try and make these dreams come true. Some that would act never get the opportunity. Circumstances that are beyond most people’s control dictate what is politically possible. During times of peace and stability there is very little support for upending the existing social order. Many have tried anyway, much to their detriment. Occasionally, an opportunity arises. Political and societal upheaval due to economic calamity, pandemics, or warfare offer unprecedented opportunities. The ambitious try to take charge and steer the situation in a specific direction that favors them and their supporters.

The headstrong believe they have finally found their moment of destiny.  This often leads to disastrous or ridiculous results. Rarely does it lead to success. History is littered with failed ideas that while they might have made sense at the time to those propagating them, in retrospect they look absurd. A few of these absurdities occurred in the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders during the aftermath of World War I and prior to the peace treaties that transformed the region. Chaos and crisis offered opportunities. Long established institutions of law and order were crumbling. The center would not hold. Austria-Hungary had vanished. A power vacuum developed. Into it stepped political opportunists who declared the Republic of Heinzenland, a short-lived precursor to Burgenland.

Before the war – Postcard of Mattersdorf (Nagymarton) in the early 20th century

Order & Chaos – Crisis Mismanagement
It is difficult to imagine just how chaotic parts of Europe were in the final months of 1918. The traditional narrative of World War I does not do this period justice. In school, I learned that the war ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. That was a pithy way of describing the armistice. The Germans capitulated and the soldiers made their way back home. The leaders of the victorious powers would soon turn to peacemaking and try to make a new world safe from war. Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points would provide the direction. A closer look at history shows that there was a lot more going on in November 1918. The problem with the traditional narrative is that in many places the war may have “officially” ended, but it continued to simmer. In parts of Central and Eastern Europe it had metastasized into all kinds of smaller armed conflicts between disgruntled soldiers, paramilitary groups, communists, nationalists and monarchists. This situation had been provoked by the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The cliché that power abhors a vacuum was never truer as political and ethnic factions vied for control of the empire’s territory. Wilson’s call for self-determination manifested itself in a call to arms across the region. The situation had turned into the geopolitical equivalent of every man for himself.

An apt description of the situation might go further and say that it was every military force and political adventurer for themselves. Each was fighting for their own interests and had political ideas to go with the guns. These ideas came in the form of republics that attempted to bring order to the chaos. The wastebin of this period is littered with regional republics that had very little chance of succeeding. That certainly did stop their supporters from trying. Several of these were existential threats to regions that had been part of the Hungarian controlled half (Transleithania) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These incipient republics undermined the notion that Hungary would continue to control these outlying regions. They were declaring independence and breaking away from Hungary.

From the Hungarian perspective, this had to be stopped. If not, Hungary would lose these lands and the ethnic Hungarians who lived in them would be living in states dominated by other ethnic groups. Furthermore, the breakaway republics were setting a dangerous precedent that others might soon follow. Among the newly founded states were the Republic of Prekmurje in eastern Slovenia and the Republic of Banat in southwestern Romania/northeastern Serbia. These states were small and maintaining their independence would be extremely difficult. They could dissolve just as fast as they rose. The Republic of Heinzenland offers a telling example.

Point of contention – Men on the street in Mattersdorf (Nagymarton)

Breaking Away – On The Verge
In West Hungary, ethnic Germans were two-thirds of the population in the counties of Moson, Sopron and Vas. With regions of the now vanished Austro-Hungarian Empire starting to go their separate ways, it was just a matter of time before the idea took hold in West Hungary. This was an unprecedented opportunity for the majority ethnic group to get out from under Hungarian rule and join their brethren in a German-Austria that was beginning to form. Like other ethnic groups in the empire. they had chaffed at Magyarization policies that imposed the Hungarian language on them prior to the war.

If the Germans of West Hungary acted with speed and decisiveness they could become part of a German-Austria that would better represent their interests. Self-determination was self-interest.  These Germans should probably have been in the Austrian administered half (Cisleithania) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire all along. Now was their chance to set a different course for their future. In November 1918, ideas were afloat for a breakaway republic. In the chaotic political environment, separatism began to spread like wildfire. The situation in the town of Mattersburg (Mattersdorf until 1924/Nagymarton in Hungarian) was on the verge of an explosion.

Click here for: Behind The Facade – From Mattersburg To Heinzenland (The Lost Lands #52b)

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)