Eisenstadt: Burgenland

Eisenstadt (Hungarian Kismarton, Croatian Zeljezno) is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It has a population of about 11,334 (2001). The present city name means “Iron City". The Hungarian name was a diminutive of “Saint Martin".

In the Habsburg monarchy, Eisenstadt/Kismarton was the seat of the Esterhazy noble family. The composer Franz Josef Haydn lived there as Hofkapellmeister under Esterhazy patronage. (more…)

Minorities in Burgenland

Burgenland has notable Croatian (29,000 - 45,000) and Hungarian (5,000 - 15,000) population residing in it. Hungarians are living in the villages of Unterwart/Alsoor, Oberwart/Felsoor and Siget in der Wart/Orsziget. The three villages together are called Felso-Orseg (Upper-Orseg, Wart), and they have formed a language island since the 11th century. The other old Hungarian language island in Oberpullendorf/Felsopulya has almost disappeared today. The Hungarians of Burgenland were “orök” ie. guards of the western frontier, and their special dialect is similar to the Szekelys in Transylvania. Their cultural centre is Oberwart/Felsoor. (more…)

Cultural Life in Burgeland

Even though many medieval architectural and artistic monuments were destroyed in the course of the Turkish invasions, the province of Burgenland is still well-known for its large number of castles, palaces, fortified towers and churches dating from the Gothic (Baumgarten, Gaas, Gussing, Rust, St. Margarethen, Stadtschlaining, Breitenbrunn, Marz) and Baroque periods (Eberau, Eisenstadt, Frauenkirchen, Halbturn, Kittsee, Loretto, Bernstein, Forchtenau). Especially in northern Burgenland many villages devastated in 1683 were rebuilt in the Baroque style. (more…)

Transport in Burgenland

The location of communication routes in Burgenland was determined by the fact that Burgenland was formerly part of Hungary. When Burgenland became part of Austria, the country’s railway system was split in two and partly destroyed when the border was closed in 1945. Accordingly, a railway line was built from Pinkafeld to Friedberg in 1925; thus the Pinkatal valley could be reached by the Aspangbahn railway line; later on, the line was extended via Oberwart and Großpetersdorf to Rechnitz. The railway system of Burgenland is basically dominated by railway lines not suitable for express trains. Northern Burgenland has, however, been integrated into the interconnected transport system of eastern Austria (Verkehrsverbund Ost-Region) by the rapid transit line No. 60 from Vienna to Neusiedl am See, and by two local railway lines running from Neusiedl am See to Nickelsdorf and Wulkaprodersdorf. (more…)

Economy of Burgenland

Burgenland’s economy has been shaped by one major factor: Burgenland’s position as a borderland region. Industrial production, which is generally declining and accounted for slightly more than 31% of the province’s total creation of wealth in 1996, was long focused on the processing of local mineral resources and agricultural products; currently, the electrical and electronics industry (1992: 20.4%), clothing (1992:16.7%) and the food and beverage industry (1992:22.2%) account for fairly large shares in value added, while almost two-thirds are accounted for by the services sector and only 3.4% by agriculture and forestry. However, as a result of structural problems Burgenland’s economy is still clearly behind the Austrian average, as has been shown by its distinctly smaller share in GNP, a high commuter rate and a higher than average unemployment rate (7.5% in 1992 and 9 % in 1998).

Agriculture in Burgenland

Agriculture: Despite increasing structural problems and a recent drop in sales in the agricultural sector, which has resulted in a reduction in the number of self-sufficient farms and agricultural land, Burgenland’s economy is still predominantly agricultural. In 1989, Burgenland’s agriculture contributed as much as 3.24 billions of ATS to the Austrian GNP, thus ranking Burgenland above the provinces of Tirol, Salzburg, Vienna and Vorarlberg. winegrowing plays an important role in Burgenland as compared to the Austrian average. In 1997, vineyards covered an area of 17,048 ha (32.5 % of the total area). In 1997, agricultural land accounted for 48.8% of the total area (forest 30.9%; vineyards 5.4%).

Geography of Burgenland

Location: Located in the easternmost part of Austria, the province of Burgenland has the 3rd smallest area and the 2nd smallest population of the Austrian provinces. Historically and geographically a borderland region, Burgenland is a narrow belt of land stretching from Slovakia in the north, along the Hungarian border in the east, the Styrian and Lower Austrian borders in the west, and south to the Slovene border. The province virtually seems to be split in two (near Sieggraben its east-west extension narrows to a mere 4 km). (more…)

Name of Burgenland

The region wasn’t an independent territorial entity so it didn’t have any name before 1921. Until the end of the First World War the German-speaking western borderland of Hungary was sometimes called Deutsch-Westungarn (German West Hungary). (more…)

Introducation of Burgenland

Burgenland (Hungarian Varvidek, Orvidek or Felsoorvidek, Croatian Gradisce, Slovenian Gradiscansko) is the easternmost state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstadte (towns with a charter) and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east (only 5 km wide at Sieggraben). (more…)

Tourism of Burgenland

Sarted to play a major role in the 1970s. An increase in overnight stays from about 1 million in 1970 to 2,2 million in 1998 was recorded in Burgenland (the number of beds available for accommodation has risen from 10,600 to 21,300). 59 % of overnight stays are recorded in the region around Lake Neusiedl; 24 % in the region around Oberwart; 7 % in the region around Rosalia; 5 % in the region around Jennersdorf; 3 % in central Burgenland; and 2 % around Güssing;.

The municipalities of Podersdorf am See (390,288 overnight stays) and Bad Tatzmannsdorf (442,186 overnight stays) remain by far the most attractive destinations for tourists, with 38% of all overnight stays. Burgenland is mainly dependent on summer tourism, the tourist season starting in May and going through to October. However, Burgenland has recently started promoting high-quality individual and health tourism, which has had a positive effect on winter tourism figures, as witnessed by an increase in overnight stays in well-known spa regions such as the Bad Tatzmannsdorf and Jennersdorf (spa at Loipersdorf)as well as at the new spa resorts at Lutzmannsburg and Stegersbach.

Business Region Burgenland

Burgenland shares the border with three of the emerging economies of Eastern Europe: the Slovak Republic, Hungary and Slovenia. For the investor, locating in Burgenland means being able to enjoy western operational standards while tapping the surrounding eastern markets for their definite cost advantages.
Burgenland itself offers the investor all the benefits of a location within the European Union.

That means the very closest proximity to Eastern European Markets - also through crossboarder buissness parks. Moreover, it offers a well developed infrastructure near to the urban and industrial centre Vienna and three international airports. In comparison to the rest of Austria, Burgenland has low real estate prices and wage costs, and, as a “Objective 1″ region, it even qualifies for additional support measures.

In 1993, despite international recession, Burgenland achieved the highest growth rates for Austria in gross regional product and employment. This was due to in part to the surge in its exports to Central and Eastern Europe. Investors in Burgenland benefit from its good road and rail connections and its access to the Rhine- Main-Danube Canal.

Overview of States and Cities Economy

Burgenland in No. of Districts : 7

Cities : 15

1. Andau
2. Bad Tatzmannsdorf
3. Badersdorf
4. Bernstein im Burgenland
5. Deutsch Schützen-Eisenberg
6. Eisenstadt
7. Grafenschachen
8. Großpetersdorf
9. Hannersdorf
10. Oberwart
11. Oslip
12. Pinkafeld
13. Purbach am Neusiedlersee
14. Riedlingsdorf
15. Template:Cities and communes in Oberwart

Wine and Iron Curtain

Despite Burgenland (especially the area around Neusiedler See) always producing excellent wine, some vintagers in Burgenland added illegal substances to their wine in the mid-1980’s. When this was revealed, the wine export of Austria broke down completely. After recovering from that scandal, vintagers in Austria, not only in Burgenland, started focussing on quality and mostly dropped the production of poor quality wine.
In the summer of 1989, the foreign ministers of Austria and Hungary, Alois Mock and Gyula Horn, ceremoniously cut through the border defences separating their countries.

On July 27 1989, the Foreign ministers of Austria and Hungary, Alois Mock and Gyula Horn, cut the Iron Curtain (in German: “Eiserner Vorhang") in the village of Klingenbach in a symbolic act with far-reaching consequences. Thousands of East Germans used this possibility to flee to the West. Again, the inhabitants of Burgenland received them with great hospitality. Later, this was often referred to as the starting shot of the German reunification.

In 2004, the complete opening of the borders in conjunction with Hungary joining the European Union has brought back the historical denotation of Burgenland being a bridge between the western and eastern territories in Central Europe.

History of Burgenland

Between Hungary and Austria
The first inhabitation of Burgenland dates back to the Stone Age. During the Roman Empire it formed the core of the province of Pannonia. After the battle at Augsburg (955), German settlers started to inhabit the area. In 1043 a peace treaty between Kaiser Henry III and King Aba Sámuel of Hungary fixed the western border of Hungary along the Leitha river. The territory of the present-day Burgenland became the western border-zone of Hungary until 1920, but the majority of the population was always German.

After 1440 Burgenland was occupied by the Habsburgs of Austria, and in 1463 the northern part of it (with the town of Kőszeg) became a mortgage-territory according to the peace treaty of Wiener Neustadt. In 1477 King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary reoccupied, but in 1491 it was mortgaged again by King Ulászló II of Hungary to Kaiser Maximilian I. In 1647 Kaiser Ferdinand II returned it to Hungary. Until the end of the First World War the area was sometimes called German West Hungary (Deutsch-Westungarn). The name “Burgenland” comes from “Vierburgenland” (Land of Four Castles), derived from the name of the four Hungarian counties known as Pozsony, Moson, Sopron, and Vas, in German Pressburg, Wieselburg, Ödenburg und Eisenburg.

Fast Fact of Burgenland

National Name: Burgenland
Land Area: 3,966 sq. km
Capital City: Eisenstadt
Population: 277 586 (2004)
Language: bilingual
Governor: Hans Niessl