EISENSTADT, THE HUNGARIAN ROOTS OF BURGENLAND

The Grandma waits for Joseph at Eisenstadt Station

The Grandma is in Eisenstadt, the capital of Burgenland. After assisting to The Vienna New Year's Concert yesterday, she travelled to this beautiful and lovely town where she has joined Joseph de Ca'th Lon, who has arrived by train. Two years ago, The Grandma visited Vienna and she also arrived by train, by The Orient Express.

The Grandma and Joseph are going to visit Eisenstadt, the first stop in their Austrian tour, where they are going to join Claire Fontaine, Tonyi Tamaki and Tina Picotes during the next days.

Before receiving Joseph, The Grandma studied a new lesson of her Elementary Language Practice manual (Grammar 61).

 More information: Adverbs-Formation and Position

Eisenstadt, in Hungarian  Kismarton, in Croatian Željezni grad, Željezno, and in Slovene, Železno, is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It had a population of about 14,241 in 2016. In the Habsburg Empire's Kingdom of Hungary, Kismarton (Eisenstadt) was the seat of the Eszterházy Hungarian noble family. The composer Joseph Haydn lived there as Hofkapellmeister under Esterházy patronage.

Eisenstadt lies on a plain leading down to the river Wulka, at the south foot of the Leitha Mountains, about 12 kilometres from the Hungarian border.

Joseph walks across Eisenstadt streets

The present city name, meaning Iron City, was first recorded in 1118 as castrum ferrum and refers to the history of iron mining and iron trade in the area. The first written mention of the town took place in 1264 as minor Mortin, matching the Hungarian name, Kismarton, which is recalling Saint Martin, the patron saint of the main church.

Archeological finds prove that the Eisenstadt area was already settled in the Hallstatt period. Celts and Romans settled somewhat later. During the Migration Period, the area was settled by different Germanic tribes and the Huns. Around 800, during the reign of Charlemagne, settlement by the Bavarii began.

The fortress built on the original earth works was destroyed by the troops of Margrave Leopold III of Austria. In 1241, it was destroyed by the Mongol invaders. In 1373, the town came into the possession of the Kanizsai family, who rebuilt the walls surrounding the town and built a fortress at the site of the present day castle between 1388 and 1392. In 1388, Eisenstadt was given the right to hold markets by Emperor Sigismund.

More information: Eisenstadt-Leithaland

From 1440 Archduke Albert VI of Austria held the town as collateral for a loan. In 1451, Matthias Corvinus ceded it to Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor in return for the Holy Crown of Hungary. Matthias Corvinus reconquered it by force in 1482, but Maximilian I acquired it again in 1490. It remained under Habsburg rule until 1622; however, the Ottoman Empire briefly conquered Kismarton in 1529 and 1532 during their advances on the city of Vienna. It was destroyed by fire in 1589.

The Grandma & Joseph visit Eisenstadt

In 1648, it passed under the rule of the Esterházy family. These Hungarian princes permanently changed the face of the city due to their extensive construction, especially on their castle, Schloss Esterházy. 

During this period, the city was captured by the army of Imre Thököly in 1683, and it saw the defeat of the rebel kuruc army of Sándor Károlyi by the Habsburgs in 1704. It was again destroyed by fire in 1776.

The appointment of Joseph Haydn as the prince's Hofkapellmeister, court orchestra director, composing and performing music, began the great artistic period in the city's history. In 1809, Eisenstadt was occupied by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars; in 1897, it was joined to the railway network.

More information: Burgenland

Until the end of World War I, it was the seat of Kismarton district in Sopron county in the Kingdom of Hungary. Without plebiscite, the city and the entire Hungarian territory of Burgenland, with the exception of the city of Sopron where the only plebiscite was held, was annexed to Austria by the Saint-Germain and Treaties of Trianon in 1921.

Since 30 April 1925, Eisenstadt has been the seat of the Burgenland state government and thus the state capital. During World War II, Eisenstadt was heavily bombarded.

On 2 April 1945, it was captured by Soviet troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in the course of the Vienna Offensive, and the city remained under Soviet occupation until 1955. In 1960, Eisenstadt became the see of its own Roman Catholic diocese.

More information: Austria

 I was cut off from the world.

There was no one to confuse or torment me, 

and I was forced to become original.

Joseph Haydn