Potzneusiedl
Encyclopedia
Neusiedl am See (district)
Bezirk Neusiedl am See is a district of the state ofBurgenland in Austria.-Municipalities:Towns are indicated in boldface; market towns in italics; suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.Where appropriate, the Croatian names are given in...
in Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Geography
Potzneusiedl is the smallest village of the Neusiedl districtNeusiedl am See (district)
Bezirk Neusiedl am See is a district of the state ofBurgenland in Austria.-Municipalities:Towns are indicated in boldface; market towns in italics; suburbs, hamlets and other subdivisions of a municipality are indicated in small characters.Where appropriate, the Croatian names are given in...
located on the northern edge of Parndorf Plain
Parndorf Plain
Parndorf Plain also called Parndorf Heath in northern part of Burgenland, alt. 160–180 m, area approx. 200 km², terrace gravel deposited by the River Danube during the Ice Age, situated between Lake Neusiedl and the Leitha Mountains in the southwest and Lower Leitha in the northeast...
, on the southern embankment of the river Leitha.
History
The territory of this village has been settled since the remote past. Numerous archaeological finds from the Younger Stone Age. Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and Roman period testify to it. Graves and remains of Roman settlement above all abundantly represent the latter. The East Frankish King Louis II. the German
Louis the German
Louis the German , also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian, was a grandson of Charlemagne and the third son of the succeeding Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye.He received the appellation 'Germanicus' shortly after his death in recognition of the fact...
Donated the territory of the village then called Lithana to the Bishopric of Passau back in 833.
The name Pozkneuselde similar to the one used now appeared only in the second half of the 13th century - the villages of Potzneusiedl and Podersdorf
Podersdorf am See
Podersdorf am See is a market town in the district of Neusiedl am See in Burgenland in the east of Austria on the shore of the Neusiedler See. It is home to a windmill and lake ....
were founded by the Counts of Poth. The syllable "Potz-" and "Pod-" in those villages’ names are reminding us upon their founders.
The 1529 Turkish raid caused a lot of damage and it had to be re-colonized in the second half of the 16th century by Croatians. The village was in the ownership of the Harrach
Harrach
The Harrach family is a Bohemian and Austro-German noble family. The Grafs von Harrach were among the most prominent families in the Habsburg Empire.-History:...
estate seated in Bruck an der Leitha
Bruck an der Leitha
Bruck an der Leitha is a city located in Lower Austria, Austria at the border to the Burgenland, which is marked by the Leitha river....
. Its later owners were the family Bender and Batthyány
Batthyány
Batthyány is the name of an old distinguished Hungarian Magnate family. The members of this family bear the title count or countess respectively prince or princess Batthyány von Német-Ujvár...
, who included the village in their Kittsee
Kittsee
Kittsee is an Austrian municipality in the District of Neusiedl am See, Burgenland.- Geography :Kittsee lies 32 km northeast from Neusiedl am See, on the Slovak border opposite Bratislava, with crossings into the Bratislava suburb of Jarovce...
estate in the 19th century. It was also the time, when the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
castle and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
factory were built in Potzneusiedl. Although the local infrastructure improved in the course of the 20th century, its industrial traditions did not develop further.
Potzneusiedl, like the rest of Burgenland, belonged to Hungary until 1920/21. After the end of the First World War, the territory of West-Hungary was given to Austria by the Treaties of St. Germain and Trianon
Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace agreement signed in 1920, at the end of World War I, between the Allies of World War I and Hungary . The treaty greatly redefined and reduced Hungary's borders. From its borders before World War I, it lost 72% of its territory, which was reduced from to...
. Since 1921, the town has belonged to the newly founded State of Burgenland
Burgenland
Burgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities. It is 166 km long from north to south but much narrower from west to east...
.
Potzneusiedl joined Gattendorf
Gattendorf, Austria
Gattendorf is a town in the district of Neusiedl am See in Burgenland in Austria.Also known as Rauser to its Croat-speaking minority population....
for some time, but now it is an independent village again.
Castle
The construction of the present castle had been started on the year 1798 and was finalised in 1808. Partly the walls of the castle are grounded on gothic foundation walls. It is a three-wing building with a charming park surrounding it.Until year 1956 the castle had been the residence of the Batthyány
Batthyány
Batthyány is the name of an old distinguished Hungarian Magnate family. The members of this family bear the title count or countess respectively prince or princess Batthyány von Német-Ujvár...
Family (Luise Bathany is buried in the eastern party of the graveyard of the castle). During that time the castle was known as centre of magnificent parties and social events.
From 1966 it has been revitalised as a centre for art and antiques. In 1970 Austria's first Museum of Icons was founded in the castle. It has been renovated continuously. Since 1993 the Potzneusiedl Theater Summer performs in the castle. Since 2001 it is headquarter of the Romanian-Austrian Cultural Institute.