Bonyhad: A Market Town in the Tolna The first landlord of the area in which Bonyhád would be located following the liberation of the area from the Turks, was Baron Schilson. His landholdings at Bonyhád also included the abbey of Cikó. His first attempt to colonize his holdings was to secure Magyar settlers from…
Emigration from Somogy County to Slavonia and the US (1860-1914)
(This information was found in a photocopy of a German summary of a Hungarian book that became available to me through contacts in Hungary.) A large-scale emigration broke out during this period and drew the interest and concern of the press, the County officials, economists and historians. The emigration to the United…
The Swabian Lutheran Diaspora in the Baranya
The information on the following villages in the Baranya finds it source in Zwischen Donau, Drava und Plattensee by Franz Teufel and Heinrich Friedrich. Csikostöttös, Ág, Gerényes, Tarró, Tékes and Szabadi. These communities located north of Pécs were settled and inhabited by Swabians and Magyars. The Swabians were Lutheran and the Hungarians…
Nickelsdorf in the Heideboden
The source for this information is from 200 Jahre Evangelische Kirche AB Nickelsdorf published by the congregation. According to the Chronicles of Eindringen the “new faith” as Lutheranism was first called was already abroad in Austria as early as 1521. There were two primary reasons for this, Luther’s connections with the Humanist…
Szarazd in the Tolna
The following information is a summary and partial translation of pertinent sections of the Chronik der ev. Luth. Gemeinde Szárazd im Komitat Tolna Ungarn by Johann Wolf. A Celtic settlement once stood on the site of the future Szárazd and Roman artefacts are also plentiful in the vicinity. In 1259 it was…
Zavod in the Tolna
(The following information is a summary and partial translation of sections of the Heimatbuch: Závod in der Tolna by Anton Mayer.) The village of Závod lies 18 kilometres north of Bonyhád, in the vicinity of Mucsfa and located in a series of deep valleys in this section of Tolna County. The name Tolna…
The Labour Camp at Tiszalok
The following is a result of my summarization and compilation of several articles that appeared in several sources, including Unsere Post that first appeared in the early 1990s. The reason for my interest in these reports on Tiszalök resulted from my conversations with my Godfather’s two sons who were prisoners there; John…
Gerenyes in Baranya County
Gerényes is a small village of with some one hundred and twenty houses, the majority of which were those of Swabian Lutherans (380) while the minority were Roman Catholic Magyars. The two nationalities took turns in electing a Richter. Each group maintained their own language and customs. In October 1944 large numbers…
Tevel in the Tolna
(Summarized from the Heimatbuch by Johann Eppel) The Tolna has been inhabited by various peoples as far back as 4,000 B.C. the early Stone Age. Celtic people settled in the area of Tevel by 600 B.C. and were in contact with Macedonia in the time of Alexander the Great. It became part of Roman…
Pusztavam in Feher County
(The following information comes from the Heimatbuch for Pusztavám.) Pusztavám is located in the so-called Schildgebirge, the central area north of Lake Balaton and north of Szekésfehevár south of the Bakony Forest (Buchenwald). It is one of the few settlements in the Schildgebirge that was established after the expulsion of the Turks…