The first settlers in Bikacs arrived much earlier than officially reported in 1735-1736 and unlike other settlements in Tolna County it was the only totally Heidebauren community both from its inception and for most of its history. The origins of this group of settlers were from the Counties of Vas, Moson and the…
Gross Sackel v.s. Limburg Stirum
Nagyszekeley (Gross Säckel) was a village situated on the Domains of Simontornya owned by the Counts Limburg Stirum since 1700. The first settlers who established it were Reformed/Calvinist Hungarians. In the Tax Conscription Lists of 1728 they were still identified as hereditary serfs. The first German settlers to arrive were Lutherans. In 1728…
The Lutheran Reformation in the Zips and Slovakia
The regular commercial and religious communication between the German cities of Slovakia and their motherland led to the rapid spread of the Reformation in northern Carpathia. In 1521, Martin Cziriak of Leutschau studied in Wittenberg, and in the same year the Hungarian nobleman Stephen Verböczy was a witness to Luther’s refusal to recant…
Book Resources for Swabian Turkey
Bátaszék, Heimatbuch der Grossgemeinde Bátaszék im Komitat Tolnau (Ungarn) by Johannes Göbelt, Pécs (Two volumes) Bikács, Unsere Heimat 1736-1986 by Mathias Schmausser, 1986, Ostelsheim. Bonyhádvarasd/Warasch, Heimatbuch by Andreas M. Patton, 1995 Budapest. Branau/Baranya, Unvergessene Heimat by Mathias Volk, 1985, Karlsruhe. Cikó, Ein Heimatbuch über die Ortsgeschichte unsere Dorfes in Ungarn, by Andreas Reder published…
Hessian Emigrants to Hungary
(From the book by Stefan Stader: Auswanderer im 18. Jh. Nach Südosteuropa.) Bitz Michael from St. Leon; 1748 to HungaryFischer Josef from Deidesheim; 1723 to HungaryFischer Jacob from Bous; 1724 to HungaryFischer Johann from Wustweiler, 1750 to Pest, Hungary (From the book by Anton Reimann: Auswanderungen aus Hessischen Territorien nach Südosteuropa) Bitz Peter, farmer from Altenmittlau/District…
Helpful Hints in Researching Tolna County
Alsonana, Tolna County This community was settled by German Lutherans from Hesse most of whom had settled previously in other communities in Tolna County. The earliest records associated with the families of this community can be found in the Roman Catholic Church Records in Batászék, Tolna County as early as 1762. There were also…
Helpful Hints in Researching in Baranya County
The German settlers in Baranya who were of a Lutheran or Reformed background tended to settle in the northern tier of the County clustered along the border with Tolna County from where the vast majority of them had first settled on arriving from Hesse. In most cases they were first or second generation descendants…
Tofü
This article is based on “Tofü: The First German Settlement On the Eszterházy Domains” from: “Franken und Schwaben in Ungarn” by Heinrich Kéri and translated by Odis. A. Schlösser. The circumstances around the settlement of the small village of Tofü in Baranya County by settlers from Germany and the time when it took…
The Settlement of the Village of Majos
(This article on the the settlement of the village of Majos in Tolna County in the 18th century is a translation by Henry A. Fischer from portions of the Heimatbuch written by Heinrich Marz.) The expulsion of the Turks from Hungary under the leadership of Charles of Lorraine and the Bavarian Prince Max…
The Settlement and Colonization of Kalaznó
(From: Franken und Schwaben in UngarnBy: Heinrich Kéri) Translated by:Odis A. Schlösser In the County Archives of Tolna, included with the tax collector’s documents, there are two pages with the names of the first settlers in Kalaznó. They were probably written by a villager who knew the people involved because his handwriting is rather…