(This article about the resettlement of Gyönk after the Turkish Occupation is taken from “Franken und Schwaben in Ungarn” by Heinrich Kéri and has been translated by Odis A. Schlösser.) Witnesses who appeared before a County Commission in the year 1699 stated that the open prairies of Gyönk, Szabaton, Göszle, Kéty, Tabód and Gerenás had…
The Late Settlement and Colonization of Upper Baranya
(From the book: Franken und Schwaben by Heinrich Kéri, translated by Odis A. Schlösser.) Baranya County is situated east of the Danube, south of the Drava River and bordered in the west and north by the Counties of Somogy and Tolna and the upper tier of the County is officially called Hegyhári járás: the mountainous…
The Inhabitants of Gyönk Settle in Mekenyes 1735
Mekenyes was an uninhabited wasteland after the explusion of the Turks and was designated as such in the Conscription Lists in the 1730s as part of the Eszterhazy Ozora Domains. But there is evidence that it was inhabited by a population of wandering Serbs and Croats. Among the many Serbian names in the County,…
History of the German Lutheran Congregations in the Banat
The contents of this article are taken from “Die Geschichte der deutsch-evangelischen Gemeinden Des Banats” by Hans Walther Röhrig, published in Leipzig, 1940 and summarized and translated by Henry A. Fischer. After 150 years of Turkish rule and following the Peace of Passarowitz in 1718, the Banat came under Austrian control and was…
The Heidebauern Connection
The origins of the later known Heidebauern as a distinctive “people” began after 796 following the defeat of the Avars and the destruction of their Empire in what is now known as Slovakia by Charlemagne. In order to defend the eastern approaches to his empire he built fortresses in the area, which future generations…
The History of Early Lutheranism in Swabian Turkey
This article deals with the early history and development of the Lutheran congregations and Church District of Swabian Turkey in the 18th century taken from: Beiträge zur Geschichte Des evangelischen Seniorats in der Schwäbischen Türkei by Gustav Schmidt-Tomka, published in München 1976, summarized and translated by Henry A. Fischer. (The Seniorat (Church District) of Tolna,…
The Destruction of German Lutheranism in Swabian Turkey
This article is based on “The Destruction of German Lutheranism In Swabian Turkey (Tolna, Baranya and Somogy Counties) by Heinrich Keri and translated byHenry Fischer. During the deportation to East Germany,on the night of May 28th, 1948 my sisterElisabeth gave birth to her son Konrad asthe rolling, packed, sealed cattle cars movedacross Czechoslovakia into an…
Izmény (Part Five)
The Expulsion Protocol XIII of the Potsdam Declaration of August 2, 1945 subtitled: “Orderly Transfer of German Populations” states: “The three governments (USA, Great Britain and the Soviet Union) having considered the question in all its aspects, recognize that the transfer to Germany of German populations or elements thereof remaining in Poland, Czechoslovakia and…
Izmény (Part Four)
Izmény and the War of Liberation (1848/49) On March 15, 1848 the Revolutionaries were victorious in Budapest without any bloodshed that resulted in the declaration of the Twelve Points and a poem by Petöfi. Among other things they wanted independence from Vienna and the Habsburgs. On April 7, 1848 King Ferdinand V (who was also…
Izmeny (Part three)
The Economic Situation in Izmény in the 18th Century In order to describe the economic situation and conditions I would like to cite a very worthwhile overview provided in a Conscription from 1728: “In terms of today’s circumstances the village described above possesses 1 l/2 meadowlands (that is, it is classified as uncultivated but is…