Eisenstadt
Eisenstadt (
Hungarian Kismarton,
Croatian Željezno) is a
city in
Austria, the state capital of
Burgenland. It has a population of about 11,334 (2001).
In the
Habsburg monarchy, Eisenstadt/Kismarton was the seat of the
Esterházy 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 mountain range known as the
Leithagebirge, about 12 km from the
Hungarian border.
The city is divided into four districts:
* Oberberg
* Unterberg
* Kleinhöflein
* St. Georgen
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
Leopold III, Margrave 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.
In
1445 Archduke
Albert VI acquired the town. In
1451 it was ceded to
Frederick III by
Matthias Corvinus in return for the Hungarian crown.
Matthias reconquered it by force in
1482, but
Maximilian I acquired it again in
1490. It remained under
Habsburg rule until
1622. In
1529 and
1532 the
Ottoman Empire conquered Eisenstadt with their advance on the city of
Vienna (see
Ottoman wars in Europe). It was captured by the army of
Thököly in
1683, and it saw the defeat of the
kuruc army of
Sándor Károlyi by the
Habsburgs in 1704. A royal town since
1648, it was destroyed by fire in
1589 and
1776.
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. The appointment of
Franz Josef Haydn as the prince's
Hofkapellmeister (high chapel master, 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.
Until the end of
World War I, it was the seat of Kismarton county in the
Kingdom of Hungary. In
1921, by the
Treaties of Trianon and
Saint-Germain it became part of Austria along with the rest of
Burgenland. Since
30 April 1925, Eisenstadt is seat of the Burgenland state government and thus the state capital. During
World War II, Eisenstadt was heavily bombarded. In
1945, it was occupied by the
Red Army, and the city remained until
1955 under Soviet occupation. In
1960, Eisenstadt became the see of its own
Roman Catholic diocese.
The current
mayor of Eisenstadt is Ing. Peter Nemeth,
ÖVP.
The district council is composed as follows (as of 2002):
*
ÖVP: 19 seats
*
SPÖ: 7 seats
*
Die Grünen: 2 seats
*
FPÖ: 1 seats
Eisenstadt hosts a Haydn festival, the Haydnfestspiele.
Museums
* Haydnmuseum (dedicated to
Franz Josef Haydn, who lived in the building between
1766 and
1778).
* Landesmuseum (regional museum)
* Österreichisches Jüdisches Museum (Austrian Jewish Museum)
* Diözesanmuseum (museum of the local Roman Catholic diocese)
* Feuerwehrmuseum (fire department museum)
Religious edifices
* Bergkirche, Haydn's tomb
* Domkirche, late Gothic former military church, began in
1460* Franziskanerkirche (Franciscan church), built in
1629, contains the crypt of the Esterházy family
* Jewish synagogue
Castles and palaces
*
Schloss Esterházy and Schlosspark: the Esterházy castle and park
*
Gloriette: the former Esterházy hunting lodge
Buildings
* Haydn mausoleum
* Rathaus (city hall)
* Pulverturm (lit. "Powder tower")
*
Bad Kissingen (
Germany)
*
Colmar (
France)
*
Lignano (
Italy)
*
Shido (
Japan)
*
Sopron (
Hungary)
Natives
*
Moriz Benedikt, Austrian neurologist; born at Eisenstadt
*
David ben (Judah) Loeb Berlin, rabbi [
1]
*
Pál Eötvös, Hungarian novelist, born
April 2,
1758 * members of the
Esterházy family
*
Gyula Farkas (linguistic scientist)*
Andreas Ivanschitz*
Josef Hyrtl* count
Siegfried Kollonich, Austrian general; born
February 22,
1572*
Adolph Machlup, Hungarian merchant and philanthropist; born
1833*
Maria Perschy*
Martin Vukovich*
Joseph Weigl I & II, musician
Other residents
*
Simon Bacher, studied at yeshivah under
Moses Perles*
Moriz Benedikt, Austrian neurologist (
JE)
*
Samuel Löw Brill, rabbi and Talmudical scholar; born in Budapest; attended yeshivah
*
Akiva Eger the Younger (Akiba ben Moses Guens) German rabbi and champion of Orthodoxy; born here
*
Moses Fischer, Austrian rabbi; born at Prague about 1756; died in Eisenstadt , Hungary, about 1833 [
2]
*
Adolf Frankl-Grün, rabbi; born at
Ungarisch-Brod, Moravia; received his education in Eisenstadt[
3]
*
Joseph Haydn, musician, born on
Rohrau*
Azriel Hildesheimer, German rabbi, founder of
Torah im Derech Eretz; in 1851, he was called to the rabbinate of Eisenstadt
*
Markus Horovitz, German rabbi and historian; born March 14, 1844, in
Ladány, pursued his rabbinical studies at the yeshibot
*
Johann Nepomuk Hummel, musician
*
Adam Liszt, musician, father of
Franz Liszt*
Leopold Löw, born at
Czernahora, Moravia, studied at the yeshibot of Eisenstadt
*
Leopold Löwenstein, rabbi; born in
Gailingen; studied at yeshivah
*
Siegmund Maybaum, rabbi, received his education at the yeshibot of Eisenstadt
*
Mordecai Mokiach, "pseudo"-
Messiah, born in Alsace
*
Robert Musil, author
*
Ignaz Pleyel*
Raphael Nathan Rabbinovicz, Lithuanian talmudical scholar; lived there
*
Emanuel Schreiber (
German-language article), rabbi
*
Fritz Spiegl*
Max Emanuel Stern, Hungarian Hebraist; born at
Presburg; appointed principal of the Yiddish school at Eisenstadt [
4]
*
Isaac Hirsch Weiss, talmudist and historian of literature; born at
Gross Meseritsch, Moravia; studied at yeshivah
*
Samson Wertheimer, rabbi
*
Aaron Wise, rabbi, born at
Erlau, studied at yeshivah; the father of Stephen Samuel Wise
The Eisenstadt family
A prominent Jewish family takes its name from this city. Among its notable members are:
*
Shmuel Eisenstadt Israeli sociologist
*
Alfred Eisenstaedt*
Meir Eisenstadt*
Stuart E. Eizenstat (b.1943)
*pedigree of
Ash [
5]
See also Eisenstadt (family)* This article draws heavily on the
corresponding article in the German Wikipedia, accessed on several occasions in March–April 2005, and from the
Kismarton article in the Hungarian Wikipedia from June 2006.
*
Official site (in German)
*
Eisenstadt on the official Burgenland site (in German)
*
Österreichisches Jüdisches Museum (Austrian Jewish Museum); site expected to relaunch soon
*
Schloss Esterházy (Esterházy Castle)*
Haydn festival (mostly in German, some English-language content)
*
Fachhochschul-Studiengänge Burgenland Technical university. In German.
*
"Iron City", Eisenstadt page for young adult activities, in German.
*
Eisenstadt v. Baird
