Croatian Geresdorf

Croatian Geresdorf ( village ) locality cadastral municipality Croatian Geresdorf
Basic data
Pole. District , state	Oberpullendorf  (OP), Burgenland
Judicial district	Oberpullendorf
Pole. local community	Nikitsch
Coordinates	47 ° 29 '32 "  N , 16 ° 36' 32"  E Coordinates: 47 ° 29 '32 "  N , 16 ° 36' 32"  E
height	238  m above sea level A.
Residents of the village	361 (January 1, 2020)
Area  d. KG	10.59 km²
Post Code	7361 Lutzmannsburg
Statistical identification
Locality code	00211
Cadastral parish number	33023
Croatian Geresdorf (2018)
Source: STAT : index of places ; BEV : GEONAM ; GIS-Bgld

Croatian Geresdorf ( Croat . Gerištof , Hungarian. Gyirot ) is a village in the municipality of Nikitsch in the Oberpullendorf district in central Burgenland . The place is located northwest of Lutzmannsburg about five kilometers from the border with Hungary .

history

The first written mention of the place under the name "Gerolth" goes back to 1156. The German place name “Geresdorf” developed from “Geroltesdorf”, the village of Gerolt. The Croatian form "Gerištof" was probably used since the 16th century.

The place was part of the county of Lutzmannsburg , which was owned by the German knights Gottfried and Albrecht Gösfalvi. In 1329 the village was owned by the Abbey of Klostermarienberg. From 1529–1532, Croatian Geresdorf, now “Gyrolth” and owned by Landsee, like its surroundings, was not spared from plague epidemics and Turkish wars. But precisely these Turkish wars played a decisive role in the further development of this area. The abandoned villages were settled by refugees from Croatia.

The exact date of the Croatian settlement is not known. It probably took place in the first wave of settlements from 1533 to 1545. In any case, the land registers of 1675 and 1690 mainly contain Croatian surnames. The pastors of this time were also exclusively Croatians. In the visitation report of 1674 it says: All 285 parishioners are Catholic and Croat.

The population of Geresdorf lived mainly from growing grain, but there was also viticulture. The farmers were always heavily burdened, especially by the pawnbrokers . They had to defend themselves against the dreaded “long haul” imposed on them, because they represented a high burden for people and cattle. The economic situation was precarious, apparently many farmers were no longer able to bear the heavy burden. In 1864, a land comparison between the Geresdorfer and the former manor was concluded. Overall, the burden that had to be borne by installments in 20 years was very high. The consequences of the "basic relief" were, as in most villages, the fragmentation of property through the division of inheritance. The debt was high, pledging often resulted in the loss of property. In addition, there was an explosion-like population growth. The population rose from around 300 by 1700 to 900 by the middle of the 19th century. So there were only a few ways out: seasonal work and finally emigration or emigration.

During the time of the council government , the dramatic events in Nikitsch (execution of pastor Anton Semeliker) also brought a lot of unrest to Geresdorf. The attitude of the population towards the connection to Austria was not uniform. The pastor Johann Windisch, the sacristan Franz Kirchknopf, the merchant Alexander Krismanits and a few farmers stood up for Hungary. On November 3, 1921, 50 Austrian soldiers came from Lutzmannsburg to Geresdorf. In the 1920s, smuggling across the new state border also flourished in Geresdorf. The increased emigration to Vienna began in the first post-war years. After the basic relief, the Esterhazy owned 60 hectares of fields and 100 hectares of forest . The rulers' fields were merged and farmed from a farm. The Meierhof was leased to a Hungarian sugar factory. In 1931 the building was sold to two families, as were the fields that the farmers bought. The Urbarialgemeinde bought the forest.

The 1934 census showed the following socio-economic structure: The village had 869 inhabitants. 89% lived from agriculture, 3.5% from trade and industry, 2.7% from trade and transport. There were only a few craftsmen in the village, two carpenters, two blacksmiths, a shoemaker, a tailor, a few general stores, four inns and a windmill. Some farmers also ran a horse or pig trade or worked as carters. From 1937 the number of construction and unskilled workers in Geresdorf also increased sharply. The political situation became more unstable. In neighboring Lutzmannsburg , the NSDAP met with increasing approval. On March 10, 1938, the Lutzmannsburg NS organizations undertook a propaganda march that also passed through Geresdorf. The connection to Germany was welcomed with 100% yes-votes. Members of the Lutzmannsburg NSDAP declared Mayor Michael Krizmanich deposed after the Anschluss. The new council was headed by Johann Kuzmich, later Johann Fellinger. The two Jewish families Grüneis and Lederer living in Geresdorf “disappeared”. One of the victims of the Nazi dictatorship was Julia Bancic, who described the Führer as a murderer after her husband fell in Russia.

On September 20, 1944, a fire broke out while threshing , which developed into a major fire. 29 houses burned down completely, another 29 buildings were badly damaged. When the Red Army approached , the request to evacuate the village was issued, but this was not followed. On Good Friday 1945 the village was occupied by Russians. On March 31, an SS unit attacked the Soviet Russians from Lutzmannsburg and threw them out of the village. In the ensuing fight, however, all 60 German soldiers fell, and 15 entrenchment workers were shot by the Russians. Several buildings caught fire, killing several civilians. Two elderly men were killed by collapsing walls. The elementary school also burned down. Then the looting began, in which about 60% of the livestock was lost. Geresdorf was one of the most damaged places in the country. The village had 42 dead and 27 missing. Mayor Andreas Markovich was found shot dead in October 1945. Later there were tensions between Geresdorf and Lutzmannsburg , which accumulated in 1946 in a serious tussle in a pub. The Geresdorfers wanted to take revenge on the Lutzmannsburg National Socialists.

After the war I had to teach temporarily in the customs house. Senior teacher Hafner was decommissioned because he was a member of the NSDAP. Until 1948, teaching was only irregular. In the same year, the new school was finally started. In 1949 the elementary school was opened with three classrooms and teacher's apartments. From 1960 onwards there was second class and from 1975 only one class. In 1991 a kindergarten was opened. Both in school and in kindergarten, great importance was always attached to the use of the Burgenland-Croatian language . There was also a tamburizza group in the elementary school.

In 1974, the Central Burgenland Water Association began building the drinking water pipeline. The Kommassierung was initiated. The number of lots has been reduced from 2406 to 769. The sewage treatment plant was built in 1978 and a flood retention system in 2005. In 2016 a new sewage treatment plant was finally completed and put into operation. The local supply of everyday goods is still very poor.

Despite the declining population, there was and still is a functioning club. An advance fund association was founded as early as 1926. From 1960 the Raiffeisenkasse Lutzmannsburg expanded its activities to Geresdorf and also set up a branch here. A milk cooperative existed from 1927 to 1972. The volunteer fire brigade has always been of great importance in social life. A fire station was built in 1981 and a new one is currently being planned.

Development of the place name

• Gerolth (1156)
• Gerolt (1206)
• Gyrolth (1240)
• Gherolt (1335)
• Gyiroth (1554)
• Gyirot (1591)
• Gerištof (1658)
• Gerisdorf (1730)
• Croatian Geresdorf (1740)

politics

The current mayor is Franz Klemen (SPÖ) . Vice-mayor of the municipality is Herbert Hedl (ÖVP) from Croatian Geresdorf .

Culture and sights

Parish church in Croatian Geresdorf

• Catholic parish church in Croatian Geresdorf hl. Andreas: The church was built in pre-Reformation times. It was originally dedicated to St. Kunigunde . The current church was built in 1795 and renovated in 1966, 1972 and most recently in 2014.

Associations and clubs

• Youth Croatian Geresdorf: The association, in Croatian Mladina Gerištof , was founded in 2018 and has 47 active members.

• Football club SC Croatian Geresdorf: The club was founded in 1969. The current venue is also called the Waldstadion . The football club will play in 1st class in the 2018/19 season . The current chairman is Alexius Biricz.

• Tamburizzagruppe Zelenjaki: The tamburizzagruppe Zelenjaki (German about Die Grünlinge ), founded in 2006, is one of the youngest and largest tamburizzas ensembles in Burgenland. On the occasion of the 850th anniversary of Croatian Geresdorf, the idea of ​​a local tamburizza group was implemented. The special thing about the tamburizza group is their unique program, which includes old Geresdorf folk songs as well as interesting arrangements of Croatian pop and rock songs. The number of members has since increased to over 50 members. The Zelenjaki have had many successful appearances in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia since the club was founded.

• Voluntary fire brigade Croatian Geresdorf: The volunteer fire brigade Croatian Geresdorf was founded in 1890. Your fleet includes a tank fire engine and a small fire engine . Women have also been members since 2017. In addition to various events, the volunteer fire brigade annually organizes a wine tavern, a fire brigade ball and accompanies the Corpus Christi procession. In addition, the fire department's competition group , founded in 2017, regularly takes part in fire department performance competitions. There are currently 39 members. The commandant (since 2016) is Thomas Glavanits.

education

• Bilingual primary school (closed)
• Bilingual kindergarten (closed)

Gastronomy and accommodation

• Teveli Guest House

Trade and commerce

• Car dealership Autohaus Horvath
• Raiffeisenbank Croatian Geresdorf
• Cleaning trade Kuhn (Green Service)
• Taxi company Alfred Keglovits
• Insurance broker Harald Meszarich

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the place

• Ivan Cukovic (1865–1944), b. in Croatian Geresdorf, grew up in Minihof, monk priest, author of Burgenland-Croatian and Hungarian religious literature.
• Agnes Prandler (1927-2013), b. in Croatian Geresdorf, former politician ( SPÖ ) and from 1977 to 1987 member of the Burgenland Landtag.

Web links

Commons : Croatian Geresdorf  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nikitsch municipal office: https://nikitsch.gv.at/stran/geresdorf.php
2. ↑ atlas-burgenland.at - Croatian Geresdorf. Retrieved March 28, 2019 . 
3. ^ Franz Posch, Franz Hedl, Slavko Krizmanits, Heinz Ritter, Ottilia Steiger, Agnes Posch, Andreas Fischer, Verena Fischer: 850 years of Croatian Geresdorf (1156-2006) . Ed .: Municipality of Nikitsch, district Croatian Geresdorf. Croatian Geresdorf June 2006.
4. ^ Franz Poosch, Franz Hedl, Slavko Krizmanits, Heinz Ritter, Ottilia Steiger, Agnes Poosch, Andreas Fischer, Verena Fischer: 850 years Croatian Geresdorf (1156-2006) . Ed .: Municipality of Nikitsch, district Croatian Geresdorf. S. 281 .
5. ↑ 2017 municipal council elections. Accessed March 27, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Dehio Burgenland 1976 , Croatian Geresdorf, Catholic parish church hl. Andreas , p. 161.
7. ↑ Gerištofska mladina osnovala društvo. September 5, 2018, accessed March 27, 2019 . 
8. ^ Associations / Društva - općina Filež. Retrieved March 27, 2019 . 
9. ↑ "The SC Kr. Geresdorf is the meeting point in town for many". Retrieved March 27, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Tamburizza group "Zelenjaki": http://zelenjaki.at/hr/about.html
11. ↑ District Fire Brigade Command Oberpullendorf: Section VII. Accessed on March 27, 2019 . 
12. ↑ Gerhard Baumgartner: DIE BURGENLÄNDISCHEN SPRACHMINDERITEN 1945–1999. Retrieved March 28, 2019 .