Loretto (Burgenland)

market community Loretto
coat of arms	Austria map
Basic data
Country:	Austria
State :	Burgenland
Political District :	Eisenstadt area
License plate :	EU
Surface:	2.38 km²
Coordinates :	47 ° 55 '  N , 16 ° 31'  E Coordinates: 47 ° 54 '55 "  N , 16 ° 31' 1"  E
Height :	218  m above sea level A.
Residents :	483 (January 1, 2020)
Postal code :	2443
Area code :	02255
Community code :	1 03 20
Address of the municipal administration:	Hauptplatz 9 2443 Loretto
Website:	www.gemeinde-loretto.at
politics
Mayor :	Markus Nitzky ( ÖVP )
Municipal Council : ( 2017 ) (11 members)	8th 3 8th 3  A total of 11 seats ÖVP : 8 SPÖ : 3
Location of Loretto in the Eisenstadt-Umgebung district
The Loretto Basilica
Source: Municipal data from Statistics Austria

Loretto (Hungarian Lorettom ) is a market town with 483 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2020) in the Eisenstadt-Umgebung district in Burgenland in Austria .

geography

The community is located in northern Burgenland at 218 m above sea level at the foot of the Leithagebirge . The place covers an area of ​​2.38 km². Loretto is the only place in the municipality. The only other district is the weekend house settlement Esterhazysche Waldrandsiedlung , which stretches up the slope southeast of Loretto.

The municipality is 38 km away from the federal capital Vienna and 13 km from the state capital Eisenstadt .

history

Before the birth of Christ, the area was part of the Celtic Kingdom of Noricum and belonged to the surroundings of the Celtic hill settlement Burg on the Schwarzenbacher Burgberg . A cemetery from the Hallstatt period was excavated in the “Ochsenstand” corridor (see Loretto cemetery ).

Later under the Romans, today's Loretto was then in the province of Pannonia .

The Loretto chapels are replicas of the pilgrimage shrine Loreto in the Italian province of Ancona. This is also where the Lauretanian litany was written. The Basilica of Loreto houses the casa santa , the house of the Holy Family of Nazareth , which, according to legend, was transferred to Loreto by angels.

In 1644 Rudolf von Stotzingen, at that time the fiefdom of Hornstein , visited Loreto and shortly afterwards had a replica of the statue of grace erected in the newly built Loretto Chapel, which had been built on the site of a dilapidated, Gothic (1431) St. John's Chapel in Loretto. Today there is a relief-decorated pillar of the Mater dolorosa in the walled forecourt.

The Stotzinger Servites held the service until 1648, but Count Franz Nadasdy , the patron since 1650, laid the foundation stone for a new, large church including a monastery in 1651. Simultaneously with the completion of the church in 1659, the Loretto Chapel was moved to its current location and later enclosed by the second cloister. Antonio Riebler, who is named in 1657 as "currently the architect in Loretto", is accepted as the builder of the church.

Loretto (center) around 1872 (recording sheet of the regional survey )

In the presence of the cardinal, the entire Hungarian nobility and 20,000 believers, the church was solemnly consecrated on July 2nd, 1659. The village was built around the square in front of the pilgrimage church, which quickly became famous, facing the monastery. The first village judge was mentioned in 1651, the first market in 1666. Work on the design of the church was still ongoing in 1671, the year Franz von Nadasdy was executed.

When the main army of the Turks began to move on July 7, 1683, the statue of grace was brought to Forchtenstein Castle . On July 13th, Loretto was set on fire in four places, and the church and monastery were destroyed by flames. The re-inauguration was on May 24, 1707. From 1703 to 1711 Loretto was threatened by the Kuruzzen , in 1713 the plague raged. The pilgrimages then took off. In 1781 almost half of the market was devastated by a fire.

After the abolition of the monastery in 1787, it served as a military hospital and until 1860 as a central wool depot for the Esterházy reign . From 1926 to 1956 the Servites were back in the monastery.

In 1720 completed Basilica Maria Loretto (title basilica minor since 1997) and the 1659 built shrine of pilgrimage is a Black Madonna venerated. The miraculous image is a copy of the Black Madonna of the Italian Marian pilgrimage site Loreto , which also gave the place its name.

Like all of Burgenland, the place belonged to Hungary (German-West Hungary) until 1920/21 . Since 1898 had due to the Magyarization of the government in Budapest of Hungarian name Lorettom be used. After the end of the First World War , after tough negotiations, German-West Hungary was awarded to Austria in the Treaties of St. Germain and Trianon in 1919. The place has belonged to the newly founded federal state of Burgenland since 1921 (see also the history of Burgenland ).

Loretto has been a market town since 1991.

Population development

According to the 2011 census, the community had 458 inhabitants, making it the smallest market town in Austria in terms of population.

Culture and sights

Interior of the basilica

Cloister of the basilica

Listed grass chapel

War memorial in Loretto

See also:  List of listed objects in Loretto

• Maria Loretto Basilica in Burgenland : The main attraction of the place of pilgrimage for many pilgrims is the baroque basilica, with the large meadow , which is the largest natural meadow in Central Europe. The monastery complex, the church with the high roof and the low towers nestles against the gentle slope that rises to the Leithagebirge and on which the limestone quarries are laid out. The Lorettokalk can be recognized by point-shaped, dark sprinkles in a light-colored overall tone. Around 1830 five quarries were in operation, where many residents were employed. Every year, numerous couples get married in the basilica, often from Vienna or other regions. Especially in the summer months, several weddings take place one after the other on the weekends.
• Hikers take a break in Loretto while hiking across the Leithagebirge. The combination of the Angers and the basilica is decisive for the fact that around 200,000 visitors visit the small town every year.
• At the Anger there is a plague column from 1680, the Floriani column from around 1734 and a Pietà from the 18th century.
• The Trinity Chapel , located near the Esterházy settlement on the edge of the forest, is also worth seeing . A little further in the direction of Stotzing is the so-called Teufelsloch , a cave that was used by the local population as a hiding place during World War II .
• A fossil antelope and a rhinoceros from the Miocene were found in the local area . Loretto is one of the largest prehistoric sites in Austria. Excavations have been going on since 1950. A burial place with over 160 graves ( Bronze Age to Urnfield Culture ), 200 Illyrian graves from the Hallstatt period ("mayor's graves ", moon idols ) as well as Scythian graves from the 5th century and references to Celtic burials were discovered.
• The old houses in Loretto have old courtyard gates, like this:
  • No. 3 with keystone,
  • No. 4 with keystone "1698",
  • No. 5 "1668",
  • No. 6 "1720",
  • No. 8 "1799",
  • No. 14 with relief of St. George,
  • No. 20 with house sign (pretzel, also No. 17, 18, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34)
• House number 3 has a baroque bay window and number 32 has a particularly richly structured facade.

Regular events

• In addition to the solstice celebration and the
• Beach sports event of the VFL (Association of Friends of Loretto)

Church events are of course also the focus

• The big Kirtag, which takes place every year on August 15 on the Anger and is attended by around 300 market stalls, attracts around 20,000 visitors every year.
• Every year on May 1st, the car consecration takes place, to which vehicle owners from the region come to have their vehicles blessed.
• The traditional fire brigade tavern takes place on the weekend of Corpus Christi.
• The monthly pilgrimage takes place on the 8th of each month.

Sports

• The local tennis club UTC Loretto operates five tennis courts.
• The VFL association operates a beach volleyball / beach soccer field and one
• Ice stock rink
• A national cycling criterion takes place regularly on the circuit around the Anger Loretto.

Economy and Infrastructure

There are some smaller craft businesses in the village. The local Gasthof Graf has been serving locals and travelers since 1886 under this name and offers accommodation. There is also a Heurigen restaurant and a bakery in town.

politics

Municipal council

Local council election 2017

 %

70

60

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

67.12
(+6.84)

32.88
(-6.84)

ÖVP

SPÖ

2012



2017



The council comprises a total of 11 members on the basis of population.

Results of the municipal council elections since 1997

Political party	2017			2012			2007			2002			1997
	Sti.	%	M.	Sti.	%	M.	Sti.	%	M.	Sti.	%	M.	Sti.	%	M.
ÖVP	249	67.12	8th	217	60.28	7th	216	59.83	7th	213	68.49	8th	161	65.18	8th
SPÖ	122	32.88	3	143	39.72	4th	100	27.70	3	84	27.01	3	56	22.67	2
BFL A1	not running			not running			45	12.47	1	not running			not running
FPÖ	not running			not running			not running			14th	4.50	0	30th	12.15	1
Eligible voters	460			439			406			348			282
voter turnout	87.17%			84.97%			92.12%			89.94%			91.84%

^A1 Citizens' Forum Loretto

Parish council

In addition to Mayor Markus Nitzky (ÖVP) and Deputy Mayor Eberhard Brunner (ÖVP), the managing councilor Jörg Schmidradner (SPÖ) is also a member of the community board.

The municipal treasurer is Eva Schraufstädter (ÖVP).

mayor

Mayor is Markus Nitzky (ÖVP), who succeeded Felix Kozar (ÖVP), who had been in office since 1990, in 2012. In the mayoral election in 2012, he was elected with 91.25%, without having an opponent. On the occasion of the direct election of the mayor, Nitzky was confirmed in office with 76.15%. His competitor Jörg Schmidradner (SPÖ) had to be content with 23.85%.

In the constituent meeting of the municipal council, Eberhard Brunner (ÖVP) was elected deputy mayor.

Bernhard Unger is the head of the municipal office.

coat of arms

The municipal coat of arms was awarded in 1992. Blazon : “ A two-towered golden church growing in blue from a golden shield base, elevated by a floating golden crown of leaves. "

literature

• Alfred Schmeller : The Burgenland. St. Peter, Salzburg, version from 1965.

Web links

Commons : Loretto  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Loretto (Burgenland)  - travel guide

• 10320 - Loretto. Community data, Statistics Austria .
• Homepage of the community
• Loretto's story
• The place of grace Loreto in Hungary Eisenstadt, 1894, e-book of the University Library Vienna ( e-books on demand )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Province of Burgenland: Loretto 2017 election results (accessed on December 13, 2017)
2. ↑ ^{a b} Province of Burgenland: Loretto 2012 election results (accessed on December 13, 2017)
3. ↑ Province of Burgenland: Loretto 2007 election results (accessed on December 13, 2017)
4. ↑ ^{a b} Province of Burgenland: Loretto 2002 election results (accessed on December 13, 2017)
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Municipality of Loretto: Municipal Council 2012–2017 (accessed on December 13, 2017)
6. ↑ ORF Burgenland from September 4, 2012: Loretto: Mayor has already been determined (accessed on December 13, 2017)
7. ↑ Municipality of Loretto: Administration (accessed on December 13, 2017)