Croats Invade Burgenland Region
Refugees from Croatia Find a New Home in Burgenland
Hey there! Let's dive into the captivating history of the Burgenland Croats, who fled their ancestral lands in Croatia to escape the Ottomans. The 16th century saw these refugees making their way towards Burgenland, a region that was already battling its own demons, including the plague and wars.
Take Neudorf/Novo Selo, for instance, first mentioned in 1074 as Nowendorf. It was uninhabited in 1546, but things changed when the first Croatian settlers arrived in 1569 or 1570.
Hrvatske Novine Stands Against Assimilation of Burgenland Croats
Historian and linguist Nikola Bencsics, speaking in the recently published volume "450 Ljet - Croats and Croats in Neudorf," notes that battle marches and merchant ships passed by the settlement. To celebrate the 450th anniversary of the arrival of Croatian settlers in Neudorf, the local Museum and Cultural Association (MUK) had planned a jubilee in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to the festivities. A symposium was held two years later, with the results included in "450 Ljet."
The bilingual work will be presented at an event hall in Neudorf on May 9 at 6 p.m. You can grab a copy at the municipal office or MUK.
Slovenes Among Croats
Editor and initiator Petar Tyran, a native of Neudorf, doesn't miss out on celebrating his home village. On the approximately 300 pages, you'll find contributions about dignitaries, like parsons, school directors, and mayors, of the place over the centuries. But the book goes farther, with illuminating essays that delve beyond Neudorf.
For example, Roman Kriszt takes a look at a previously little-noticed phenomenon: After the second Turkish siege in 1683, there was immigration to Burgenland Croat communities from the area of today's Slovenia, mostly from Carniola. This can be proven by entries in baptism, marriage, and death registers. To date, 25 places in Burgenland, but also in Lower Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary have been discovered. The southernmost finds in Burgenland are in Sigless and Krensdorf in the district of Mattersburg.
The Visibility of the Language
Gerhard Neweklowsky, doyen of Slavistics and member of several academies of science, discusses the "Croatian dialect of northern Burgenland."
Katharina Tyran, who teaches Slavistics at the University of Helsinki, seeks the "visibility of the Croatian language" in today's Neudorf. She believes a stronger presence of the language in public spaces can encourage its use and increase its social value. Neudorf serves as a promising example, with bilingual street signs in the village since 2019.
However, Tyran suggests that more needs to be done. If politicians or associations decide to appear bilingual, it could trigger a stronger identification with Croatian, she says, not just in Neudorf but potentially throughout populations in similar situations.
- The immigration from areas of today's Slovenia, particularly Carniola, to Burgenland Croat communities was observed after the second Turkish siege in 1683, as revealed by entries in baptism, marriage, and death registers.
- Katharina Tyran, a Slavistics professor at the University of Helsinki, discusses the need for increasing the "visibility of the Croatian language" in public spaces in Neudorf, advocating for its stronger presence to encourage its use and increase its social value.
