The Basilica at Frauenkirchen

My mother remembers her mother talking about the pilgrimages she made as a young girl. More than likely the family would have made an annual pilgrimage to Mariazell, located in Styria in the mountains of Austria. It would have taken them at least three days to walk to Mariazell. Many Burgenländers today still make this annual pilgrimage - and yes, they walk!

We did not travel to Mariazell, but we did visit another city that my grandmother and her family would have made a pilgrimage to - Frauenkirchen. Frauenkirchen is just 10km from Tadten and could easily be reached by foot within an hour's time. Periodically along the road to Frauenkirchen there are holy statues - more than likely the people making pilgrimage would stop and pray a little bit and then continue on.

The Basilica of Frauenkirchen is quite simple on the outside, but the inside is gorgeous and very ornate.






There are numerous altars on each side of the Basilica. Here is one of them:



When you travel with an organist, you always have to check out the organ!



We spent a good bit of time walking through the Basilica admiring the side altars and taking quite a few pictures. We had absolutely no idea what was about to happen though. All of a sudden, a small group appeared and sat down in the front pews on the left side of the Basilica and they started singing! Yes, singing! It was beautiful. It didn't occur to me for several minutes that I could tape their singing with my camera and bring a little piece of this beautiful memory home with us.

So, turn your computer volume up, and click on the play button below. Excuse the wonky photos; I was trying to be creative with the camera (I think I will stick with needlework when it comes to creativity!) Just close your eyes and listen.



Why I didn't tape more of that beautiful singing, I just don't know. It was a very moving experience. My mother said it reminded her of her mother; apparently her mother was a very good singer; she and the other "alte Frauen" (old women) would often break into song at church.

Later this same day, we visited the Schloss (castle) at Halbturn (another residence of the Hapsburgs!)





Is that the Empress of Austria? No, it's Marlene from Minnesota!



Next stop, Mönchhof - affectionately known by the locals as "Minnehof." Here we visited the Dorf (Village) Museum. I wish I had taken more pictures!

An old well:


One of the old border crossing stations (note the old car):


A gypsy wagon:


The entrance (exit) to the Dorf Museum:


After all of that sightseeing, we had to stop for some cold beverages at the local Heuriger (wine tavern) - only Cola light and Traubensaft (grape juice) for these Frauen (ladies!)



Zum Wohl! (Cheers!)

The Gypsy Baron and Don Giovanni

A trip to Austria wouldn't be complete without hearing some music. During our two week stay we had the opportunity to see Die Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron), an operetta by Johann Strauss II, and Don Giovanni by Mozart! The music, the costumes, and the performances were wonderful, but the locations of these two musical events were quite unique.

Let's start with "The Gypsy Baron." There's a big lake in Burgenland; it's called the Neusiedlersee. On the western side of the lake (just across from where we were staying) is a small town called Mörbisch. The town of Mörbisch has an open air theatre built on the shore of the lake! It seats about 4000 people. Imagine listening to the beautiful music of Johann Strauss while looking out over a beautiful lake! And at the end - fireworks!











I forgot to mention that in order to get to the theatre in Morbisch, we had to take a boat ride across the lake. (Margie and Mick - this photo is for you!)



A week later we traveled to see St. Margarethen to see Don Giovanni. The backdrop for this opera were the rocks and stones of this rock quarry in the hills. My first opera and what a place to experience it in!









That was an enjoyable experience, but also a late night! The opera didn't start until 8:30 (plus it was the premiere, so lots of speeches auf Deutsch of course!) It was 1:50am when we crawled into bed that night (or shall I say "morning"?)

One more music-related note - while traveling through the south-western part of Burgenland one day, we traveled through the town of Raiding. You ask "What is the significance of Raiding?" Why, it's the birthplace of Franz Liszt! I didn't get a photo of it, but there was a baby grand piano in the center of town - couldn't believe it! The birthplace of Liszt was open for all to explore (no admission was charged.)








Our travel tales are starting to wind down, but I have a couple more stories to share so if you are so inclined, tune in again tomorrow!

The People of Burgenland

My mom and I had a wonderful trip. We were gone a total of 17 days (two travel days) and experienced and enjoyed more than we could have hoped for. As you've seen over the past few days, we were able to make some great purchases, tasted some wonderful food, visited exciting and interesting places, tasted more wonderful food - truly, it was the trip of a lifetime! There are many things that we saw and did that I haven't even talked about here on this wee little blog! But the most important reason for our visit though was not the food, the places, or the souvenirs, but the people. We journeyed to Burgenland to visit with family and friends that we have connected with over the years.

Let's start with Wallern - this is where my grandfather was born in 1882. In 1906 he immigrated to the U.S. He had five siblings, Josef, Michael, Elizabeth, Andreas, and Stefan. Michael would also later immigrate to the U.S., but the others remained in Wallern. These six siblings had a total of 20 children, and only three of these first cousins (including my mother) are still alive today.

One Sunday we traveled to Eisenstadt to visit some of our Nyikos relatives who have made their home there. Our visit with Paula Nyikos, my mother's first cousin:



Unfortunately, we were unable to visit with her other first cousin, Maria, as she was ill, but we did visit with her son, Stefan, and his wife Beatrix. Their home overlooks Eisenstadt, the capital of Burgenland. The second photo is of some other cousins in Eisenstadt, including the wife of one of my mother's first cousins.



Then on a later date we spent time in Wallern. Here's a snapshot of the chapel which is attached to the church. My grandfather would have been baptized and attended church in this chapel.



The tower in Wallern:



Our cousins in Wallern. Resi Nyikos, on the far right, is the wife of my my mother's first cousin. Her daughter, Christa, is in the middle.



We have always wondered if my grandmother and grandfather knew each other in Burgenland; as far as we know, they didn't meet each other until they were in the U.S., but Wallern and Tadten are located very close, just 6 km apart.



Let's take a quick detour to Andau. Here we visited with some good friends. We have visited with them in Austria before and they made a trip to Minnesota one time. They are related to one of my mother's neighbors. The Peck's from Andau:



Tadten was our home during our stay in Burgenland; we stayed at a nice pension "Zimmer Frei." Tadten is the birthplace of my grandmother (1889); she immigrated to the U.S. in 1906. Of the Fischer clan, there were 10 siblings; three of them immigrated to the U.S. From these 10 siblings there were a total of 51 children, and today, only seven of these first cousins are still living (including my mother).

Today, there are about 1500 people residing in Tadten. It's a quiet little village surrounded by farm fields. Some of the important sites in Tadten include the church, the chapel, the cemetary, and the city hall.







My mother with her cousin Maria Zwickl and other cousins (granddaughters of Josef Fischer):



My mother's cousin Elisabeth Wurzinger (this was the day we ate Kraut Strudel!) It was also the firt time my mother ever used Skype - she and Elisabeth skyped Elisabeth's brother in Steiermark!



Our visit with the Hautzinger's included a tour of their cheese and yogurt making facility. They have 500 sheep on their farm. Their son, Reinhard, visited us in the US back in 1991. (Reinhard's grandfather was my mother's first cousin.)



Last but not least, the Kleidosty sisters - Mathilde, Anna, and Elsa. These three sisters are the daughter's of Theresia Kleidosty, my mother's cousin. The second photo includes Martin and Ilse our hosts (Martin is Anna's son.)


Oh, what fun we had.