Güssing (; hu, Németújvár, Német-Újvár, hr, Novi Grad) is a town in

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It is located at , with a population of 3,578 (2022), and is the administrative center of the

Güssing Güssing (; hu, Németújvár, Német-Újvár, hr, Novi Grad) is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is located at , with a population of 3,578 (2022), and is the administrative center of the Güssing district. For centuries the town occupied an i ...

district. For centuries the town occupied an important position on the western edge of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. The town is now most famous for its castle, which is the oldest in Burgenland and a prominent regional landmark, built on an extinct volcano. Güssing - Pfarrkirche

History

Overview

The origins of Güssing date back to 1157, with the construction of the castle alongside a small settlement nearby. By 1355, Güssing had been granted special rights by Louis IV. During the Middle Ages, religion, art and crafts were of great importance. As a border town, Güssing was fortified in order to repel attacks from what is now Hungary. Despite the threat of invasion Güssing prospered, with residents of the town at the time including the

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...

botanist

Carolus Clusius Charles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius (19 February 1526 – 4 April 1609), seigneur de Watènes, was an Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticulturists. Life Clu ...

, and Johann Manlius, a typographer. There is an homage to Clusius in the town, as well as a street named after him, the ''Clusiusweg''. In the 16th century, Güssing was a

free imperial city In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

with full municipal laws. In 1619, the town was surrounded with an

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. Fo ...

, a type of town wall. The town at the time contained four quarters- ''Vorstadt'', ''untere Stadt'' by the mansion of the

Drašković family The Drašković, also spelled Draskovich in English, is a prominent Croatian noble family, supposedly descended from an old Croatian noble tribe of Kršelac, Stupić or Poletčić, while others considered the Mogorović family but it is less like ...

, ''innere Stadt'' from the monastery to the town hall and ''Hochstadt''. The lords of Güssing (in Hungarian: ''Kőszeg'', in Slovak: ''Kysak'') were a noble family in the frontier region of

and the

. Note that

Kőszeg Kőszeg (german: Güns, ; Slovak: ''Kysak'', sl, Kiseg, hr, Kiseg) is a town in Vas County, Hungary. The town is famous for its historical character. History The origins of the only free royal town in the historical garrison county of Vas ...

is the name of a nearby Hungarian town (known as ''Güns'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

) to which that family moved its residence from Güssing in 1274. In 1522, it became the residence of the

Batthyány The House of Batthyány () is the name of an ancient and distinguished Hungarian Magnate family. Members of this family bear the title Count/Countess ( Graf/Gräfin) Batthyány von Német-Ujvar respectively, while the title of Prince (Fürst) vo ...

family, one of the most distinguished magnate families in Hungary. The family still

own the ancestral seat of Güssing Castle. In 1540, Franz Batthyány gained the magnate from Ferdinand I, the incumbent king of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, which allowed him to open up ore mines, whilst in 1549, he was granted the right to hold markets in the town by the emperor. A market still takes place on the first Monday of every month in the town. The area, like the rest of what is now Burgenland, belonged to

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

until 1921. From 1898, the town had to use the Hungarian place name ''Németújvár'' due to the Magyarization policies of the government in Budapest. After the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the town, as part of ''German West Hungary'' (Deutsch Westungarn), was ceded to Austria after tough negotiations in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in Versailles on 4 June 1920. It forma ...

in 1919. The area has been part of the newly formed state of Burgenland since 1921. In 1973 the area was officially declared a town. In the 20th Century, Güssing struggled economically due to its proximity to the Hungarian border, and with it the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. Many residents moved elsewhere or commuted for long distances to find work. Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:age014 value:rgb(0.3,0.3,1) id:age1564 value:rgb(0.5,0.5,1) ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:4000 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:14 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1869 from:0 till:3183 text:3.183 bar:1880 from:0 till:3232 text:3.232 bar:1890 from:0 till:3437 text:3.437 bar:1900 from:0 till:3448 text:3.448 bar:1910 from:0 till:3552 text:3.552 bar:1923 from:0 till:3463 text:3.463 bar:1934 from:0 till:3564 text:3.564 bar:1939 from:0 till:3480 text:3.480 bar:1951 from:0 till:3515 text:3.515 bar:1961 from:0 till:3380 text:3.380 bar:1971 from:0 till:3675 text:3.675 bar:1981 from:0 till:3886 text:3.886 bar:1991 from:0 till:3945 text:3.945 bar:2001 from:0 till:3902 text:3.902 bar:2011 from:0 till:3792 text:3.792 bar:2021 from:0 till:3665 text:3.665 bar:2022 from:0 till:3578 text:3.578 TextData= fontsize:S pos:(35,20) text:"Bars: Population; Source: Statistik Austria"

Geography

The town is situated in the south of Burgenland, close to the Hungarian border, in the valley of the river Strem at a height of 229 metres above sea level. Just under half of the area is agricultural land, whilst nearly 40% is forested. The town is neighboured by Tobaj to the north, Strem to the east, Heiligenbrunn to the southeast, Kleinmürbisch and Großmürbisch to the south, Neustift bei Güssing to the southwest and Gerersdorf-Sulz to the northwest. The Güssing fish ponds are a designated Ramsar site within the town, known for its bird populations of

little bittern The little bittern or common little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus'') is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. ''Ixobrychus'' is from Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow, and ''minutus'' is Latin for "sm ...

grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more norther ...

and

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...

Renewable energy

The town is also known for its renewable energy projects. During the 1980s, Peter Vadasz, a local councillor, and Reinhard Koch, a technical engineer, created an energy transition strategy for the town by using local wood as an energy source. In 1992, Vadasz was elected mayor of Güssing and worked towards this energy transition. This transition was not only devised for public buildings in the town, but for the whole district as well. In order to achieve this goal, public buildings were insulated and biomass heat plants were built. More recently, an anaerobic digestion plant was built. Local authorities have claimed this has led to full energy self-sufficiency in the district, yet this is disputed by others, who claim that transportation of goods and fuel still relies upon fossil fuels. Energy in Güssing is heavily reliant on wood, which has led to concerns about energy security.

International Relations

Güssing is twinned with: *

Nijlen Nijlen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of , Kessel and Nijlen proper. In 2021, Nijlen had a total population of 22,985. The total area is 39.09 km2. History In 1770, a ...

, Image:Ruine der Festung Güssing.jpg, Güssing Castle Image:Güssing CarolusClusius 50385.JPG, An homage to Carolus Clusius, a resident of the town Image:Holzvergaser_Güssing.jpg, Wood gasifier (commercial operation) Image:FT_kolonne.jpg, Fischer-Tropsch diesel production from gasified wood (Pilot) Image:Biogasspeicher.jpg,

Biogas plant Biogas is a mixture of gases, primarily consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste and food waste. It is a ...

Strem Image:Bhkwgasmotor.jpg, Biogas fuelled engine Biogas plant Strem

Neighbourhoods

The neighbourhoods that make up the town area include (with the population as of January 2021 in brackets): * Glasing (123) with the Glasing mountains * Güssing (Kernstadt) (2725) with Langzeil, Ludwigshof and Rosenberg * Krottendorf (212) * Sankt Nikolaus (193) * Steingraben (182) * Urbersdorf (230)

Culture

*The main attraction of the district is Güssing castle. Built on a volcanic cone, the castle is known for its exhibition "400 years of art", the gothic castle chapel (with a

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, wooden carved high altar, an old chest organ and a baroque side altar. The castle also contains a museum and a restaurant. * A romanesque

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

dates back to the 1200s, with a cemetery nearby. *The town contains a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery, which was built at the same time as a bastion of the town wall and a monastic church, the Visitation of Mary church. Built in 1863, the monastery contains a range of

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

architectural elements. The monastery is also noted for a

parament Paraments or parements (from Late Latin ''paramentum'', adornment, ''parare'', to prepare, equip) are both the hangings or ornaments of a room of state, and the ecclesiastical vestments. Paraments include the liturgical hangings on and around ...

al shrine in the sacristy and the library with many unique works from the age of Protestantism. Under the monastery is the crypt of the family

, which is the second largest of its kind in Austria, with a state coffin by K. Moll. There is also a shrine depicting the

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

of László Batthyány-Strattmann. * There is a two-storey, castle like

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

in the town. * In the east of the town is the family home of the

. This is a

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

style mansion with

empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 durin ...

furniture and a gothic winged altar from 1450 in the house chapel.

Regular events

*Musical Güssing: The cultural association hosts several events each year. In late January a carnival show takes place in the heart of Güssing. Every September a well-known musical show is performed, in which amateurs and professionals work together. The actor and singer Florian Resetarits (de) began his career in these musicals. *Castle performances: For the last 500 years, Güssing has been a cultural centre, with the theatre being of particular significance. The castle performances are a highlight of the summer programme. The actor Frank Hoffmann was the most recent director of the Güssing summer programme, as part of which performances take place at Güssing castle. The Güssing castle association hosts theatre performances for adults and children on the fairground at the foot of the castle.

Sport

The town has a football club, SV Güssing, which play in the

Landesliga Burgenland The Landesliga Burgenland is the Austrian Landesliga, football division of the Austrian state of Burgenland. It is in the fourth highest division in Football in Austria, Austrian football for clubs of the Burgenland Football Association (german: ...

, the fourth division of Austrian football. The town is home to a basketball club, UBC Güssing Knights.

Notable people

- Strattmann family **

Ferenc Batthyány Ferenc Batthyány de Németújvár ( hu, németújvári Batthyány Ferenc, hr, Franjo Baćan; 28 October 1497 – 28 November 1566) was a Hungarian magnate and general, member of the prestigious Batthyány family. He served as Ban of Croatia, Dalm ...

( hr, Franjo Baćan) (1497, Buda - 1566) (hu) ** Ignaz Batthyány (1741–1798),

Bishop of Transylvania :''There is also a Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Alba Iulia and a Greek Catholic Archdiocese of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia.'' The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Alba Iulia ( hu, Gyulafehérvári Római Katolikus Érsekség) is a Latin Church Cat ...

(de) ** Gusztáv, 5th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann (1803–1883), owner and breeder of race-horses **

Prince Edmund Batthyany-Strattmann Edmund Gustavus, 6th Prince Batthyany-Strattmann (20 November 1826 – 29 October 1914), usually known in English as Count Batthyany, was a prince and count of the Holy Roman Empire, a landowner and yachtsman, and a notable figure in Europe and ...

(1826–1914) ** Prince László Batthyány-Strattmann (1870, Dunakiliti - 1931), doctor and blessed of the Roman Catholic Church * István Beythe (1532–1612), bishop, botanist (hu) * Julia Dujmovits (born 1987), snowboarder * Ferenc Faludi (german: Franz Faludi, 1704–1779) (de) *

Samuel Steinherz Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

, ''errorly "Steinberg"'' (1857–1942), Jewish historian born here, Stein''berg''

* Josef Reichl (1860–1924) *

(1526-1609) * Jenő Nagy (1898–1944) (hu) * Otto Kery (1923–2006), director, editor, actor (de) * Peter Vadasz (born 1944), City Mayor * Reinhard Koch (born 1959), together with Vadas the "creator" of energy-independent Güssing * Josef Trinkl (1951–2004), politician (de) * Heinz Janisch (born 1960), author (de) * Ägidius Zsifkovics (born 1963), theologian, Bishop of Eisenstadt * Sabine James circus-artist, harpist, performer, theatre-director (Burgspiele Güssing) *

Martin Stranzl Martin Stranzl (born 16 June 1980) is an Austrian professional football coach and a former player who played as a defender. Club career Born in Güssing, Stranzl played for SV Güssing as a youth. In 1997, he earned a transfer to TSV 1860 Muni ...

(born 1980), football player * Michael Miksits (born 1981), football player (de) * Peter Traxler (born 1946), ''

Kabarettist {{CatAutoTOC, numerals=no Words and phrases Germanic words and phrases Words and phrases by language la:Categoria:Verba Theodisca ...

'' * Csákányi László (1921-1992), színész, schauspieler (hu)

References

* DI Dean Marcelja (ECRE AG) & Geraldine Faulkner (Sustainable Solutions), 2008

External links

Official Website of Güssing

Biomass gasification power plant Güssing

Biogas plant Strem

Official Website of the Batthyany Family

Official Website of the Foundation of the castle of Guessing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gussing Batthyány family Cities and towns in Güssing District Siebengemeinden Renewable energy Ramsar sites in Austria