Kittsee (; , , ) is an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n municipality in the District of

Neusiedl am See Neusiedl am See (; ; ; ; ) is a town in Burgenland, Austria, and administrative center of the district of Neusiedl am See. Neusiedl am See is located on the northern shore of Lake Neusiedl. Geography Neusiedl am See is located in eastern Au ...

Burgenland Burgenland (; ; ; Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland''; Slovene language, Slovene: ''Gradiščanska''; ) is the easternmost and least populous Bundesland (Austria), state of Austria. It consists of two statutory city (Austria), statut ...

History

In the Middle Ages, the settlement was situated in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, and was probably settled by

Pecheneg The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic people from Central Asia who ...

border guards in the 11th century. There was a Hungarian royal castle on the site of the settlement as early as the 12th century. The first documented mention of the settlement was in 1291; the name ''Koeche'' was in use in 1390. It is thought that the name is of Hungarian origin and the older form was ''Küccse''. Since the settlement guards the entrance of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

into Hungary, it often played a key role in the defense of Hungary. This was the gathering site of the crusader army of

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

in 1198. The town was the site of

Géza II Géza () is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following: As regnal or forename * Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians * Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...

's battle with the Austrians, and the wedding of Béla, son of

Béla IV Béla may refer to: * Béla (crater), an elongated lunar crater * Béla (given name), a common Hungarian male given name See also * Bela (disambiguation) * Belá (disambiguation) * Bělá (disambiguation) Bělá may refer to: Places in the Cze ...

and Kunigunda, niece of Ottokar II, King of Bohemia, in 1264. The peace treaty of Andrew III and

Albert I Albert I may refer to: People Born before 1300 * Albert I, Count of Vermandois (917–987) * Albert I, Count of Namur () * Albert I of Moha *Albert I of Brandenburg (), first margrave of Brandenburg * Albert I, Margrave of Meissen (1158–1195) *Al ...

was signed here in 1291. After 1363, the town was owned by the Scharfenecki, Szentgyörgyi, Esterházy and Batthyányi families. In 1455, this was the scene of a meeting between

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

and

Ulrich II of Celje Ulrich II, or Ulrich of Celje (; ; ; 16 February 14069 November 1456), was the last Princely Count of Celje. At the time of his death, he was captain general and '' de facto'' regent of Hungary, '' ban'' (governor) of Slavonia, Croatia and Dal ...

. Ferdinand I received envoys here from Hungary on the way to his coronation in

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

. In 1529 and 1683 it was destroyed by Ottoman armies. In 1676, it became the property of the

Esterházy family The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian nobility, Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, durin ...

. The town's ancient moated castle, built in the 12th century was first mentioned in 1344, and was destroyed by the Ottomans in 1529. It was replaced by the Grange, built in 1552. From 1880, the Batthyány-Strattman family were the main landlords in the town. Kittsee was one of the

Siebengemeinden The Siebengemeinden (; , ) were seven Jewish community, Jewish communities located in Eisenstadt, Kismarton (today Eisenstadt, Austria) and its surrounding area. The groups are known as ''Sheva Kehillot'' in Hebrew language, Hebrew. History The ...

of Burgenland. Kitsee Border Crossing

Kittsee, like the rest of Burgenland, belonged to Hungary until 1920/21. After the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the territory of West-Hungary was given to Austria by the Treaties of St. Germain and Trianon. Since 1921, the town has belonged to the newly founded State of

Politics

Kittsee's mayor is Johannes Hornek of the

ÖVP The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

. And its vize-mayor is Karin Darnai of the

SPÖ The Social Democratic Party of Austria ( , SPÖ) is a social democratic political party in Austria. Founded in 1889 as the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria (, SDAPÖ) and later known as the Socialist Party of Austria () from 1945 unt ...

. The political composition of the Municipal Council (23 seats) is ÖVP 9, SPÖ 8,

FPÖ The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five par ...

0, Grüne 0, and other lists 6.

Business and infrastructure

The municipality plays an important role as a medical center, because the district's only hospital is located there. It was founded by the

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

Prince

Ladislaus Batthyány-Strattmann Ladislaus ( or according to the case) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin. It may refer to: * Ladislaus of Hungary (disambiguation) * Ladislaus I (disambiguation) * Ladislaus II (disambiguation) * Ladislaus III (disambiguation) * La ...

, who ran the hospital until 1921. It was named after him in 2004. Kittsee is also home to a rescue station of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. The town is famous for its 30,000

apricot tree An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

s, which are cared for by the Kittsee Apricot Club.

Historical sites

* Remains of a medieval church named after St. Pancratius, only the tower survived after 1529. The original building was erected before 1250. The present-day Church of Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built in 1736 (named Church of Our Lady until 1808). * The new Castle (Schloss Kittsee) was built in 1668 by expanding the Grange. Since 1974 it houses an ethnographic museum. *

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian Violin, violinist, Conducting, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely ...

's birth-house.

Notable residents

, Hungarian-Jewish violinist and composer, born here on 28 June 1831 * János Listi, Hungarian noble. Baron of Köpcsény (Kittsee),

bishop of Győr A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

(Raab) born in

Nagyszeben Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Buch ...

. Ennobled 1554, died 1577 in Prague. *

László Listi Count László Listi de Köpcsény et Jánosháza (''List, Listi, Listh, Listhy, Liszti, Liszty, Listius''; c. 1628 Nagyszeben – February 16, 1662) was a Hungarian poet. Listi was executed for counterfeiting A counterfeit is a fake or unaut ...

(or Listius László), Hungarian noble, poet, owned the "old" Kittsee/Köpcsény castle ca 1635 * László Batthyány-Strattmann, Hungarian noble, medical doctor

Gallery

File:Köpcsény légifotó1.jpg File:Kittsee Schloss 40311.jpg File:Köpcsény légifotó2.jpg File:Köpcsény légifotó4.jpg

Nearby municipalities & sites

* Little mountainous region under the Hundsheimer Berg (480), Königswarte (344), Spitzerberg (302) (NÖ) * *

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

, Neuhof, Pottenburg,

Wolfsthal Wolfsthal is a town in the district of Bruck an der Leitha (district), Bruck an der Leitha in Lower Austria in Austria. It along with neighboring Berg, Austria, Berg were part of the municipality of Wolfsthal-Berg until 1996. It is the end of the l ...

, '' Rotes Kreuz'', Edelstal (Burgenland), '' Bundessportsschule'' (under the Spitzerberg), Hundsheim, and Bad-Deutsch-Altenburg, Hainburg, ''

Braunsberg Braniewo () (, , Old Prussian: ''Brus''), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of Braniewo County. Braniewo is the second biggest city of ...

Röthelstein Röthelstein is a former municipality in the district of Graz-Umgebung in the Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform The Styria municipal structural reform (German: ''Steiermärkische Gemeindestrukturrefo ...

'', also

Carnuntum Carnuntum ( according to Ptolemy) was a Roman legionary fortress () and headquarters of the Roman navy, Pannonian fleet from 50 AD. After the 1st century, it was capital of the Pannonia Superior province. It also became a large city of app ...

* Pama, Csardahof, Zeiselhof,

Deutsch Jahrndorf Deutsch Jahrndorf (; , ) is a municipality in the district of Neusiedl am See, in the Austrian state of Burgenland. It is within a few kilometres of the borders of both Hungary and Slovakia. Deutsch Jahrndorf is the easternmost municipality of Au ...

in the '' Heideboden'' *

Petržalka Petržalka (; ; ) is the largest borough of Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. Situated on the right bank of the river Danube, the area shares a land border with Austria, and is home to around 100,000 people. Names and etymology The German name ...

Jarovce Jarovce (, , ) is a small borough of Bratislava, Slovakia. History The village was first mentioned in 1208 under the name ''Ban''. During the Ottoman wars, many Croats settled here in the 16th century (therefore "Croatian" in the German name, ...

Rusovce Rusovce (, ) is a borough in southern Bratislava on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the Austrian border. History In the 1st century, there was a Roman settlement named Gerulata in today's Rusovce area. The first preserved writte ...

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

- Slovak Capital City

References

* The information in this article is based on a translation of its German and Hungarian equivalents in the Wikipedia.

External links

* http://www.kittsee.at Kittsee Official Website *
Kittsee Apricot Club
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Neusiedl am See District Siebengemeinden Austria–Slovakia border crossings