Where Gumbo Was #467
This week’s mystery location was Eisenstadt, the capital of Burgenland in the South-Eastern corner of Austria. Congratulations to George G and PortMoresby, who managed to solve the puzzle.
The name Eisenstadt translates straightforwardly as ‘iron town’, which conjures up images of steelworks and smoking chimneys. This is not what you find here, however. While there has been some small-scale iron mining in the wider area since Roman times, the town’s name is thought actually to stem from its reputation for having strong fortifications.
If you are wondering about the frame in the photo at the top – the tourism authority had erected these throughout the region in a publicity drive linked to the centenary of Burgenland becoming part of Austria (in 1921). The frame tells you that you are looking at the ‘Leopoldinentempel’ and below is a close-up of it.
The temple is situated in Eisenstadt’s Palace Gardens, a lovely green space on the edge of the town centre. Its name refers to a princess whose marble statue is inside. Not far from there is the Palace’s Orangery, shown below.
The park is well maintained and contains several small lakes and ponds.
Located at the gardens’ southern end is the actual palace, Schloss Esterházy.
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The origins of the building date back to the 13th century when a castle was constructed here. This was turned into a residential palace in the second half of the 17th century, but it has undergone various changes since then. Schloss Esterházy gets its name from the ducal family who owned and used it as their main residence for around 300 years.
The facade is decorated with busts of Hungarian kings and military leaders; the two directly above the entrance show two of the Esterházy dukes.
Below is a photo of the palace’s inner courtyard, including (on the left) the entrance to a large hall which was, and still is, used for concerts.
The square in front of the castle borders on the town’s pedestrian zone.
Eisenstadt has less than 15,000 inhabitants and, despite being the state capital, it has the feel of a small provincial town.
A walk through the centre takes you past a number of historical artefacts and monuments.
Below are two images of Eisenstadt’s ‘plague column’. Similar richly decorated pillars exist in virtually all towns and larger villages in this part of Austria. They serve as a memorial to those who died of the plague and as a thanksgiving for divine intervention by those who survived it.
Eisenstadt has many attractive old buildings.
The blue house in the middle of the photo above is home to the Haydn Museum.
The composer spent several years of his life here, whilst in the employ of the Esterházy family. The image below shows the courtyard of the house.
The church at the end of the street is the ‘Franziskanerkirche’. Behind it is a monastery (St. Michael’s) which houses the tombs of the Esterházy family.
Eisenstadt’s main church has cathedral status. It is named after St. Martin.
Its interior is surprisingly plain. Other churches in the town feature more interesting ornamentations. A fairly small one is attached to the hospital of the Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God, a short walk up from the town centre. It is known locally simply as ‘Spitalskirche’.
The sign outside references the church organ. Apparently Joseph Haydn used it quite frequently and even composed a special piece of music geared to its limited capabilities.
As far as churches go, the jewel in Eisenstadt’s crown, however, is a short distance further up the hill: the ‘Bergkirche’ (literally ‘hill church’), sometimes also referred to as ‘Haydnkirche’. It has a very unusual and intriguing shape.
If you saw the clues for this week’s puzzle, you will already have come across a photo of a section of the column below, which stands in the middle of the square in front of the church.
When you walk up the steps to the church you reach this entrance, which leads to a small chapel containing a gold-covered altar.
I wonder how many visitors turn round at this stage and set off back down the hill with a sense of cognitive dissonance: the church appeared much bigger than this! And yes, the main church is actually on the other side and has a separate, much larger entrance. The next three shots show parts of the interior.
A side chapel contains a marble sarcophagus: the tomb of Joseph Haydn. He died in Vienna, but was ultimately (re-)buried here at the request of the Esterházys. Also within the church complex is an artificial mound, referred to as ‘Calvary hill’, which contains representations of the ‘stations of the cross’. It was created by Franciscan monks in the 18th century.
Eisenstadt is a short distance from Lake Neusiedl, which the Viennese often jokingly refer to as ‘their sea’.
We combined our trip to Eisenstadt with a visit to Rust, a picturesque village on the shores of the lake.
The short drive there takes you through acres and acres of beautiful vineyards and Rust itself offers many opportunities to sample the local wines
Terrific photos and an interesting destination! Thanks, Professor!
Thanks! For the first time I took all my photos on the phone and I was very pleasantly surprised by how well they turned out, especially since it is a relatively low-cost model. However, I did buy it because the reviews praised its camera(s).