Mattersburg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coat of Arms	Map

Basic Information
Country:	Austria
State:	Burgenland
District:	Mattersburg (`MA`)
Area:	28.2 km²
Population:	6,256 (15 May 2001)
Population density:	221.8/km²
Elevation:	258 m
Area Code:	02626
Postal Code:	7210
Coordinates:	47° 42' 60" N, 16° 24' 58" E
Official Website:	www.mattersburg.at
Politics
Mayor:	Ingrid Salamon (SPÖ)

Mattersburg (formerly Mattersdorf, Hungarian: Nagymarton, Croatian: Materštof) is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is the administrative center of the District of Mattersburg and home to a Bundesliga football team, the SV Mattersburg.

1 Location
2 History
3 Politics
4 Economy
5 Attractions
6 SV Mattersburg
7 People
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

[edit] Location

Mattersburg lies in the northern part of Burgenland, east of Wiener Neustadt in the Wulka River Valley, located in the rural vineyard region of the country.

To get to Mattersburg by road, either one takes Burgenland Highway S31 from Eisenstadt and Oberpullendorf or Mattersburg Highway S4 from Wiener Neustadt.

Mattersburg is connected by rail with Wiener Neustadt and Sopron by the Mattersburg Railway.

Mattersburg's two boroughs are Mattersburg and Walbersdorf.

[edit] History

The site of Mattersburg was already populated in antiquity based on excavations of Roman and Longobard graveyards. The town was first mentioned in writing as Villa Martini in 1202. Its Hungarian name (Nagymarton) also refers to the church consecrated to Martin of Tours. Originally the German name was Mattersdorf and was renamed to Mattersburg in 1924. Matter developed from Martin and also refers to St. Martin of Tours, while Burg means "castle".

The area's original fortress had already been torn down by 1294. In its place, Forchtenstein Castle was built. Mattersburg was elevated to the status of a market town in 1354. The town was destroyed by fire in the year 1774 and again in 1856. The area's wealth increased, when the railway began running from Wiener Neustadt to Mattersburg in 1847. During the 19th century, the town was the site of a ceramic manufacture founded by János Ziegler in 1815 or 1818, producing yellow coloured wares following the style of Viennese porcelain.

Forchtenstein Castle

An interesting part of Mattersburg's history is its connection with Judaism, as the town was one of the Burgenland Siebengemeinden. The first Jews to settle in the town arrived in the 16th century, having been expelled from Sopron, and their presence in the town increased greatly over the following years. In 1671, the Jews were forced to abandon the town at the order of Leopold I. They were allowed to return to Mattersdorf, as it was then called, in 1678, although they were forced to buy back their own possessions. The self-governing Jewish community was first merged with the rest of the town in 1902/03.

Mattersburg belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary until 1920 and it was the seat of the Nagymarton district in Sopron county. After the end of the First World War, German West-Hungary was given to Austria in the Treaties of St. Germain and Trianon; there it formed the new province of Burgenland. Mattersburg kept the official name of Mattersdorf until June 14, 1924; on July 2, 1926, it received town privileges.

After the Anschluss in February 1938, the Jewish population of Mattersburg was expelled and dispossessed, so that already in the Fall of 1938, there were no more Jews in Mattersburg. In the course of the war, more than two hundred of the town's residents were missing or killed. Approximately one hundred of its Jewish residents were killed in the Holocaust.

[edit] Politics

The Mayor of Mattersburg is Ingrid Salamon of the SPÖ; there are two Vice-Mayors: the first is Klaus Leitgeb of the ÖVP and the second Josef Reisner of the SPÖ. The District Major of the Burough of Walbersdorf is Hubert Lang of the SPÖ and Johann Wallner is the Chief Officer.

Mattersburg's municipal council has 25 seats with party mandates as follows: 9 ÖVP, 14 SPÖ, 1 FPÖ, 1 Grüne, other lists 0.

[edit] Economy

One of the largest businesses in the area is the canned food maker Felix Austria.

[edit] Attractions

Roman Catholic church, built in 1404, expanded in 1659 and in the 18th century. Its lightning-struck tower was restored in 1907. Mary's altar dates from 1736. The church is surrounded by a protecting wall, which includes fortifications built during the Rákóczi uprising.
Csermely chapel, a 17th century pilgrimage site
"Halterkreuz" stone pillar from 1442, in the town park
Memorial for the Plague from 1714
Stone tablet commemorating the former synagogue, which was built in 1354

[edit] SV Mattersburg

The Mattersburg football club, established in 1922, is the Sportverein Mattersburg (SV Mattersburg). Playing in the Bundesliga since the 2003/04 season, they attract an average of 10,000 spectators to each of their home games.