Güssing (; , ) is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is located at , with a population of 3,610 (2023), and is the administrative center of the Güssing district. For centuries the town occupied an important position on the western edge of the Kingdom of Hungary. 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.

thumb|Parish and cemetery church

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 botanist Carolus Clusius, 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 with full municipal laws. In 1619, the town was surrounded with an enceinte, a type of town wall. The town at the time contained four quarters- Vorstadt, untere Stadt by the mansion of the Drašković family, 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 Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary. Note that Kőszeg is the name of a nearby Hungarian town (known as Güns in German) to which that family moved its residence from Güssing in 1274.

In 1522, it became the residence of the Batthyány family, one of the most distinguished magnate families in Hungary. The family still Batthyány 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 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, 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 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.

<timeline>

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"

</timeline>

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, grey heron and great crested grebe.

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.

  • Josef Reichl (1860–1924)
  • Carolus Clusius (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
  • Ägidius Zsifkovics (born 1963), theologian, Bishop of Eisenstadt
  • Sabine James circus-artist, harpist, performer, theatre-director (Burgspiele Güssing)
  • Martin Stranzl (born 1980), football player
  • Michael Miksits (born 1981), football player (de)
  • Peter Traxler (born 1946), Kabarettist
  • Csákányi László (1921–1992), színész, schauspieler (hu)

See also

  • Wildpoldsried
  • 100% renewable energy

References

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