Country Austria District Oberwart Vehicle registration OW Elevation 366 m Local time Sunday 1:56 AM | State Burgenland Time zone CET (UTC+1) Website www.rechnitz.com Population 3,123 (1 Apr 2009) Postal code 7471 | |
 | ||
Weather 4°C, Wind NW at 8 km/h, 66% Humidity | ||
Rechnitz (Croatian: Rohunac, Hungarian: Rohonc, Rohoncz, Prekmurje dialect: Rohunc, Romani: Rochonca) is a municipality in Burgenland in the Oberwart district in Austria.
Contents
- Map of 7471 Rechnitz Austria
- Geography
- History
- Politics
- Rohonc Codex
- Sister Cities
- Personalities
- References
Map of 7471 Rechnitz, Austria
Geography
The municipality is located in southern Burgenland, on the border with Hungary, near Bozsok and Szombathely. The highest mountain in Burgenland (German: Geschriebenstein, Hungarian: Írott-kő) and the most eastern foothills of the Alps are partially located within the municipality.
History
Until 1920/21, the village was a part of Hungary, as was the entire state of Burgenland. Ever since 1898 the Hungarian name Rohonc had to be used, due to the policies of the Budapest government. In 1919, after the end of World War I, Burgenland was awarded to Austria through the treaties of St. Germain and Trianon. Since 1921, the village has been a part of the Austrian state of Burgenland.
On the night of 24–25 March 1945, some 200 Hungarian Jews were murdered near Rechnitz, by a group of local notables who had gathered for a party at the castle of the Countess of Batthyany, born Margit Thyssen-Bornemisza. At some point during the evening guns were handed out. The 200 Jewish laborers, residents of the manor, were hunted down and killed. Afterwards the guests returned to the castle to continue the party. After the war the massacre was covered up. Residents boycotted an official investigation; one witness was murdered, and other witnesses died under suspicious circumstances.
Sources differ as to the evidence. Some say that at the end of the 1960s, some of the bodies of the victims were found, quite by accident — 18 corpses were exhumed and moved to a Jewish cemetery in Graz. For a brief time, researchers reconstructed the story, tried to find evidence. Then the trail died for another 30 years, finally revived by a documentary film Stecken, Stab und Stangl, by Erne/Heinrich, a book by David R.L. Litchfield, and the play Rechnitz (der Würgeengel) by Elfriede Jelinek. As of October 2007, the bodies of the remaining victims have still not been found. The incident was followed five days later by the nearby Deutsch Schützen massacre.
Politics
The mayor of Rechnitz is Engelbert Kenyeri of the Social Democratic Party of Austria; the deputy mayor is Alois Karacsony of the Austrian People's Party. Reinhard Tangl is the chief officer.
The distribution of seats (23 in all) in the municipal council is as follows: Social Democratic Party of Austria 13, Austrian People's Party 8, and Freedom Party of Austria 2.
Rohonc Codex
A historical codex written in an unknown script and language was held in Rechnitz until 1838, when it was donated to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences by Gusztáv Batthyány, a Hungarian count, together with his entire library.
Sister Cities
Rechnitz has been a twin city of the German city of Alzey since 1981.