Tag: Burgenland

This will be a short post because, after Loretto, we made our way to Rust am Neusiedlsee; a place we visited not so long ago. You need only refer to the Tour 6 blog on Rust to find out about Rust’s two most interesting buildings, the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity and the Fischerkirche. I think I previously mentioned that, if you get your timings right, it is possible to climb up into the belfry of the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity for some quite exceptional views over the city and across the lake. Well, once again our timings were out, as the church was closed. On this occasion I wasn’t too disappointed because the weather was awful and I doubt we’d have been able to see very much but; more to the point, we had returned to Rust to see some of the hundreds of Greylag Geese which wander the city at this time of the year and the 24 breeding pairs of white storks which nest above the city roofs at this time of the year.

What I perhaps didn’t mention previously is that, with a little over 1,900 inhabitants, Rust am Neusiedlsee is Austria’s smallest city (having been endowed with the rights of a Royal Free City by the Hungarian Crown in 1681) and that Rust is known as the City of Storks; on account of the many storks which breed on the city’s chimneys. The stork is close to the hearts of the people of Rust and are viewed as the city’s heraldic bird. They have nested in the city since the early 20th century but numbers dwindled until in 1965 there were only 3 nesting pairs. A stork club, dedicated to the conservation of the resident storks, was formed (the Ruster Storchenverein) and, good news, last year saw a record 86 young storks hatch in the city’s nests.

While the bad weather didn’t stop us in our pursuit of the storks and the geese, it did impinge on the city’s annual musical festival which was underway as we arrived. A grand tent sheltered us and the performing artists from the worst of the falling rain but the tent had been pitched on a slight slope and rainwater was streaming around our feet and on through the tent towards the lake.

We stopped and listened to a couple of bands complete their repertoire but, despite their best efforts, it was not a fun experience. It was simply too wet underfoot.

Eventually it stopped raining and began to brighten up but by then we had had enough…

…and we set off for dinner at the Oleander Heurige in Trausdorf an der Wulke, just outside Eisenstadt. The welcome was warm and the food was pretty good at the Oleander but it is more of a restaurant than a heurige.

We arrived in Loretto to meet with friends, Claire and Thomas, and would stay three or four days; visiting Loretto, the nearby city of Rust (we were there a couple of years ago) and Trausdorf an der Walke during that time.

The first day, however, was simply about chilling with our friends in the garden over one of the best barbecues ever – Dorade (Sea Bream), Sardines & Prawns were on the menu. And the drinks? We went through a bottle of Deveaux Champagne we’d bought in France, numerous glasses of the local (Burgenland) Chardonnay, a couple of really great Margaritas made by our host and half a bottle of a Single Malt Laphraoig.

Loretto is a tiny market town with fewer than 500 residents. It was elevated to town status in 1991 which, surely makes it the smallest market town in Austria and yet; it’s Basilica, the Basilika Maria Loretto, attracts 100,000 pilgrims every year and at least 20,000 on one day in August (Assumption Day). Imagine trying to park your car in the town on that day. The Basilica grew from a simple chapel in 1659 to become a Servite Monastery and thereafter a Papal Basilica. The monks departed years ago but they left their cherry orchard intact and we spent much of our second day in Loretto first wandering the Basilica and then collecting cherries from the large orchard.

Just a little history about the church – The 1659 chapel was built soon after a miracle was recorded in Loretto. It seems the house of Mary (mother of Jesus) suddenly appeared in Loretto. I’m not convinced as to the veracity of that particular tale but the then Pope thought it true and; in 1997 Pope John Paul II awarded the church (the Church of the Immaculate Conception of Loretto to give it it’s full name) the title of ‘Papal Basilica Minor’. Whether you believe the supposed miracle or not, the interior of the Basilica is truly stunning and in the original church (around which the monastery was built) is a Black Madonna. I’ve only ever seen one of those before during our travels and I cannot recall precisely where (but I think it was somewhere in Spain).

Except for the Basilica, there’s little else to Loretto. It has a Heurige (a wine tavern), the Gasthof Graf (a local pub) and a bakery but that’s pretty much it except that it sits at the heart of the beautiful Austrian Province of Burgenland.

In case you are unaware, Burgenland is the smallest and most easterly of Austria’s twelve Provinces. It is a narrow strip of land which extends along the entire border between Austria and Hungary. At it’s northern end, it borders Slovakia for a few kilometres and at it’s southern end it borders Slovenia. To it’s west are the two Austrian Provinces of Styria and Lower Austria. Austria’s capital city of Vienna, in Lower Austria, is only 30 miles from Loretto. Burgenland’s quite remarkable capital, Eisenstadt, is just 8 miles from Loretto and Rust am Neusiedlersee is just 16 miles away. Those three cities, Vienna, Eisenstadt and Rust figure among the most beautiful in Austria. And, before I forget, Burgenland is home to some of the finest wines in the country.

In the morning, weather permitting, we’ll visit Rust.

We used the campsite at Markt St Martin purely as a stop over on our way back to Enzesfeld. The campsite was a total disappointment , especially at 44 Euro per night. Austria at peak season.

The only half decent aspect to the place was the small bar alongside the camp site. It has a swimming pond.

The food in the bar was poor but the setting was fine

There was little to see in the town (or is it a village) but, it being a Thursday afternoon, everything was closed anyway except for a kartoffeln heurige. Wine heuriges I have heard of; a potato heurige is new to me.

On the way in to the village I came across another relatively intriguing feature namely, a fruit (and nut) tree circle. If you’ve lived in Scotland (or any other country where the Celts once settled) you will probably have seen a stone circle or two. Markt St Martin has substituted a stone circle with a much more practical fruit tree circle. Well, I think that is what is was.

You know something? I don’t think I have ever produced such a pointless (and boring) blog before. Back to Enzesfeld.