Introduction

There has always been interest in Burgenland, primarily from the point of view of historical research, not only from Hungarian and Austrian workshops, but also from further afield. All this is represented in the work of numerous researchers right up to the present day. From the aspect of the history of politics and diplomacy, the way the province came about is enthralling, as is how the people there experienced this change of sovereignty and how the everyday social and economic relationships were transformed. In addition, it is important to identify and examine how the assessment of the landscape and social configuration of an area is influenced by drawing a new borderline between two countries, and thereby creating a new territorial formation on the map. ¹ It is worthwhile emphasizing that the annexation of the former German-Western-Hungary (Deutschwestungarn) to Austria and the creation of Burgenland became an exciting research topic especially after World War II, after the Iron Curtain came down.