DONAUSCHWABEN IN THE BANAT, INCLUDING THE ARADER LAND

Contents:

• Geography of the Region
• History of the Region
• Associations and Societies
• Maps and Colonies List
• Bibliography
• Archives and Libraries
• Microfilm List
• Other Internet Resources

The Banat (Hungarian Bánát) is now divided between western Romania, northern Yugoslavia (the eastern part of Vojvodina, which is part of Serbia), and eastern Hungary with boundaries as follows:

• North: Maros (Mures) River
• East: foothills of the Transylvanian Alps, i.e. Transylvania and Wallachia
• South: Danube (Donau) River
• West: Tisza (Tisa, Theiss, Theiß) River

[This section still under construction.]

• The following sketches Banat history in brief. A more comprehensive account by Sue Clarkson is also available (26KB text file).

Toward the end of the fourth century, the region was again overrun, this time by the Huns. After their defeat by combined Roman and German forces, the Gepids inhabited the area until the seventh and eighth centuries which saw the arrival of the Avars and Slavs. When the power of the Avars was broken by Charlemagne, the region passed under the control of the Bulgars. Before the end of the ninth century, the Magyars or Hungarians arrived out of the east to conquer the region and hold it until the Turkish conquest in 1552.

Prior to 1526, when the Ottoman Empire defeated Hungary at the battle of Mohacs, there were several Banats (Hungarian Bánát). These were districts ruled by an official known as a Ban (a term that has its origin in a Persian word meaning lord or master which was introduced into Europe by the Avars; "Banat" came to mean a frontier province or a district under military governorship) The most common use of the term, though, is The Banat of Temesvar, which, oddly enough, was never administered by a Ban. Ruled by the Ottomans from 1552 until 1716, it was then conquered by the Habsburg armies led by Prince Eugene of Savoy, and officially transferred to Austria by the Treaty of Passarowitz/Pozarevac in 1718.

During the years of Ottoman rule, the area was largely depopulated and had a large proportion of marshland. Count Mercy was appointed governor in 1720 and started the process of turning the Banat into a settled agricultural region. In 1779 the Banat was transferred to Hungarian rule. From 1848 to 1860 the Banat and the Batschka were ruled directly by the crown. From 1860 until 1919 the Banat was formally a part of Hungary.

Between 1722 and 1787, many skilled settlers were recruited from Habsburg domains in the Holy Roman Empire to populate the newly-gained lands. The first settlers came primarily from Swabia, hence the term Donauschwaben.

Immigration occurred sporadically after that time and was known as the "Schwabenzug" or "Swabian Migration". The original Swabian Migration also included French-, Italian-, and Spanish-speaking immigrants. The first two migrations were restricted to Roman Catholics, but the third was also open to Protestants. Emperor Josef II had granted freedom of religion in the Habsburg Empire by that time.

The early immigrants were recruited and given travel stipends and loans for seeds, implements, and tools, and were apportioned houses in master-planned villages. Fields were allotted in farmlands surrounding the villages. Freedom from serfdom, initial exemption from taxes, uncrowded land, startup help, and association with the Habsburgs were the lures for immigration to a frontier region which was beset by border wars, marshland, and illness. To put things in perspective, the Banat was still a frontier region in Europe at the time of the American Revolution.

The immigration of the "Swabians", along with the settlement of the Military Frontier by Serbs recruited for settlement and military service, populated a border region recently won from a perennial foe.

Jacob Steigerwald has written a review of 11 identifiable German ethnic groups in Romania in his book Tracking Romania's Heterogeneous German Minority from its Origins to the Diaspora (publication info).

1. The "Swabians" who hailed from various areas in Germany after the Banat became an Austrian colony in 1718.
2. Descendants of peasant and weaver families from the Bohemian Woods who settled near Mount Semenik in the villages of Wolfsberg, Weidenthal, Lindenfeld and Weidenheim.
3. In the southeastern Banat around Resita (Reschitz) there are descendants of Styrian miners and craftsmen who began settlement in 1725.
4. Many Germans in Timisoara are descendants of Austrian military and civilian territorial administrators and office workers; there has been much intermarriage with Swabians from the rural areas.
5. In the Satu Mare (Sathmar) district north of the Banat, there are descendants of Germans from Baden-Württemberg who settled between 1712 and 1815.
6. The Saxons of Transylvania came originally from Rhenish Franconia between 1141 and 1181 in response to the invitation of the Hungarian King Geze II. Others came from Luxembourg, Lorraine, Thuringia and Bavaria. The Saxon cities were Sibiu (Hermannstadt), Brasov (Kronstadt), Sighisoara (Schäßburg), Medias (Mediasch), Bistrita (Bistritz) and others.
7. Also in Transylvania, the Landler from the towns of Turnisor (Neppendorf), Cristian (Großau) and Apoldul de Sus (Großpold) came between 1734 and 1762 from Carinthia, Styria and the Upper Austrian area around Bad Ischl.
8. The Durlacher Germans of Transylvania came from Durlach in Baden in 1743.
9. The descendants of Bacska-Swabians live in the Transylvanian towns of Aurel Vlaicu (Benzens) and Batiz. Their ancestors came between 1894 and 1898 from an area near Czervenka in the Batschka.
10. The Nösner Zipser in Transylvania have the same origin as the Zipser Saxons living in northern Romania. The ancestors of both groups were descendants of Saxons who settled at Spis (Zips) in Slovakia at the foot of the Tatra mountains in the 12th and 13th centuries.
11. The Bukovina Germans settled in the latter part of the 18th century from Württemberg and German-speaking areas of Bohemia and Slovakia (Zips).

After the Treaty of Trianon in 1919, the Banat was split into three parts. The largest part went to Romania, the western part to Yugoslavia and a very small part in the north to Hungary. At the outbreak of the Second World War, there were in the eastern Banat 300,000 Germans, in the western Banat 130,000 Germans and in the northern Banat, 10,000 Germans. During the capitulation of Yugoslavia, 1941-5, the western Banat belonged to the Military Command of Serbia, but returned to Yugoslavia after the war. Death, flight and expulsion led to the disappearance of the Donauschwaben from the western Banat in contrast to eastern and northern Banat where at least some have remained.

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• AKdFF Research Help:
  • Dr. Felix Matei
    Am Sonnigen Hang 23
    55127 Ulm
    GERMANY
  • Anton Krämer
    Frankenstr. 18
    55218 Ingelheim
    GERMANY
• Landsmannschaft der Banater Schwaben aus Rumänien in Deutschland e.V.
  [Society of Banat Swabians from Romania]
  Sendlinger Str. 46/I
  80331 München
  GERMANY
• Hilfskomitee der Siebenbürger Sachsen und der evangelischen Banater Schwaben e.V.
  [Help Committee of Transylvania Saxons and Evangelical Banat Swabians]
  Himmelreichstr. 4
  80538 München
  GERMANY
  This ecclesiastical organization publishes the periodical Licht der Heimat.
• Verband der Deutschen aus Rumänien in Amerika
  [Society of Germans from Romania in America]
  P.O. Box 119
  College Point, NY 11356
  USA
• HeimatOrtsGemeinschaft (HOG) Associations of the Landsmannschaft der Banater Schwaben:

The Donauschwaben colonies in the Banat were founded during the years 1748-1835. For more information, consult the Donauschwaben Village List.

Some Banat placenames are also included in the Listing of Transylvanian Hungarian Placenames and their Romanian Replacements

Historical maps may be viewed at Srbi u Banatu do kraja osamnaestog veka / Serbs in Banat until XVIII century.

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• Historical
  • Born, Ignaz, Edler von, 1742-1791. Travels through the Bannat of Temeswar, Transylvania, and Hungary, in the year 1770. Described in a series of letter to Prof. Ferber, on the mines and mountains of these different countries.To which is added, John James Ferber's Mineralogical history of Bohemia. Translated from the German, with some explanatory notes by R. E. Raspe. 1777, London, Printed by J. Miller, for G. Kearsley. 320, [22] p. incl. tables. 2 fold. plans. Library: University of California
  • Egeza, Lászlo & Péter Szacsvay. Bäcska és Bänsäg, Old Hungary Bookstore [highly-illustrated book in Hungarian] [book cover]
  • Engelmann, Nikolaus, The Banat Germans, translated from the German by John Michels, 1987, Bismarck, North Dakota, University of Mary Press, 136 pages. Highly illustrated. Heimat Publishers
  • Hannick, Pierre, Jean-Claude Muller. Bibliographie zur Luxemburger Banat-Auswanderung im 18. Jahrhundert: dem Andenken der Märtyrer von Timisoara. Annuaire - Jahrbuch der Luxemburgische Gesellschaft für Genealogie. 1989, pp.42-49
  • Horvath, Eugene, The Banat: A Forgotten Chapter of European History, 1931, The Hungarian Frontiers Readjustment League in Budapest, 67 pp. including appendices. Discusses the effects of Trianon, history of Banat and information on villages. [Available at the University of Pennsylvania library and NRLF (California?)]
  • Michels, John M., North Dakota Pioneers from the Banat, 1992, University of Mary Press, 7500 University Dr. Bismarck, North Dakota, 58504, USA
  • Pecinjacki, Sreta, Granicarska naselja Banata (Siedlungen der Banater Militärgrenze), 1773-1810, 2 Bände, 1985, Novi Sad, zus. 910 S. [Settlements on the Banat military border]
  • Zimova, Iva. The forgotten Czechs of the Banat. 1996, Prague, Köcher & Köcher. 53 pages. In English and Czech.
• Historical Novels and Retellings
  • Julian, Astrid, "Irene's Song" [The German-Canadian science fiction author has written an historical fiction short story about Banaters at the end of World War II. The story has been published in Germany as "Irenes Lied", translated by Jakob Leutner, in Die Verwandlung, Heyne Verlag, Wolfgang Jeschke, editor, 1996. The story has also been published in Interzone 69, March 1993 in Great Britain and was a British Science Fiction Association Best Short Fiction nominee for 1994.]
  • Nagelbach, Michael A. Heil! and farewell: a life in Romania, 1913-1946. 1986, Chicago, Adams Press. 225 pages. Location: Library of Congress, call number DR 214.G4.N32.1986
  • Wendl, Victor, Back to the Banat [a spy story of a Banat-German-American serving U.S. intelligence during WWII, helping Tito's Communist resistance forces.]
• Genealogical
  
  • Prohaska-Schöndorf, Hans J., Die Banater Schlafkreuzerrechnungen / The German Emigration and Settlement in the Province Banat in Austro-Hungary 1766-1804, 1982, Park Ridge, Illinois, USA. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 82-99978.
  • Schmidt, Josef. Die Banater Kirchenbücher, eine Bestandsaufnahme der verfilmten Banater Kirchenbücher in der Bibliothek des Instituts für Auslandsbeziehungen Stuttgart. 1979, Sindelfingen. 86 pages. [Holdings of microfilmed Banat church registers at the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Stuttgart]
• Periodicals
  
  • Banater Post
    Published every two weeks, approximately 16 pages, size 29 x 40 cm
    Subscription: $50 per year (23 issues per year)
    Announcements: $30-40 (depending on size)
    published by the Landsmannschaft der Banater Schwaben aus Rumänien
  • Der Donauschwabe
    Published every week, approximately 12 pages, size 31 x 45 cm.
    Subscription: $80 per year; $40 per half-year
    Announcements: as above
    published by Bundesorgan der Heimatvertriebenen aus dem Banat
    Donauschwäbischer Heimatverlag
    Postfach 1680
    73406 Aalen/Württemberg
    GERMANY
  • Banater Berglanddeutsche (Newsletter)
  • Mitteilungen der Landsmannschaft der Banater Schwaben aus Rumänien
    Postfach 1136, 76338 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, GERMANY
  • Also, some home-village-communities have their own publications (published 1-4 times a year) or have published village history books with photos, town plans and lists of the inhabitants; you can write the editors listed below or if none is indicated, to the editors of the Banater Post or Der Donauschwabe for the address of the chairman of the village of interest.
    • Billed: Heimatblatt, 1998, 1999
    • Dreispitz/Segenthau: Dreispitzer Brief (HOG Segenthau). Barbara Gaug, Georg-Daniel-Teutsch-Str. 8, 40595 Düsseldorf
    • Engelsbrunn: Schwengelbrunnen. Franz Sayer, 7539 - 185th St. Flushing, N.Y. 11366 - USA
    • Hatzfeld: Hatzfelder Heimatblatt. Walter Tonta, Vogelberg-Str. 13, 89079 Ulm/Donau
    • Jahrmarkt: Jahrmarkter Heimatblätter. Josef Schäffer, Wurmbergstr. 28 73066 Uhingen (Germany) or Hans Nix, Lisztstr. 22, 67574 Osthofen (Germany).
      • Heimatblatt 1993 (Jahrmarkt während des Ersten Weltkrieges)
      • Heimatblatt 1995 (Deportation 1945)
      • Heimatblatt 1996 (Die deutsche Besiedlung der Großgemeinde Jahrmarkt/Jahrmatha in den Banater Akten des Hofkammerarchivs Wien).
    • Lugosch: Lugoscher Heimatblatt. Heinrich Lay, Altdorfer Str. 8, 84513 Töging/Inn
    • Modosch: Modoscher Heimatblätter. Herbert Prokle, Firnhaber-Str. 3, 82340 Feldafing
    • Mramorak: Mramoraker Bote. Erhard Baumung, Pirmasenser Str 3, 76187 Karlsruhe
    • Orzydorf: Orzydorfer Heimatblatt. Johann Ortmann, Freibergseestr. 3, 86163 Augsburg
    • Sackelhausen: Sackelhauser Heimatblatt. Michael Koppi, Thüringer Str. 5, 72768 Reutlingen
    • Sanktandreas: Sanktandreser Heimatblatt. Franz Lay, Steinmattenstr. 30, 79194 Gundelfingen
    • Sanktanna: Sanktannaer Heimatbrief. Josef Gregonowits, Oberdorfstr. 27, 77723 Gengenbach
    • Schag: Schager Heimatbote - Die Temesch. Franziska Graf, Maisthuberstr. 19, 85053 Ingolstadt
    • Semlak: Der Semlaker Heimatbrief.Georg Schmidt, Festerstrasse 35, 40882 Ratingen
    • Setschan: Setschaner Rundbrief. Alfred Riedinger, Zeppelinstr. 33, 71409 Schwaikheim
    • Temeschburg: Temeschburger Heimatblatt. Rudolf Krauser, Schumannstr. 21, 89518 Heidenheim
    • Werschetz: Werschetzer Zeitung.Anton Hock, Ketzergasse 26/13/3, A-1234 Wien Vienna (twice yearly publication)
• Ortsfamilienbücher
  Today the Banat is split between Romania, Yugoslavia and Hungary. The lists include books describing the history and genealogy of the region.
• Videotape
  This information is derived from an advertisement in the Banater Post. The Heimat videos are tours of the villages mentioned, all of which are in Romania:

  Albrechtsflor-1990, Altsanktanna-1992, Arad-1993, Bakowa-1994, Baumgarten-?, Billed-1991, Blumenthal-1991, Bogarosch-1993, Bruckenau-1992, Darowa-1994, Deutschbentschek-1994, Deutschpereg-1992, Deutschsanktpeter-1993, Engelsbrunn-1990, Fibisch-1991, Glogowatz-1994, Gottlob-1993, Grabatz-1993, Großjetscha-1993, Großsanktnikolaus-1994, Großsanktpeter-1995, Guttenbrunn-1991, Hatzfeld-1991, Jahrmarkt-1991, Johannisfeld-1995, Königshof-1995, Kleinjetscha-1993, Kreuzstätten-1990, Lenauheim-1993, Liebling-1995, Lovrin-1995, Maria Radna-1990, Marienfeld-1990, Mercydorf-1994, Moritzfeld-1994, Neubeschenowa-1995, Neupanat-1990, Neusiedel-1993, Nitzkydorf-1995, Orzydorf-1992, Ostern-1991, Pesak-1993, Rekasch-1992, Sackelhausen-1990, Saderlach-1993, Sanktandres-1994, Sanktanna-1992, Sanktmartin-1991, Schöndorf-1990, Segenthau-1994, Temeswar-1991, Traunau-1991, Triebswetter-1993, Tschanad-1995, Ulmbach/Neupetsch-1995

  All videos are also available in NTSC format for USA and Canada. Cost: 60,-DM. Order from:

  Walter Fissl
  Kindlebergweg 10
  71272 Renningen
  GERMANY
  Tel/Fax (0 71 59) 69 48

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Archives and Libraries

• Romanian Government Archives, Timisoara
  It is possible to obtain access to parish registers for the Romanian Banat in the Romanian Government Archives in Timisoara. Request permission by writing (English now accepted) to:

  Directia Generala a Arhivelor Statului
  B-dul Regina Elisabeta 49
  70602 Bucuresti
  ROMANIA

  Send the letter six months in advance, as it takes three to six months to receive a reply. In the letter, state the dates you plan to visit Timisoara and state that you want to view parish registers, then give the names of the towns you want to view. You will be allowed to view only the documents specifically requested in advance, so you should list the names of all possible towns in your request. No on-site requests are honored. No photographing or photocopying is allowed, only hand copying of records. The area where you work will be observed by armed guards. The archive is not open to the public every day, but foreign visitors are sometimes allowed access in addition to regular hours.

  The Timisoara archives are located on Andrei-Mocioni-Street, which is on the right shore of the Bega river, opposite the Neptune public bath and behind the Medical Facility. The Archives are not far from the Continental Hotel on B-dul Revolutiei nr. 3. It's about a 20/25 minute walk from the Hotel.

     Municipal Police and             |   |
  State Archives      **  \     T     | B |
                           \    R     | E |
                           |    E     | G |
         Str. A. Mocioni > |    E     | A |
                           |    S     |   |
                           |          |   |
  _________________________|_______[ Bridge ]
      B-dul Revolutiei             [________]
    **                                | C |
    **                                | A |  
    Hotel Continental                 | N |
                                      | A |
                                      | L |
  

  The State Archives are in the same building as the Municipal Police with a separate entrance. You need to walk around the building as the entrance is in the back. The building is concrete with a flight of steps up to the second floor. The address is Str. Andrei Mocioni nr 8, 1900 Timisoara, Romania, tel. 0040 56 193463. Turn right coming out of the Hotel and walk down to the Bega until you get to the last street before the bridge over the Bega Canal (they call it "the river"), turn left, this is Str. Mocioni. Walk down this slightly winding road until you come to the municipal police. It's a concrete building with a flight of steps. It will be on your left. Go around (counter-clockwise) to reach another flight of steps. This is the State Archives. The Archives are open from 8am-3pm.

  You will have to fill out some simple forms with name, home address, and reason for research. There is a two volume index to all parish records in the Archives. You must know your town names in Romanian! You must fill out a slip for each volume you want to search; then, in each volume is a slip for your name, date and reason (research). You sit in a room very much like a classroom with desks (in fact, it is used for this purpose after 3:00pm). Supposedly, you can review only 8 volumes per day. This may seem like a lot, but a large town like Periam (Perjamosch) has about 25 or more volumes. You may not eat in the room, reproduce any record (eg. by photographing it) or use pen.

  It has been suggested that one could visit personally the Roman Catholic Bishop Martin Roos on the main square in Timisoara. He is a Donauschwab originally from the town of Knes and could be very helpful.

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A number of the parish and census records for the villages in the Banat have been microfilmed and acquired by the Family History Library of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. For more information, consult the Donauschwaben Village List.

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Other Internet Resources

• www.banat.de
• Travel Guide
  • Travel to Romania
• Timisoara (formerly Temesvar or Temeschburg): Access Timisoara, "Little Vienna" from the past time for an extensive history of the city.
• Hatzfeld
• Cybertim: A celebration of modern Timisoara can be found at http://www.webcom.com/~timis. (Please note that the presenter of this web page lives in Florida and is unable to help with genealogical requests.)
• For the towns in Banat that were populated primarily by French settlers (Charleville, St. Hubert, Solteur and Triebswetter), there are two articles of interest in the "Index des articles de la revue Généalogie Lorraine"
  • 33. 3hme trimestre 1979
    Lorrains dans les registres paroissiaux de St. Hubert et Triebswetter au Banat, page 119
    (Lorrainers in the parish registers of St. Hubert and Triebswetter in the Banat, page 119)
  • 34. 4hme trimestre 1979
    Lorrains dans les registres paroissiaux de St. Hubert et Triebswetter au Banat, page 183
    (Lorrainers in the parish registers of St. Hubert and Triebswetter in the Banat, page 183)
• Military Border:
  A part of the Banat was included in the Austro-Hungarian Military Border Region for which there are special research considerations.
• Banater Aktualität (D) [Banat Today] by Anton Bedoe-Zollner
• Man from Banat (personal history of Mathias Bohr)
• Earthquakes in the Banat

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