JÓZSEF DÉNES:
HUNGARIANS AND GERMANS ON THE "LAND OF FORTRESSES"

------------------------At the organisation of the Christian Hungarian Kingdom, a large number of German knights were invited by the King and were provided with estates lying in different regions of the country. They were quickly assimilated into the Hungarian nobility thus the German countrymen could hardly be derived from them. Therefore, despite of the apparent St. Stephen-age "roots", the present-day Western Transdanubian Germans' appearance is still uncertain. Since in the 9th century the area belonged to the Eastern Frank Kingdom (the later Germany), it is possible to take into consideration the continuous Bavarian-German population, however, the continuity of the 9th-century German population cannot be justified by the present-day Germans' ancestors. Among the locality names, the German names appear as late as in the middle of the 12th century.
The earliest German settlements - as in other regions of the Kingdom too - could have been populated in connection with the royal courts. The earliest unequivocal German place name (Höflein - "Heulchin") confirms this assumption as well, meaning "small yard" ("hovelin") in the High German. The four regions listed in certificate of Henry IV issued in 1074 could have constituted the Hungarian royal court, at the name of which we cannot ascertain whether they are original German names or German mirror-translation of Hungarian names. The "hienc" name of the Germans of Burgenland is certainly linked to the name of a member of the "Kőszegi" family, named "Aenz", playing a key-role in the 12th-14th century history of the region. The naming noble was a coeval of Béla IV (1172-1196).
Therefore, the Germans' settlement, after a modest 11th-12th. century beginnings, has broadened after the mid-12th century. By the Middle Age - basically by the end of the 13th century - the ethnic map of the 20th century has been formed out.

VILMOS BRENNER: BURGENLAND PROVINCE WAS BORN EIGHTY YEARS AGO
(Historical Recollection and Analysis)

------------------------Austria has seized the Western Hungarian frontier area having a mostly German-speaking population of 286 000, a total area of 3900 km2 according to the Trianon Peace Treaty, at the end of 1921. On this area, Burgenland province was established. The author, immigrating to Austria from Szombathely in 1956, relates in his comprehensive essay on the precedents of this event eighty years ago, on its historically ascertained or hypothetical motifs. His discussion, touching on many issues, examines later facts such as the deportation of a part of the Hungarian Germans after 1945 or the economical development of the region. The author, endeavouring to understand both parties, sees the way of future in the disappearance of the borders.

PÉTER ISTVÁN VARSÁNYI:
HUNGARY OR AUSTRIA?

------------------------The study is a short and subjective reaction to the current study of Vilmos Brenner, "Burgenland Province was born Eighty Years Ago". Through some issues, the present study would like to present what and how the Hungarians see in this topic. Such questions include: when the matter of annexation of the western belt of the country to Austria emerged for the first time; what kind of political and strategic principles formed this new formation called Burgenland; what was the role that the powers winning in the World War (first of all France) played in this; how it can be appreciated that our ally also received parts from the divided Hungary. At last, an important question had to be formulated: do we have any reasons to celebrate - even after eighty years - the annexation of an ancient Hungarian area to Austria? The answer can only be a definite "no".

JÁNOS SUBA:
THE HISTORY OF THE BATTALION OF FRONTIER
GENDARMERIE OF VAS COUNTY
1919-1921

------------------------The author, a war historian, has found a study from an unknown author in the Archive for War History in Budapest. The document relates about the history, organisation and commanders of the Vas County Battalion of Frontier Gendarmerie between 1919-1921. As a foreword of the sources, János Suba provides an overview on the armed forces of the country: the history of the National Army, gendarmerie and police in the hectic period of apportionment of Hungary (1920). Among others, he states that the battalions of frontier gendarmerie were "armed forces for frontier order maintenance, frontier guarding as well as performing other (order maintenance) duties and were provided with supplies by the National Army".

ISTVÁN SZILÁGYI:
A WESTERN TRANSDANUBIAN BAROQUE MANSION TYPE

------------------------The former Batthyány Mansion at Ikervár has been build by the 1847 reconstruction of a baroque mansion house built on former foundations. The research regarding the reconstruction could not answer the question whether the baroque mansion has a main stairway and if there was one, where its place was within the building. According to analogies, it is likely that the mansion had no main stairway before but there were only side-stairways leading from the subordinated basement to the second, imposing floor. This latter - otherwise - was provided with external stairways and driveways. A drawing from 1809 on the mansion at Hegyfalu, represents this type in its original state. It is likely that in the Western Transdanubia several other mansions with similar system have been built during the 18th century.

MONIKA ZSÁMBÉKY:
TWO VIRGIN MARY DEVOTIONAL PICTURES
FROM THE 18TH CENTURY

------------------------Two Virgin Mary devotional pictures are presented below, unpublished so far. One of them can be found in the parish-church at Vép, this is the copy of the Mary picture at Czestochowa. The picture is painted on wood and was made by a renowned painter at Czestochowa, then, through Polish Count Franciscua Zegotha was transferred to Croatia. From here, Countess Mária Anna Illésházy brought it back and placed in the church at Vép. The countess was the wife of László Erdődy and granted several donations to the St. Martin Church at Szombathely and the church at Jánosháza. The other picture can be seen in the St. Martin Church at Szombathely. It is also a representative of the type of guider parent of God. The picture has been made in the mid 18th century and it is a copy of the Virgin Mary devotional picture at Brno.

LÁSZLÓ KRIZSÁN:
RESOURCE STUDY OF THE LÁSZLÓ MAGYAR DOCUMENTS

------------------------During the publication between 1857 and 1862 of the Africa-related documents of László Magyar, the publisher, János Hunfalvy has made so many modifications that the manuscripts lost their authenticity and often their historical credit as well. The recuperation of the African history resource basis needs the exact publication of these sources from this work; our journal takes its part by continuous publishing of smaller studies and letters. In our present publication, we present a letter that reflects exactly the modification made by Hunfalvy as well as a biographical study of László Magyar.

KÁLMÁN SZÉLL:
A SIGNIFICANT LIFEWORK OF A PHYSICIAN FROM KÖRMEND
(Dr. Filep Ferenc Remetei director, head surgeon)

------------------------The author remembers dr. Filep Ferenc Remetei, the "good spirit" of Körmend, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his death. Dr. Remetei was born in 1898 at Nagyszeben (today: Sibiu) in Transylvania and obtained his diploma in Budapest in 1922, after his field-duty. As an apprentice of Professor Pál Kuzmik, he obtained his operating surgeon diploma in 1926, then, he gathered wide-scale surgeon knowledge in different cities of the country. He went to Körmend in 1931 and worked there as director and head surgeon until his leave to pension in 1968. During his active period, he developed the then obsolete sick-house to a modern hospital. He acquired a wide-scale surgeon expertise; he was the first to perform several operations in Vas County. Beside his hospital-building work, he was also dealing with scientific activities; he was the president for several years of the Western Transdanubian Surgeon Workshop and played a positive role in the Uprising of 1956. His life work is seamlessly bound to the city of Körmend, a city he was serving with faith until his death in 1977. His life work deserves to reckon him among the great sons of Vas County.

JÁNOS PAPP:
REMEMBRANCES OF A LEARNED BENEDICTINE
TEACHER KILIÁN SZIGETI (1913-1981)

------------------------The religious music and organ researcher of international reputation was born at Szombathely. After his secondary school studies he joined the Benedictine Order. He obtained a Teacher's Diploma at the Budapest University, and religious music doctorate in Rome, and then he obtained the diploma of the Academy of Music majoring in organ music.
He was, for decades, the leader of musical life of Benedictine monastery at Pannonhalma. Main areas of his scientific research: exploration of Hungarian sources of Gregorian song; listing and systematisation of the Hungarian organs. Kilián Szigeti died 20 years ago.

LAJOS ILLÉS:
POEMS OF SÁNDOR WEÖRES ABOUT BULGARIA

------------------------The great Hungarian poet of Vas County origin, Sándor Weöres (1913-1989) was a passionate world-traveller. His Far-East voyage was his most impressive journey. On his journey in Bulgaria in 1936, three poems were published in books, a fourth one (entitled: Poem on Bulgaria) was published in a periodical only and by today has fallen into oblivion. The study republishes this poem and states: Weöres - presumably - has not published this poem in a book because the poem's personal character is differing from his typical impersonal poetical behaviour.

PÉTER TÓTH:
LÁSZLÓ NÉMETH AT THE WESTERN BOUNDARIES

------------------------László Németh, born one hundred years ago took part in the spring of 1935, together with Lőrinc Szabó at a literary evening in the Palace of Culture at Szombathely. The programme almost failed due to indifference. A year later Berzsenyi, while he was writing his book - visited the former dwelling places of the Hungarian Horace. Although, he never came back to this place, he had some contacts at Szombathely. Besides János Bárdosi Németh, Ágoston Pável has to be mentioned as well, who got in touch - through the "Vasi Szemle" with the journal "Tanu". The essay also drafts some other Vas County regards of László Németh: overviews the premiers of his dramas as well as the relating articles published in the Vas County papers.