BURGENLAND, a province of Austria (q.v.) that by rea son of its situation has experienced a very disturbed history which is reflected in the speech of its modern population (German, 241,326; Croat, 40,500; Magyar, 10,442; others, 7,179). The foundations of its settlement are embedded in the early culture of the Danube (q.v.), and upon these has been built a composite structure in which German, Magyar and Slav influences are mingled. From 1491-1647 it was under direct control of Aus tria but was mortgaged in the latter year to Hungary, which re turned it with the exception of the old capital, Sopron, in 1921.
Physically it comprises detached outliers and low promontories of the dying Alpine ranges. Inliers of primary strata and volcanic rocks appear but in general a thick covering of soft tertiary de posits with occasional stretches of loess hides the older forma tions. The northern half of the region (the "Seegau") falls quickly from the Leitha mountains (1, 56of t.) and Rosalien moun tains through a fertile, vine-clad, terraced landscape to the reed flats of the western shore of Lake Neusiedl, beyond which stretches a marshy gravel plain with extensive puszta pastures that support large numbers of cattle, pigs and poultry. By con trast, the southern half (the "Raabgau") is more undulating and is cut into a series of strips, oriented north-west to south east by the Raab and its tributaries. In both regions agriculture and forestry are the foundations of human prosperity; Burgen land exceeded all other Austrian provinces in its proportion of productive land, 89.8% of its area, and of this 50.9% is arable, 3.2% is meadowland and 28.3% is forest. Almost every settle ment has its strip of pasture along the valley-floor, cultivated strips on the lower terraces and slopes, vineyards and orchards on the steeper sides, and above these the forest. In the north and east, low relief and climatic conditions that include a short, cold winter, a long, hot summer (mean annual temperature, 48°F to 50°F) and a rainfall less than i6in. per annum, are specially fa vourable to agriculture. Wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize, buck wheat and millet are the important cereals, while sugarbeet, potatoes and leguminous plants are produced in excess of local needs. Hemp in the lowlands and flax in the hilly districts vie with wood and reeds as raw materials for widespread but declin ing home industries. Lignite, antimony, sulphur and limestone are worked in small quantities but no important development of manufacture has arisen. Minor industries, e.g., the weaving of coarse woollens at Pinkafeld (pop. 2,58o) and the preparation of safety-matches at Neudorf el, are scattered along the western frontier particularly near the Wiener-Neustadt valley, but, with the exception of housecrafts mentioned above and the prepara tion of beet-sugar in two local factories, raw materials are ex ported to other parts of Austria for treatment ; thus a large proportion of the fruit and timber moves to the distilleries and factories respectively of Vienna and Lower Austria.
This rich and fertile land is well-peopled and settlement is evenly distributed upon smallholdings, with minor concentra tions in tiny market towns, e.g., Eisenstadt, the new capital (pop. c. 5,000), Neusiedl-am-See (2,76o), Deutschkreut (3,32o) and Oberwart (3,85o), each of which serves its immediate surround ings. In some cases, notably Sauerbrunn (1,36o) and Neusiedl am-See, local circumstances such as the presence of thermal springs or other attractions give extra-regional importance to a town, but such health and pleasure resorts do not yet enjoy wide popularity. Both north and south have lost their larger markets, Sopron and Szombathely respectively, upon which the rather inadequate rail services of each converge, and Austria is faced with the difficult task of reorganizing the outlets and outlook of this addition to its territory. (W. S. L.) The Treaties of Saint-Germain and Trianon envisaged the ces sion by Hungary to Austria of the German-speaking districts of West Hungary, with their centre Sopron (Oedenburg). Hungary should have handed the districts over on Aug. 9, 1921 ; instead she organized a violent propaganda against the transfer, and semi irregular armed bands attacked the Austrian gendarmerie when it tried to take possession. The Inter-Allied Commission in charge appealed to the Council of Ambassadors ; Italy offered her media tion, and on Oct. 13 Italy, Austria and Hungary signed a protocol at Venice, agreeing to a plebiscite being held in Sopron and the surrounding districts. Held on Dec. 14 and 19, this gave a Hun garian majority. Austria protested that the voters had been ter rorized and the lists manipulated, but the Council of Ambassadors recognized the decision (Dec. 23) and persuaded Austria to do likewise (Feb. 28, 1922). Sopron remained with Hungary, and Austria entered into her new province in a mutilated form and lacking a natural centre. Eisenstadt was made its capital in 1925.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. - H. Giittenburger, "Der anthropogeographische Bibliography. - H. Giittenburger, "Der anthropogeographische Aufriss des Burgenlandes," Mitt. d. Geogr. Gesellsch. (Vienna, 1922), and "Burgenland," Festschrift, herausg. von E. Stepan (Vienna, 1920) ; A. J. Toynbee, Journal of International Affairs, 1919-23 (1925) ; Hans Retzlaff and Heinrich Kunnert, Das Burgenland (Berlin, 1938).