Under this motto, the 5th traditional hiking weekend of the Landler took place from July 4-6, 2014 in their native Bad Goisern.
Thanks to the organizers Christl and Herbert Kefer, Renate Bauinger-Liebhardt and with the support of the Evangelisches Bildungswerk Oberösterreich and Bad Goisern, as well as the municipality of Bad Goisern am Hallstättersee, around 150 Landler experienced an impressive weekend. The occasion was July 4, 1734, the day around 280 years ago when 264 people from the Salzkammergut had to leave their homeland because they did not want to give up their Protestant faith. The planned cozy get-together turned out to be a meeting with and among friends; above all, however, we were delighted to meet a surprise visitor from Transylvania. Despite the different dialects, everyone felt at ease and enjoyed being together. Meetings like this are an opportunity and a reason to reflect on our roots, to better understand traditions and possibly to revive or commemorate them. Many things that were viewed with skepticism and incomprehension in the past become clearer and more valuable over the years, and with our own wisdom comes the certainty that many of the customs and routines lived in the rhythm of the year have had their correction and that we have perhaps made one or two things our own and live by them. The planned hike to the Hütteneck-Alm took place despite the pouring rain and the good Lord had a benevolent eye on the Landler and their paths in the footsteps of their ancestors because the rain stopped and opened up the view of the impressive Dachstein massif. 120 participants took part in an emotional and heartfelt church service with Pastor Wolfgang Rehner and Pastor Dieter Galter. With the sounds of the “Beriga Musi” and accompanied by the ringing bells of the cows on the mountain pasture, Pastor Rehner took us on the journey of our protagonist Sepp. This young 23-year-old man takes the now familiar difficult path to distant Transylvania. Following a winding path of fate, he reaches his parents and siblings in Neppendorf – his gravestone on the south side of the choir of the Neppendorf church is known to many.
After a warm welcome by Renate Bauinger-Liebhardt and Herbert Kefer in the festival hall of the market town of Bad Goisern, short presentations were given by Christa Wandschneider, Frank Schartner and Renate Bauinger-Liebhardt. Mayor Peter Ellmer, who assured us that he would always have a place and an ear for the “Landler”, gave the greeting from the municipality.
Christa Wandschneider spoke about the history of the Andreas Rieger AG machine factory in Herrmannstadt. The career of Andreas Rieger, the son of a farmer from Großpold, up to the establishment of one of the most important companies in Transylvania, the so-called “Maschinenfabriken And. Rieger AG”, bears witness to the impressive fate of a rural family. Unfortunately, this company came to an abrupt end after the family was expropriated. The factory was later renamed “Independenta” and, like all factories in Romania, was nationalized. However, belonging to the Landler community was and remains very important for the family and relatives throughout all generations. This was expressed in the never-abandoned ties to the Großpolder kinship, in the demonstrative donning of the Landler costume and the mutual assistance in times of need.
Frank Schartner reported on “The Landler in Grossau, the coexistence and coexistence with their Saxon neighbors”. Over the course of many years, after a period of adaptation, mutual understanding grew in the differences between the Saxons and the Landler. A well-functioning set of rules of common agreements and certain procedures in daily and church life led to the development of a constructive coexistence in Grossau. Over the course of several generations, a flourishing village community developed, in which each group was able to maintain and cultivate its own independent, specific character in language, costume and dialect. He then showed an impressive slide show documenting the uniqueness of the Transylvanian-Saxon and Landler traditional costumes in Grossau.
Renate Bauinger-Liebhardt informed us about the history of the Landler Museum (ceremonially opened on 27.06.1992) in Bad Goisern, the background that led to the establishment of a meeting and identification place for the three Landler communities of Grosspold, Grossau and Neppendorf in Austria. It is mainly thanks to the private initiative of Mrs. Lore-Lotte Hassfurther, Vienna, that many objects of daily life, traditional costumes and textiles of the Landler could be exhibited in this museum. There are testimonies and documents from the time of deportation and resettlement, letters, maps and pictures. The museum caters for special interest groups with special needs: the Landler people have moved their commemorative ceremonies and meetings to Bad Goisern, and many volunteers from the community have the opportunity to get involved here and actively shape the preservation of the museum. The special thing about this museum is undoubtedly the fact that it closes a circle. The history of the Landler people in Transylvania comes to Goisern: “From a place of storage, this museum becomes a place of remembrance, a piece of home for many Landler people”.
Eva Hoffmann (formerly Neppendorf) took the opportunity to bid farewell to her duties after 16 years of voluntary work and pass them on to younger people. She was rightly called the “mother of the Landler” by the organizers, because we have her to thank for tirelessly organizing meetings and promoting an understanding of the history of the Landler in Austria. Eva Hoffmann thanked the HOGs and individuals from the Landler communities of Großau, Großpold, Neppendorf and the municipality of Bad Goisern for the trust they had placed in her and for their support. A very special meeting and commemorative event under the motto “Future needs remembrance” in 2009 will always remain in our memories. For the first time, prominent participants from both denominations took part and commented on the events in the history of the Landler. We would all like to take this opportunity to thank Eva Hoffmann for her commitment and dedication to the Landler cause.
Music, dancing and entertainment with the “Fidelen Sunnseitlern” rounded off this wonderful weekend. The Sunday church service the next day and the cozy finale at the Goisern fire department’s indoor festival was a lovely farewell to this region in the Salzkammergut, which has now become home.
Christa Wandschneider, Großpold