The Swabian trek to Sathmar

by Stefan Schmied
Translated by Gerald "Jerry" Thomas Boyle

     This humorous poem expresses the "travel bug" of our Swabian ancestors. The same "travel bug" which scattered them all over the world, especially in the 18th Century. Large and small groups followed the call of the Kaisers and the Hungarian Homesteading that followed. They traveled down the Danube to fill the lands and to restore the wasted and fallow fields. The area's population had dwindled for 150 years because of the Turkish occupation.

      The Sathmar land lies at the western edge of the mountainous Transylvania. It was abandoned, although it stayed as part of the country. The Turks occupied the area often because they greatly outnumbered the local inhabitants. Sathmar was repeatedly ravaged. The area played a major role in the political breakup of Transylvania in the 17th Century. It was the site of many battles, particularly in the area around Grosskarol. Large areas of land were wasted again and again. Through Turkish and Kurutz wars, through plague and natural catastrophes, the population declined significantly, so that once-thriving communities were not restored. Since the few remaining Hungarian and Romanian natives were by no means of sufficient number to restore the area's economy, a new settlement was imperative.

      A peace agreement, ending the Kurutzen War, was reached in Sathmar on April 30, 1711. Alexander Karolyi, acting commander of the rebels, handled the negotiations with the Kaiser's General Palffy. He won favor with the Viennese court because of his peace efforts. Karolyi was made a count and given gifts of land in the Sathmar area, so that the Magnaten family became the largest land-holder in the area.

     In the year 1711, as the last Kurutzen in Martingen laid down their arms and swore loyalty to the Kaiser, Karolyi fashioned a plan to restore the area through colonization. He became the author of the restoration of the Sathmar area.

      Since the population in the area was sparse, he began looking at those lands which during the previous century had sent settlers to Hungary, namely southern Germany. He went to Vienna to seek permission from the Kaiser and the government to enlist settlers through an agent. In the spring of 1712, because his visit to Vienna was successful, he went to Upper Swabia in the area between the Danube River and the Lake of Constance (Boden See). His purpose was to persuade farmers and craftsman to emigrate with their families. The effectiveness of this first try is evident because in the summer of that year, 293 families of 1400 people set sail on the Danube in Ulm and sailed to their new home as far as Pest in Hungary. From here, the settlers went by horse carriage to Grosskarol, where they were welcomed by the countess.

      The settlers were divided among the communities of Schinal, Kapplau, and Schamagosch, as well as the city of Grosskarol. It soon became evident that the preparation for such an influx of people was inadequate. The countess was not able to provide food for so many people. She had good intentions, but through the floods of 1711 and the drought of 1712, the fields sustained heavy damage. The result was hunger, followed by sickness. Within a month, 12 men died within the four settlements. The number of women and children who died was probably higher. This worried the settlers so much that 91 men left with their families. These tragic events were recorded from late Fall on.

      Death and poverty lessened the numbers of Swabians during 1713 and 1714. According to records from March 30, 1714, no more settlers remained in Kapplau and Schamagosch. Of the families who had stayed in Grosskarol, 26 settled in Schinal in 1716. Of the planned four settlements, the count was able to settle only one town, Schinal, with Swabians. Of the 293 families who had arrived in 1712, only 62 remained in the new homeland on June 17, 1716.

      In spite of this failure, the count sent recruiters to Upper Swabia to try to interest more families to emigrate. Until his death in 1743, he was able to settle eight communities with Swabian farmers and craftsmen. His descendants, Franz, Anton, and Josef Karolyi, pursued colonization with undiminished effort. Throughout the 18th Century, small and large groups came to the Sathmar area from their old homeland. Over 2,000 Swabian families settled in 30 communities during this time.