The Early
History and
Development
of the Lutheran
Congregations
and Church
District
Of Swabian
Turkey in the 18th
Century
By
Gustav Schmidt-Tomka,
München 1976
Summarized and
Translated
By
Henry A.
Fischer
(The
Seniorat
(Church
District) of
Tolna, Baranya
and Somogy of
the Lutheran
Church in
Hungary includes
Hungarian,
Slovak and
German-speaking
congregations.
What follows
addresses only
the early
development of
the
German-speaking
congregations in
Swabian Turkey
whose members
would later be
identified as
Danube
Swabians.)
In 1718, the
large-scale
immigration of
Evangelical
Lutherans from
Germany into
Tolna County
began. Many of
these settlers
came from
Württemberg and
the Palatinate,
but the major
portion came
from Hessen
Darmstadt.
Hieronymous
Schwarzwalder,
who accompanied
the colonists,
served as the
pastor in Varsád
beginning in
1718. He was
ordained in
Kremnitz in
Upper Hungary
(Slovakia) on
September 29,
1718 by Daniel
Krmann, who was
the only
remaining
Lutheran
Superintendent
(bishop) who was
still in office
and not in
prison. The
Varsád
congregation was
located on the
land holdings of
the Székely
family who were
Calvinists. At
the founding of
the settlement
there were also
Hungarian
Calvinists and
Roman Catholics
but they left
shortly
afterwards and
Varsád would
become a totally
German village.
The first
settlers in
Varsád came from
Württemberg.
They were only
the vanguard.
Like the stars
in the night
sky, scattered
throughout Tolna
County after
1718-1719,
Lutheran
congregations
came into being
under the
leadership of a
pastor or
Levite
Lehrer (a
teacher who also
had theological
training).
Initially, there
were only simple
services of
worship
consisting of
hymns, the
reading of
Scripture,
prayers and the
reading of
sermons if no
one was prepared
to preach in the
absence of a
pastor or
teacher.
Shortly
afterwards, in
1718-1719 a
congregation was
formed in
Kismányok
consisting of
settlers from
Württemberg
under the
leadership of an
ordained pastor
named Jeremias
Walter. On his
arrival from
Germany, Count
Wenceslaus
Zinzendorf, the
Minister of
Finance in
Vienna who owned
the estate on
which the
village was
located,
officially
appointed him to
his pastorate.
According to
several sources,
this pastor
Walter also
served the newly
formed
congregation in
Izmény in 1720.
This latter
village was part
of the domains
of Count Apar.
Walter appears
to have come
from either
Württemberg or
Hesse. In 1744
the congregation
in Izmény became
an affiliate of
Kismáyok after
its young
pastor, Stephen
Barany and his
family were
banished and
driven out of
the village by
County troopers
under the
leadership of
County
Administration
and Roman
Catholic church
officials.
Colonists from
the Vogelsberg
District from
Upper Hesse came
to Felsönana in
1721 and founded
a Lutheran
congregation.
These settlers
came from the
domains of
Freiherr
Riedesel. Other
emigrants from
Hesse/Kassel and
Hesse/Nassau
joined them in
the following
spring. The
congregation
became an
affiliate of
Varsád at the
outset, but
after 1724 was
served by the
pastor in nearby
Kistormás. The
first known
teacher in the
village was
Georg Sutter in
1730, who had
been preceded by
one of the
settlers who
acted in this
capacity and led
in worship until
a trained
teacher could be
obtained. This
was typical of
most of the
congregations
and the men did
so secretly and
were called
“emergency
teachers.”
Their primary
task was to
teach the
children in
preparation for
confirmation,
which meant
knowledge of
reading, writing
and Scripture
and also to
serve as the lay
leader and
preacher in the
congregation.
In 1722-1724,
with the full
consent of
Emperor Charles
VI, a Lutheran
congregation was
formed in Mucsfa.
The inhabitants
of this village
had their
origins in the
Odenwald, now
part of Hesse.
Because of their
poverty they
were unable to
establish
regular church
life on their
own and united
with Izmény at
first and then
later with
Kismányok. The
first teacher we
can identify
with certainty
was Johann
Thomas who began
to serve in
1733.
In 1722 a
significant
event took place
that affected
the majority of
the Lutheran
congregations in
the Tolna.
General Count
Claudius
Florimundus de
Mercy of
Argentau
purchased the
largest domain
in Tolna
County. He was
the governor of
the Banat and
president of the
Commission for
Settlement and
Colonization at
Temesvár. His
land holdings in
Tolna County
stretched from
Paulsdorf (Palfá)
in the north to
Abtsdorf (Batáapáti)
in the south
along the border
with the
Baranya. In
this settlement
area he carried
out an
ambitious,
innovative and
effective
colonization
policy in which
he protected
and defended the
religious rights
of his subjects
to the extent
that it was
possible for him
to do so. At
the time of his
purchase the
Lutheran
congregations in
Varsád,
Felsönana,
Kismányok,
Izmény and
Muscfa had
already been
established.
His policies
were introduced
and implemented
by his cousin,
Count Anton
Ignaz de Mercy
who was his
designated
heir. Following
the death of
this younger de
Mercy on January
22, 1767, his
son Count
Claudius
Florimundus de
Mercy II, who
later served as
the Habsburg
ambassador in
Paris and
London,
succeeded him.
He sold the
family holdings
in Tolna County
in 1773 to Count
Georg Apponyi
for over 700,000
Gulden. The de
Mercy holdings
had included the
estates of Count
Zinzendorf,
Baron Schilson
and the Székely
family. From
1722-1772 the de
Mercys were the
most powerful
and wealthiest
landowners in
Tolna County
with all of the
special
privileges of a
Hungarian noble
and the right of
the sword.
(They had the
power of life
and death over
their
subjects).
The de Mercys
proved to be
effective
defenders and
protectors of
their Lutheran
subjects in the
face of the
attempts to
persecute them
on the part of
the County
Administration ,
which was
overwhelmingly
Roman Catholic
and included
their higher
clergy. The
fate of the
future Lutheran
Seniorat
would have been
different on the
basis of any
kind of human
judgement and
especially in
light of the
“quiet
suppression”
under Empress
Maria Theresia
had the de
Mercys not been
the landlords
and protectors
of numerous
Lutheran
congregations
who were the
seed out of
which the future
Church District
would sprout.
In his role as
president of the
Colonization
Commission for
the Banat,
Count de Mercy
carried out
public relation
activities in
Hesse to recruit
settlers that
would produce
results other
than those the
Emperor had
intended. His
own domain in
Tolna County
would be the
chief
beneficiary of
his publicity
efforts. For
this purpose he
sent his
authorized
commissioner
Captain Tobias
Vátzy to Vienna
to persuade
immigrants who
were bound for
the Banat to
choose instead
to secretly
settle on Count
de Mercy’s
domains in Tolna
County.
According to
notes left
behind by pastor
Johann Balassa
of
Szarszentlorinc,
Count de Mercy
received an
order for an
audience with
the Emperor in
Vienna in which
he was
reprimanded for
his manipulation
of the Banat
bound settlers,
also charging
him with having
accepted
Lutheran
settlers on his
estates and
supported them
in their
heresy. Count
de Mercy did not
allow any of
this to
influence him in
any way and
proceeded with
his colonization
project in the
Tolna as
before. From
1721-1724 we can
speak of a
massive
emigration as
more Lutherans
sought refuge
and land with
Count de Mercy
on his domain.
In the year
1722, Kalázno
was founded by
Lutheran
settlers
arriving from
Upper Hesse and
quickly joined
themselves as a
daughter
congregation of
Varsád in 1724,
where at the
time, Karl
Johann Reichard
was the pastor.
Only recently,
he had been
driven out of
the Banat by the
Jesuits and had
become a
fugitive from
the law. He had
served two
Lutheran
congregations
made up of
Odenwalders from
Hesse who had
settled in
Langenfeld and
Petrilowia in
1718 as well as
the neighbouring
settlements of
Orawitza,
Russowa,
Haversdorf and
Saalhausen. He
had done so
under the
protection and
official
appointment of
Count de Mercy.
These
settlements were
in the vicinity
of Weisskirchen
and close to the
frontiers with
Turkish occupied
Serbia. The
Jesuits in
Temesvár made
the young
pastor’s
presence and
activities known
to the Court in
Vienna and he
was thus ordered
banished. It
was only through
the Count’s
assistance that
he was able to
escape
imprisonment and
to make his way
to Varsád where
the Count placed
him in the
pastorate
there. In the
following months
a trickle of
Odenwalders,
some eighty-five
persons arrived
in small family
groups and
rejoined him in
order to escape
conversion. All
of these early
Lutheran
settlements in
the Banat were
destroyed by the
later Turkish
incursions into
the area and the
population was
massacred or
carried off into
slavery.
The
congregation in
Abtsdorf (Batáapáti)
was founded in
1724 under the
Letters Patent
that it had been
granted by the
Emperor
Charles. Many
of the members
visited
Kismányok for
pastoral
services and the
names of their
families can be
found in those
church records
and, in the same
year, they
officially
became
affiliated with
that
congregation.
Kalázno
belonged to the
land holdings of
Count de Mercy
centred at
Hogyész and was
settled by
colonists from
Upper Hesse.
According to the
church archives,
the village had
a Bethaus
(prayer house)
and teacher from
the beginning of
the settlement.
In 1733, the
bishop of Pécs
sought to
establish a
Roman Catholic
parish in Varsád
and Kalázno for
Magyar Roman
Catholics. This
indicates that,
at the time of
the arrival of
the German
settlers, there
were still
numerous
Hungarians in
the area. It
was only later
that Kalázno
would become
entirely German
in terms of its
inhabitants. In
1725, Michael
Reulein became
the resident
teacher.
In 1719, the
Lutheran
congregation in
Györköny was
established. In
that same year,
Georg Barany
organized the
congregation in
Gyönk, turned
it over to
Stephen Denes
and went to
serve the mixed
language Magyar
and German
congregation in
Györköny.
Daniel Krmann,
the Lutheran
bishop of Upper
Hungary
appointed Georg
Barany the
Senior (Dean) of
the Tolna
congregations on
January 27, 1720
to give
leadership to
the growing
fledgling
congregations.
Relationships
between the two
nationalities
broke down in
Györköny and
Barany requested
approval from
Count de Mercy
to establish a
Hungarian
Lutheran
settlement on
the puszta
(prairie) at
Szarszentlorinc.
On his approval,
Barany and the
Hungarian
families left to
establish what
would become the
centre of
Lutheranism,
where he would
lead the Church
District in the
turbulent
decades ahead.
A Lutheran
congregation was
also formed in
Nagyszékely and
associated
itself with
Barany’s
parish.
On May 9, 1724
in the evening,
between seven
and eight
o’clock the
wagons of Count
de Mercy arrived
at
Tolna-on-the-Danube
to pick up a
small group of
Lutheran
settlers and
dropped them off
in the tall
grass of the
puszta of
Tormash (Kistormás).
The colonists
came from the
vicinity of
Wiesbaden. The
tall grass was
their mattress
and God’s free
sky their only
cover. A
pastor, Johann
Nicolaus Tonsor
(Latin for
Schneider)
accompanied the
group. He was
born in Wallau
in the Wiesbaden
area on November
2, 1692. He was
ordained at
Wertheim-am-Main
on their way to
Hungary. In
their emigrant
train there was
also a teacher
along with his
family, Johann
Wolfgang
Friedrich from
Idstein by
Wiesbaden. When
the congregation
organized, it
numbered about
sixty families.
At the same time
other German
settlers moved
into Kolesd,
which adjoined
Kistormás and
resided among
the Magyar
Lutherans who
were living
there.
In Mucsi,
owned by Count
Zinzendorf, a
small Lutheran
“daughter”
congregation was
established in
1718. The
pastor in
Bikács, Andreas
Reiner, attests
to this in a
document he
presented to the
Church District
in assembly.
This
congregation
disappeared in
the 1730s as
most of the
Lutherans moved
on to other
settlements. It
was a basic
policy of Count
de Mercy, if at
all possible, to
establish
settlements with
only one
religious
confession and
nationality to
avoid conflict.
Between
1718-1724 there
were eleven
Lutheran
congregations
established on
the domains of
Count de Mercy
in Tolna County
of which nine
were
German-speaking
and consisted of
settlers from
southwest
Germany as well
as Western
Hungary in terms
of the
Heidebauern who
had established
Györköny.
Lutheran
congregations
also emerged in
settlements
belonging to
other nobles and
private
landlords. In
particular there
were Kun,
Perczel and
Schilson. The
Kun estate
included Majos,
which was
apparently
settled prior to
1720 by
Hessians who
formed a
Lutheran
congregation
shortly after
their arrival.
Georg Barany,
however,
indicates an
earlier arrival
of German
settlers under
the leadership
of Friedrich
Samuel Bertram
of Magdeburg who
was their
pastor. He was
banished from
the County and
the members of
the congregation
followed him
into exile, but
their
destination is
unknown.
Several pastors
attempted to
serve in Majos
but all of them
were imprisoned,
banished or
expelled from
the County.
Their Bethaus
was boarded up
and all forms of
worship were
forbidden in the
village. The
congregation was
placed under the
jurisdiction of
the Roman
Catholic clergy
in Bonyhád but
the vast
majority of the
members of the
congregation
went to
Kismányok for
pastoral
services along
with the other
orphaned
Lutheran
congregations in
the area.
Congregational
life by the
Lutherans was
established in
Bonyhád between
1720-1724 on the
Perczel
estates. Many
families from
Württemberg
settled here and
were the
backbone of the
congregation
that was not
permitted to
have a school or
teacher but
managed to
operate a
clandestine
one. Some of
the families
sent their
children to the
school in Majos,
which was
nearby. In
terms of church
jurisdiction,
they were placed
under the
authority of the
local Roman
Catholic priest
to whom they had
to pay their
tithes and fees
along with the
Hungarian
Calvinists in
the town. The
congregation
would undergo
constant
pressure and
restrictions
well into the 19th
century, even
after the Edict
of Toleration
had been
published and
enacted.
The village of
Hidas, which now
belongs to
Baranya County,
was on the
estates owned by
Franz Kun who in
1720 settled
some German
colonists from
Hesse and
Württemberg.
The majority of
them were
Lutherans but
there were also
a sizeable
number of
Reformed. The
Lutherans
formally
organized
themselves in
1730 with the
landlord’s
permission.
They associated
themselves with
the Kismányok
parish. During
the time of
Bishop Berenyi
of Pécs the
congregation
experienced
intensive
persecution
along with the
Lutherans in
Bonyhád.
In Cikó, where
a Cistercian
Abbey was
located, a small
Lutheran
congregation of
some thirty
families came
into existence
in 1719. At
first it related
to the
congregation in
Majos when it
had a pastor and
then later to
Kisjmányok when
he was
banished. The
village was on
the lands of
Baron Schilson,
which was later
sold to the
Perczels. In
1730, the
Lutherans built
a Bethaus
and they shared
a common bell
with the Roman
Catholics.
According to
Roman Catholic
records, the two
groups built the
Bethaus
jointly. In
1723 the
Lutheran teacher
in the village
was Kaspar
Faust. During
the episcopate
of Bishop
Berenyi, due to
the pressures
exerted against
it, for all
intents and
purposes the
congregation was
wiped out. A
sizeable number
of the families
moved to Gyönk
where they laid
the groundwork
for a large
future
congregation,
while others
moved to nearby
Zsibrik where
another small
congregation was
established.
They built a
Bethaus and
engaged a
teacher but were
placed under the
jurisdiction of
the Roman
Catholic priest
in Cikó. This
valiant little
congregation
experienced
great
difficulties
throughout the
reign of Maria
Theresia at the
hands of the
Bishop of Pécs.
In response to
the colonization
project of the
Perczel family,
both Lutheran
and Reformed
settlers came to
Mórágy in
1719-1720. The
Lutherans
associated
themselves with
the congregation
in Kismányok
where a teacher
by the name of
Triebach was
working, but
their numbers
were small
relative to the
Reformed and
they were
gradually
absorbed into
their
congregation.
Both groups had
their origins in
Hesse where
these kinds of
unions between
the confessions
on a local level
had become
common in many
villages and was
not considered
to be out of the
ordinary.
Kéty was
another case in
point. This
Lutheran
congregation
established in
1732 had a
significant
number of
Reformed
members.
Sixty-five years
later,
eighty-six of
the members
still registered
themselves as
being Reformed.
Their settlement
contract with
Baron Schilson
dates from May
30, 1732. The
congregation was
placed under the
jurisdiction of
the Roman
Catholic priest
in Zomba and
suffered a great
deal by the
restrictions
imposed upon
them at the
hands of the
fiercely
catholic Bene
family. Their
Bethaus
was confiscated
by the Bene
family and
converted into a
stable and their
two teachers
Matthias Lämle
and Peter Ernst
were driven out
of the
community.
Paks-on-the-Danube
was located on
the land
holdings of the
Rudnyanszky
family. The
church records
of the Roman
Catholic church
that begin in
1720 present a
colourful
confessional
picture with
Calvinist
Hungarians,
Orthodox Serbs,
Lutheran Slovaks
and Lutheran
Germans as well
as Roman
Catholics of
various
nationalities.
The last
mentioned group
among the
Lutherans were
primarily
Heidebauern from
Weisselburg
County (Moson).
Their numbers
increased with
the arrival of
German Lutherans
from various
Germans
principalities.
Although they
formed a
Lutheran
congregation, it
was not allowed
to function nor
was it permitted
to have a school
and teacher.
This was not a
new experience
for the
Heidebauern who
had existed in
this manner for
over one hundred
years and
continued to
give expression
to their faith
as household
assemblies in
which the
children were
also taught
scripture and
the catechism.
They were
obliged to pay
their tithes to
the Roman
Catholic priest
and, if they
sought the
services of a
pastor of their
own confession,
they also had to
pay whatever fee
was deemed
appropriate to
the priest as
well.
On the
Rudnyanszky
estate, the
village of
Bikács was
settled in the
early 1720s,
although it was
not officially
founded until
1736 in order to
avoid paying
some County
taxes. The
settlers were
Heidebauern from
Moson County who
began settling
in the community
on and off since
1725. Upon
forming a
Lutheran
congregation,
they associated
themselves with
the congregation
in Györköny but
met constant
resistance from
the Roman
Catholic
authorities in
their efforts to
develop any form
of church life
in the village.
Their first
teacher, Stephen
Salamon came
from Tet in Raab
(Györ) County
and he served
from 1727-1753
when he was
banished and the
congregation was
placed under the
jurisdiction of
the Roman
Catholic priest
in Kajdács.
The village of
Zomba was
situated on the
estates of the
Orthodox
Monasterly
family and later
the Vitkovics
heirs and was
settled by
Hungarian and
German
Lutherans. In
1723 a
Lutheran
congregation was
established and
developed a
relationship
with the Majos
congregation
before 1726.
When the pastor
was expelled in
1729 they were
left to fend for
themselves. It
was only later
that they began
to experience
real
difficulties
when Zomba was
purchased by the
Döry family who
were fiercely
anti-Protestant
and ordered
their Bethaus
confiscated and
locked and
banished their
German and
Hungarian
teachers. The
German Lutherans
left en masse
after 1735 and
settled in
Mekényes in the
Baranya, while
their Hungarian
co-religionists
left to
establish
Oroshaza. As
the last teacher
noted, “It is to
the great honour
of our German
and Hungarian
forebears that
they sooner left
house, land and
home than to
forfeit their
faith and
church.”
There was
another Lutheran
congregation on
the Monastery
and later Döry
estates at
Szárázd. The
congregational
archives
indicate that
the congregation
was formed in
1737 and
affiliated
itself with the
congregation in
Gyönk. The
first settlers
came to escape
the fanatic Bene
family, leaving
Kéty 1736-1737.
But here they
were to suffer
even more under
the Roman
Catholic priest
in Sagetal. An
“underground
emergency
teacher” served
here until the
time of the
Edict of
Toleration; by
then, the local
Roman Catholics
had left and the
village had
become entirely
German and
Lutheran.
In nearby
Murga, where the
landowners were
Stephen and
Nicolaus
Jeszenszky, both
German Roman
Catholics and
Lutherans
settled in the
village in
1745. The
Lutherans were
not permitted to
engage in any
kind of
organized church
life and were
placed under the
jurisdiction of
the Roman
Catholic priest
in Zomba. Their
landlords
handled both
groups so badly
that together
they petitioned
for redress to
the Empress
Maria Theresia
from the
exploitation and
oppression they
suffered at
their hands.
Although the
Lutherans were
not allowed to
have a teacher,
one of the local
tradesmen
secretly acted
as one until the
Edict of
Toleration.
During the
early 1730s
Hessian
Lutherans
arrived and
settled in
Keszöhigkút and
formed a
congregation
related to the
Gyönk parish,
while Hessian
Lutheran
families in
Nagyszékely left
there when they
were not allowed
to build a
Bethaus by
their landlord.
The latter moved
on to Udvari
among German
Roman Catholics
where they
formed a
Lutheran
congregation,
but were placed
under the
jurisdiction of
the Roman
Catholic parish
of Szaáadát.
The two
congregations
were both served
by “emergency
teachers” until
the Edict of
Toleration.
Daughter
churches would
emerge in the
area at the end
of the 18th
century, but
that goes beyond
our present
survey of the
early
development.
The story
would be
slightly
different in
Somogy County.
Numerous
Hungarian and
Slovak
congregations
came into
existence during
this period but
we will focus
only on those
that were German
speaking.
Unlike the
situation in
Tolna County, in
Somogy County
the German
Lutherans who
settled there
did not come
directly from
Germany but had
first settled in
the Tolna and
were usually the
first generation
to be born in
Hungary. In
terms of the
settlements
themselves there
are only two
exceptions. For
that reason
historians and
researchers
would look upon
the others as
secondary
settlements.
Felsö Mocsolád
is considered by
many to be the
first, with
Hessian
Lutherans
arriving there
as early as 1725
and they too
were served by
the teacher
Kaspar Faust,
who we first met
in the Tolna.
In the following
years there was
a steady stream
of Reformed
settlers who
arrived there.
Most of them
were Hungarian
who eventually
formed the
majority and the
village lost
both its German
and Lutheran
character by the
end of the 18th
century.
To the north,
on the estates
of the
Protestant
Berzsenyi, Antal
and Benko
families, the
village of
Kötcse was
founded by five
Hungarian Roman
Catholic
families, twelve
Hungarian
Calvinist
families,
forty-seven
German Lutheran
families and
seven German
Reformed
families. The
Germans were of
Hessian origin,
having embarked
for Hungary from
Regensburg in
the spring of
1723. The
Church District
accepted the
congregation in
1725 when it was
being served by
an “emergency
teacher” until a
Levite
Lehrer was
available. In
1734 Dominik
Haas, who had
been born in the
Tolna, arrived
to serve them in
that capacity
and was
succeeded in
1740 by Michael
Harmonia, who
was secretly
ordained by
Georg Barany.
In 1745 Martin
Biró von Padámy,
the bishop of
Veszprem, took
action against
the
congregation.
On the night of
December 15,
1745 a mob of
peasants led by
the priest in
Karad stormed
the village,
raided and
ransacked the
houses of the
Lutherans and
Reformed and
confiscated all
bibles and
hymnbooks and
devotional
literature under
the direction of
the High Court
Judge Johann
Rosty
accompanied by
County troops.
A huge bonfire
was built in
front of the
Bethaus that
had only
recently been
built and the
books were
burned; the
judge read a
decree outlawing
any form of
Lutheran worship
or household
assemblies and
placed the
congregation
under the
jurisdiction of
the priest in
Karad. He then
ordered that the
Bethaus
be put to the
torch by the
unruly mob.
Michael Harmonia
and leaders of
the congregation
were whipped and
he was dragged
off to the
episcopal
dungeons in
Veszprem, where
under torture,
he converted to
Roman
Catholicism.
The congregation
went back to its
former
underground
existence under
the leadership
of several
emergency
teachers until
the publication
of the Edict of
Toleration
thirty years
later.
Some
time after 1730
groups of
Hessian and
Württemberg
Lutherans, who
sought to escape
conversion in
the Tolna, made
their way into
the hill country
of Somogy County
and established
new settlements,
one of which was
Bonnya. The
beginnings of
this Lutheran
congregation
cannot be
determined
precisely, but
it is tied to
the arrival of
Jakob Becht who
had been born in
Württemberg, and
was the banished
Lutheran
underground
teacher from
Bonyhád who had
fled from the
authorities who
sought to drive
him out of the
country. He and
his young family
arrived in
Bonnya on April
11, 1730 and
took on the
guise of a local
farmer while he
also secretly
served as the
Levite
Lehrer. The
oldest sons of
the Becht family
would serve in
that capacity in
the life of the
village and
congregation for
the next seven
generations
until the
expulsion of the
Danube Swabian
population in
1948.
At about the
same time, the
private
landowner Johann
Nepomuk Hunjady
welcomed German
families to
settle on his
estates at
Döröcske. These
first settlers
came from the
Tolna along with
others from
Kötcse because
land to provide
a livelihood for
younger families
was starting to
run out. The
Lutheran
congregation was
formed in 1758
and was served
by various men
as emergency
teachers because
all attempts to
have permission
to have a
Levite
Lehrer were
turned down by
the Empress
Maria Theresia.
They considered
themselves
affiliated with
the Slovak
Lutheran
congregation in
Tab.
In the mid
1750s, some
twenty-five
Lutheran
families from
the Tolna and
Baranya settled
in Ecsény on the
lands of several
private
landowners.
They were unable
to form a
congregation of
their own and
while officially
under the
jurisdiction of
the priest in
Barapati, they
associated
themselves with
the Slovak
congregation in
Tab. They were
the first of the
German-speaking
congregations in
Somogy County to
receive
permission to
call a pastor
and build a
church at the
time of the
Edict of
Toleration in
1781.
There were
also
developments
taking place in
Baranya County,
but only the
congregation in
Hidas was able
to take root in
the first half
of the century.
The Bishops of
Pécs were
determined to
nip any attempts
at a Lutheran
presence in the
County in the
bud. It was
only in the
villages of Tofü
and Mekényes
that had
formerly
belonged to
Tolna County
that the
Lutherans had
been able to
establish a
bridgehead.
The
congregation in
Tofü came into
existence in
1719 and later
became
associated with
the congregation
in Kismányok.
Later in 1735 it
related to the
congregation in
Mekényes that
was much
closer. In 1743
the Bishop of
Pécs had the
Bethaus in
both villages
destroyed and
placed both
communities
under the
jurisdiction of
the priest in
Bikal.
From its
inception the
congregation in
Tofü supported
an “emergency
teacher.” In
1739 it chose
Philip
Dieleberger as
the teacher but
the Roman
Catholic
authorities had
him banished and
in 1746 we find
him listed in
the church
records in
Kismányok as an
ex-teacher.
Like the other
congregations
that managed to
survive until
the Edict of
Toleration
Tofü’s lay
leaders held the
congregation
together and
provided
personal models
of faithfulness
with many of
them ending up
in prison.
The beginnings
of Lutheran
church life in
Mekényes can be
traced back to
1735. The first
Lutheran
settlers came
from Zomba and
Gyönk in the
Tolna because
they could not
remain in those
communities and
practice their
faith. The
first settlement
took place on
April 24, 1735.
The names of
these colonists
indicate that
their origins
were in Upper
Hesse in the
vicinity of
Schlitz. At the
beginning the
settlers had to
suffer much at
the hands of the
local Serbs who
preceded them
and were to be
found in most of
Baranya. Their
landlord was the
Esterhazy family
that made no
distinctions
because they
were Lutherans
and acted
towards them
favourably. In
1737 Mekényes
was accorded the
rights of an
Artikular Church
(a law that
allowed two
Lutheran
Churches to
function in each
county of
Hungary) and
called Franz
Tonsor who was
the pastor in
Lapafö in Somogy
County to be
their pastor.
He served from
1737 to 1743.
After personal
harassment and
constant
threats, he was
forcibly driven
out of the
village by
troops sent by
the Bishop of
Pécs in 1743 and
the Bethaus
was locked
and sealed.
Mass was
celebrated
annually in the
Bethaus
even though
there was not a
single Roman
Catholic
resident to be
found in the
village. The
congregation
supported a
teacher secretly
and kept him
hidden from the
authorities even
though a Roman
Catholic teacher
had been imposed
upon them. This
congregation
endured much in
the years before
the Edict of
Toleration.
Rackozar
received its
name from its
original
inhabitants:
the Raizen
who were Serbs
and Croats and
had settled in
the area under
Leopold I. They
were
semi-nomadic.
For that reason
the Esterhazys
were interested
in getting rid
of them and
replacing them
with seasoned
farmers, which
meant German
settlers. In
1732 a single
Lutheran family
had settled
there. It was
only in the mid
1750s when large
numbers of
German Lutherans
would first
arrive. A
congregation was
formed in 1756
and in the years
ahead, it faced
a constant
struggle to gain
permission to
have a pastor or
teacher even
though it sent
delegations to
petition the
Empress Maria
Theresia who
turned a deaf
ear to the
requests.
Instead it were
placed under the
jurisdiction of
the priest in
Bikal and the
teacher that it
had been allowed
to have was
driven out of
the community
and was replaced
by a Roman
Catholic. None
of the children
attended the
school. The
congregation
bribed the
priest in Bikal
to turn a blind
eye to the fact
that an
“emergency
teacher” was
serving in their
community. None
of this changed
until the Edict
of Toleration.
The Esterhazys
also settled
German Lutherans
from the Tolna
among their
Roman Catholic
subjects in
Gerénges, Nagy
Ag, Tékes,
Kaposszekcsö,
Csikostöttös and
Tarrós where
Lutheran
congregations
were quickly
formed and were
faced with the
same struggle
for survival.
Again the local
lay leadership
bore the brunt
of the battle
and the
emergency
teachers who
were apprehended
and imprisoned.
In light of
all of this, it
seems virtually
impossible but
it is a fact
that Lutheran
congregations
and communities
arose on the
estates of
Princes of the
Church and other
church lands.
Such Lutheran
settlements were
in Alsónána and
Györe in the
Tolna and
Nagyhajmas in
the Baranya.
Some time before
1740, Jacob Jany
the Abbot of
Bátasék brought
Lutheran and
Reformed Germans
to settle among
his Serb
subjects in
Alsónána. It
was only later
in 1751 that the
village became
part of the
state holdings
of the
Habsburgs. The
village was
considered to be
a filial of the
Roman Catholic
parish of
Bátásek and no
Lutheran church
life was
tolerated, but
clandestine
household
services were
the norm, while
several
emergency
teachers served
here until the
Edict of
Toleration.
On the other
hand, Hessian
Lutherans
settled in Györe
under the
auspices of
the Bishop of
Pécs. The year
of the
beginnings of
the congregation
is uncertain but
it became a
filial of
Zsibrik in 1739
and managed to
carry on during
this difficult
period.
Nagyhajmas was
settled with
Roman Catholic
Germans and
Croats by Count
Philip Ludwig
Zinzendorf, the
abbot of
Pécsvarasd who
was a son of the
well known Count
Wenceslaus
Zinzendorf.
But unknown to
him, among his
German colonists
there were
numerous
Lutherans. The
year of
settlement is
uncertain, as
well as the
point at which
the Lutherans
formed a
congregation,
but we do know
that they were
placed under the
jurisdiction of
the Roman
Catholic parish
of Bikal.
Numerous
emergency
teachers served
here, mostly
peasant farmers
like their
neighbours.
In summary, we
can verify the
existence of at
least
twenty-nine
German Lutheran
congregations in
Swabian Turkey
by the end of
the 18th
century. In
addition there
were four
congregations
with both German
and Hungarian
members. These
figures do not
include the
Hungarian and
Slovak
congregations.
The seed had
been planted.
The harvest
would come
following the
Edict of
Toleration.
[Published at DVHH.org 04 Feb 2008
by Jody McKim
Pharr]
