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The Swabian
Trek To Sathmar
A verse in
old handwriting says:
When the Swabian sees the light,
He feels like he is going
through a sieve
His mother
speaks to him
and afterwards
his father
As many holes as
there are in
a strainer,
dear child, that
is how
many countries you
should see before you
go to
your grave.
(Note: The above verse
rhymes in German.)
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.
[Credits,
Originally Published by Jody McKim Pharr at the DVHH.org 29 Sep 2006]
[Published by Sarah Coraggio
at the DVHH on 2 October 2018]
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Last
Updated:
13 Oct 2018 |
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