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Traces of German settlement in the modern-day cultural landscape of the Carpathians

Peter Jordan

Peter Jordan

Institute of Urban and Regional Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Free StateHermagor,
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Jordan, Peter
  
May 28, 2025
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Published Online: May 28, 2025
Page range: 127 - 139
Received: Dec 02, 2024
Accepted: Feb 17, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2025-0013
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© 2025 Peter Jordan, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1.

Local concentrations (in blue) of German speakers (by mother tongue in the Kingdom of Hungary and colloquial language in the Austrian Crownlands) in the eastern parts of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1910. Thick red lines indicate international borders in 1910. Broken thick red lines show the borders between the Austrian Crownlands and the Kingdom of Hungary and the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the political entities of the dual monarchy below the level of the Empire. Broken thin black lines show, for comparison, the borders after 1918. Source: Jordan 2001
Local concentrations (in blue) of German speakers (by mother tongue in the Kingdom of Hungary and colloquial language in the Austrian Crownlands) in the eastern parts of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1910. Thick red lines indicate international borders in 1910. Broken thick red lines show the borders between the Austrian Crownlands and the Kingdom of Hungary and the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the political entities of the dual monarchy below the level of the Empire. Broken thin black lines show, for comparison, the borders after 1918. Source: Jordan 2001

Figure 2.

Share of German speakers (by colloquial language in Austria, by mother tongue in Hungary) in the overall population in the eastern parts of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1910. Darkest red >80%, paler shades of red 50–80%, 25–50%, 10–25%, 5–10%, 2–5%. Source: Rumpler & Seger 2010
Share of German speakers (by colloquial language in Austria, by mother tongue in Hungary) in the overall population in the eastern parts of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1910. Darkest red >80%, paler shades of red 50–80%, 25–50%, 10–25%, 5–10%, 2–5%. Source: Rumpler & Seger 2010

Figure 3.

An old pharmacy in Bratislava’s historical centre bears inscriptions in Hungarian, Slovak, and German (Salvator Apotheke) Source: photo by Jordan 2022
An old pharmacy in Bratislava’s historical centre bears inscriptions in Hungarian, Slovak, and German (Salvator Apotheke) Source: photo by Jordan 2022

Figure 4.

Basilica of Saint James [Bazilika sv. Jakuba] and the old town hall of Levoča (German Leutschau) in the Zips. Source: photo by Jordan 2005
Basilica of Saint James [Bazilika sv. Jakuba] and the old town hall of Levoča (German Leutschau) in the Zips. Source: photo by Jordan 2005

Figure 5.

Eastern parts of Austrian Silesia and the Duchy of Cieszyn on the ethnographic map of the Austrian Empire by Czoernig (1855). Germans are, according to census data of 1851, indicated by a reddish colour, Czechs by pale green, and Poles by dark green; majorities appear in areal colour, minorities by coloured contour lines; red bands indicate the border of the Austrian Empire (thick line) and the borders of duchies (thin lines). Source: Czoernig 1855, private archive of Peter Jordan
Eastern parts of Austrian Silesia and the Duchy of Cieszyn on the ethnographic map of the Austrian Empire by Czoernig (1855). Germans are, according to census data of 1851, indicated by a reddish colour, Czechs by pale green, and Poles by dark green; majorities appear in areal colour, minorities by coloured contour lines; red bands indicate the border of the Austrian Empire (thick line) and the borders of duchies (thin lines). Source: Czoernig 1855, private archive of Peter Jordan

Figure 6.

The former Schönborn Palace near Mukačeve in Transcarpathia, now part of the Sanatorium “Karpaty”. Source: photo by Jordan 2003
The former Schönborn Palace near Mukačeve in Transcarpathia, now part of the Sanatorium “Karpaty”. Source: photo by Jordan 2003

Figure 7.

The former town hall on the triangular main square in Braşov’s historical centre Source: photo by Jordan 2016
The former town hall on the triangular main square in Braşov’s historical centre Source: photo by Jordan 2016

Figure 8.

The wall of the fortified church of Prejmer (German Tartlau), with flats and stores Source: photo by Jordan 2016
The wall of the fortified church of Prejmer (German Tartlau), with flats and stores Source: photo by Jordan 2016

Figure 9.

Viscri (German Deutsch-Weißkirch), a typical Saxon “Angerdorf” in south-eastern Transylvania, today mainly inhabited by Roma Source: photo by Jordan 2014
Viscri (German Deutsch-Weißkirch), a typical Saxon “Angerdorf” in south-eastern Transylvania, today mainly inhabited by Roma Source: photo by Jordan 2014

Figure 10.

Street sign in Sighişoara (German Schässburg), a reminder of the old German street name Umweg Source: photo by Jordan 2016
Street sign in Sighişoara (German Schässburg), a reminder of the old German street name Umweg Source: photo by Jordan 2016

Figure 11.

The Roman Catholic cathedral of the Hungarians and Germans at the old main square of Timişoara Source: photo by Jordan 2016
The Roman Catholic cathedral of the Hungarians and Germans at the old main square of Timişoara Source: photo by Jordan 2016

Figure 12.

The Swabian village Gottlob in the Banat plain has its German name on the official town sign Source: photo Jordan 2007
The Swabian village Gottlob in the Banat plain has its German name on the official town sign Source: photo Jordan 2007

Figure 13.

Abandoned 19th century spa facilities in Băile Herculane Source: photo by Jordan 2011
Abandoned 19th century spa facilities in Băile Herculane Source: photo by Jordan 2011

Figure 14.

The former casino in Vatra Dornei; under reconstruction at the time of the photo Source: photo by Jordan 2008.
The former casino in Vatra Dornei; under reconstruction at the time of the photo Source: photo by Jordan 2008.
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