Eisenstadt is the smallest capital of any federal state in Austria. When I visited Eisenstadt I realized that despite its small size it has a lot to offer.
Now being part of Austria, Eisenstadt has a colorful history. It was already a settlement for the Celts and Romans at around the 8th century BC. During the 11th century it became part of the Kingdom of Hungary. By the mid 14th century it became part of the Holy Roman Empire. Eisenstadt was briefly conquered by the Ottomans in 1529 and 1532.
But by the 1650s Eisenstadt, or Kismarton as it is called in Hungarian, came under the rule of the Esterhazy that would eventually play a crucial role in the development of the city. It was this aristocratic family that gave Eisenstadt its face. It was them that built the most prominent landmark in Eisenstadt – the Esterhazy Palace.
It was around that time that the second most influential name appears on the stage of the development of Eisenstadt – Joseph Haydn. It is a fact that not only Eisenstadt as the capital but also the province of Burgenland with its mere 300 000 inhabitants produced two of music history’s biggest names – Joseph Haydn and Franz Liszt. Two music superstars of their time.
And so it is no wonder that you can find Joseph Haydn everywhere in Eisenstadt. There is a restaurant Haydn Bräu, a Haydn path where you can discover the main locations in Haydn’s life. There is a special exhibition of Haydn at the Esterhazy Palace and the Haydn house that he bought from the money he earned with his music not far from the Esterhazy Palace.
Joseph Haydn & Eisenstadt
If there can be one name associated with Eisenstadt it is Joseph Haydn. Born in 1732 by the age of 29 he became music director at the princely court of the Esterhazy family where he would stay for 4 decades. And so among his duties were to compose music for his patron Prince Nikolaus who played an unusual instrument called baryton.
Through all his life he was sitting between two chairs – the one with which he earned money and the other one where he could live his music creativity. So by 1775 the taste of the prince changed and Nikolaus became interested in operas. As a result Haydn shifted his interest as well.
With the year 1779 though things changed for Haydn considerably when he renegotiated his contract with the Esterhazys. Because you see, back then there was not much about copyright. Before 1779 all the rights of Haydn’s compositions belonged to the Esterhazy family. But with his new contract now all rights moved to Haydn making it possible that Haydn could now sell his works to others as well. And this paved the way to Haydn becoming a wealthy composer and gaining more international popularity.
Mozart, Beethoven & Co.
And so when we think of influential composers and musicians today we think about Mozart and Beethoven for example. By the end of the 18th century Haydn was one of the most popular musicians and influential composers. He was friend and mentor of Mozart and tutor of Ludwig van Beethoven. And so today Joseph Haydn is called the father of symphony and to a certain degree of the string quartet. One of his most famous compositions was certainly the anthem for Emperor Francis II that was the Emperor’s anthem from 1826 to 1918 and that eventually became the National anthem of Germany after World War II.
Closing the Circle
So where does it all come together? As a conclusion. Yes, Eisenstadt is small but majestic. I guess that there is hardly any town with less than 15 000 inhabitants that has such a vast history and so many sights. It is nestled in this wonderful Pannonian landscape and its mild climate with the Neusiedler lake close by. So contrary to the rest of Austria with its mountainous regions in the west. Very close to the Hungarian border the heritage of the Esterhazy family is clueing it all together.
And so for me I am sure I will return and if its just for a sunny afternoon or morning so I can buy some of the wonderful products at the local farmers‘ market. In the end it is so close – not much more than an hour from Vienna. And I am wondering why haven’t I come here much earlier in my life.
Useful Information:
Getting there: OEBB Trains https://www.oebb.at
Esterhazy Palace: https://esterhazy.at
Haydn House: https://haydnhaus.at
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