The free town of Rust is located in Northern Burgenland in the Neusiedler See region. It is known as a wine-growing region and the "city of storks". Rust was granted town charter as early as 1681, which makes it the smallest administrative district in Austria. The old town of Rust was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001 together with the Neusiedler See region.
Old town: The entire picturesque old town area of Rust is now a
listed building. The numerous town houses from the 16th to 19th
centuries have well-kept Renaissance, Baroque or historicist facades
with beautiful window and portal frames, oriels, coat of arms and stucco
decorations. Characteristic arched portals and entrance vaults lead to
the idyllic inner courtyards or to the even older courtyard wings with
covered staircases and arcades, some with remains of the city wall. The
historic city center is protected by the Hague Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Blue and
white panels mark the individual objects. However, Rust is – along with
Salzburg and Krems – one of the three model cities in Austria that were
honored in 1975, the year of European architectural heritage, because
the old town is lively and not revitalized. In 2001, the old town of
Rust was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites together
with the Neusiedler See region. Rust has been named the most beautiful
town in Burgenland a number of times for its monument preservation and
cultural efforts. The houses still have their original function as
living and business premises for the citizens.
Fischerkirche: the
oldest and art-historically most important building in the city.
Remarkable are the frescoes from the 12th century, which were
rediscovered in the 19th century but only uncovered and restored in
several sections in the 20th century. The small church is now a museum
and is used for cultural purposes. Because of its special acoustics,
concerts are held in this special church room every year during the
summer months.
Catholic parish church in Rust am See
Evangelical
parish church in Rust am See
City Museum in the Kremayr House
Powder Tower: north-east corner tower with parts of the 16th-century
curtain wall
Kunsthaus Rust
Wine Academy: Since 1989, the first
German-speaking wine academy in the world has been based in Seehof,
which dates back to the 17th century
Since 1999, Rust has been the scene of the International Guitar Festival Rust, which has developed into one of the most important guitar festivals in Europe and is dedicated to the British composer John W. Duarte (1919-2004). It was founded by Venezuelan guitarist Gabriel Guillén, who shares artistic direction with Jovan Pesec. Numerous recognized guitarists from Austria and abroad give master classes and concerts. There is also an international guitar competition as well as instrument and sheet music exhibitions.
Lido with boat rental, surf courses, etc.
Cycling, the route
around Lake Neusiedl leads through the village
The city has
an observation tower to the south on the shores of Lake Neusiedl,
especially for the storks that reside in the vicinity.
Family
park leisure park with numerous attractions (roller coaster etc.) in
the neighboring town of St. Margarethen.
In pre-Christian times, the area was part of the Celtic Kingdom
of Noricum and belonged to the area around the Celtic hill
settlement Burg on the Schwarzenbacher Burgberg.
Later, under
the Romans, today's Rust was in the province of Pannonia.
Rust is first mentioned in a document in 1317 as Ceel (Hungarian
szil, elm, rüster ‘) in a deed of gift from the Hungarian King
Charles Robert I of Anjou-Naples for his follower Desiderius
Hedevary as possessio Ceel vocatum circa stagnum Ferthew. The German
place name Rust corresponds to the Hungarian place name Szil. The
current Hungarian place name Ruszt was later taken from the German
Rust.
Around 1470, Rust was granted market rights and since
1524 the Rusters have had the right, as evidenced by Queen Maria of
Hungary, to burn a crowned "R" into their barrels as a trademark.
This "R" is still used today as a quality mark in the cork brandy of
bottled wines. From the 1520s, Rust came under Protestant influence
from the nearby Ödenburg, where a Franciscan preached Lutheran in
1522. Towards the end of the 16th century, Rust confessed almost
completely to the Protestant faith and experienced a
political-economic as well as a spiritual-religious awakening.
Belonging to the Hungarian Altenburg manor, the evangelical
community faced counter-Reformation forces. Nevertheless, in 1647
the state parliament allowed the construction of a Protestant church
(today's Roman Catholic parish church), a rectory and a Protestant
school. The congregation experienced a heyday among Protestant
pastors and teachers until, from 1674, the partly violent
Counter-Reformation resulted in a century without its own church and
preacher. House fathers ensured the passing on of the Evangelical
faith with house devotions and Bible reading, while at the same time
the service of the Catholic pastor was used for the casualia.
The city was first fortified with walls and ditches in 1512, but
Rust was destroyed in 1529 and 1532 during the Turkish War. In 1614
a circular wall was built as a second city fortification, which is
still largely preserved today.
In 1649 Rust bought itself
free from subordination to the rulership, and the city paid 60,000
gold guilders and 500 buckets of the best wine to the Habsburgs:
almost 30,000 liters of Ruster Ausbruch of the Furmint variety. On
December 3, 1681, Rust received the title of Royal Free City
(Reichstag in Ödenburg) from King Leopold I - in exchange for an
amount raised largely by the Protestant population, which the
Protestant church initially did not bring back.
In 1918 there
was the (unrealized) plan to build a standard-gauge railway from the
station of the Raab-Oedenburg-Ebenfurter Railway in Sopron
(Ödenburg) via Mörbisch am See to Rust.
Rust, which belonged
to the Kingdom of Hungary until 1921 and then to the Republic of
Austria, exercises its self-government through its own town charter.
Since Rust was already a (Hungarian) free town before Burgenland was
annexed to Austria, it was treated as a statutory town after 1921
and has since been the smallest administrative district in Austria.
Mentioned for the first time in 1931, the local branch of the
National Socialist German Workers' Party was founded in 1932: In the
referendum on the annexation of Austria in March 1938, 862 yes votes
and 1 no vote were cast on a plaque for (allegedly) 100% yes -Votes
are not mentioned. Three Jewish families were expropriated, partly
expelled, partly murdered in camps. Roma and Romnija were
discriminated against, taken to camps and murdered. Four people with
disabilities were murdered as part of the National Socialist
euthanasia program. In the Second World War there were 113 killed or
missing. The Red Army ended the National Socialist tyranny on April
2, 1945. After the war, officials of the NSDAP and the police were
sentenced to prison terms in denazification trials.
In 2019,
Rust was awarded the honorary title of “Reformation City of Europe”
by the Community of Evangelical Churches in Europe.
By plane
The closest airports are the international airport
Vienna-Schwechat and the airport Milana Rastislava Štefánika in
Bratislava, both of which can be reached in one hour (depending on
traffic conditions).
With public transport
Rust is
approached by buses from Eisenstadt several times an hour.
Eisenstadt itself can be reached by train (from Wulkaprodersdorf or
Neusiedl connection from Vienna) or by regional buses from Vienna
Central Station. The nearest train station is Schützen am Gebirge on
the Wulkaprodersdorf-Neusiedl railway line. It is also advisable to
travel by bike if you take your bike on the train from Sopron or
Neusiedl.
By road
Coming from Vienna, the route takes you
via the A2 and A3 to the Eisenstadt junction, where you change to
the S31 ri. Eisenstadt. At the Eisenstadt-Mitte exit, change to the
B51, which leads directly to Rust.
From Sopron take the 84 to
the border and continue on the B16. At the Siegendorf roundabout,
turn right ri. Saint Margareten exits. When you have reached this
town, turn right again onto the B51.
The border crossing near
Mörbisch south of Rust is only open to bicycles and pedestrians.
Rust is located on the western shore of Lake Neusiedl, near the
Hungarian border.
congregational structure
Rust consists of a
single cadastral community or locality of the same name.
The city is connected to the state capital of Eisenstadt via the
Ruster Straße (B52).
For a few decades, Rust was the terminus of
a branch of the Pannonia Railway. However, Rust has not been connected
to the rail network since 1953. The next train station of the
Pannoniabahn is in Schützen am gebirge, from Rust there are buses to
Eisenstadt and also directly to Vienna.
Three Austrian
long-distance hiking trails run through the municipal area of Rust: the
Northern Alpine Trail, the Central Alpine Trail and the Eastern Austrian
Border Trail.
The vineyards in the municipality cover around 450 hectares, which belong to the Leithaberg wine-growing region and are famous for the Rust outbreak. Among the best-known wineries are Feiler-Artinger and Triebaumer.
The Burgenland State Police Headquarters in Eisenstadt acts as the
security authority of the first instance for the city; Therefore,
license plates with the distinguishing character E are assigned for Rust
as for Eisenstadt. A police inspection has been set up in the city,
which reports to the Eisenstadt city police command.
The town of
Rust is located in the district of Eisenstadt.
In addition to a kindergarten, there is an elementary and middle school as well as an adult education center. The Austrian Wine Academy is also based in Rust.
Mayor of the Free City of Rust has been Gerold Stagl (SPÖ) since
2012. In the 2022 election, he won the runoff with 54.86 percent of the
votes.
Mayor History:
1967-1970; 1972-2002 Heribert Artinger
(ÖVP/List Artinger)
2002-2012 Harald Weiss (SPÖ)
since 2012 Gerold
Stagl (SPÖ)
Mayor Gerold Stagl (SPÖ)
Deputy Mayor Johann Reinprecht (SPÖ)
Deputy Mayor Georg Seiler (ÖVP)
City Councilor Viktoria
Bachkönig-Reiner (SPÖ)
City Councilor Mario Horvath (FZR)
Municipal Director of the Free City of Rust is Mathias Szöke.
Blazon: "The coat of arms of the free city shows a shield divided twice transversely. Its upper field is blue, the middle one is green, but the lower field is filled with a natural body of water. Natural reed leaves grow from the second dividing line in the middle field and further, reaching into the uppermost field, three natural reed heads fan out. On top of the shield surrounded by an ornamented gold border rests a gold, jeweled crown with five visible leaf prongs, between which four pearl prongs are attached.”
Sons and daughters of the township
Johannes Wohlmuth (1642–1724),
organist and composer
David Ignatz Neumann (1894–1991),
Austrian-Israeli poet, cutler and politician
Elza Brandeisz
(1907–2018), Hungarian dancer and gymnastics teacher
Ludwig Schandl
(1908-1969), winegrower and politician (FPÖ)
Erich Karassowitsch
(1944-2021), winegrower and politician (FPÖ)
Johanna Auer (* 1950),
politician (SPÖ)
Harald Weiss, politician (SPÖ) and former mayor of
the city
The following personalities have been made honorary citizens by
resolution of the municipal council:
Heribert Artinger, former mayor
D
Christian Euler, community and district doctor
Emmerich Fennesz,
Roman Catholic city priest
Emmerich Gold, elementary school director
i. R
Rudolf Grohotolsky (1922–2013), Deputy Governor
Eugen
Horvath, former General Director of BEWAG
Theodor Kery (1918–2010),
former governor
Rudolf Kremayr (1905–1989), founder of the
Kremayrhaus
Peter Rezar (born 1956), State Councilor
Paul
Rittsteuer (* 1947), former state councillor
Fred Sinowatz
(1929–2008), former Chancellor of the Republic of Austria
Georg
Weissmann, President of the Austrian Chamber of Notaries
The Free City of Rust is the setting and original location of the TV series Der Winzerkönig and the TV film Ein Sommer im Burgenland starring Hannelore Elsner.