Do you know that Haslau-Maria Ellend has a history stretching back millennia? This municipality in Lower Austria holds secrets from the Bronze Age to modern times. Let’s delve into the past of these two villages.
Haslau-Maria Ellend’s story begins around 800 BC. A Bronze Age depot find was discovered in Haslau’s Unterfeld. Around 400 BC, Celtic graves marked the Ostried area of Haslau. Later, from 100 to 395 AD, the Roman Limes left its mark. Remains of fortifications and settlements dotted the landscape of Haslau and Maria Ellend.
In 1058, the Bavarian Margraves of Vohburg-Cham became landowners. 1083 saw the first documented mention of Haslau as “Haselawa.” The Lords of Haslau were mentioned in records in 1192. Around 1200, the village of Gernstain appeared. This was the first settlement on the grounds of modern Maria Ellend.
Around 1250, Veste Haßlaw arose. It was the ancestral seat of the Haslau family. It protected the Urfahr area between Orth and Haslau. King Rudolf I granted Otto II von Haslau the Landgericht of Fischamend in 1278.
The Haslau family line ended in 1436. Their property passed to the Kranichbergers in Petronell. Around 1450, lawless knights caused havoc. The village of Haßlaw was deserted. The Viennese civic guard razed Veste Haßlaw. The Danube swallowed the village of Gernstain.
A chapel, “Our Dear Lady in Ellend,” was mentioned in 1466. In 1529, the first Turkish siege likely destroyed the remaining settlements. Haslau was resettled around 1540 with Croatians. Dr Wolfgang Pranntner led this resettlement. The place was then called Haslau am Hartberg and later Kroatisch-Haslau.
In 1579, Frh Wolf von Unverzagt founded the village “Our Dear Lady in Elendt.” This replaced the lost Gernstain and was settled with Croatians. A road and water toll was established. Both villages still belonged to the old Haslau Landgericht of Fischamend. The St Markus church in Ellend was built in 1583. Haslau then became part of the Ellend parish.
The Thirty Years’ War from 1645-46 brought hardship. The villages suffered from the plague during the Swedish defense. In 1650, the Lords of Abensperg and Traun became landowners. The first parish school in Ellend opened in 1661. Children from Haslau also attended.
The second Turkish siege in 1683 heavily damaged the villages. Kuruzz invasions caused devastation in 1704 and 1706. The pilgrimage church to the Mother of God in the Rosary was built between 1770 and 1772. Franz Josef Gabriel von Abensperg und Traun commissioned it. Pilgrimages to the miraculous image of the Mother of God began. The village was then renamed Maria Ellend. Before this, Croatian pilgrimages to St Markus were popular. He is the patron saint of field crops.
French troops occupied the villages during the Coalition Wars in 1805 and 1809. The end of manorialism came in 1848. The peasants were liberated. A primary school was built in Haslau in 1884.
The pilgrimage facilities with the Lourdes Grotto were erected between 1906 and 1914. The Maria Ellend station on the Vienna-Pressburg railway line opened in 1914. Pilgrimages increased significantly. Missionaries of the Holy Family took over the Maria Ellend parish in 1929.
In 1944, a bombing raid on Haslau caused deaths, injuries and property damage. The Red Army occupied the area in 1945. The Fischerkirche in Haslau was built in 1960. Haslau and Maria Ellend merged to form the municipality of Haslau-Maria Ellend in 1969.
From ancient settlements to modern times, Haslau-Maria Ellend has seen it all. Its rich tapestry of history is a testament to the resilience and spirit of its people.