Burgenland, Bundesland (federal state), eastern Austria, bordering Hungary on the east, and Bundesländer Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) on the northwest and Steiermark (Styria) on the southwest. It has an area of 1,531 square miles (3,965 square km). Derived from parts of the four former west Hungarian comitats (counties) of Pressburg (Bratislava), Wieselburg (Moson), Ödenburg (Sopron), and Eisenburg (Vasvár), it became an Austrian Bundesland in 1921. The low-lying parts of northern Burgenland belong to the Pannonian Basin, which is linked with the southern Vienna basin by two gateways situated north and south of the Leitha Mountains; the area is characterized by steppe and saline-heath vegetation, and its most striking feature is the Neusiedler Lake. The crystalline Rosalien Mountain Range, linked with the Alps, lies between northern and middle Burgenland. The latter is the most mountainous part of the state, subsiding eastward to the Pannonian Basin and rising westward to the Landsee and Bernsteiner Mountains and southward to the Günser Mountains. Southern Burgenland is hill country, drained from northwest to southeast by streams accompanied by systems of terraces.
A site of continuous human habitation since prehistoric times, the southwestern part belonged to the Celtic kingdom of Noricum in the Iron Age. The region was later part of the Roman province of Pannonia. Occupied in turn by Teutonic tribes, Avars, and Slavs, it was settled by Germans in the 8th century. Although part of Hungary, it became a focus of German settlement under a largely Magyar ruling class. Burgenland’s early history is linked to that of Hungary and after 1529 to the Habsburg empire. After World War I the predominantly German parts of western Hungary were ceded to Austria and became Burgenland, but Hungary retained control of most of the Sopron (Ödenburg) area after a plebiscite in 1921. The loss of Sopron robbed Burgenland of its natural capital and severed communication lines from north to south. Eisenstadt became the capital in 1925. Burgenland regained its status as a Bundesland in 1945 after having been divided between the Reichsgaue (“Reich’s provinces”) Niederdonau and Steiermark of greater Germany during the Anschluss, or incorporation of Austria into the Reich (1938–45).
Although predominantly German, Burgenland typically has had a high percentage of non-German minorities, particularly Croats and Magyars. Most of the people are Roman Catholic; Burgenland became a diocese in 1960. Because of its basically agricultural economy, characterized by extreme fragmentation of holdings, a low standard of living, underemployment, and seasonal migration, Burgenland for years has lost population, both to other parts of Austria and to Germany and overseas. Despite industrial growth since World War II, its towns are few, and many have populations under 10,000. Nearly three-fifths of the land surface is arable, and about one-third is forested. A large surplus of root crops and grain, including corn (maize), is produced. In the northern part, crops include vines, fruits and vegetables, some tobacco, hemp, and, experimentally, rice (on the lake shores at Weiden). Livestock raising is extensive. There are lumbering and reed production along the shores of Neusiedler Lake. Leitha Mountain limestone, an excellent building stone, and basalt, used in road construction, are quarried. China clay is produced near Stoob. There are a number of clay pits for brick works, and veins of chalk and semiprecious serpentine (used for jewelry and vases) are found there. Industries, limited mainly to small plants, include sugar refining, food processing, textile manufacturing, sawmilling, and furniture making. Considerable improvement in road and rail transportation has been achieved through Austrian federal aid and through regional development funds provided by the European Union.