Burgenland has been part of Austria for 100 years. The victorious powers of the First World War awarded the narrow strip of German West Hungary to Austria, and in 1921 the area called Burgenland was annexed to Austria as an independent province. Burgenland has developed from a long-smiled poorhouse of Austria into a modern business location.
In 1918, the Habsburg Monarchy collapsed. The question arose as to the nationality of the predominantly German-speaking population living in western Hungary. The victorious powers assigned the narrow strip to Austria. Hungary tried in vain to prevent this. The logical provincial capital Ödenburg remained with Hungary after a referendum. (Source: ORF)
Musically, the Burgenland, its inhabitants and many places in Burgenland are addressed. Robert Payer in particular, with his “Original Burgenlandkapelle”, is considered a musical ambassador of the light muse and many of his compositions have the country as their programme. Joseph Haydn, on the other hand, is Burgenland’s classical figurehead, as he served as Kapellmeister to the Esterhazys from 1761 to 1790 and thus lived in Eisenstadt for almost 30 years.
You can find more composers from Burgenland in this list.