Güssing

Güssing, Burgenland, town in the district of Güssing, alt. 229 m, pop. 3,945, 49.31 km², situated on the Strembach river in southern Burgenland, near the border to Hungary. - District Commission, district court, external offices of the tax office and the employment services, office of the provincial government (office for hydraulic engineering), district department of agriculture, Montecuccoli barracks, customs post, hospital, tax office, surveying office, psycho-social welfare centre, district headquarters of the rural police, provincial health and social insurance office, Chamber of Labour, Economic Chamber, cultural centre, schools: Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium secondary school, federal trade school, school of business, school of agriculture, Vocational Training Institute. Large fishponds, wildlife sanctuary near Urbersdorf. Economic structure dominated by small enterprises and advanced service sector (employed approx. 74 % of the working population in 1991, particularly personal, social and public services). Production sector: pasta and biscuit factories, dairy, construction of gates and doorways, production of leather articles and toilet cases, sawmill, power plant; mineral-water spring and bottling plant (sparkling water) near Sulz (municipality of Gerersdorf-Sulz). - Town status since 1973; castle (first documented in 1157) on a steep porphyritic cone (alt. 318 m) in the Stremtal valley, enlarged at the end of the 15^th century. 1524 property of the Batthyány family, partly razed in the mid-18^th century; partly restored after 1957; keep with Romanesque parts, castle chapel (15^th century), citadel with castle museum (ancestral hall, armouries and collections of cabinet pieces); Romanesque parish church (around 1200) in the old cemetery; Franciscan monastery (constructed 1648/49), monastery church with tombstones (16^th century); in the crypt, vault of the Batthyány family (lead sarcophagus of K. J. Batthyány by K. Moll 1772); Draskovich Castle (1804); Gothic winged altar (1469) in the chapel.

Literature: F. Glavanits (ed.), Stadterhebung Güssing 1973, Festschrift, 1973.