Exploring family history in Austria
For members of the Taschwer family
Yes, yes, finally I’ve gotten around to writing a little something about our recent adventure "over there" — Austria Edition.
After spending a little time in southwestern Germany exploring my own family history, but before heading to Munich for Oktoberfest, we took a lovely little train trip down to Carinthia (the part of Austria that borders Italy) to see where one of Gary’s ancestors grew up.
Der Herkunft
The background information
I’ve already written a couple of times (1)(2) about Benedict Taschwer, Gary’s great-great-grandfather and Austrian immigrant to America. But here’s why we went to this particular spot in Austria:
Benedict “Ben” Taschwer was born March 20, 1882, in the village of Turdanitsch in the city of Villach, Kärnten, Austria — actually a culturally German part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time. He was a child of Frank/Franz and Elisabeth “Bessie” (née Prock) Taschwer. Ben was baptized at the Catholic church in the nearby village of Maria Gail.
Die Kirche
The church
We decided on a whim to walk the 2 1/2 miles across the Drava/Drau River to the village of Maria Gail, itself named after the little medieval pilgrimage church called Wallfahrtskirche Maria Gail. Of course I’d put it on the list of possible attractions to see, but Gary wasn’t super interested in it at first — and I’d thought we’d be taking a tram. In any case, the walk along the river and through the village turned out to be absolutely lovely.
We weren’t quite sure whether we’d be allowed to enter the church, or even the grounds. While we were standing at the low wall surrounding it wondering what to do, a local woman entered and left the gate open for us. We wandered around the small family cemetery, where several other people were tending their family plots, until we finally came around to the front doors. They were heavy wood things, sunk several steps into the ground — the church was, after all, built centuries ago, and the village has quite literally grown up around it.
I wish we could have gotten some photos of the inside, but it didn’t seem like quite the kind of place where one can go around snapping pics. It’s still a place of religious pilgrimage, after all, and we were certainly the only tourists there.
Die Küche
The cuisine
I can’t end this newsletter without talking a little bit about the food there, can I?
One of the most delicious things we tried was authentic apfelstrudel at a little café along the river. Sure, this isn’t something you can’t find stateside, but it was remarkably delicious just the same.
We also ordered Wiener schnitzel for lunch a couple of times. These were delicious but giant — and I do mean GIANT — slabs of fried meat.
And as for drinks, I particularly enjoyed a few glasses of the local Grüner Veltliner wine. Gary also tried several versions of the popular Weißbier and Hefeweizen wheat beers from Austria and southwestern Germany.
Villach, despite being a bit smaller and more isolated compared to the cities we went to in Germany, is really a cosmopolitan little place. We met several students and researchers from all around the globe; apparently it’s a fairly popular destination for young study- and work-abroad types. It’s not somewhere we’d have considered going just for itself on a vacation, but I’m so, so glad that we ended up there during this particular trip.
All right, that’s it, I’m done going on and on about our travels (for now). But if you’ve gone somewhere that is significant to your family’s history, feel free to share your story with us, too!