Season Exhibition: 400 Years of the Battle of Lackenbach
In 1620, Lackenbach was the scene of a battle between the beleaguered troops of Nicolaus Esterházy, who was loyal to the Austrian emperor, and the rebellious Hungarians of the Transylvanian Prince Gabor Bethlen. The victory over the rebels laid the foundation for the later rise of the Esterházy family. In Lackenbach Palace, an exhibition is now dedicated to what happened at that time.
For centuries the region that is today's Burgenland was caught in the tensions between powers: wars, battles and swarms ravaged the country. When Lackenbach became the scene of a combative encounter between the imperial troops and the soldiers of Gabor Bethlen on September 30, 1620, Count Nikolaus Esterházy succeeded, thanks to the support of the Neckenmarkt farmers, in averting the capture of Lackenbach Palace and defeating the emperor's enemies. For the Esterházy family, victory and loyalty to the emperor laid the foundation for their later rise.
The Neckenmarkt farmers were given the "imperial privilege of the flag" as a thank you. In 1622 the local youth marched through town with this flag for the first time. Until today on the Sunday after Corpus Christi it is waved during a procession. The importance of this custom was recognized in 2018 also by UNESCO when it named the tradition as an intangible cultural heritage. At the scene of the event, Lackenbach Palace, the exhibition “400 Years of the Battle of Lackenbach” will take place in 2021. Among other things, it features historical equipment and weapons of war such as glass and iron hand grenades, hailstones and projectiles for wall rifles.