Southern inundation area of Lake Fertő/Neusiedl in the later Middle Ages and the

Early Modern Period

Connection between water-level conditions,

shoreline and the landscapeKiss, Andrea

Overview• Study area

• Historical sources: the southern inundation area

• Historical water-level conditions and water-level changes

• The landscape and its development: different water levels

• Main directions and the intensity of wetland landscape exploitation

Study area

• Maps (18th-19th c.): military – rather schematic; cadaster (map+survey)-good; other small and large scale maps – schematic or refer to small area

• Legal documentation: medieval charters, early modern (16-19th c.) land-ownership or borderline debates – refer to small areas

• Other documentary: – Narrative (written evidence): e.g. Sopron citizens– Economic (written evidence) – taxation surveys– Domain surveys: Eszterházy, Széchényi

• Archaeological surveys (not many yet… - but important)

Historical sources: the southern inundation area

Water level and landscape: the modern situation Any

historical applications?Fixed water level – 20th century Transformation of basin – human impact (Kopf)

BUT: How present processes can be applied in detecting historical (e.g. medieval conditions)?(and vica verse?)

What and how to apply from present?

E.g. connecting medieval with modern; early modern with modern: shoreline and environment in the Inundation area

Modern inundation model

versus

medievalreambulation charters? 1281, 13351362, 1434-1435

115.5 mwaterlevel

S-Fertő

Historical water-level fluctuations: models and problems

The Kopf-reconstruction (1963); ext.: Zorkóczy (1976)

Water-level reconstructions or data-collections (e.g.):Nagy (1869), Kövér (1940), Károlyi (1957), Balsay et al. 1975 stb.

Sometimes only based on ‘beliefs’ – e.g. Fertő river, 1568 human impact….

Common problems:1. No information on primary/original sources applied by F. Kopf (or others)2. Continous information?3. Only for last 400 years (medieval: spotted – e.g. 1281, 1335, 1362, 1434)4. Complete desiccation???

What original sources tell us?

1585

1587

1594

?

1595

?

1597

1616

1645

1646

1660

1676

?

1677

?

1683

1684

1685

1686

1687

1688

1689

1693

1694

?

1695

?

1700

?

magas vízszint

alacsony vízszint

High water

Low water

-2

-1

0

1

2

1616

1660

1683

1686

1689

1695?

1707

1727

1730

1735

1738

1742

1760

1776

1783

1790

1813

1835

1859

1862

1865

1868

1871

1874

1877

Fixing medium water level – when it means what?

For fixing (approximately the) medium water level: historical cadaster survey (1854), Eszterházy domain map (+ Sarród cooperative map)

Edge of lake basinOpen surface of water Sarród area (today)

Transforming landscape into simple model: medium water level (for land use/exploitation model)

Land exploitation – different water levels –

flexible reaction of societyHigh water level (e.g. 1740s)

Intensity of exploitation special emphasis: Middle Ages

Low water level (1710s-1730s)

Conclusions

• New, documentary (and map) based water level reconstruction is needed – also to landscape reco-s

• Some aspects concerning medieval water levels and land exploitation can be as well detected

• Land use and exploitation show strong flexibility towards predominant water level conditions

• Intensities of land exploitation were very diifferent in certain period (e.g. Middle Ages)

Thank you for your attention