{"id":948,"date":"2017-04-11T20:23:34","date_gmt":"2017-04-12T02:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iseeancestors.com\/comm\/?p=948"},"modified":"2017-04-23T09:32:32","modified_gmt":"2017-04-23T15:32:32","slug":"gluck-auf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/2017\/04\/11\/gluck-auf\/","title":{"rendered":"Gl\u00fcck Auf!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Three<\/a>
Mary (Bittner) Pohl, her daughter Ida Stewart, and her daughter Ruth Voisin (standing)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cGl\u00fcck Auf\u201d has been the traditional greeting used by miners. No doubt my ancestors, who were coal miners, used this expression daily. In German, it means \u201cgood luck.\u201d Not only did miners wish each other luck in finding and extracting the minerals they sought, but it was a wish that they also come back alive.<\/p>\n

P\u00e9csb\u00e1nya is a coal-mining district about three miles northeast of P\u00e9cs, Hungary. The area was also called P\u00e9csb\u00e1nyatelep. Literally translated they mean P\u00e9cs-mine and P\u00e9cs-mine-settlement. P\u00e9cs was known as F\u00fcnfkirchen by the Germans. For 250 years, more than 35 different coal mines operated at one time or another and 40 million tons of coal were produced here.<\/p>\n

The Danube Steamship Company (Dunai G\u0151zhaj\u00f3 T\u00e1rsas\u00e1g, or DGT) was a large consumer of coal. In 1852 it expanded into ownership of coal mines. To house workers for its growing operations, DGT started a \u201ccolony\u201d in 1855, named Colonia. It was located on Geszteny\u00e9s hill ridge near the Andr\u00e1s (Andrew) mine. The first settlers there were Hungarians, Germans, Czech-Moravians, Slovakians, Bosnians and Slovenians.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Colonia,<\/a>
Colonia, 1865 [efn_note]Historical Maps of the Habsburg Empire, Cadastral maps (XIX. century), “P\u00e9cs, 1865” (http:\/\/mapire.eu\/hu\/map\/cadastral\/<\/a> : viewed 5 April 2017), citing Arcanum Adatb\u00e1zis Kft. (http:\/\/www.arcanum.hu\/en\/<\/a>), and citing Magyar Nemzeti Lev\u00e9lt\u00e1r (http:\/\/mnl.gov.hu\/<\/a>), and citing Tim\u00e1r, G., Biszak, S. (2010): Digitizing and georeferencing of the historical cadastral maps (1856-60) of Hungary. In: Livieratos, E., Gartner, G. (eds.): Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Digital Approaches in Cartographic Heritage, 559-564. DOI: 10.13140\/2.1.3888.8967.[\/efn_note]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Colonia was a \u201ccompany town\u201d that provided an existence for workers \u201cfrom cradle to grave.\u201d Finished by 1870, it had relatively modern conveniences, like running water in 1859 and gas-lit street lighting in 1878. It had a church, school, pub, grocery-store, steam-mill, smoke-house, hospital, cemetery, and other sport and cultural buildings. <\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The residential area consisted of several rows of identical housing units. Colonia is today known as P\u00e9csb\u00e1nya.<\/p>\n

Early settlers in Colonia were my great great-grandparents, Stephan and M\u00e1ria (Turek) Bittner<\/a>. They were both born in what was then Szomolnok, Hungary, but it is today Smoln\u00edk, Slovakia. They perhaps lived for a time in Serbia and then came to Colonia by 1861. My great-grandmother M\u00e1ria (Bittner) Pohl was born in Colonia in 1867, and probably in house number 57. <\/span>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Colonia,<\/a>
Detail of housing units in Colonia, perhaps showing house 57, upper middle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My great great-grandparents Albert and Sophia (Rohr) Pohl<\/a> also came to Colonia no earlier than 1864. They came with their young children, including my future great-grandfather Albert Pohl. They were from Setzdorf in Austrian Silesia, which is today V\u00e1penn\u00e1, Czech Republic.<\/p>\n

Both great great-grandfathers Stephen Bittner and Albert Pohl were coal miners, as was my great-grandfather Albert Pohl. It is uncertain at which mines they worked. Since there were so many, they probably worked at different mines throughout their careers. If Colonia was built and managed by DGT, they may have worked only at DGT-owned mines. The Andr\u00e1s Akna was closest to Colonia. It was in operation from 1852 to 1991. Other nearby DGT mines included Schroll Akna (1869-1926), Zwang Akna (1850-1897), Albrecht F\u00e9k Akna (1856-1894), and the Ferenc (2) T\u00e1r\u00f3 (1860-1870). <\/span>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAkna\u201d means mine and \u201ct\u00e1r\u00f3\u201d means tunnel in Hungarian, presumably a shaft and a drift mine, respectively. A shaft mine uses a vertical downward shaft while a drift mine uses a horizontal shaft that follows a coal seam back into a mountain.<\/p>\n

\"Szent<\/a>
Szent Fl\u00f3ri\u00e1n at Colonia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Catholic Church in Colonia was Szent Fl\u00f3ri\u00e1n (Saint Florian). It was built in 1861 and would have been the church where great-grandmother M\u00e1ria (Bittner) Pohl was baptized in 1867. When she grew up, it was where she married my great-grandfather Albert Pohl in 1885. Due to mining operations near it, the church was damaged and had to be demolished in 1890. A new church was eventually built further away on the northern edge of Colonia in 1902. Today it looks as though even that church is no longer used. However music still plays from its tower daily in honor of the miners. <\/span>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span>  <\/span>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Andr\u00e1s<\/a>
Andr\u00e1s Akna [efn_note]Csorba Gy\u0151z\u0151 K\u00f6nyvt\u00e1r [Library], P\u00e9cs, “16-1. Andr\u00e1s akna, h\u00e1tt\u00e9rben a kol\u00f3nia a r\u00e9gi templommal [Andr\u00e1s<\/span> mine<\/span>,<\/span> the background<\/span> of Colonia and the<\/span> old<\/span> church<\/span><\/span>],” (http:\/\/www.csgyk.hu\/web\/banyaszattortenet\/kepek\/Akn%C3%A1k\/Andr%c3%a1s%20akna\/<\/a> : 5 April 2017.[\/efn_note]<\/figcaption><\/figure>This is a view of the Andr\u00e1s mine, taken sometime between 1861 and 1890. It looks northeast towards Colonia. Notice the front row of identical houses where miners lived (detail inset, top). Also shown is one of the only images yet found of the old St. Florian Catholic Church (detail inset, upper right). These are the very houses where our ancestors lived, and the very church where our ancestors worshiped, taken at the time they were there.<\/p>\n

\"Schroll<\/a>
Schroll Akna with Colonia [efn_note]Csorba Gy\u0151z\u0151 K\u00f6nyvt\u00e1r [Library], P\u00e9cs, “55. Schroll akna, h\u00e1tt\u00e9rben a Col\u00f3nia [Schroll mine, background of Colonia],” (http:\/\/www.csgyk.hu\/web\/banyaszattortenet\/kepek\/Akn%c3%a1k\/Schroll%20akna\/<\/a> : 5 April 2017.[\/efn_note]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Here is the Schroll mine, which operated from 1869 to 1926. It was located on the east side of Colonia, so this view is looking west, with Colonia in the background. Notice again the rows of identical housing units.<\/p>\n

\"Zwang<\/a>
Zwang Akna [efn_note]Csorba Gy\u0151z\u0151 K\u00f6nyvt\u00e1r [Library], P\u00e9cs, “5. Zwang aknai munk\u00e1sok [Zwang mine workers],” (http:\/\/www.csgyk.hu\/web\/banyaszattortenet\/kepek\/Akn%c3%a1k\/Zwang%20akna\/<\/a> : 5 April 2017.[\/efn_note]<\/figcaption><\/figure>Here are miners outside the Zwang mine, which operated from 1850 to 1897, just north of the Andr\u00e1s mine and just west of Colonia. Did our ancestors work here? Perhaps they are standing among the nameless faces.<\/p>\n

The place of residence given by our ancestors on birth, marriage and death records varied. Parents and children lived and worked in different places at different times over a 40 year period: Colonia, Nagyb\u00e1nya, Szabolcs, and P\u00e9csb\u00e1nyatelep. However all these places were within a few miles of one another and are generally in and around what is today P\u00e9csb\u00e1nya. For example my great-grandmother M\u00e1ria (Bittner) Pohl was born in Colonia. When she got married, she resided in Nagyb\u00e1nya, and when she gave birth to my grandmother Ida, the family lived in Szabolcs.<\/p>\n

\"Andr\u00e1s<\/a>
Andr\u00e1s Akna [efn_note]Csorba Gy\u0151z\u0151 K\u00f6nyvt\u00e1r [Library], P\u00e9cs, “D.G.T. P\u00e9csi K\u00f6sz\u00e9nb\u00e1ny\u00e1i Hegyr\u00e9tegek keresztszelv\u00e9nyei [P\u00e9cs Mines Mountain Layer Cross-sections],” DGT_3 (http:\/\/www.csgyk.hu\/web\/banyaszattortenet\/doc\/<\/a> : 5 April 2017), page 4.[\/efn_note]<\/figcaption><\/figure>A geologic cross-section is shown here for the Andr\u00e1s mine, as a representative example. From the mine building at top, a vertical shaft descends into the earth. Horizontal tunnels branch off of that, boring outward through rock strata and coal seams.<\/p>\n

Some DGT-owned mines began to close down in the early 1890s, presumably as their coal seams were depleted. Perhaps this is a reason why my great-grandfather Albert Pohl left for better opportunities in America. Albert sailed alone to America in 1892 and made his way to the coal mines of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He later sent for his wife M\u00e1ria and her children, including my grandmother Ida, the following year. They in turn made the voyage in 1893, leaving both Albert\u2019s parents and M\u00e1ria\u2019s mother behind in P\u00e9csb\u00e1nya. M\u00e1ria\u2019s father had died in 1889. It is doubtful they ever returned.<\/p>\n

\"StreetView\"<\/a>
House 57, as it appears today [efn_note]Google StreetView, P\u00e9csb\u00e1nya, Hungary, 2011 (https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/@46.1109229,18.2478035,3a,75y,33.55h,75.92t\/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sN0bJQzWbw5ppa_rro5fh-Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1<\/a> : 19 April 2017).[\/efn_note]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This could be the actual house where Stephan and M\u00e1ria (Turek) Bittner lived when their daughter, my great-grandmother M\u00e1ria, was born in 1867.  It is near the intersection of S\u00e9tat\u00e9r Utca and P\u00e9csb\u00e1nyatelepi Utca (“Utca” means street).  This building looks similar to those shown in the Andr\u00e1s Akna photograph above. It is probably more than 150 years old and is therefore likely the very same dwelling occupied by the Bittners. Each building was originally home to four families, but appears to be a duplex for two families today. Shown here is the right-side dwelling.<\/p>\n

Today the prominent geographical feature in the area is the former open-pit surface mine, the Karolina. Open-pit mining began in the 1950s. Several old mining sites were obliterated by the open-pit. All mining ceased here in 2004.<\/p>\n

\"P\u00e9csb\u00e1nya\"<\/a>
P\u00e9csb\u00e1nya today, top, and with the 1865 map superimposed, bottom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Interestingly, in 1988 dinosaur footprints were discovered in the Karolina pit mine. They may have been left by a group of Komlosaurus dinosaurs walking around what was then a seashore.<\/p>\n

\"Dinosaur<\/a>
Dinosaur Tracks [efn_note]Istv\u00e1n Fzy and Istv\u00e1n Szente, “Fossils of the Carpathian Region” (Indiana University Press, 2013), pages 138 and 140.[\/efn_note]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dinosaurs eventually became the fossil fuel that provided a livelihood for my ancestors, who were among the first coal miners to live and work in the P\u00e9csb\u00e1nya area during its heyday. My great great-grandparents spent the rest of their lives there. Their children, my great-grandparents ventured onward to America, only to continue working the coal mines of Western Pennsylvania. It is through their hard work and good luck that their descendants follow in their footsteps today. Gl\u00fcck Auf! Indeed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGl\u00fcck Auf\u201d has been the traditional greeting used by miners. No doubt my ancestors, who were coal miners, used this expression daily. In German, it means \u201cgood luck.\u201d Not only did miners wish each other luck in finding and extracting the minerals they sought, but it was a wish that they also come back alive. … Continue reading “Gl\u00fcck Auf!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":309,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,53,15,54,9],"tags":[127,104,126,125],"class_list":["post-948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-hungary","category-life-and-times","category-maternal-ancestors","category-surname-pohl","tag-coal-miners","tag-hungary","tag-mining","tag-pecsbanya"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/309"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":970,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions\/970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iSeeAncestors.com\/comm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}