The designations of bodies of water in the "Seewinkel" (Burgenland Austria) and their meaning

Around the middle of the 19(th) century the number of waters in the "Seewinkel", a plain east of the "Neusiedlersee", amounted to about 150. The origin and age of these shallow basins is a matter of much dispute, and the assumptions and hypotheses are discussed in this paper. With respect to their location three groups of astatic bodies of water can be distinguished: Ij those in the vicinity of the Neusiedlersee east of the "dam" possibly formed by it, 2) those within, and 3) those outside the former inundation zone as documented in historical maps. This inundation ai-ea consists mainly of the large "Hansag" and was most probably a precursor of the Neusiedlersee. Obviously these three groups of astatic waters have a different origins and ages. Due to periods of flooding and extended dry ones the number of Seewinkel waters was certainly subject to natural fluctuations. For some periods during the 18(th) and 19(th) centuries this is depicted in maps. Only late in the 19(th) century man started draining the waters and continued to do so most intensively for the past 60 years. As a result only about 40 waters can still be found within the SeeWinkel. The main topic of this paper is reviewing the meaning of the designations given to these bodies of water. Obviously, those denominated as "See "(lake, in Hungarian: "to"') lie in areas formerly subject to floods spreading from the Neusiedlersee or were even formed by this lake. Only lately and most often in connection with promoting recreation facilities some bodies of water outside the al ea influenced by the Neusiedlersee became denoted "See". Within the former inundation area (mainly in the Hansag) there was a small group of waters originally not named at all, most of which were, however, - most often arbitrarily - named "Lacke" ("pool") during the third mapping of the Austrian Empire (in this area: 1872-1880). The land-register (of 1853 and 1856) demonstrates rather clearly that the designation as "Lacke" was nearly always used for waters outside the influence of the Neusiedlersee. There are, however, a few bodies of water located within the border region of inundations identified as "See - Lacke", "to - Lacke". Special attention is given to such cases.