History blog

Ten years of historical “recycling”

Herbert Brettl writes historical books. He does a lot of research for them. If information doesn't fit into a book, he may be able to use it for his blog.(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

Herbert Brettl from Halbturn has already written 14 books. Not all the information is used in them. That's why he has his blog. 

Herbert Brettl from Halbturn is a historian with heart and soul. He really caught fire at grammar school in Neusiedl am See. "I had a great history teacher," he says. Professor Brunner also addressed topics that many others would have considered taboo in his school days. During his studies, he then realized that the study of sources was very much in line with his interests. "I love archives. I can glean more from some things than others," says Brettl.

He still loves researching to this day. He has already written 14 books, often finding out things that were not relevant to the current project, but not uninteresting. That's why his "History Blog" was created ten years ago in February. To date, he has written 753 posts. A new article is published once a week - usually on a Sunday. "I always call it the word on Sunday," laughs Brettl. And: "The publication of the articles is "situation-elastic". In other words: sometimes there are references to current events, sometimes there are simply funny stories or entries to think about.

The History Blog usually publishes a new article once a week.(Bild: Herbert Brettl)

Its stories are divided into localities and topics. 209 places from Burgenland are already immortalized in his blog. There are 328 in total (171 municipalities plus all the districts). His aim is to find and document historical delicacies from everywhere.

Gendarmerie posts for "difficult communities"
For example, there is an article about Gols from 1940 entitled: "A "difficult" municipality needs a gendarmerie post". Or an article from today's provincial capital from 1923: "Description of the Burgenland election campaigners". The police checked those who were standing for election in the state. You can read, for example, that one person has "significant intelligence and activity" or another "used to be very active as a poacher. Thinks and acts unobjectively, emotionally. Easily agitated."

"Anyone interested in history is sure to find stories they like," says Brettl.

Curious to find out more? Then just click brettl.at and start reading!