PROTOCOL REGARDING STATUS OF FÜRSTENTHAL LAND HOLDINGS - Raimund Friedrich Kaindl,

Protocol in Raimund Friedrich Kaindl,
Das Ansiedlungswesen in der Bukowina seit der Besitzergreifung durch Österreich,
trans. Dr. Sophie A. Welisch
(Innsbruck: Verlag der Wagner’schen Universitäts-Buchhandlung, 1902), pp. 535-537.

Based on only the first paragraph of the following document, the translator, Dr. Sophie Welisch, makes the following observation:

The protocol was drawn up to show the legal relationship of the occupants of certain houses and lands in Fürstenthal with the Religious Foundation, from whom the settlers had gotten their properties.

In 1802, the Fürstenthal colonists had been recruited in Bohemia for the purpose of setting up and running a glass factory. By 1858, the issue here seems to be to determine if the settlers were living on land from the Religious Foundation or from the community of Mardzina and to which entity they owed taxes. In the protocol each colonist is specifically identified as affiliated with the glass factory (glass factory worker, glazer, carpenter for glass factory, etc.), showing his affiliation with and responsibility to the Religious Foundation. However, some parcels were within the jurisdiction of Mardzina and others not (see last two paragraphs).

The Greek-Orthodox Religious Foundation was set up by the Austrian government after Austria's annexation of Bukovina and given control over lands confiscated from the Orthodox monasteries. These lands in turn were used as endowments to settle colonists, primarily Germans from other parts of the Holy Roman Empire.

Regarding house numbers: It's possible that the houses were not consecutively numbered or that not all house plots were in dispute.

July 26, 1858. “Protocol. Undertaken through the decree of Cameral Administrator of the laudable k k. Bukovina Finance-District Board on July 11,1858 Z.9795 to determine of the legal status between the Bukovina Religious Foundation-Solka Domain and the workers on the here existing glass factories in respect to the dwellings and properties presently in their possession, through the undersigned fiscal administrator for Fürstenthal on July 26, 1858.

Since in the above matter no witnesses could be found in the neighboring communities who could testify to the veracity of the situation, the oldest members of the community of Fürstenthal from the lumbering settlement such as, Joseph Gnad, 75 years old, and Franz Geschwentner, 69 years old, were invited to join the local governing body which after examining the glassmakers’ houses reported the following:

All the designated dwellings with the single exception of the one under House No. 8 had been constructed by the Religious Foundation –Solka Domain between 1803 and 1805 and in them accommodated the glass factory workers, in addition to which and at that everyone equally, each received three Joch [1 Joch = 1.422 acres] of land.

The land at that time had hardly distinguishable from the virgin forest, but rather covered with trees and much shrubbery, and the glass factory workers themselves had to clear the land without any assistance or compensation from the Domain.

Of the originally enrolled glass factory workers there remain currently the sons Jakob Schuster, Franz Weber, Karl Gaschler the Younger, Michel Stadler, Joseph Stadler the Elder, Symon Fischer, Joseph Weber, Johann Gaschler, Karl Gaschler, Johann Pongratz, Friedrich Gaschler, Joseph Gaschler, Karl Gaschler, Ambros Weinfurter, Joseph Feldigel, Joseph Stadler and Karl Stadler, of whom Josef Weber and Johann Pongratz find themselves in possession of certain homes and lands in and on which their parents had been settled by the Solka Domain.

Until 1809 the Solka Domain ran the present glass factory itself but then turned it over to various lessees at certain periods.

From the Solka Domain the lessees of the present glass factory also got the houses and land tracts of glass factory workers who had migrated or been discharged, as a result of which they were often were transferred from one to another house and land endowment, which still currently happens.

The glass factory workers paid the land taxes in 1818, 1819, 1820 as well as the shipping charges and military dues, while up to that time the land and house taxes for the living quarters and lands of the glass factory workers had been paid by the Solka Domain, yet since 1838 the land taxes for the lands lying in the jurisdiction of the community of Mardzina were paid by the glass factory workers themselves since these had been assessed by the community of Mardzina.

The Solka Domain paid all repairs to the glass factory workers’ homes from the rents received and two years ago constructed anew the carpenter’s home.

From the year 1811 until the year 1849 the glass factory workers paid for their homes and lands to the Solka Domain an inventory tax yearly of 2 florins [Gulden, gilders] 30 Kreutzer [farthings] but it in this regards an agreement had existed with the Solka Domain we can give no information, but it is certain that the glass factory workers have a certificate of admission and insurance from the Domain.

Moreover, we do not know under what rights and commitments the present glass workers were accepted by the Domain, then given homes and lands, since we were not present at the negotiations.

Josef Gnad, Franz Geschwentner. The then presiding judge, Joseph Haas, had distanced himself and despite repeated invitations, did not appear at the signing. In our presence: Mathias Kufner, Joseph Weber, Karl Gaschler.

The glass factory workers Karl Stadler, Jakob Neumann, Ambros Weinfurter, Josef Feldigel, Jakob Gnad and Joseph Stadler that proven via the tax booklet that the taxes for the use of lands lying in the Mardzina community jurisdiction, had paid to the Tax Office for the years 1841 through 1858.

According to the Assessment Register of 1822 these lands under parcels numbered 901 to 913 were used by the glass factory workers Jakob Stadler, Franz Bauer, Martin Bauer, Paul Fischer, Michael Weinfurter and Christof Gaschler. According to the assessment of November 2, 1836 these lands had been incorporated into the community of Mardzina in error, whereby it also happened that the Domain glass factory workers from the community of Mardzina were assessed a property tax on the basis of their rural-land tax-subtaxation sheet. Datum ut supra.