| log #164: next code:
crossing On the first part of this trilogy, "next
code: love" (2007), I noted: 50 years „east west confrontation
“(Cold War) stand against the background of approximately 500 years reciprocal effect
between Latinity, Orthodoxy and Islam. [source]
| We were not taught about any reciprocal
effect at school then. There was an obscure mixture of rumors, tales and gossip about the
past, about the "Turks". In fact the ottoman troops left traces of a deep
impact. |
 |
But what is this about, still having a
vibrant narration about things, that happened around 1532 or so? Is this about the myths
of nationbuilding? As the "Tuerkenkaiser Sultan Suleiman" made it in Vienna, a
big trauma for austrian people, his army passed Graz way back home, more than that, even
Gleisdorf is mentioned in a small booklet, we had in school.
It is said, they came back from Vienna over Hartberg and
Pischelsdorf to Gleisdorf. "Terrific" and "devastating". The Citizens
of Gleisdorf set their own houses on fire, assembled in the church, which was part of a
tabor.
| The ottoman horseman, taking our people as
slaves or killing them, no, slaughtering them, were still subject of tales I heared in my
childhood. There are a lot of memorials all over
Austria, dedicated to Virgin Mary as "patron saint", we call
"Mariensaeule", which means "column of Mary". But they are also called
"Tuerkensaeule", which means "column of the Turks".
There is one in Gleisdorf. Got to tell you a nice story
about. But first: The Booklet, I am |
|
talking about, is "Was die Heimat
erzaehlt", which means "What The Homeland Tells". Folklore-stuff, published
in 1966, not historian's work. By the way, the cover shows the "Schlossberg" and
the clock tower in Graz.
The memorial in Gleisdorf has been moved in 2007 and stands
now, where it stood first in 1665. In those times the statue of Virgin Mary has been
looking south. But now the column has been turned. The priest told me, as he smiled:
| "There is no more danger coming from
the south. Now she is looking on her own house." But there is another very amusing story about, the historian Robert E. Hausmann
told me. Primarily, as the memorial was set up against the Turks, the right foot of the
statue has been standing on a half-moon.
A conservator, who had to do a restoration- job, removed
the half-moon without any order. He as a muslim revised the statement of the memorial.
But there is no public debate about subjects like that,
about history or so. We got only debates about refugies and about the wearing of
headscarfs. |
|
By the way, it was usual wearing headscarfs
in this region and still is. This lady, I saw downtown Gleisdorf, aint a muslima for sure.
But ...
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