Discover Nikitsch: Culture and History

Nikitsch’s cultural history encompasses sacred buildings, monuments and archaeological traces from different periods. The dates range from 1659 to around 1900; archaeological evidence reaches back even further. This span offers a common thread for placing architectural forms, religious monuments and early settlement traces in their own historical contexts.

Sacred Buildings and Monuments

At the western edge of Nikitsch stands the Ecce Homo monument, erected in 1659. In front of the church is a stone statue of St. John of Nepomuk dating from 1737; the St. Florian wayside shrine by the castle entrance dates from 1740. The dates form a clear sequence: the Ecce Homo is older than the two 18th-century monuments, and the statue was created three years before the wayside shrine. The locations also distinguish the three landmarks: the western edge of the village, the area in front of the church and the castle entrance.

Two chapels add different architectural forms to these monuments. The Chapel of St. Mary is a gabled building featuring a Baroque Pietà in the southern part of the village. The Chapel of the Sacred Heart stands on the road to the north; its Neo-Gothic building was erected around 1900. Nikitsch’s cultural history thus brings together both a Baroque work of art and later Neo-Gothic architecture. The difference in how the dates are specified is also useful for putting them in context: individual years are given for the monuments, while the Sacred Heart chapel is assigned an approximate date.

Archaeological Traces and Early Settlement

Human settlement in the Nikitsch area has been documented for around 8,000 years, dating back to the beginning of the Neolithic period. Prehistoric finds point primarily to settlements along the Nikitschbach stream. A specific find site is represented by Early Neolithic clay extraction pits in today’s Raiffeisensiedlung, on the rise south of the stream. The evidence differs in its geographical scope: the long history of settlement applies to the area as a whole, while the pits are tied to a specific location.

Another archaeological feature is a 6th-century AD Lombard burial ground. This burial ground brought Nikitsch to prominence among archaeological specialists. Taken together, the Neolithic settlement traces and the burial ground offer insight into periods separated by a considerable span of time. This makes it possible to distinguish the early settlement history from later archaeological evidence without combining them into a single period.

Dance and Cultural Tradition

Another cultural aspect is the Folklorno društvo Graničari. Its repertoire includes choreographies from various regions of Croatia, as well as typical Burgenland Croatian dances. The programme includes 14 choreographies: twelve from Croatia and from those areas of Hungary and the former Yugoslavia where Croats were settled, and two dances from Burgenland. This combination shows the repertoire’s different geographical connections.

Since 1958, the Folklorno društvo Graničari has represented the village of Filež at various celebrations in the village, the surrounding area and abroad. Alongside the buildings and archaeological topics, this brings a long-standing dance tradition into focus. The performances are associated with celebrations in Filež, its surroundings and abroad; the repertoire, in turn, spans various regions and traditions. If you plan your stay around your cultural interests, Nikitsch offers several distinct themes to consider when planning your trip.

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