Margulies Family History

The Remenyi Family

Little is known of the Remenyi families, where they came from, etc.

• My Aunt says they lived in Bratislava (germ.: Pressburg; hung.: Poszony, now in Slovakia) 'for a while'.
• Josef was born in 1892 in Trenčianska Teplá, Trenčín, Hungary (now Slovakia)
• Maria was born in 1893 Žilina, Hungary (now Slovakia)
• I have some photos of the three Remenyi sisters, Tilde, Anna and Maria, with the description "Berlin 1916".
  
  - were they just visiting ?
  - did they live in Berlin for while ?
  - Hans also lived in Berlin about this time. Did he and Maria become aquainted in Berlin ?
  

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On Maria Reményi's birth certificate, there is a note saying that the family name RUML was changed to REMÉNYI.

In accordance with the Regulation Number 115443 from 19.11.1898, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs [the Home Office], the name was changed to "Reményi"

Presumably, the name Ruml wasn't "hungarian" enough for the authorities !

In 2007 I asked on a family history forum whether anybody could explain this Regulation to me but I received no answer. In 2013 I tried again, and this time someone was able to help out.

The explanation is "Magyarisation" or "Hungarisation" ! Due to ever-changing boundaries in the 19th. Century, Hungary included 'bits' of various other countries, each with their own cultures and languages. The Hungarians introduced various regulations with the aim of assimilating the non-hungarian (non-magyar) peoples into a more homogeneous - hungarian or magyarian - culture.
More about this here: Wiki article on Magyarisation / Hungarisation

For easier searching, I will use the name Remenyi (without the accent) in this Chronicle.

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Who is Cousin Heinrich" ?

I found this passage in my mother's diaries ...

Vormittags habe ich aufgräumt und dann sind wir zu Vaničeks gegangen. Zum Essen. Hochvornehmst eingeladen. Das Essen war annähernd gut. In the morning I tidied up and then we went to the Vaničeks. To eat. Most distinguished. The meal was alright. [ Me: i.e. more or less alright ! ] Diary: 25th. Dec. 1938

... and in my mother's photo-album there is a photo of a large country house - almost a castle - with the description :

"The Estate of Cousin Heinrich Vaniczeck, 1938"

So… Who was 'Cousin Heinrich' ? How did he "fit in" the family tree ?

• was he a REMENYI cousin ?
  
• was he a STEIN cousin ?
  (Mathilde Remenyi married Viktor Stein)

The first photo is an arial view of Lnáře Castle. According to this german Wiki page the Castle was sold in 1936 to a lawyer from Prague, Jindřich Vaníček.

Could Heinrich Vaniczeck be the german form of Jindřich Vaníček ?

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For more information on the Remenyi and Stein families, please follow the links to individual biographies.