Smuggler's Trail Monument

1919. The First World War is over, the time of the monarchy is over. Everything is more difficult than ever, now, after the collapse of the crown lands and with the newly created borders, such as the one between Austria and Hungary. Life is characterized by many worries and problems in acquiring essential goods. The monument stands on a special path, the so-called "smugglers' path", an important lifeline in the daily struggle for survival. It led away from controls in the direction of the town that was recently the neighboring village. Halfway along the route, near the border line, you reached the transshipment point for sought-after goods, the "interface". Very quickly, smuggling developed into a lively trade, with illegal acquisition not only taking place against payment, but above all through barter. Today the path separates the federal states of Lower Austria and Burgenland.

This is a sculpture that was erected to commemorate an old smugglers' trail. Since the inauguration ceremony was also part of the smugglers' festival, this sculpture is better known as a smugglers' monument.

Donnerskirchen was in Hungary until 1921, Mannersdorf and the neighboring village of Hof in Austria. Many goods, animals and wine were brought through the forests of the Leithagebirge. Stone witnesses from this time are the Scharfeneck ruins and the St. Anna monastery in the desert.