Austerlitz (family)
Encyclopedia
Austerlitz is the name of a Jewish family. As is the case with all names derived from places, the surname "Austerlitz" does not necessarily signify that all the persons so named belong to one family. It denotes that an ancestor of the person came from that place or was for some time a resident there. In the tombstone inscriptions of the old cemetery at Prague
this name occurs after 1620. The name is also found in Prague among those Jews banished from Vienna
in 1670, and in other localities in Austria
and Hungary
. Of the members of this family known in literature and communal life, the following may be mentioned:
Bibliography: Kaufmann, Die Letzte Vertreibung der Juden aus Wien, Vienna, 1889; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 772; Hock, Die Familien Prag's, ed. D. Kaufmann, Presburg, 1892.
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
this name occurs after 1620. The name is also found in Prague among those Jews banished from Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1670, and in other localities in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. Of the members of this family known in literature and communal life, the following may be mentioned:
- Aaron b. Meïr Austerlitz, secretary to the rabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nate of Berlin, 1775.
- Baruch b. Solomon Austerlitz, rabbi in CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and preacher at Prague at the beginning of the eighteenth century; grandson of Baruch, an exile from Vienna. He was son-in-law of the primator (president of the congregation), Samuel Tausk, or Taussig, of Prague. He wrote approbations (chaskamot) to an edition of the MidrashMidrashThe Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
Rabbat printed at Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1705, and to the 'Aruk ha-Ḳaẓer, Prague, 1707. One of his sermons was published in Prague, 1713. His daughter became the second wife of R. Moses Charif (Brandeis).
- Hirschel Austerlitz, a communal leader exiled from Vienna in 1670. In 1675 he, together with Hirz Coma, Max Schlesinger, Solomon Wolf, and Solomon Auspitz, signed a petition to Emperor Leopold ILeopold I, Holy Roman Emperor| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
, praying that the Jews might be allowed to resettle in Vienna.
- Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
(original name, Austerlitz), the dancer and actor, is probably connected to this family.
- Mayer Austerlitz, rabbi in Eperies, Hungary; was one of HildesheimerHildesheimerHildesheimer refers to:* Azriel Hildesheimer , German rabbi* Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary, a modern-Orthodox school founded by A. Hildesheimer* Wolfgang Hildesheimer...
's earliest pupils.
- Moses b. Joseph Austerlitz, a scholar and promoter of Jewish learning; lived in Vienna, but when the Jews were expelled from that city and from Lower AustriaLower AustriaLower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
(1669), he removed to Nikolsburg, Moravia. His house was the resort of scholars, especially after the fire of Prague in 1689. Thus he helped to support the cabalist Moses ben Menahem Graf, author of Wa-Yaḳhel Mosheh (And Moses Gathered); Judah b. Nisim, author of Bet Yehudah (The House of Judah); and Isaac Zoref, author of M'ozene Ẓedeḳ (Just Scales), all of whom speak highly of him.
- Samuel b. Simon Austerlitz, rabbi in MiskolcMiskolcMiskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
, HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. He was born 1870 in Vienna, studied in Pressburg under rabbi Simcha Bunim Sofer and was until 1896 rabbi of the temple club "Am Volkert" which later founded the famous "PazmanitentempelPazmanitentempelThe Pazmanitentempel, also known as the Synagogue in der Leopoldstadt, Pazmanitengasse 6 was a large synagogue in Vienna's second district Leopoldstadt. It was designed and constructed by the architect Ignaz Reiser.The building was financed by Adolf Schramek who signed the contract with the...
" in Vienna's second district Leopoldstadt. After rabbinical positions in PápaPápaPápa is a historical city in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 33,000 inhabitants, it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the region....
and Somorja, he was appointed 1914 chief rabbi of MiskolcMiskolcMiskolc is a city in northeastern Hungary, mainly with heavy industrial background. With a population close to 170,000 Miskolc is the fourth largest city of Hungary It is also the county capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and the regional centre of Northern Hungary.- Geography :Miskolc is located...
and where he remained till his death in 1938. He was married to the daughter of rabbi Moshe Aryeh Roth, chief rabbi of PápaPápaPápa is a historical city in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 33,000 inhabitants, it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the region....
.
Bibliography: Kaufmann, Die Letzte Vertreibung der Juden aus Wien, Vienna, 1889; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 772; Hock, Die Familien Prag's, ed. D. Kaufmann, Presburg, 1892.