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Mörbisch am See (Burgenland, Austria)

image by Martin Karner

♦ photo

Hungarian: Fertőmeggyes, Megyes; Croatian: Merbiš
Official colours: blue and white

The place name was first mentioned in 1254 as "possessio Megyes" (lit. "the place rich in cherries", from the Hungarian word meggy for cherry).

See also:

Coat of Arms

(source)

(derived from the official version)

Official description of the arms: "On a green field, in blue, a silver church with a red roof and four windows; its single-windowed tower bears a silver cross and is entwined by a green vine bearing golden grapes; on the ridge of the nave stands a silver weathercock; in the blue, wavy shield stream swims a silver fish." (source)

From 1903 onwards – when Mörbisch was still part of Western Hungary – the municipality of Mörbisch used the actual coat of arms, but it had not been officially granted. It was not officially granted until 15 July 1994 by the provincial government.

The coat of arms presented on the communal website is depicted with the church and the fish in silver (according to the description), while on the flag they are, vexillologically correct, shown in white.

Mörbisch am See, situated in the Leithaberg wine-growing region, is a traditional wine-growing village. 500 hectares of vineyards are cultivated by 100 winegrowers. The vine on the arms alludes to it.

The schematically drawn church stands for one of Mörbisch's two churches, the Protestant church (symbolized by the weathercock | photo ^source). There is evidence of a Protestant congregation and church services in Mörbisch as early as 1578, and a Protestant school was established shortly afterwards. From 1584 to 1606 and from 1674 to 1781, the Protestant faith was banned and religious practice was only possible in secret (Crypto-Protestantism). Following Joseph II's Patent of Toleration of 1781, the parish was re-established in 1785. 60 per cent of today's population are Protestant (Burgenland: 13%, Austria: 3.8%).

Communal website: https://moerbisch.gv.at (history, German)
History of the Lutheran parish (moerbischlutherisch.at, German)

Martin Karner, 25 August 2026