Published November 08. 2023 10:26AM
by JIM WEBER Special to The Press
A group of 10 Austrian government representatives visited Atlas Cement Company Memorial Museum Oct. 20.
This group included Hans Peter Doskozil, governor of Burgenland, Austria.
The congregation was treated to a detailed tour of the museum given by museum founder and curator Edward Pany and secretary Larry Oberly. Pany and Oberly made the tour very interesting, as the group learned the history of the local cement business. Many cement plant workers were European immigrants from Austria and surrounding countries.
Stegersbach, an Austrian town in the state of Burgenland, and Northampton are sister cities. The group of 10 all hail from the Burgenland state. They were on a one-week tour of North America starting in Toronto, Canada, to Chicago, Ill., then visiting the Lehigh Valley and finally ending in New York City. The group also visited Coplay Saengerbund Oct. 20, where they anticipated meeting Lehigh Valley Burgenland descendants.
PRESS PHOTOS BY JIM WEBER Atlas Cement Company Memorial Museum founder and curator Edward Pany talks with 10 Austrian government representatives during a visit to the Lehigh Valley Oct. 20.
Northampton Mayor Tony Pristash, left, and Burgenland, Austria, Governor Hans Peter Doskozil exchange gifts.
From left, Pristash, Julia Doskozil (governor's wife), Doskozil, Manfred Riegler, Pany, Leonhard Schneemann, Verena Dunst, Manfred Dunst and Erwin Weinhofer gather for a photo around the Burgenland flag at the Sister City monument.
