Germanna Goes Home to Germany
On June 19, 2003 36 members of the Germanna Foundation boarded Lufthansa flight 417 for a nine hour flight to Frankfurt Germany. It would be the first official return to Germany for the descendants of the 1714 and 1717 Germanna Colonists. It was by any account a never to be forgotten Trip of a Lifetime for every person who went along.
The 36 individuals formed the most congenial and convivial group of friends and cousins that could be imagined. And the reception by our German Cousins was spectacular and far exceeded any of our expectations. So much so that several of the group have already signed up for next year's repeat visit.
Here, in the words of one member Pat Bledsoe and pictures of Thom Faircloth, is an account of the trip.
TRIP TO GERMANY
June 9 – 19, 2003
Ach, mien dear family, cousins, friends, when I first became aware that a trip to Germany to visit the birthplace of our many Germanna ancestors would be possible, little did I realize how wonderful our trip would turn out to be!! The hospitality of the citizens of the many villages far surpassed my fondest expectations! I appreciate so much all of the planning and scheduling done by the Doctors Katherine and Madison Brown, Thom Faircloth, Chad Holtzclaw, Heinz Prinz, and the many, many others including mayors, dignitaries, pastors, and citizens of the towns and villages we visited. We were simply overwhelmed by the courtesies extended to us, the information shared, the many gifts presented to us and the Germanna Foundation, our visits with cousins in Germany, hospitality, friendship, and good times!! Our group truly felt that we had arrived home. In addition to this, our group of thirty-six could not possibly have been more congenial, helpful, and caring of one another. We have made many, many friends!!
On Monday, the 9th of June 2003, our group met at the Dulles airport and the flight to Frankfurt was pleasant. We landed before the designated time and encountered little delay in going through customs.
Boarding the Bus in Frankfurt/Main Germany. View of a village with Castle from the Autobahn.
First View of Freudenberg from the highway. The Hotel zur Altstadt (Hotel in the Old Town)
My room in the Hotel zur Altstadt Oranianstraße (Orange Street) just outside the hotel.
It is now Tuesday, June 10th, as we had an overnight flight from Dulles. A large and comfortable bus was waiting to transport us to our hotel, the Zur Altstadt, in Freudenberg. Hotel Zur Altstadt is a beautiful, very old, half-timber structure with slate shingle cladding. According to our notes, the building was rescued from ruin, was thoroughly renovated and is clean and modern inside. Our room was spotlessly clean with wonderful fluffy clouds of down in comforters folded neatly on each bed, a huge sparkling white down pillow with milk chocolate candies placed on the pillows. The room my sister and I shared was on the second floor, just over the open patio restaurant below. The weather was warm, the windows were open, and it was so nice to hear the church bells ringing. We noted that there was little use of air conditioning, if indeed the homes and hotels had it at all, but the windows swing open from the sides, have no screens, and people could often be seen greeting us from this vantage point. The air was delightfully fresh, clean, and cool blowing the curtains ever so gently. When our windows were closed, the room was practically soundproof, making for a very nice restful nights sleep. Marise and I went walking in the village that was at our doorstep. No shoppers were present in the stores we passed, but we learned that the shops reopened later in the afternoon. After our walk and a treat on the patio of our hotel, we rested for a while before our group met with the town mayor and other dignitaries of the village. We were presented a shopping bag from the village of Freudenberg and gifts were exchanged between the village and our Germanna Foundation. We were then escorted on a walking tour of Freudenberg, ending our tour at the Evangelische Kirche where another guide gave us a short presentation on the history of the church. Thom Faircloth played the beautiful pipe organ just a bit to give us an idea of the sound. While inside the church, there came a thunderstorm and we were presented umbrellas for our walk to the nearby restaurant. We were served Siegerlander Kruestchen, a local specialty. This specialty consists of a piece of toasted bread topped with a pork slice and mushroom sauce served with a fried egg on top. With this were French fries and green salad. This first day in Germany was delightful.
Waiting for the Burgermeister (Mayor) of Freudenberg. The Heimatverine Freudenberg had arranged a reception for us in the Council Chamber in the Old City Hall. There the Mayor and other dignitaries greeted us with refreshments and gifts.
Chad Holdsclaw welcomes us to Germany. Chad and Heinz Prinz did most of the organization of the tour in Germany. The Germanna Trustees posed for a picture with Herr Burgermeister Eckhard Günther. (l. to r.) Mayor Günther, Heinz Prinz, Thom Faircloth, Dr. Katharine Brown, Horst Schneider (Chairman of the Heimatbund) Chad Holdsclaw and Marc Wheat.
After the reception we gathered outside City Hall in where Fritz Stahl (l. center) and Mike Keylock begin the tour of Altstadt.
Half-timbered construction is a Hallmark in Freudenberg. This house was built in 1767 and has been lavishly preserved.
A series of devastating fires have destroyed most of the Old Town. This is the oldest surviving house (l.) in Freudenberg dating from the 1680s.
Delightful little alley ways go from OranienStrasse to Poststrasse.
Old City Apothecary is now a Pizza Parlor. Construction is tightly restricted and restoration closely regulated. On the right a specialist with Jung (Young) Construction carefully restores a clock while other crafts people work on the Half-timbered house.
Slate shingles are the roofing of choice in the neighborhoods. Slate shingles are used as siding on Poststrasse.
Detailed view of Slate Shingle Siding. Detail view of Slate Shingle Siding and window treatments.
Evangelishe Kirche (Protestant Church) Freudenberg. Churches are typically built on the highest hill in a village, giving them dominance over the landscape.
The interior of the Freudenberg Protestant Church from the balcony and on right a view from the congregation of the pulpit, altar and pipe organ. From this flying pulpit Pastor Steinseifer delivers his sermons. This was the home church of the Bach/Back, Friesenhagen, Henry Hoffman, Miller/Müller and Wayman/Weidman families.
The Communion Chalice was a gift of the Prince of Nassau-Oranian to Freudenberg. Photo on right shows the crest of the Royal Family of Nassau.
Harold and Carol Cloer join Marc and Marie Wheat for a relaxing break before dinner. Photo on right shows Frau Marie Krämer (in red blouse) Thom's First Siegerlander "Girl Friend".
The Heimatverein Freudenberg has preserved and converted the Old Community Barn into a dining room and museum where we were the first group of American tourists to be entertained there. Everyone enjoyed complementary beer and Schnapps courtesy of the Heimatverein.
