DUSTING OFF OLD BOOKS IN BAVARIA
by Walter Koempel WKoempel@t-online.de
Am Kueppel 14, D-97772 Wildflecken-Oberbach
At the end of last year I was showing some friends a three-room
museum in Kothen, northern Bavaria. The name of the museum is
Werberger Stuben. Werberg was a village within the training area
of Wildflecken. The people who had to leave their homes donated
furniture, tools, dishes and photographs to decorate the tiny
museum. The church bell as well as the baptismal font adorn the
rooms. I have been there several times, but last time I noticed
on a shelf hiding in the corner about 10 old books from the
years 1839 to 1881.
I opened one book, "Kreisamtsblatt von Unterfranken und
Aschaffenburg des Koenigsreichs Bayern, Jahrgang 1854," (County
Newsletter for Lower Frankonia and Aschaffenburg of the Kingdom
of Bavaria), to look at the index. On one of the first pages I
found the title, "Emigrations." Being curious, I looked for the
starting page and discovered more than 400 people were listed by
surname, first name, place of origin, and a reference number. I
was really surprised by how many people had left the villages of
our area, like Wildflecken, Oberbach, Oberriedenberg, Unter-
Riedenberg, Roemershag, Brueckenau, Wernarz, Eckarts, Rupboden,
Zeitlofs, Weissenbach, Heiligkreuz, Rossbach, Detter, Modlos,
Oberleichtersbach, Unterleichtersbach, Mitgenfeld, Breitenbach,
Schondra, Schonderling, Singenrain, Schildeck, Geroda, Platz,
Volkers, Speicherz, Kothen, Motten, Untererthal, and not to
forget the "forgotten villages" discussed in MISSING LINKS,
Vol. 5, No. 24, 14 June 2000, with Reussendorf, Altglashuetten,
Neuglshuetten, Duerrenberg, Werberg, Rothenrain, Ebertshof,
Rothenrain, and Silberhof.
Certain villages listed at that time as being in Bavaria were
later integrated into the state of Hesse, e.g., all the villages
surrounding Tann, Hilders, Wuestensachsen, Gersfeld, and
Dalherda.
