Freistett

Freistett pictures here:

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Clara left this morning for Zurich to start her conference there, while I hopped a train across the river to Kehl where I was picked up by the kind archivist from Rheinau who I have been corresponding with the past couple years.  Off we headed for Freistett, which is the home of the Sommer family, the maternal side of our Mann relations.

First we stopped at the archives where Herr Wacker works and looked at the old church books where several of the vital records have been found that pertain to our Sommer family.  It's exciting to see and touch the old books with records that go back to the 1600s, and to have Herr Wacker's help in translating what they say.  I had been making a pretty good guess about what they said, but now it's fun to find out for sure.

Then we went on a walking tour of the village, and the first thing I learned is that the Rhine River in this area meandered all over the place, and in fact that water once came up to what is now referred to as "upper" Freistett.  But then the river was "corrected" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gottfried_Tulla), which resulted in the river actually becoming shorter by 50 km, but also this correction produced more very rich farmland.  There's not much that won't grow well here, but the crops that stand out in my mind are tobacco and flax (today there is lots of corn as we'd see in Iowa or Nebraska).  In addition, there are even today over 3000 islands in the Rhine, and these were where villagers fled and lived during the worst parts of the many wars suffered in these areas.  It's hard to imagine living in the woods on a river island with no house or food, especially in winter.  Eventually they would creep out and start to rebuild their houses and villages, and then the next wave of soldiers would come and burn it all down again.  It was not an easy time for this area in particular.

Above is a picture from the local museum that Herr Wacker helps to run.  The dress of this couple shows a married couple because they are dressed in black (!) - unmarried people were allowed to wear more colorful things.  Also the woman is wearing a Kappenschlupf which is entirely unique to this area of Germany.  This was worn by all women (young and old) and the color of the beading on the skull cap would indicate whether single, married, or widow.  All so interesting!

We had a quick lunch, and then (unexpectedly!), Herr Wacker took me on a driving tour of the Black Forest.  Like at home, the air is cooler in the hills and the views of the Rhine Valley are magnificent.  He then dropped me at the Kehl station, and now I am back in Strasbourg resting up before another day of travel tomorrow.

So this should wrap up the "family history tour" for this trip.  I still can't quite believe everything I have experienced in the last week or so - it seems like a dream half the time, one that I hope to revisit again soon.