GERMANNA_COLONIES-L Archives

From: John Blankenbaker <>
Subject: [GERMANNA] (900)Germanna Colonies, History of
Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 05:35:32 -0400

Note nine hundred in a series on the Germanna Colonies

There are two Neuenbürgs in Germany that are only twenty miles apart. (We
have multiple Salems, Lincolns, etc. in the US.) Because the Neuenbürg with
only the Catholic Church is said to be the home of the Blankenbakers, the
question has been raised as to whether the correct Neuenbürg has been
identified. I believe that it has been for these reasons. Zacharias
Blankenbaker, when he was naturalized in Virginia, said he was a citizen on
the lands of the Bishops of Speyer. That is, he was saying he was born on
the lands belonging to the Catholic Church. The maps that I have seen put
the Neuenbürg that is north of Bruchsal on the Catholic lands. Also the
church records for our Neuenbürg are combined with two other nearby
villages, one of which is Oberöwisheim which is less than two miles down
the road.

It being lunch time when we arrived at Oberöwisheim, we ate as we often
ate. We had noticed a Bäckerei (bakery) so I bought some bread. Then
looking for something else to go with it, I saw that next door there was a
shop with fruits and drinks. When I went it, it was the same sales lady as
I had just met and then I noticed the two shops were joined by a doorway.
It was more than a way of obtaining the necessary space; a Bächerei does
not sell fruit and drinks. Everything must be in its proper place. A good
place to eat is often the church yard. First, the church usually can be
located by its spire which rises above all else (hence it the ideal place
to put the town clocks – one on each face). Second, the church often has
some parking space though seldom very much. Third, there is often a bench.
And so we ate lunch looking out over the village of Oberöwisheim, peaceful
and quiet. And of course we were very careful to dispose of our waste very
carefully and properly. When it comes to cleanliness, few nationalities can
surpass the Germans. We saw householders cleaning out the cracks in the
pavement where the street meets the curb.

The next village was Oberderdingen. Matthias Blankenbaker, my namesake
immigrant, was married in this village and apparently lived here. (His
eldest son who was baptized there, George, became the head of the Pickler
clan in America.) Just a few miles up the road was Sulzfeld, the home of
many Germanna families. The country round about there consists of gently
rolling hills offering excellent vistas. We were able to enhance the
viewing opportunities by going to the ruins at Ravensburg which has been
turned into a restaurant. More importantly from our standpoint, there was a
tower still standing that had been a part of the former castle. Someone had
put wooden steps inside so one could climb the 113 of them to the top. I
get a little nervous when faced with heights and the safety of these steps
really did not pass muster but I was not going to let some minor things
prevent me from seeing the view. And what a view it was. From the top, we
could see about seven villages, the nearest of which was Sulzfeld. I could
see Christopher Zimmerman down there making barrels. Not having had any
desert with lunch and as a reward for enduring the dangers of the tower, we
went to the restaurant to get a little something.

In between the villages there were no homes or barns. All of the farmers
lived right in their village with their barns behind or beside the houses.
Then they go out to the fields with their equipment. Looking at the view
from the tower, one obtains the best impression of the physical
characteristics of living in rural Germany. (13 Jun 00)
John Blankenbaker ()
P.O. Box 120, Chadds Ford, PA 19317-0120 USA
http://www.germanna.com
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/germhis1.html
http://www.inficad.com/~genelea/gerhist/gerindex.html

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