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It is known that from 500 BC, for approximately 300 years the Rhoen was inhabited by Celtic Tribes. However after
300 years of dominant rule, starting 200 BC advancing Germanic tribes intermixed
with the Celts and at times fearful battles were fought. The Celtic tribes
built Ringwälle (fortified walls) in the Mountains and hills and for
about 100 years they managed to fight off the Germanic tribes. It was however
a loosing battle and eventually they withdrew in westerly direction establishing
their new domain in France and Spain.
Germanic
tribes, Chatten and Hermunduren now occupied the Rhoen. The Chatten controlled
the north west part and the Hermunduren ( believed to be our ancestors) the
eastern part. Salt deposits around Voelkershausen however caused bitter battles
between the two tribes. Salt was required for their own use and also gave
them excellent trading opportunities and greedy as human nature is, every
tribe fought for control of these commodities.
Völkershausen is located on the foothills of the Öchsenberg
and its elevation 630 Meter (2067 feet).Some of the Ringwälle (fortified
walls) can still be found there.
Most
of the mountains and hills like the Öchsenberg came into being during
volcanic activity when eruptions occurred pushing rocks (Basalt), not as much
lava, to the surface. Most of the hills are formed out of boulders. However
it should also be said, that the area prior to that must have been flat and
covered with ocean water since salt deposits, several hundred meter below
surface, could only have been deposited by saltwater evaporating. The first
salt mine was opened in 1901 and production, now in
several mines, is still ongoing.
It is also recorded that when Napoleon's Army invaded Germany in their march
towards Russia, (1812), where of course they were defeated, the villagers
found the Öchsenberg an ideal place to hide and watch their homes being
burned to the ground.
In 1902 a mountain lookout and clubhouse was built on the peak of the Öchsenberg.
The Innkeeper of this clubhouse, by the Name of Hans Koch, was soon known
all around as the lying innkeeper. Hans Koch has done his best to live up
to his reputation for more than 30 years. All his supplies at that time had
to be brought up to the mountain with a Mule until a road was builta few years
later.
A cable car transit system from the Öchsenberg to Vacha (2½km.)
was built in 1897 to haul crushed stone to the railroad for shipping.
By 1978 the rock removal had advanced to the point where the Mountain lookout
and clubhouse had to be abandoned and was eventually destroyed.
Historic Events
Archeological
findings indicate that the Rhoen was already inhabited since the stone age.
Stone age (Steinzeit)
Early Stone age : (Altsteinzeit) From the beginning until 8000 BC
Middle Stone age: (Mittelsteinzeit) 8000BC to 5000 BC
Late Stone age:(Jungsteinzeit) 5000 to 1800 BC
Archeological Discoveries :
Stone axes in Völkershausen, other stone tools in Wölferbütt.
Findings document the inhabitants of the Öchsenberg at the Early Stone
age.
Bronzezeit : 1800 to 800 BC.
Burial grounds of the Bronzezeit were found and excavated.
Eisenzeit : From
800 BC
Celtic tribes settled in our area about 600 - 500 BC
In the second century BC the Rhoen and
areas South of the Thüringer Wald developed into a celtic stronghold.
Ringwälle (fortified walls) from the Hallstatt time ( 8. to 5. century
AD) were improved and extended.
The Öchsenberg held
the largest celtic Ringwälle and was the most northerly of all Rhönburgen.
It is assumed that the fortified Öchsenberg
served for the protection of the river Werra crossing and the east west
trade route and the protection of army and peasants at times of war.
The Dynasty of the Thüringer.
In the 4th century
AD, the Hermanduren, Sweben, Angeln and Warnen united to form what we today
know as Thüringen.( A state of Germany)
531 The Franken King Theoderich with
the help of the Saxonians defeated the Thüringer. They came as conquerors,
introduced christianity and established settlements. Many village names such
as hausen (hus or huson) can be traced to the Franken. The name for our village
is one of them. Völkershausen (Voulfricheshuson)
741Governing districts were established
,Buchonia,Gau Tulifeld, Baringau and Aschfeld.
Völkershausen was
located in the district of Buchonia. It is assumed the name Buchonia
was chosen because of the many Buchen (beech trees) Each district was governed
by an Earl.
744A monastery was build in Fulda, and
in 769 in Hersfeld and from that day forward written records were kept in
the monasteries.
750 Christianity was introduced in the
Rhön and the districts again subdivided and were ruled by a Vogt.
768 The first written documentation of the area surrounding
Völkershausen is found in the monastery archives.
Farmers
worked their own fields as free farmers until about the year 1000. After this
time they were dependent on the landowners - that is they were taxed
in the form of supplying the landowners with most of their produce (such as
livestock, eggs, potatoes and grain). They could also be called upon to perform
physical labor for the landowner.
In the 11th century farm equipment was introduced
such as the wheel plow, harrow, sickle, etc. and farm production increased.
Tradesmen evolved from the farmers and in the
10th and 11th century one could find different trades such as cartwright,
shoemaker, blacksmith, etc.
874 First entry of Völkershausen
(Folegereshuson) in the archives of the Monastery in Fulda
No further entries were found until 1214 and it is assumed
that during this period the Burg
(Castle) in Völkershausen was build.
In a document from Kaiser Friedrich II. of Dec.6th,1214
it is said that a Eberhard von Voulfricheshuson and a Heinrich von Voulfricheshuson
appeared as witnesses. Völkershausen itself was mentioned again
in a document of March, 25. 1276.
Die
Burg (Castle) was owned at times by as many as 20 Earls and Lords. It appears
that he owners at that time had money problems too and sold shares of their
estate.
1348 Ritter (Knight) Friedrich von Völkershausen
was mentioned as Burgmann from Vacha.
The residence of the Herren (Masters) of Völkershausen was a small
castle and some out buildings. The castle was surrounded by a Wallgraben
( deep trenches), fortified stone walls and a drawbridge. The castle
itself had 3 stories and there were entrance buildings on both sides of the
drawbridge. Leibeigene ( peasants and farmers ) that the masters owned, lived
outside the castles stone walls but would seek protection there during attacks.
Some small surrounding villages such as Wölferbütt, Willmanns,
Martinroda , Mariengart, and isolated farms Rodenberg, Kohlgraben, Luttershof,
Busengraben and Poppenberg also belonged to their ruling domain.
The
Masters of Völkershausen played a leading role in the area.
1369/70 A new monastery is built in
Vacha, 5 km. north of Völkershausen.
1376 The Lord Heinrich von Henneberg appointed
the first minister by the name of Dietrich Heyse for Völkershausen and
he assumes office on March 13th of that year.
1513 Political and religious activity and
rivalry caused unrest among the peasants. Earls, Lords and knights made sure
to keep all the peasants on the loosing side.
1525 Bauernkrieg ( Farmers Revolt) The castle in Völkershausen withstood the attacks and
the farmers were defeated. Their levies were consequently increased. 23 Farmers
from Völkershausen took part in the revolt.
1534Hans von Völkershausen introduces
the reformation in Völkershausen changing the church to the protestant
faith.
1581 The first schoolhouse is mentioned
in Völkershausen. The teacher was a Johann Deisenroth (1581 to March
11. 1602)
1599 The first mail service in Germany between
Kassel and Ansbach is established
1605 An army, consisting of 250 men, were stationed in the castle
of Völkershausen.
1618/1648The 30 year war.
In the first 4 years our
area was spared, but by 1622, 1300 soldiers were stationed in Völkershausen,
taking from the peasants as well as the Masters of Völkershausen whatever
they could. Rape and torture was a common occurrence. Most of the peasants
and the minister sought refuge in the woods of the Öchsenberg.
1629.
The monastery and the Abbot of Fulda outlawed
the protestant faith and replaced the minister Ref. Conradus Limburgius
with a catholic priest. When people resisted they brought in an army of croats
to enforce their demand. However the resistance did not weaken and Ref.
Limburgius returned 1631 to Völkershausen. Since then Völkershausen
remained protestant.
1635 An outbreak of the plague killed half
of the population and many homes stood vacant. No
birth were registered in Völkershausen from 23.Nov.1637 until 16.June
1639.
1680Old records tell us of the amounts of levies the farmers
paid to their masters (Herren) Friedrich Caspar and Ludwig von Völkershausen.
Since 1658, property registers and evaluations were kept.
1702 Friedrich Caspar von Völkershausen
is married to Juliane von Buttlar and in 1703 a son, Emil Friedrich Ernst
was born.
1706 Emil Friedrich Ernst von Völkershausen
dies on Sept.14.1706 at the age of 3 years. He was the last of the von
Völkershausen. After the death of his father Friedrich Caspar von
Völkershausen the Land grave Karl von Hessen purchased the estate for
16.500,- Gulden.
1717/20 The Land grave Karl von Hessen orders
a new church to be built and 16 gravestones of the family von Völkershausen
are incorporated in the church walls. This church remained until 1989 when
it was destroyed by an underground explosion in the salt mines.
1739 The last known execution took place
on June 5th. A girl was beheaded by sword for mistreating a child.
1756/63 The 7 year war.
Our area was not directly
effected by this war, but the absence of the landowners had its negative affect
on villagers that were dependent on them, as well as the castle and neglected
gardens. French troops occupied the city of Vacha 5 km north of Völkershausen
and confiscated whatever they needed.
1771/72 Bad weather conditions and poor harvests
caused many peopleto go hungry.
1776 Between February and May, the land grave of Hessen assembled
several regiments of soldiers in our area, men were picked up of the street
never to see their homeland again. They were then hired out to England and
shipped to America to fight for the British. The poet Gottlieb Seume was
picked up while he took a stroll across the Werra bridge.
1813 Napoleons retreat from Russia takes
him through Vacha where on November 26th he spent the night. The next day
Russian arrive.
1828 A one room school is built near the
church and one teacher is lectured 200 students.
Jewish children attend
a jewish school at the village square.
1841 239 families lived inVölkershausen.
(579 male- 595 female)
1839/1866425 people left over the period of
27 years to immigrate to America and other parts of Germany and the world.
1850 Farmers were set free and the use of
now available farm machinery and artificial fertilizer increased their production.
1862 Several homes and barns were destroyed
by fire caused by carelessness.
1868 A second school was built which contained
one classroom and living quarters for the teacher.
1870/71German French War.
1880 A horse drawn pressure pump, manually
operated by the firemen, was purchased and a fire department established.
Prior to this fires were fought with water pails.
1880/90 Immigration to America continued.
A threshing machine and a steam engine was purchased.
Prior to this all threshing was done with a flail.
1889 During the harvest celebration 5 young
men die in a barn fire. Two make it to safety. It was said that the fire was
caused by careless smoking.
1897 A quarry and crusher plant was built
on the north side of the Öchsenberg. A 2½ km long cable
car system to transfer gravel to the railroad in Vacha, was also built.
1900Several more underground salt mines were developed, creating
more and better working opportunities for local people. Also the railroad
lines were extended, providing better transportation.
1903 The Municipality of Völkershausen
purchased the caslle, associated buildings and attached farmland.
1905 The population of Völkershausen
was 990 and there were 161 residential homes. A new railroad line , Gerstungen
Vacha Bad Salzungen was put in to service.
Farmer Stub purchases the first horse drawn
mower in Völkershausen
1907 Fire again destroed 4 residential homes and 5 barns. Construction
wages are 42 Pfg. per hour and there was a 60 hour work week.
1908 A fresh water supply and sewage system
was built in Völkershausen. Water from springs in the mountain was collected
and funneled into the piping system. Until now all the water had to be picked
up in pails from a fountain at the village square.
1912Construction of a new school commenced.The
schoolcontained central heating, shower and bath facilities. All facilities
were made available for the general public.
By this time almost everyone
was involved in farming. There was what they called the horse farmers,
medium size farmers with two horses, cows, sheep and pigs, then there were
those farmers that only had one cow and in order to work the fields they teamed
up with a neighbor.Then there were those farmers that only had some
goats and usually raised a pig, some geese and chickens for personal
consumption. Smaller farmers usually had a job in the mines or hired themelfs
out to larger farmers as well as doing their own farm work. Working for other
farmers they were usually paid 8 Pfg. an hour for a 10 hour day and got their
food. There were now 5 flower mills in and around Völkershausen
Until
1912 a night watchman was employed. His shift was from dawn until 2 PM. Every
hour on the hour he would blow a horn in every street and announce the time
in the following manner "Listen you people and
let me tell you, the time has just been x O'clock, turn out the fire and the
lights so no one will get hurt and sleep real tight"
1914/18World war 1
Many young men were drafted
in the army and many of them lost their lives.
1915 Electricity was introduced in Völkershausen
and electric street lights were installed. Prior to this every street had
a 8 foot Kerosene lantern wich would be lit by a municipal employee carrying
a ladder. At 2 am he would then go around again and turn them off.
1919 All little kingdoms of the earls and
lords united into Thuringia with a central Government.
A
revolution in Germany
by the labor movement occured. An 8 hour workday, six days a week and other
benefits were negotiated.
1923 Inflation hits Germany and it was said
that a weeks earnings would at times not buy more then a pound of lunch meat.
1925 The first diesel powered tractor was
purchased by a farmer. Unemployment rose and unemployment money of 20 - 30
DM per week was being paid.
1933 Hitler assumes power and established
a Dictatorship in Germany.
1937/38Farmer Mahret purchases a Lanz tractor
and a combine.
The population of Völkershausen is 1350 and the Fire department purchased
a gasoline powered fire pump. Jewish merchants (Lichtenstetter and Simon
Hirsch) that used to sell there products from door - to - door suddenly
did not show up any more. Word had it that Jews are being deported or imprisoned,
but no one dares to talk about it. Hitlers ears were everywhere and no one
knows who is an informer. People voicing their opposition were quickly arrested,
never to be heard from again.
1939/1945 World War 2
The German army conquers one small country after the other, defeats France,
declares wa on England and Russia and many young men had to give there lives.
There are those that enjoy the glory and the power, and others that , with
a little common sense, could see the outcome of this terrible war but are
afraid to speak up. At times the skys were blackened with allied planes
and many German cities were destroyed. Then came the turning point, the retreat
of the German armies, the arrivals of refugees, attempts to assassinate Hitler
and finally the unconditional surrender of Germany in the spring of 1945.
By that time most of the German soldiers had only one thought, where can I
hide and when I am taken prisoner then let it be by the Americans and not
by the Russians. Some fanatics, mainly from the SS Stormtroopers would still
rather die then surrender and isolated fighting took place. Some residence
had put up a white flag on the church tower when a group from the SS appeared,
tore it down and threatened to shoot a dozen people if the flag went
up again. However once they were out of sight, the white flag did go up again.
On April 13rd 1945 American troops moved into the village and took quarters
in the local school.
In
August the American troops moved out, for they had agreed that all of Thuringia
was to be occupied by the Russian forces. Contrary to when the American troops
moved in, this time all the villagers buried their treasures. When a few days
later the Russian army moved in at the middle of the night, not like the
Americans, motorized, but with horse and buggies and a lot of loose horses
that just followed the column, every one was in hiding, for they were singing
and screaming and obviously had a little to much to drink. Their preceding
reputation was that they were good natured people but watch out when they
were drunk - which in those days, they were most of the time.
Whatever they wanted they
just took and they had use for everything.
Under Kommunist
Rule
1945- 1989
The Army settled
down and many times one would see an officer horsewhipping a soldier for
disobedience or bad behavior.
At first
all farmers with more than 100 hectare of land were disowned , their land
divided into small parcels and given to anyone interested in farming with
the stipulation that 10 % of their yield was to be given to the government.
This however proved to be a bad move, for a lot of them did not even bother
working their land so the Government now took possession of all farm land
and all farmers now worked as Government employees for hourly wages. New
central locations were established to raise cattle pigs or other livestock.
This however took away the incentive from the farmers and production was
never at its best.
Factories and all stores were taken over by the government, thereby eliminating
all privat ownership. In the first few
years many people left , what they called East Germany, to make their new
home in West Germany or immigrated to other parts of the world. To stop the
exodus all borders were tightly sealed off and guarded, high fences erected
and even land mines placed along the border.
Border guards were instructed to shoot and kill
anyone attempting to escape. A 5 mile nomans land zone was created along the
border and only people with special passes were allowed into it. Houses that
stood too close to the border were demolished and the tenants relocated to
the interior of East Germany. Völkershausen is located 5 km from the
border and was, for a number of years, within the nomans land zone. The Stasi
( States Security Service) appointed informers that had to watch and
report on assigned citizens. No one is allowed to visit in the west and all
correspondence with friends or relatives in the west is opened read
and photocopied. Technicians were sent around to disable all reception of
western T.V. stations in the homes. Having a T.V. antenna pointed towards
a western station brought in the Stasi and an investigation with consequent
punishment. The waiting period for the purchase of a car is 10 to 15 years.
Several years for the purchase of a TV ,appliance or furniture. There is always
enough food and no one goes hungry, but the food only consisted of the basics.
Monday and Tuesdays there may have been pork on the shelfs, Wednesday nothing
, Thursday beef and whenever some food came in people are waiting in line.
Whenever a fresh shipment of tomatoes arrived there were peoplelining upin
no time flat. One would go on a Monday to the local pup and ask for a soft
drink or a beer and the Innkeeper would say, the delivery did not come in
yet. Beer would spoil within a few days or a bottled soft drink could
suddenly explode.
1989 Disaster hits Völkershausen. On
March the 14. at 2 PM, an underground explosion, in the mines directly below
Völkershausen, measuring 5.8 on the richterscale is set off during regular
blasting operations. 80 % of all buildings were either destroyed or damaged,
some beyond repair and it is later discovered that the whole village
dropped down by about one meter. It seemed unbelievable that considering
the walls and whole houses collapsed and chimneys toppled over, no one was
hurt.
The
area was declared a disaster area, the army and contractors from all over
the state were called in. Demolition and reconstruction started immetiatly
but many mistakes were made. The church had to be demolished and a new one
was built.
.
At the village square
farmhouses and barns were demolished and new stores and doctors offices
build. No consideration was given to who owned the properties. New
homes were built for the owners of those properties at other locations,
again without consideration of ownership of the land. The state had the ultimate
say and no one dared to object. Historic buildings that could have been saved
were demolished. This all proved to be a big problem a few months later when
the East German State ( The German Democratic Republic ) collapsed and Germany
was reunited. Of course everyone laid claim to their properties and the big
question was , who owned the building that was built on someone else's property?
Some of these cases are still in the courts today.
Most
farmers that were used to an 8 hour day and a paycheck every week, were reluctant
to start farming again. They did not even have the money to start all over
again and buy new farm equipment or they just were too old for a new start
and the children did not want any part of farming.
So some of the farmers got
together, purchased the buildings and equipment at a preferred price from
the state, rented the land and continued farming.
Prior to the
collapse, one could stand at the border in West Germany and observe nicely
painted houses and a colorful landscape in the west , but turning to the
east, a dark and gloomy panorama would appear with black smoke rising from
the chimneys and the old railroad steam engines. Houses had not been painted
in 44 years and very little maintenance was done since building material
was just not available. People living near the
border in the east used to say, even the grass looks greener in the west.
So one can imagine, how those
people felt, when the borders opened up after 44 years and they could finally
freely travel and speak their mind. Everything looked better, tasted better
in the west and above all was the abundance of merchandise available in the
stores.
Today, 10 years later one
can not see a difference any more but the old expression " In the east or
in the west " signifying the difference that once was will still be around
for generations. People from the
west are refered to as Wessies and those from the east as Ossies.
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