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Visit to East Germany, September - October 2009The close of the summer season welcomed Klaus Hattwich and yours truly (Clay Kruger) to the country of origin of our forebears. Harvest Thanksgiving was being celebrated in all churches and shops also had displays. On the first leg of our visit, we engaged in a bicycle ride of 30kms from Luebben to Luebbenau in the Spreewald. As we cycled along, viewing the excellent farmland of our Wends, it came to mind how versatile this farmland really is. Arriving at Luebbenau, we boarded a barge on the Spree River, this river cruise opening up a new world of indescribable natural beauty. The Gothic Hallenkirche built in 1607 stands on the market square in Luebben. Well renowned pastor and Baroque poet Paul Gerhardt served here from 1669 till his death in 1676. Moving on to Cottbus, viewing the Wendish Museum was an inspiration to us. It was a pleasure to meet the courteous staff, especially Christina Kliem, who made us very welcome. Since our last visit to Cottbus, the market square has all been taken up with stalls for tourists. I feel that it has lost much of its Wendish flavour. Our hosts Alfons and Ursula Frencl greeted us at Bautzen. Their generous hospitality was warmly appreciated. We focused our research on the south-south eastern area of Bautzen, the place of origin of many of our forbears. The well known areas of interest included Baschutz, Dolan, Hochkirch, Meschwitz and Rachlau, just to name a few. We thoroughly explored these areas, thanks to Alfons and Ursula. While driving along enjoying the scenery, we were also entertained with Wend music and talkback from the Wend radio station in Bautzen. We made some recordings. As we meandered along, we crossed the Upper Lusatian border between Prussia and Saxony, which is marked with special posts. We learnt that the current President of Saxony is a Sorb. A Dutch-type windmill came into view, designed by a Sorb. This gentleman migrated to Australia and possibly promoted windmills in Australia.
Clay Kruger with Christina Kliem at the Wendish Museum in Cottbus Further on, we entered Loebauer Berg, where energetic people climbed the 28m. cast iron tower built in 1854. As we entered the village of Cunewalde, a Lutheran Church came into view. This present church was built in 1793 with a seating capacity of 2,632. The earliest documents date back to the year 1222. Some of the original homes remain standing, with renovations today focussing on restoring older style buildings. We very much appreciated our visits to the Marien, Ralbitz and Rosenthal areas. At the close of our tour, we were uplifted by a church service at the Dom, St Petri. Clay Kruger |
