The Fehmarn Cousins Newsletter
Issue #23
“My gr-gr-grandfather built this townhall”
**Photo by: Anke Wolff
A visit in the Peter-Wiepert-Museum connected Klaus-Peter Hein and Renée Hein with the good old days, where the forefather left such remarkable impression.
Klaus-Peter Hein came from Australia to search his roots Carl Voss.
Burg (aw) A bit of pride sways about, when Klaus-Peter Hein and his wife Renée Doudet, born in Chile, visit the Burg/Fehmarn town on this sunny August day and he points to the town hall ‘Rathaus’, remarking: “This was built by my gr-gr-grandfather, the architect Carl Voss.” He declares to his wife Renée, that his forefather, by that well known name also built a church in Pforzheim, a concert hall in Kiel, a house in Burg, where Dr. Reinhardt has his praxis, and that he was one of the established architects of his time not alone in his home-town, Burg/Fehmarn.
The couple came from Australia, the town of Bathuast, 250 kilometers west of Sydney, where they are running a retail store. They came to visit “Gross-Mutter Nana Krohn” on her 80th birthday in Malente. There they were reminiscing about olden days, especially about the forefather Carl Voss. Maybe we can find some information on the island Fehmarn, where he resided and left his reputable impressions.
So they decided to drive over to the Knust “Fehmarn”. Klaus-Peter and his Renée were amazed about the changes: The advanced technique with the modern bridge leading over the “Fehmarnsund” and the entire modern times. Klaus-Peter drifted off into the past with his memories; back to the days and years, when one could only cross the Fehmarn Sound with a ferry boat.
Somebody of the age-group 1942 remembers the romance of the past, and also the many summer days in Burgtiefe, the ‘Burg Südstrand’, when he would camp behind the Voss-House on the beach promenade. Although born in Malente, the island Fehmarn was still in his memories. And something in modern times unimaginable, that he wanted to share with his wife as well as anybody who may be interested: During the days of his gr-gr-grandfather’s life, (1863 til 1937) the city of Burg offered the Burgiefe peninsula for sale to Mr. Voss. Out of unbeknown reasons or maybe pure humbleness he preferred the property where now the ‘Voss-House’ stands. What can one say?
That’s how the descendants, Klaus-Peter and Renée were walking through the streets of Burg/Fehmarn on this sunny August day and detecting in the window of the ‘Burg-Gallery in the Breite Straße’ [Antje Borgwardt’s store] a picture of the “Burg Townhall” ‘Das Burger Rathaus’, the artist: Ingrid Schmeck, with a note about the famous architect; the memory of this forefather interested them to purchase the picture and take it with them to Australia.
The ruins of the old ‘Glambeck fortress’ excavation 1908
This should also be of interest: the forefather Carl Voss did excavate the fortress ‘Glambeck’ ruins in 1908. Klaus-Peter Hein wondered if the ruins were still intact? He decided to take a few genealogy lessons about the island’s history. This is very important information about the Fehmarn history and the study of the reconstruction of the ancient fortress from the 13th century.
Klaus-Peter Hein is taking along many memories of the island Fehmarn on his continuous world travel. On his return to Australia, where he emigrated to 35 years ago, their route will lead them over Chili, SA. There his wife Renée will search for her ancestors and memories of her youth.
All in all – the visit to the Peter-Wiepert-Museum or a contemplative walk over the cemetery of the ‘St. Nikolai Church’ – such a visit to the old homeland, searching for roots of forefathers, makes the heart beat in a peculiar way. One more kiss to say good bye, and then it goes back over the ‘Fehmarn Sound’, out into the great, wide world. Waving their Bye-Bye!, the gr.gr. nephew looks back once more to the island, where the gr.-gr.-grandfather left respectful memories and honor in his great name.
Excerpt from the FT newspaper in Burg. Tuesday, 14. August 2001
Translated from the German by: E. Bügge-Wood
E-mail:
eb-wood@netwalk.com
Nobody is to accommodate shelter to strangers...
Historic short news items from Fehmarn, part XIX
An excerpt from the Fehmarn newspaper by: Karl-Wilhelm
Klahn, copied from the Burg archives.
Heimatteil Fehmarn 12. April 2000
English translation by: E. Buegge-Wood
Fehmarn – 14000: The melted snow and ice at the end of the last ice age flooded the original river valley of the ”Trave” and formed a drainage ditch from Travemünde into the Lübeck Bay, along the eastern coast of Fehmarn and Bornholm toward the Baltic valley, the birth of the Baltic Sea ‘or Ost See’.
1300: Pope Boniface VIII. introduces the ecclesiastic jubilee year “Jubeljahr”, which is repeated every 25 years, secured Pilgramage to Rom, passing from the northern regions according to plan, over Fehmarn.
1350: The black plague was transmitted by saylors from Genoa in 1347 and reached Lübeck around 1350, until Martini (11.November) 18000 people died in Lübeck).
On Fehmarn: coast guards had to watch that no ships would land on the island.
1579, 25. January: Duke Johann ordered, that noble men are not allowed to make any land sales transactions with the citizens, without the specific knowledge and permission of the king.
1586: The council of the town of Burg begins every quarter year in full robed attire before the open windows at the grand stand of the town hall (built in 1520), to announce the ‘Buursprake’ (Duty of the citizens): Nobody is allowed to accommodate strangers in their home, unless fined 10 Mark Silver or jail, a “respectful answer” toward all people of high rank, not to sell houses, lands, property or ships to foreigners, not to cover their faces on Shrove-Tuesday, “Faseltag”.
1650: David Gloxin, Mayor and syndic elder of the Hansestadt Lübeck, son of the mayor in Burg, who has the same name and lived (in the property where now lives the dentist Dr. Schröder), in an honorable testament willed the orphans- and poor-house on a grand scale.
From “Waldemar”, the breeding stallion
1886:
My elected yellow breeding stallion “Waldemar” is ready for stud
service, one mare 12 Marks with guarantee available, N. Wohler, Niendorf.
1887: The city
ordinance-group agreed unanimously to achieve a separation of the island Fehmarn
from the mainland, the county Oldenburg “Kreis”. The minister in Berlin,
‘von Puttkammer’, rejected it.
1889: A Fehmarn Society in Hamburg has 264 members, the chair person is Julius Wichmann.
1889: 13. July, The 15 hektar farm “Montpläsier” (behind the easter pond [Ostersoll]) belonging to the family Claus Hanz Haye and his wife Tessche Bockwoldt (who died 1885 in Vitzdorf) is being auctioned off.
1890: First threshing machine was a gift “Stiftmaschine”, with circular crank ‘Göpelkraft’ (driven by 2 or 4 horses), in 1893 farmer Heinrich Schmidt in Blieschendorf had a locomotive engine with thresh machine.
1900: In farming, the first mechanic mowing machine “Ablegemaschinen” during the harvest of grain, 1904 a sheaf binder “Selbstbinder” was introduced (the sheaf was expelled and ready bound), 1954 the mowing machine was pulled by a tractor.
1904: 19. August. The 365 Hektar large estate ‘Katharinenhof’ is changing ownership from Mr. Evers to Mr. Rathjen in Halle, Prussia. In the weekly paper: Wanted for November, 1st, 1905 three day-worker-families with home and extra allowance ‘Tagelöhner-Familien’ H. Rathjen, Kathrinenhof.
1925 Citizens of Fehmarn: Burg 3270, Petersdorf 641, Landkirchen 464, Dänschendorf 461, Puttgarden 322, Lemkendorf 253, Strukkamp 223, Bannesdorf 222, Lemkenhafen 209 among others.
1948: Owners of cows in Burg: Peter Mackeprang, Ludwig Bugislaus und Matthäus Wilcken each 17, Karl Scheel 15, Hans Wilhelm Kropp 14, Georg Lafrentz, Matte Störtenbecker, Johannes Bugislaus und Wilhelm Bruhn each 12, Otto Neuwohner 8 and baker Liesenberg 4 among others.
Photo: by Klahn
The only megalith monument ‘Hünengrab’ on Fehmarn, within reach to the public, is at the steep coast in Albersdorf-Strukkamp, called the “Albert Stone” “Alversteen” served as marker for the sailboat industry for over thousand years as land marker for the Sund-Passage, until the established Flügger light house and at the same time for the “Lower Fire” on the cape of Strukkamp-Huk in the year of 1872.
End of Translation.
In November 1949 the FT was finally again allowed to be published
50
years home newspaper after the second World War –
“A good friend” of the people from Fehmarn
Burg (wi) – From the first issue of the Fehmarn newspaper there are no specimen to be found. In May or June 1856, the paper was issued for the first time, and was called “the Fehmarn Weekly Paper” “Wochenblatt”. Slowly the 150-year anniversary will be in seven years. Only during the 2nd World War was the paper stopped. At the end of 1944 the paper could not continue anymore. And not until November 1949, – 50 years ago –, was the “license to print” received from the English occupational power.
50 years of home newspaper since the 2nd World War. In this week we are looking back to that time period. “She is back, our home paper, there were many obstacles to overcome before it could be published again”, so announced the FT on the first of November 1949. The paper set many a high goal for them selves. At that time they wanted to assist lifting “Germany out of the spiritual and political upheavals from it’s past.” On page three you can read the entire wording.
At that time the FT belonged to the publisher Gallus Huber, who had already purchased it in 1941. The first two editions of the FT in November 1949 were more or less a daily paper. Only one page, printed on both sides, was published. The first edition with several pages was published on the 5th of November. Already with a large part devoted to local matters. Until the middle of January 1950 the FT was only printed three times a week. Not until then did it become a daily paper.
The family Wolff impressed our newspaper decidedly with their name. In 1958 Hans Wolff took over the press and the publishing house of the Fehmarn newspaper, the editorial management he left to his son Henning Wolff. The family Wolff understood how to embody the newspaper successfully on the island Fehmarn. Henning Wolff became the only publisher after the father’s death in 1975. Until the year of 1994 did he lead the editorial and then went into retirement. He remains being a publisher.
Continuously modernized
To assure a long lasting independent establishment for the Fehmarn newspaper, Henning Wolff consigned the newspaper at the end of 1989 by majority vote to the “Ippen-Verlag”, - who specialized in association with smaller news agencies. Since then the newspaper was continuously modernized to suit the new demands, without loosing the traditional character. The “Heiligenhafener Post” was added to the “Burg-Verlag”. Now both of the “reporters”- edition Eutin and Ploen/Preetz go to the publisher in Burg.
Beginning with the local news on page one, which was the latest essential reform in the Fehmarn newspaper. The character of the paper was upgraded, the local pages essentially improved. Now the reader finds mostly four pages about the island Fehmarn in the FT. That is among a reader’s domain of 12500 people, certainly incomparable. And also the thickness of the edition is excellent. With 2600 specimen is the FT only a small newspaper, compared to the citizens dwelling on the island, the edition might be highly unusual.
Since 5 years the Ft is a regular breakfast paper and for that reason more actual. In this year the production of the paper was totally overhauled. It is now at a glance more predictable. In addition, the FT-monthly-questions, where the opinion of the reader is read and answered in the week’s opinions “Wochenansichten”, by the newspaper staff.
The latest change is in the improvement of the print quality. To publish colored photos with higher quality, for this the FT united with the publishing-printcenter in Walsrode, south of Hannover. The pages of the local part of the paper are sent out in the evening per ISDN. At night the finished news items are being transported to the island Fehmarn. The decision to discontinue the print job on the island was not an easy one. It could not to be avoided though, to insure the future of the Fehmarn home newspaper and the Heiligenhafen Post.
Public opinion of the island
The Fehmarn newspaper is since 1856 and after the 2nd World War, since 1949 the public opinion of the island Fehmarn. Also in the future the focal point is going to depend on the coverage of the local information. On the 5th of November, 1949 the FT was grateful for the many letters received, in which the readers expressed their joy of finally receiving their beloved newspaper again. “This is not surprising and was actually to be expected”, answered the FT then already selfassuring, “for 95 years the newspaper was always closely attached to the citizens of the island and a great friend in sorrow and joy during its changing history in the past. The paper was a good friend to all and a part of every family. That’s the way it will be again” up to now, after 143 years, the “FT” is a good friend to all people from Fehmarn!
Where does the name Fehmarn come from?
The following is a translation of the
first couple of sentences of a long entry in an encyclopedia on historic places
of Germany:
"The early medieval history of Fehmarn is not known. The first documented
mentioning is by Adam von Bremen (around 1075) who called the island Fembre or
Imbria, while Helmold, the Slav chronicler, called the island Vemere (derived
from the slav word vemorje, i.e. "in the ocean". At that time
Fehmarn was inhabited by the Slavs......."
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