Geographically, the Kraichgau is a region in Germany between the Rhine and Neckar Rivers that is south of Heidelberg, west of Heilbronn, and northeast of Karlsruhe. Politically, the Kraichgau refers to a collection of small and semi-independent territories in this physical area. These territories united in the early modern period in a loose federation of knights. Surrounding areas included the larger areas of Baden, Württemberg, and the Palatinate. (Today, the Kraichgau is included in the modern state of Baden-Württemberg.)
In 1599, seventy-five knights were in the federation and they owned seventy-two separate territories, the average size of which was fourteen square miles. The northern part of the Kraichgau contained fifty-three parishes. Most of the parishes were subsistence farming communities, but a few of the parishes, such as Schwaigern and Sinsheim, were small market towns.
The area was heavily damaged and much of the population died during the Thirty Years' War (1618 to 1648). After the war, there was an influx from Switzerland (especially Anabaptists, but German Reformed also), from France (Huguenots), and from eastern parts of "Germany." By religion, Lutheranism dominated, but there were Reformed members, Jews, Catholics and Anabaptists.
The parishes of the Northern Kraichgau were controlled politically by the Palatine Electorate, by the Knights of the federation, and by many lesser nobles none of whom possessed more than three parishes. Six of the parishes maintained the rights of a city including the right to hold a market. The remaining forty-seven parishes were villages.
This region sent many emigrants to Pennsylvania and to Virginia. Seventy-four percent were Lutheran, 21 percent were Reformed, 2 percent were Anabaptists (Mennonites), 1 percent were Catholic, and 2 percent were unknown. There were many Swiss names among the two thousand Kraichgauers who went to Pennsylvania. Nor were the Kraichgauers from a common political heritage as has been noted.
Unlike Austria, where a strong Catholic state was developing, or Brandenburg-Prussia, where a strong Lutheran state was developing, the Kraichgau was fragmented without a common religion or political organization. Instead, tiny, weak, and loosely united principalities, such as the von Neippergs (in Schwaigern), or the von Gemmingens, dominated.
After the destruction of the seventeenth century, these lessor nobles sought to rebuild their principalities at the expense of the inhabitants. This led to many conflicts between the nobles and the citizens. The inhabitants appealed, in many cases, to the surrounding larger political groups. This was a danger to the smaller nobles who feared the intervention of outside groups.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.