John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes
Note 859
Re-reading the book "
The Christian Ohrndorf Family in Germany
", by Julia Drake, I saw some items of interest to add here. Miss Drake was assisted by others in Germany who were familiar with the geography and the history of the region. Christian Orndorf (also Ohrndorf) lived near
Freudenberg, a very picturesque village of half-timbered homes. The buildings are not as old as one might suspect as fire has destroyed much of the village on more than one occasion.
The construction of the homes was with bricks to a height of about one meter [three feet]. On this low wall, timbers of oak were set. The trees had to be felled in the light of a waning moon because it was thought the wood would have less sap and be more durable. After the timbers were placed, loam mixed with straw [shades of adobe] was used to fill the space between the timbers. After the loam had dried, the timbers were painted black or brown and the surface of the loam were painted with soured milk and lime [whitewash]. This created a strong contrast between the dark timbers and the white intervals which makes a striking setting.
The landscape of Freudenberg is dominated by the Reformed Church, which stands on a rise that had been occupied by a "castle" earlier. The castle had been built in the 1300's as a fortress against the neighboring Dominion of Wildenburg. The ruler of Wildenburg had built a fortified Krottorf Castle a few kilometers to the west of Freudenberg. This latter moated castle still stands today and is a popular destination for tourists. Perhaps the most important point is that these castles show how small many of the Dominions were. Many were not much more than estate farms.
Freudenberg was mentioned in the year 1255, but it was not until 1456 that it became a town. Fire destroyed most of the town in 1540, including part of the castle. In 1666, this scenario was repeated and the castle was never rebuilt. Instead, a (Reformed) church was built there, utilizing a castle tower as the tower of the church building.
Throughout the region, practically every man was actively engaged in three occupations: Farming and Forestry were foremost, and a third one might be mining, smelting, casting, tanning of leather, boiling of glue, or the making of felt. Iron was not a major occupation, because the smelting periods were limited to about two months out of the year. The iron smelters and hammer smiths were prohibited from leaving the country under the penalty of law. This was an attempt to limit the spread of their knowledge, even though these trades were much practiced in every country. All children of a deceased farmer received a part of his farm by law. Therefore, the holdings had become very small. In this situation, it was difficult to prosper, though it is granted that a comfortable living, by the standards of the day, might be made.
[Some of the material, especially the last paragraph, has its origin in the book by Dr. Lothar Irle, "
Das Siegerland
" published in 1967.]