Neuhof,
Kreis Fulda, Hesse, Germany
Magdlos,
Kreis Fulda, Hesse, Germany
EXCERPTS
FROM A BRIEF CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF NEUHOF, KREIS FULDA,
HESSE, GERMANY
The area
of Neuhof has been inhabited since at least 1,000 B.C. Excavations
in the area have found graves from the Bronze Age. An early
"pre-history" travel route passed through Neuhof,
on the path from the settlements now known as Fulda and Flieden.
In 806
A.D., the Flieden region was mentioned in an official document
for the first time. The document concerned donations to the
cloister of Fulda. At this time, Neuhof was part of the Flieden
region.
In 1239
A.D., Neuhof was mentioned in a document for the first time.
According to the document, the brothers Albert and Heinrich
von Neuhof sold goods in the town of Harmerz to the "Probst
of Johannesberg". Harmerz and Johannesberg were towns
near Flieden. It is thought that Albert and Heinrich lived
in a castle of the prince-abbot of Fulda. During the thirteenth
century, the town name is variously spelled as 'Nuenhove',
'Nuenhov', Nuwenhof', 'Nuwehof', 'Nüwenhoffe', 'Neuenhof'
and 'Newenhof'. Construction of a castle in Neuhof began in
1250, under the direction of Prince Heinrich IV of Fulda.
Records
exist of the transfer of the land between various families
of minor royalty, over the next several centuries.
In 1326,
the hamlet of Opperz was mentioned for the first time. Opperz
is now an urban district incorporated in Neuhof. Similarly
in 1396 Engelsburg was mentioned for the first time. In modern
times, a farm in the north east part of Neuhof is known as
Engelsburg. Erlenhof was first mentioned in 1450, and Ellers
was first mentioned in 1486. Both are also now sections of
the town of Neuhof. All of these village names can be found
in the local church's birth and marriage records.
In 1490,
St. Michael's Church was built in the Opperz district of Neuhof.
The church parish was separated from Flieden in 1515. St.
Michael's Church still stands.
In 1519,
the tower in the south west of the castle was built. In 1544,
Neuhof became a "center of the administration of justice"
where law courts and jails functioned. The nearby town of
Flieden lost its similar functions at this time. Records from
this time identify the many villages in the area that were
included in the Neuhof administrative district.
In 1597,
Neuhof became a refuge from the plague in Fulda, as some governmental
functions were moved to Neuhof.
The town
of Neuhof next appeared in the records when it was linked
in 1616 to the postal system established by the princes of
Thurn and Taxis. In 1629, Albrecht von Wallenstein, from Friedland,
marched through Neuhof with his army.
In 1674,
the Catholic parish of Neuhof counted 934 adult members. In
1686, the Catholic Church in Neuhof began to keep separate
birth, marriage and death records of its parishioners. Records
show that the Neuhof parish counted 1,919 adults and 503 children
as members in 1770.
In 1702,
the city hall was constructed by Dientzenhofer, the architect
of the Cathedral in Fulda. In 1712, Dientzenhofer also built
a bridge in Neuhof. Both still stand.
In 1773,
Opperz had 44 houses and 49 families with 320 people. Neuhof
(then sometimes called 'Neustadt') included 40 houses and
44 families with 248 people. Ellers had 63 houses and 80 families
with 458 people. Of course, these three hamlets have been
combined in modern Neuhof.
In 1767,
Fulda's Prince-Bishop Heinrich von Bibra ordered the rebuilding
of the castle in Neuhof. However, after a battle in Würzburg
in 1796, withdrawing French soldiers plundered the Neuhof
castle. The losses included a small collection of paintings
at the castle.
On December
29, 1800, a bloody battle took place in the land between Flieden
and Neuhof. French soldiers under Brigadegeneral Dessaix fought
against Hessian troops under the Baron of Mainz, Franz Josef
Albini. In 1806, the Fulda region was under French administration.
In 1812,
the army of Napoleon marched through Flieden and Neuhof on
its way to Russia. Napoleon stopped in Neuhof for breakfast
on April 25, 1813. On October 25,1813, the army of Napoleon
retreated through Neuhof. Just two days later, on October
27, 1813, the Cossacks under Russian General Tschernitschew
marched through Neuhof in pursuit of Napoleon. The Tsar Alexander
of Russia passed through Neuhof, and stayed for one night
in the castle.
The inhabitants of Neuhof temporarily fled before the advancing
troops in October 1813, and the town was plundered by the
French and Russian armies. As a result of the plundering of
the town, 393 people died in Neuhof the following winter through
hunger and diseases.
In 1815,
Prussia assumed control of the region. In 1816, the Fulda
region became part of the electorate Hesse-Kassel. In 1866,
Prussia again assumed control of the Fulda area, and the region
was then incorporated in the province of Hesse-Nassau until
1945.
In 1827,
a new schoolhouse was built in Opperz. In 1829, Opperz had
50 houses and 467 residents. Neuhof counted 49 houses and
409 people, and Ellers had 79 houses and 679 people. The entire
Neuhof "justice administrative district" counted
a total of 9,691 citizens.
In 1850,
the schoolteacher Schuster began to keep a chronicle of the
school and its students. The same year saw the quartering
of part of the Bavarian Army in Neuhof.
In 1867,
the railway between Hanau and Bebra was completed. A station
was built in Neuhof. In 1871, two residents of Neuhof died
in the Franco-Prussian War, while serving in the Prussian
Army.
One prominent
citizen was born in 1882 in Opperz. Aloys Ruppel was born
on June 21, 1882. He went on to become a Professor in Mainz
and Director of the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz.
Notwithstanding
the heavy emigration to the United States during the nineteenth
century, the population of the Neuhof group of villages remained
fairly stable in size. In 1895, Opperz counted 517 citizens.
Neuhof had 382 residents and Ellers counted 684 inhabitants.
In 1899,
exploration of potash deposits began in Giesel and Neuhof.
By 1906, potash mines and processing works were founded.
Neuhof
was the site of further economic and cultural development
in the next two decades. In 1892, a community bank was founded.
A volunteer fire department was founded in 1907. Also in 1907,
the first water treatment facility was built. Choral groups
and other social organizations were founded in 1907 and 1908
as well.
In 1917,
all church bells but one were removed for use of the metal
in weapons for World War One. Four new bells were installed
in St. Michael's Church in 1922.
On April
1, 1928, the three villages of Opperz, Neuhof and Ellers were
consolidated into the larger new community of Neuhof. The
newly consolidated town numbered about 2,600 citizens.
On Kristallnacht
in 1938, the Jewish synagogue in Neuhof was burned. Before
the war, 48 Jewish people had resided in Neuhof. In May 1942,
the remaining Jewish residents were taken away.
On January
13, 1941, the first bomb hit the Neuhof area. American troops
first occupied the Neuhof area at Easter time in 1945.
During
the First World War, Neuhof counted 52 fallen and 10 missing
soldiers. In the Second World War, 147 soldiers from Neuhof
died and another 63 soldiers were counted as missing in action.
22 additional residents of Neuhof were lost in bombing raids.
Neuhof then became the new home of about 600 Germans expelled
from other areas, including primarily Sudeten-Germans, and
Germans from the Egerland. These new settlers swelled the
population to 3,658.
The chronology
of Neuhof from the 1950s through the 1970s records the construction
and renovation of churches, schools, a hospital and cultural
organizations. In 1965, Neuhof counted 4,797 inhabitants.
Within the Fulda region, only the town of Petersberg was larger,
outside the city of Fulda itself.
As a
result of a governmental reorganization that took effect on
January 1, 1972, Neuhof was named the principal town of a
larger district including Giesel, Dorfborn, Tiefengruben and
Kauppen. The census of the town of Neuhof as of January 1,
1982 counted 4,996 residents, categorized as 2,404 male, 2,592
female, 4,165 catholic and 732 protestant.
Many
thanks to Harald Auth for his assistance with the translation
of this history from the original German.
Top
of Page
A
HISTORY OF MAGDLOS, KREIS FULDA, HESSE, GERMANY
In
1981, the town of Flieden celebrated its 1,175 year anniversary.
In commemoration of this event, a ninety page history of Flieden
was written. The Flieden history includes a very brief section
on the history of Magdlos. In similar style, in 1986 Magdlos
celebrated its 600 year anniversary. The residents of Magdlos
published a ninety-four page history of their town, with citations
to older historical studies. Special thanks to Hanna Traebert
Gaertner for her efforts in 1997 to summarize and translate
the 1986 history of Magdlos. An edited version of Mrs. Gaertner's
efforts is set forth in the following.
The history
of Magdlos seems to start with the hamlet of Langenau, which
is near the site of present day Magdlos. Langenau is first
mentioned in 1012 in a document written by King Heinrich II
of Fulda, concerning hunting rights. The hamlet of "Machdolffs"
is first mentioned in a deed dated August 29, 1386. By 1553,
the town is identified as "Machtlos" under the jurisdiction
of Neuhof. A census in 1560 listed 23 property owners, while
a tax registry from 1605 contains 31 names from "Mathles".
The same tax registry in 1605 identified 8 more names in total
from Langenau, Fuldish Hof and Kautz.
In 1641,
a witches court was held in Neuhof. However, the citizens
of Magdlos and Langenau did not make any accusations. Another
witches court appears in the records in Neuhof on May 8, 1737.
Fourteen residents of Magdlos participated in the jury, but
the mayor of Magdlos had no accusations to make.
The tax
registry for 1646 shows 42 farms, along with properties owned
by Jörg Resch the miller and Henn Hack, a general store
shopkeeper. However, just ten years later, Magdlos and the
adjoining hamlet of Federwisch had just 12 households. The
hamlets of Langenau, Heydt (Haid) and Sandborn were uninhabited
in 1656.
The records
from 1712 contain the following property descriptions: 1 large
whole farm, 2 ¾ farms, 13 ½ farms, 5 ¼
farms, 1 mill and 14 cottages for a total of 36 property owners.
The 1712 property records are considered to be a major accomplishment
throughout the area. The 1712 records were the culmination
of a five year compilation of all properties of all villages
in the Fulda area, ordered by the Prince-Abbot of Fulda.
The 1712
Salbuch also contains laws and regulations that governed the
life of the villagers. Topics include inheritance taxes, conscription
and the provision of free labor to the Prince-Abbot. Anyone
moving into or out of the area was required to pay a small
amount of tax. The book identifies an amount of wood that
was required to be sent to Flieden each year. Also, the book
specifies the amounts of farm products that each farm owner
was required give each year to the priest and schoolmaster,
as well as the fees for baptism and burial of achild, payable
to the priest. The book has many other details, including
road maintenance,
path identification, and obligations of shepherds to assist
with wolf hunts.
In 1789,
the official spelling of "Magdlos" was adopted.
As a result of secularization in 1802, Magdlos passed through
a series of rulers. In 1806, the French took control. The
Grand Dukedom of Frankfurt owned the town as of 1810. In 1813,
Austria ruled the town. In 1816, Magdlos passed to the control
of Hesse. In 1866, the Prussians marched through the area
and took control. Magdlos passed back into the control of
Hesse in 1946.
In 1819,
the communities of Magdlos and Stork petitioned the Bishop
of Fulda to build a church, but nothing came of it. In 1848,
during a period of political unrest in Europe, Magdlos formed
a militia to maintain order. It consisted of twenty-six men
between the ages of 21-35, and thirty-six men between the
ages of 36-49. They were armed with lances and muskets. The
militia was disbanded in 1851, without firing a shot.
By 1868,
rail service was begun on a route from Bebra-Fulda-Hanau and
Frankfurt. A railroad stop was established in Flieden. This
created opportunities for local townsfolk to travel to Fulda
and Frankfurt to seek work.
In 1893,
the community of Magdlos consisted of sixteen farmers, twenty-nine
cottagers and thirty-seven other households, for a total of
eighty-two households. The adjoining community of Federwisch
was inhabited by ninety-six people in 1895. Federwisch suffered
four fires in 1895.
In July
16, 1897, the Catholic Bishop Georg Ignatius Komp traveled
to Magdlos to examine plans for the construction of a church.
On Palm Sunday, April 8, 1900, the Catholic priest in Flieden
blessed the first church structure in Magdlos, and it officially
opened.
Magdlos,
along with the nearby towns of Stork and Buchenrod, were connected
to a telephone system on November 9, 1905. In 1907, the town
purchased land containing a water spring, and constructed
a water line. In 1910, Magdlos established its own cemetery,
as all burials previously took place in Flieden.
The Catholic
parish of Magdlos/Stork opened a new church structure in 1919,
under the leadership of Burgermeister Karl Gärtner. The
church still stands in the center of town. A new altar was
consecrated in the Church in 1969. Recent painting and renovations
have been very expertly done.
In 1920,
the sports association "Teutonia" was founded in
Magdlos. The first electric lights were turned on in the local
homes in 1922. Electric street lights did not follow until
1937. 1924 saw some further economic development in the town.
A savings and loan bank was founded that year, and continued
to operate until it was acquired in 1960 by the Raiffeisenbank
of Flieden.
In 1933
a volunteer fire department was established. Previously, service
in the fire department was obligatory for all young men in
the town. In order to create jobs, the government conducted
some road building projects in the area in 1934.
During
the First World War, fourteen men from Magdlos were killed
in action. During the Second World War, seventy two citizens
from Magdlos died, either as soldiers or bombing victims.
A war memorial was consecrated in 1954, and it has been located
in the town cemetery since 1962. Following the Second World
War, approximately one thousand refugees and displaced persons
found new homes in the greater Magdlos area, including the
nearby hamlets.
In 1972,
Magdlos relinquished its communal independence due to governmental
reforms and consolidation. As a result, Magdlos along with
Buchenrod, Höf und Haid, Rückers, Schweben and Stork
become part of the political subdivision simply identified
as Flieden, although the villages remain distinct geographical
entities separated from each other largely by rolling farmland.
In 1973, the school in Magdlos was closed. Since that time,
the children have been transported by bus to the grammar school
in Flieden. The former schoolhouse was renovated for use in
community functions.
Modern
Magdlos, like many of its neighboring communities, is a charming,
extremely well maintained and friendly village nestled in
rolling hills and meadows. Many of its residents will say
that the location is ideal, as it is close enough to the cities
of Fulda and Frankfurt to take advantage of everything those
cities have to offer. However, it is far enough from the main
transportation routes to preserve a wonderful sense of quiet
and peacefulness.
Old homesteads
in Magdlos have by and large been replaced by modern structures
with a traditional look, through extensive renovation or complete
rebuilding. A sense of culture and community have been maintained
through the continuing vitality and support of local organizations,
including the Magdlos Brass Band, the Singer's Club, the Shooting
Club, the Sportsclub, the Carrier Pigeon Club, the Youth Dance
Group and the Hiking Club. In 1985, Magdlos hosted the 3rd
International Hiking Tour with 2,826 participants representing
68 hiking clubs.
Magdlos
continues to develop its infrastructure. For example, a new
water treatment facility has been built to serve the town.
A new kindergarten also serves the town. An extension of an
autobahn is underway through a nearby village which will improve
the village's accessibility, and a train station can be found
in Flieden just five kilometers distant. In the meantime,
old traditions endure. Quite a bit of farming continues, as
the wheat fields between Magdlos and Flieden can attest. Also,
the sausage on the local tables comes from the neighboring
farms. However, farming for the most part has become a secondary
source of income for many households.
A 1982
census for Magdlos reveals the following. Magdlos (including
the Federwisch district of town) claimed 729 residents. Only
one percent were not German citizens. About 94% of the citizenry
were Catholic. 381 of the citizens were married, and 362 were
employed
The Magdlos
history prepared in 1986 contains ancient lists of property
owners. A few of interest include the following:
1562
House number 5: Paul Resch
House number 11: Kilian Jahn
House number 12: Henn Aud
House number 16: Heintz Gaul
House number 17: Hans Firler
1614
House number 2: Henn Grob and Clas Moller
House number 3: Velten Dietrich and Hans Resch
House number 4: Christin Resch
House number 10: Heintz and Henn Kress
House number 13: Melchior Resch
House number 18: Caspar Schopner
House number 20: Peter Foller
House number 27: Hans Firling
The house
numbers prior to 1700 do not necessarily identify the same
properties from one census to the next. However, property
lists from 1712 and the mid 1800s are traceable by property.
A few of the more interesting property owners include the
following:
House number 4: 1712-Erasmus Hack; 1842-Peter Schadel
House number 7: 1712-Johann Otz; 1856-Georg Gartner
House number 8: Konrad Hack; 1857-Bonifaz Schafer
House number 15: 1712-Valentin Hack; 1839-Nikolaus Firle
House number 16: 1712-Johannes Hack; 1850-Josef Auth
House number 21: 1712-Johann Heinrich Krahe; 1834-Christoff
Firle
House number 26: 1712-Valentin Resch; 1835-Konstantin Goldbach
House number 34: 1712-Han Schoppner; 1864: Seraphim Hack
House number 35: 1712-Balzer Auth; 1864-Benedikt Auth
House number 42 (a mill in Federwisch): 1712-Valentin Diehl;
1830: Johann Andreas Wiegand
Top
of Page
