In May of this year, 2024, a group of 38 interested Wendish descendants travelled together to Upper Lusatia for a wonderful overview visit to the homeland of our forefathers. Some were my relatives, some longtime friends, and some new friends we met and connected with on the trip. This week we are having a reunion event at the Museum at Serbin and at the home of our tour hosts Rev. Dr. Jerry and Terry Kieschnick. We are very grateful to Jerry and Terry for making this trip a reality.
For me, and I think for many of us, the trip was amazing, powerful, and so very fascinating. We spent the first few days in Berlin and I enjoyed that very much. Then we went into Lower Lusatia, stayed in Cottbus, and ranged out to an ancient Slavic fortress and Nepila Hof, a very good living history Wendish estate. We went on a boat ride on the Spree River and enjoyed a Wendish village historical site there,
Then we travelled to Bautzen, the principal city in Upper Lusatia, the homeland of our forefathers. There we visited the birthplace of Rev. Jan Kilian in Dohlen, and the church where he was baptized in Hochkirch. We visited Dom St. Petri in Bautzen, a historical church that is both Lutheran and Catholic. They literally share the church and worship at different times. Then we toured St. Michael Lutheran Church in Bautzen and were treated to an informative presentation by Pastor Jan Mahling. He said that that church still has services in Wendish, and he did the blessing at the altar in Wendish for our group. It was powerful, I assure you. Our group then sang the doxology in that beautiful church as we did in other places during the trip. It was both emotional and meaningful.
A highlight was an evening meal at Wjelbik, an authentic Wendish restaurant in Bautzen. We enjoyed the Wendish wedding meal with a wonderful dessert and all the accompaniments.
We visited the church and monument to Rev. Jan Kilian at Kotitz. It is in what at that time was Prussia. My Hempel family were members there for many generations including while Pastor Kilian was Pastor.
On Sunday we worshipped at St. Trinitatiskirche in Weigersdorf, where Pastor Kilian served after Kotitz. Weigersdorf at that time was in Saxony. The congregation and Pastor (Pfarrer) Benjamin Rehr conducted a wonderful service and Bach concert, and a noon meal to remember. Pastor Rehr showed us the church cemetery and also the old church records, including entries for my ancestor Karl Teinert born in 1816.
That same afternoon we travelled to St. Johannesgemeinde in Klitten, also a church Rev. Kilian had served in the 1840’s and early 1850’s. Pastor (Farrer) Daniel Krause conducted a full afternoon communion service followed by another musical concert and the best coffee cake reception imaginable. Both the church in Weigersdorf and the church at Klitten (Boxberg) are SELK churches; Selbstandige Evangelisch Lutherische Kirche, which is in fellowship with our LCMS. Read about the “Old Lutherans” in articles in the Wendish Research Exchange.
We ended our tour in Dresden, seeing many old and rebuilt buildings and churches. We returned to Berlin for our flights home.
Our tour guide, Diana, had been born and raised in Leipzig, East Germany and her story was fascinating and unimaginable to us westerners. She was well educated and worked as a mechanical engineer. As a young adult all her family had escaped to the west and she decided to follow. She told us the harrowing story of her successful escape to Germany in August 1989. She enriched our trip substantially with all she knew and told us along the trip.
Let me encourage you to go see the homeland of your Wendish ancestors if you are able and get the opportunity. We found it to be a profound and very positive experience.