Click here to read story from beginning.
Note
to readers: My apologies to any who have been waiting for so long for a next post in the story of Grandma's Trip. Life does seem to get in the way of the best laid plans. Enough said. This post took a while to produce because I wanted to translate from German to English all the labels in the map posted here. Not withstanding the postponements, that took quite a bit of time. I hope you enjoy exploring the result.
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Perhaps when Grandma Cecile was still living in Nieder-Mohrau, there was some space between the villages. By 1945 when it all came to an end, the villages of Nieder- and Ober-Mohrau had grown together. Klein Mohrau was still a short distance away. Today Nieder-Mohrau is known by a Czech name - Dolni Moravice.
To make the translations, I ran the words through Google's Translator. Often, it would simply repeat a word, indicating that it did not understand. Those words I then asked my friend Al Haunold to help me with. When you see some of those words, you'll know why Google couldn't come up with a replacement word!
Below is the map, followed by a list of the translations. You can see a larger version of the map to perhaps look for houses of your relatives and see what their occupation was. All you have to do is click on the image.
When going through the translations, the words in blue are those of Al Haunold. Many thanks, Al!! The map and key are from the book, "Unvergessene Heimat" or "Unforgotten Homeland".
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map of Grandma's hometown village
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Translation
of Words from German to English on the map of Nieder- and Ober-Mohrau
Note:
words written with the German “umlaut” are spelled with an “e”
after the vowel when written in English.
Zeichernerkidrung
- Character declaration (map key)
Gedenkstätten
- Memorials
Gewässer
– waters (river, lake, pond)
Grenze
- border
Nebengebäude
- Outbuildings
Strassen
- Streets
Wege
- Roads
Wohngebäude
- Residential buildings
Hauservzeichnis
mit Gewerbezweig - House directory with occupation of residents
Altes
Bauernhaus Kraus - Old Kraus farmhouse
Arbeiter
- workers
Arbeiterwohnhaus
- Workers’ house
Ausgedingehaus
zu Nr. 28 - Ausgedingehaus to No. 28
Ausgedingehaus
– Ausgedingehaus - with
reference to a specific house number,
that is
different and hard to figure out unless you have experienced it
yourself.
In Austria where I [Al] grew
up, Ausgedinge had a very specific meaning. When people got older and
they thought of cutting back on their work or even retiring,
especially farmers, they went into the Ausgedinge. That means, they
turned over much of their activities to a son (or rarely a daughter
who usually was married)
They often stayed in the
same house or moved to another abode which the family already owned.
They thus were “ausgedingt” but still got their living expenses
covered, frequently living in the same house with their child’s
family.
If they moved to a different
address, that’s where the “haus” and its number come in.
In this case, the retiree
still depended on his sustinence from the son or daughter but did not
materially work with the business anymore. He is referred to as an
“Ausgediengter” (retired) and is living at a specific location.
Bauernhof
– farm
Bauernhof
(frueher Olmuehle) - Farm (formerly Oil mill) referring to
some machinery or perhaps a building for milling oil seeds grown on
the farm.
Bauernhof
unbewohnt siehe Nr. 43 - Uninhabited farm see no.43
Bauernhof
und Flachshande - Farm and flax trade
Bauer
u. Hausfleischer - Farmer and house butcher
Bauernhof
(verp. an E. Muller) - Farm (sold to E. Muller)
Bauernhof
(Wohng. Vermietet) - Farm (rented apartment)
Beamter
– Official
Bleicharbeiter
– bleach worker - The Bleiche is actually some vessel, tub
or perhaps something larger, but definitely a vessel of some kind
holding a chemical bleaching solution in a separate location being
referred to as Bleiche. There is no indication for which
manufacturing it was used, but [in Mohrau it could either] refer
[both] to a silk manufacturing facility (Seidenfabrik) and/or a paper
mill (Papierfabrik). The Bleiche (word for bleaching would be
“bleichen”) was definitely used for one of these enterprises.
[Thus, a bleicharbeiter would be a worker in one of those
facilities.]
Ehem.
- Former
Ehem.
Hadwiger Kaufmann - Former Hadwig merchant – Hadwig is
probably the name of the owner of the grocery store. Ehem. Is the
abbreviation for “former”, thus he was the former owner of the
store and now referred to as “Hadwig” merchant.
Ehem.
Spunddreherei - former bung turning shop (a bung is a a round
piece of wood, cork, or rubber which you use to close the hole in a
container such as a barrel or flask. (from dictionary)) so this would
have been a shop that produced those round pieces of wood
Ehemals
Konsumverein - Former Consumer association,
like a
group buying club, most likely for groceries. Like a group buying
club, most likely for groceries. Ehemals means “former”. Nothing
mentioned about the products, it could be fruits and vegetables, but
also clothing or household gadgets or even equipment: This
association probably provided more leverage for getting better
prices. Not just a farmers market, much more than that
Erbgericht
mit Gastwirtschaft - Google translated as: “Hereditary
court with restaurant”
Al’s translation:
Erbgericht refers to a family-kept recipe which was inherited. Erb
refers to inherited and Gericht means menu or recipe (not the
judicial term Gericht.)
Gastwirtschaft of course is
restaurant, and in the former sense something usually run by a family
or close relatives not the commercial enterprise we are used to
today. This recipe would be an heirloom
follow-up email from Al -Dec
20, 2021: Erbgericht: Erb means “inherited or heritance. Gericht in
this case refers to a menu. Thus: some family-inherited dish of some
sort, perhaps main meal or dessert.
Gastwirtschaft as explained
before is a place where one can get a meal and often also beverages
like beer and wine.
No, it does not specifically
mean that the restaurant stayed or was in the family, just the recipe
had been handed down from one generation to another one and this
restaurant used this old-inherited recipe for their menu and
advertisement to draw curious customers.
Färbermeister
- Master dyer
Fassbinderbetrieb
– Cooper business (maker or fixer of barrels)
Friseurgeschäft
- Barber shop
Gaertlerstelle
– Google had no answer
Al’s comments: A job with
a business that sells garden items, mainly vegetables such as
lettuce, onions, potatoes, and in these days rarely flowers or
shrubs. They were a good business then primarily in the spring when
they had hot beds or even a greenhouse and could sell vegetables at
an earlier time before field-grown items became available.
Stelle means job or
employment.
A book, “The Adolf Story”,
written by Felix and Lucille Koenig, descendants of Adolf Koenig -
one of my Grandfather's uncles – provides a few more clues. Adolf
was the first of the family to settle in Nebraska. The book is mostly
genealogy. They included a few translations in the beginning
including Community names and Professions. In that list they have
Gaertler - cottager, Gaertner - field cottager, Haeusler - cottager,
Hortulanus - field cottager. Different words for slight variations on
the job? Perhaps whether or not the person had access to land? I did
check the definition of cottager and it explained the old English
version of a person living in a small cottage on a large estate. The
cottager has enough ground around the house to raise a garden for
food. So perhaps the "field cottager" had access to a field
away from the house/cottage?
Gaertlerstelle
(Wohnung. Vermietet) – Gaertlerstelle (Apartment. Rented),
(see above translation for Gaerlerstelle)
Gasthaus
u. Fleischerei - Inn and butcher shop
Gasthaus
u. Friseurgeschaft - Guest house and barber shop
Gemeindehaus
- Parish Hall
Gendarmeriestation
- a police station
Al’s comments: even today
the French word is used regularly and the police officers are
referred to as Gendarm (singular) or Gendarme (plural)
Genossenschaftsschmiede
- Cooperative forge
Gesh.
-u. Mietshaus (Riedel Poldi) - Gesh. -u. Tenement house
(Riedel Poldi)
Al’s comments: I am at a
loss with Gesh, [maybe] Gaestehaus, house for guests, the
second word [Miethaus] is “rental”.
The names Riedel Poldi, in
German they use the reverse, last name followed by first name, thus
one person, could be either male or female, abbreviation for Leopold
is thus “Poldi
A
guess would be an abbrevation of Geschichtliche, which would be
“historical?
Gespannführer
- Team leader
Al’s comments: this refers
to a horse drawn vehicle, called “Gespann”, he held the reins
(Al H. email 5/9/22), so the team referred to is a team of horses,
not people
Greislerei
- Grocery store
Haushälterin
- housekeeper
Hüttenarbeiter
- Ironworkers
in
der Kolonie - in the colony
in this instance it is used
in the phrase "Zur Kettenfabrik i.d. Kolonn” My question to Al
was what Colony?
Al’s comments: the
reference might be to an African colony since Germany prior to WW one
had several colonies in Africa. Kettenfabri is a facility where they
made chains, likely iron or steel for various applications.
Kauffmann
– Google simply repeated the word
Al’s comments: The German
spelling is wrong, only one f and thus Kaufmann. That is a merchant,
either groceries or clothing, shoes or a combination. Thus just
“businessman”
Kettenschmied
– Chain smith
Kleinbauer
– Small (land)holder, small farmer
Al’s comments: A
Kleinbauer is a small farmer who may own a few slivers of land and
has troubles making a living.
Kleinbauernhof
- Small farm
Kleinbauer
und Muellergehilfe - Small farmer and mueller assistant
Kleinbauer
mean small farmer. Mueller assistant means assistant to a miller,
namely one who mills grain to produce flour.
Kleingartlerstelle
- Allotment agency - “allotment gardens” according to Wikipedia
are like community garden spaces, rented out for people to have a
space for their gardens in this case, small gardens.
Landwirtschaft
verpachtet - Agriculture leased
person
leased some agricultural land, and he had leased his agricultural
holdings to somebody else
Lerchhaus
– Lerchhaus - This one stumped even Al, so
??
Maurer
- Bricklayer, mason
Mietshaus
- Tenement house
Mietshaus
(Neuvoglseifen) – tenement house (Neuvoglseifen) – I
believe Neuvoglseifen was a town in the area
Al’s comments: Mietshaus
is a rental house. Miete means rent
Neuvogelseifen is likely the
name of the village, Literal translation would mean “Soap for new
birds”
Mietshhaus
zu Nr. 8 - Apartment building to No. 8
Mühlenbetrieb
und. Landwirtschaft – Mill (grain?) operation and
Agriculture
Neubauwohnhaus
- New residential building
Packerei
u. Kaufladen – Packing and shop
Papierfabrik
u. Landwirtschaft - Paper mill and Agriculture
Pfarrhof
– rectory
Postbeanter
- Mailman
Postelle
– mail department (Post Office)
Privat
– private
Rentner
- pensioner
Saegearbeiter
- Sag workers
Al’s comments: Saege means
a saw, like “cutting wood with...” Thus this person works in a
sawmill, or works with a saw of some sort.
Sattlerei
u. Kleinbauer - Saddlery and small farmer
Schiefererzeugung
u. Kleinbauer - Slate production and small farmer
Schmiedebetrieb
u. Wohnhaus - Blacksmith shop and residential building
Schneiderei
- Tailoring
Schuhmacherei
- shoemaking
Schulgebäude
– school-building
Spenglerei
- Plumbing
Strassenwärter
u. Milchhandel - Roadman and milk trade
Tabakhandel
- Tobacco trade
Textilarbeiter
- Textile workers
Tischler
– carpenter
Tischlerei
- Joinery
Tischlerei
u. Kleinbauer - Carpentry and small farmer
Villa
– villa, mansion
Villa means like Google interpreted, except in the local
surroundings, it has the meaning of “mansion” - people
looked at such dwellings as something that few people could afford
and their owners are esteemed and rich. Like nobility of some sort or
very rich merchants who have little contact with the common folk.
Wagner
u. Kleinbauer - Wagner and small farmers
Wagner
refers to a profession, a person who is licensed to make wagons,
perhaps even carriages. Most wagons that the wagner built were for
heavy loads such a hay, wood, fruits, grain.
Waldarbeiter
- Forest workers
Waldarbeiter
u. Gaertlerstelle
- Forest workers and Cottage garden workers
Werkstischler
- Carpenter
- My question was – what
is the difference between a Werkstischler and a Tischler? An
apprentice? A different type of carpentry???
Al’s comments: a
carpenter, not just an apprentice, perhaps a licensed shop owner who
makes furniture. Likely not building houses, that would be a
Zimmermann.
Wohn
- u. Retiebsgebaude zu Nr. 31 - Residential and retirement
building to No. 31
Wohnhaus
- Residential building
Wohnhaus
f. bei ihm Beschäftigte - House for employees
Wohn
u. Betriebshauser - Residential and industrial buildings
Wohn
- u. Mietshaus - Residential and tenement house
Zimmermann
– Carpenter [as mentioned above by Al, this carpenter would
build houses]
Zimmermann
u. Kleinbauer - Carpenter and small landholder/farmer
Zu
– to
zur
Kettenfabrik i.d. Kolonie - to the chain factory i.d. colony
(see above)
1942
abgebrannt - Burned down in 1942
small box in bottom
right of map page:
Geschichtliche
Daten - Historical Data
1200 to 1400 25 villages
were listed in the vicinity of Roemerstadt
1258 Founding of the village
Mohrau
1350 construction of a
wooden church
In the second half of the
15th century the total population succumbed to the Plague
In the middle of the 16th
century new settlers arrived: Protestants
1594 construction of a new
church
1623 switch to the Order of
German Knights: catholic
1794 church burned down due
to a lightning strike
1795 construction of a new
church in a Romanesque style
1798 installation of a pipe
organ in N. M. (Nieder Mohrau ?)
1803 purchase of three new
bells for the church
1806 construction of a
school building
1834 surveying all fields
for the ownership registry, Roemerstadt
1892 founding a voluntary
fire brigade
1902 construction of the
main village road/ installation of a clock into the church tower
1903/04 and also 1927 huge
damages due to flooding
1918/19 Huge flu epidemic
(Spanish flu; influenca)
1919 due to the peace treaty
of Versailles the area which until then was Austrian
went to Czechoslovakia
1920 electrification
1922 construction of a war
memorial
1928 expansion of the
cemetery
1934 fire destroys the Brech
house (4 women died)
1938 Reunion with Germany
between October 1 to 10
1942 fire destroys the
sawmill owned by Hubert Matzner
1946 forced relocation from
the old homesteads
Ortsplan von Nieder-und
Ober/Mohrau (Stand: Ende April 1945) – Map of the place as of its
end in April 1945
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Entwurf nach dem Gedaechtnis
aufgestellit im Jahre 1968 von Franz Klos und Willi Aust. - design
from the memory & presented in the year 1968 by Franz Klos and
Willi Aust.
Gezeichnet von Herbert
Schallner 1972 Zusammenstellung Fruehjahr 1982/E-L.K
- Personal remembrances of
Herbert Schallner 1972, compilation spring 1982/ E-L.K
Hoehenlage: 650m ue. NN –
elevation, 650 meters above sea level [about 2133 feet]
Km/Angabe: Ab Kirche N. -M.
- as listed: from the church in Nieder-Mohrau
[general translations by
Google translator, refined translations by Al Haunold
***************************************************
Story to be continued......
To read Post - "53 - Larger Map and Some History" Click Here