Elisabeth Jäger (local history researcher)

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Elisabeth Jäger (born August 30, 1912 ; † September 16, 2012 ) was a German archivist , chronicler and local history researcher of the Upper Franconian region around Wunsiedel .

Life

Elisabeth Jäger was born as the daughter of the Evangelical Lutheran pastor Adolf Jäger (from Ahornis , then travel preacher in Zwiesel ). In 1922 she came to Wunsiedel , where her father had been transferred as the first pastor and dean . Until 1928 she attended secondary school in Wunsiedel. From 1936 Elisabeth Jäger processed genealogical inquiries in the Wunsiedler rectory and laid the foundation for her extensive Wunsiedler citizens and farmers index , which is now in the Wunsiedel city ​​archive . After Elisabeth Jäger worked as a volunteer archivist in the Wunsiedel district from 1950 and lived on the earnings of a Christian bookstore, she was entrusted with the management of the extensive Wunsiedler city archive in 1954. Elisabeth Jäger carried out this job until 1984, well beyond the retirement age. She devoted her life to evaluating the archive materials entrusted to her and supplemented her knowledge by visiting numerous other archives. She presented her findings in various exhibitions and numerous essays. Her main work are the three volumes of the Wunsiedler city history. First, in 1983, the third volume, covering the period from 1810 to 1932, was published, which caused a sensation in the specialist literature because of the accuracy of the presentation. The first volume followed in 1987, which deals with the history of the castle and town of Wunsiedel from 1163 to 1560, but is also of great relevance to the history of the entire region. In 1994, Volume 2/1 was finally published, which in turn deals not only with the history of Wunsiedel, but also with that of the entire region for the period from 1557 to 1632. A continuation of the series, for which the author had already done extensive preparatory work, could not be realized due to age. Elisabeth Jäger died on September 16, 2012, a few weeks after her 100th birthday. She spent the last years of her life in a retirement home in Dinkelsbühl .

In 1972, on the occasion of her 60th birthday, Elisabeth Jäger was awarded the Ehrenring of the city of Wunsiedel for her special merits. In 1980 the Federal President awarded her the Cross of Merit on Ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany . On July 22nd, 1982, the Wunsiedler city council decided to give her honorary citizenship as the first woman . Elisabeth Jäger insisted on accepting this honor only after the completion of the further volume of her city history. Thus, the award of honorary citizenship could only take place on October 15, 1987.

Works

City chronicle of Wunsiedel

Elisabeth Jäger wrote a multi-volume city chronicle of Wunsiedel over several decades. In particular, she dealt with the development of the town into a town, including the course and the main buildings of the town wall and the surrounding old streets . In the Middle Ages, neighboring aristocratic families played an important role in the town's history, such as the Kotzau , Notthracht or Sparneck . It also paints the picture of Wunsiedel in times of war, such as the battle on Katharinenberg in the Hussite War , but also the needs of the citizens in epidemics and the exiles as persecuted by the faith. It portrays important Wunsiedler personalities, such as Sigmund Wann from a wealthy Wunsiedler merchant family. Your city chronicle is divided into several epochs and extends into modern times.

Seniorate loan from Sparnecker

Following on from the work of Alban von Dorbenck , she dealt with the genealogy of the von Sparneck family . The Wunsiedler history has several points of contact with this family. Rüdiger von Sparneck was burgrave of Eger in the 14th century and the Nuremberg burgrave Johann II pledged to him in 1341 Wunsiedel , Hohenberg and Schönbrunn . The nearby headquarters in Sparneck and on the Waldstein also had scattered holdings themselves in the Egerland . Elisabeth Jäger pays special attention to the senior fiefdoms , these were imperial fiefdoms that were transferred to the elders of the clan (senior) , regardless of the respective family lineage of the locally widespread gender until the 16th century. The Sparnecker senior citizenship loans existed in Bernstein and Dörflas for about 450 years until the dynasty died out in 1744. On the one hand, Elisabeth Jäger used existing secondary literature and, on the other hand, was able to supplement and correct the city archives.

Important essays (selection)

  • The Luxburg near Wunsiedel. In: Archive for the history of Upper Franconia 41, 1961, pp. 121–149
  • (with Rudolf Thiem): The guided tour of the old street Gefrees-Rudolfstein-Bernstein. In: Archive for History of Upper Franconia 47, 1967, pp. 373–378
  • Heinrich Holzschuher , the creator of the Christmas carol "O you cheerful". In: Journal for Bavarian Church History, Vol. 36 / I, Nuremberg 1967, pp. 39–65
  • The amateur games on the Luisenburg - The artist games on the Luisenburg. - From the history of the festival site. In: 80 Years of the Luisenburg Festival, Wunsiedel 1970
  • Queen Luise of Prussia and the Luisenburg. Wunsiedel 1980
  • Wunsiedel 1810 - 1932. Volume III of a history of the city of Wunsiedel. Wunsiedel 1983
  • Wunsiedel 1163 - 1560. Volume I, a history of the castle and town of Wunsiedel. Wunsiedel 1987.
  • Old streets as historical witnesses. In: Archive for the history of Upper Franconia 71, 1991, pp. 109–117
  • Wunsiedel 1557 - 1632. Volume II / 1 of a history of the city of Wunsiedel. Wunsiedel 1994
  • "The Erbsteig, so walked up to Weißenstadt". A newly found, early old road through the Fichtel Mountains. In: Archive for the history of Upper Franconia 76, 1996, pp. 61–84
  • Freeman's settlements on imperial roads in the Fichtel Mountains. In: Archive for the history of Upper Franconia 82, 2002. pp. 45–70.

literature

  • FGV culture award for Elisabeth Jäger and Dr. Friedrich W. Singer - Laudation from District Administrator Dr. Peter Seisser. In: Der Siebenstern - Association magazine of the Fichtelgebirgsverein eV, Issue 3/1988, pp. 95–98
  • City historian is a hundred. Press report in the Frankenpost from September 8, 2012

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://wunsiedel.de/fileadmin/user_upload/stadt_wunsiedel/rathaus/aktuelles/der-wunsiedler/2012-10-wunsiedler_web.pdf
  2. ↑ City historian is one hundred. In: Frankenpost
  3. ↑ Alban Freiherr von Dorbenck: History of the extinct family of the von Sparneck (part 1). In: Archives for the history of Upper Franconia 22.3 (1905); Pp. 1-65.
    Alban Freiherr von Dorbenck: History of the extinct family of the von Sparneck (part 2) ; In: Archives for the history of Upper Franconia 23.1 (1906); Pp. 1-56.
  4. ↑ Peter Braun: The Lords of Sparneck. Family tree, distribution, brief inventory. In: Archive for the history of Upper Franconia 82 (2002); Pp. 71-106.
personal data
SURNAME Hunter, Elisabeth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German chronicler and local researcher
DATE OF BIRTH August 30, 1912
DATE OF DEATH September 16, 2012