Hamkens (family)

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Hoyerswort manor in the Eiderstedt countryside
Heraldic plaque in Hoyerswort Castle

Hamkens is the name of an old Frisian clan from the Eiderstedt region , which is first mentioned in 1535 in the double treasury register of the parish of St. Peter ( St. Peter-Ording ), the oldest register of all Eiderstedt landowners.

history

The Hamkens are among the oldest landlord families in the Eiderstedt region. As early as the 15th century there was a Peter Hamkens, who is mentioned as a large landowner and court owner in the double treasury register in the parish of St. Peter. The progenitor of the Hamkens is Hamke Bons, who lived in St. Peter around 1600 and died there on October 23, 1656. Through the generations, the Hamkens in the Eiderstedter landscape were decisive for the political life as dikers , chairmen of the landscape assemblies , pfennig masters and as chairmen of the parish assemblies. This is particularly interesting because Eiderstedt had the right to self-government very early on and was therefore only responsible to the Duke of Schleswig . This regulation was in effect until 1900.

Up until modern times, the Hamkens - in addition to their economic activities as large farmers, lawyers and farm owners - exercised political influence. Quite a few were active as district administrators, government presidents and members of the Reichstag as well as in influential positions - mostly conservative parties. During the time of the National Socialist terror, the family rifted: while one name bearer - Wilhelm Hamkens - served the Nazi regime as President of Schleswig-Holstein, another Wilhelm Hamkens of the same name led the resistance as chairman of the rural people 's movement. Even in the founding years of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hamkens repeatedly intervened in state and federal politics.

Family branches

Over the centuries the family was divided into four branches: Tatinger Linie, St. Peter Line, Kotzenbüller Line and Hoyersworter Line.

  • The Tating-Büttel line of the Hamkens begins with Peter Gonne Hamkens (1700–1767), Deichgraf, Lehnsmann and Ratmann. His mother was a born Gonnens, also an old family, which is mentioned in the " North Frisian Chronicle " by Heimreich.
  • The Kotzenbüller line begins with Johann Hamkens (1696–1778), owner of several farms and church leader, who was born in Tating.
  • The St. Peter line goes back to Johann Hamkens (1671–1729), who was the church council, merchant and spice dealer there. This line merged into the Tatinger line in 1820.
  • The Hoyersworter line is named after the Hoyerswort manor . The manor house was built by Caspar Hoyer between 1591 and 1594 as a moated castle in the Renaissance style and after several changes of ownership in 1771 it became the property of the Hamkens, where it remained until 2013. The Hoyensworter line was founded by Boye Hamkens (1716–1793), pfennig master of the Eiderstedt landscape.

Name bearer

  • Ernst Hamkens (1869–1945), farmer and politician (DVP)
  • Otto Hamkens (1887–1969), lawyer, farmer and National Socialist politician
  • Wilhelm Hamkens (1896–1955), farmer and political activist
  • Wilhelm Hamkens (District President) (1883–1962), lawyer and National Socialist politician
  • Eugen Schmidt-Hamkens (1880–1941), politician (Stahlhelm - Bund der Frontsoldaten) and soldier
  • Christian Schmidt-Hamkens (* 1960), lawyer and publisher

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gönna Hamkens: The Hamkens family from Eiderstedt. A chronicle. Gustav Weiland Nachf., Lübeck 1972.
  2. ↑ The fathers fighting nature . In: Der Spiegel from August 14, 1963.
  3. ^ Castles and mansions in Schleswig. Weidlich, 1968.
  4. ↑ Friedrich Johannsen: History of the Hoyerswort estate in the Eiderstedt landscape. no year