Cures

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Approximate settlement areas of the Baltic tribes around 1200; that of the cures located in the northwest.
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The Kuren ( Latvian kursi , kurši , nehrungskurisch Kursenieki , Kāpenieks ) were a Baltic tribe in what is now western Latvia and Lithuania and probably in the Kaliningrad region (northern half of the former East Prussia ).

Surname

Your name may be derived from the Indo-European krs and may mean “fast at sea”.

Settlement area

overview

As numerous toponyms still show today , the cures originally settled along the Baltic Sea coast : from the foot of the Curonian Spit - from around present-day Selenogradsk ( Russia ) - through northwestern Lithuania to the west of what is now Latvia , the Kurland (Lat. Kurzeme ).
The Southern Kurian landscapes Lamotina ( Gbt. To Šilutė ( lit. ) / Heydekrug ( dt. )), Pilsaten (to Klaipėda / Memel) Megove (to Palanga / Polangen) Duvzare (GBT. To Latvian border) and Ceclis ( Lower Lithuania) are all in Lithuania.

Where the Kurland meets the region ( Semgallia , Latvia) on its eastern edge , the settlement area of ​​the Kurds intersected with that of the Semgallians , and on its southeastern edge (Niederlitauen) with that of the Samogites ; and on its southern edge ( Schalau , Lithuania / Kaliningrad area or areas on both sides of the Memel) with that of the Prussian Schalau . These three neighboring tribes also belonged to the Balts. The far north of its territory, however, the cures shared with the Finno-Ugric tribe of the Livs .

Curonian landscapes

On December 28, 1230, in a contract between the papal legate Balduin d'Aulne (von Alnas) and the cures under their leader Lamekin (Lammechinus rex) , nine landscapes of the cures are named for the first time. In 1252/53, around 190 place names are mentioned in a contract between the Livonian Order and the Bishop of Courland.

The place names show that it is the west coast of Courland: Esertue, Durpis, Saggara, Thargole, Osua, Langis, Venlis, Normis, Kiemala, Pygawas, Sarnitus, Riwa, Sacez, Edualia, Aliswanges, Ardus, Alostanotachos, Winda. The document also shows that the land was already divided and that there were already smaller settlement units, i.e. villages, because these were contracting parties to the order under the leadership of the elders (1230/31). So the village elders had to muster people for military expeditions against the heathen, because in the agreement of the Courland bishop with the Livonian Order it says:
“Weret dat is geschege, that the end of the geloven snelliken int land, let us land in the brodere guit, and the brodere soil in us guit, the lude to the malawen eisschen, bi the most hurried of the dorpe ”.

North Curonian "built-up" areas

Curonian landscapes in the 13th century
Vredecuronia / Vanema (purple)
Wynda / Ventava (dark green)
Bandowe / Bandava (yellow)
Bihavelanc / Piemare (red)
Dowzare / Duvzare (brown)
Ceclis (light green)
Megowe / Megava (ocher)
Pilsaten (dark blue)
Lamotina (light blue)

Vredecuronia or Vanemane , Latin terra de Wanneman sive Vredecuronia , in the northeast, today the Latvian area of Talsi . The name is probably composed of vrede : Peace, Border and Curonia and was only mentioned between 1252 and 1260.

This landscape includes the localities Arevale, Popen (Pope), Topen / Copen, Vietsede, Puse ( Puze ), Ugale ( Ugāle ), Amulle (Amule), Vede ( Vēde ), Anse, Matre (Matra), Moden (Modes) , Cersangere, Danseweten, Rende ( Rinda ), Walgele ( Valgāle ), Cabele ( Kabile ), Pedewale, Zabele, Candowe ( Kandava ), Mattecul ( Matkule ), Wane ( Vāne ), Pure ( Pūre ), Tuckmen ( Tukums ), vum terris desertis inter Candowe (Kandava) et Semigalliam; item Assen ( Ases ), Ladze ( Lazdas ), Uge, Talsen ( Talse ), villa Husman.

Wynda or Ventava , Latin terra Saggara , This landscape adjoins Vredecuronia to the southwest and is located at the mouth of the Venta River , which in turn is possibly based on the meaning venys : pastureland. The area was first settled by Kurds in the 11th and 12th centuries, and the Finno-Ugric population previously living here was ousted or assimilated. Today in the Latvian region of Ventspils .

The Windau River, Cervigal, Laydze, Rapaden, Venese, Goldinghen ( Kuldīga ), Sirien, Terewend ( Tervende ), Apussen ( Apuze ), Cisse, Edvale ( Ēdole ), Lessede, Hasowe ( Užava ), Ambele, Sarneke, Vrien are located here , Lance ( Landze ), Winden ( Ventspils ), Wense, Udren ( Ūdrante / Ūdrande ), Targele.

Bandowe or Bandava , Latin terra Bandowe , This landscape name exists between 1230 and 1253 and is perhaps derived from banda : land left to the farmhand for use, cattle herd. The area lies south of Wynda , it includes the middle Venta and is separated from the Baltic Sea by Bihavelanc. Today in the Latvian region of Kuldīga .

These include Amboten ( Embūte ), Calten, Baten ( Bāte ), Warve ( Vārve ), Elkene, Assiten ( Asīte ), Rese, Cepse, Padoren, Celde, Lene ( Lēna ), Nedighen, Perbona, Calvien ( Kaļvi ), Apussen ( Apuze ), Asenputten ( Aizpute ), Zameiten ( Zemīte ), Scherenden, Walten, Sargamiten, Wepele, Lippete, Libben ( Lipāja  ?), Scrunden ( Skrunda ), Iierien, Turlose ( Turlava ), Alswanghen ( Alsunga ), Arsen, Assen, Jerusalem, Arolde, Santike, Weysen, Pakkare, Nitten ( Nikta ), Sceden ( Šķēde ), Payulden, Wyllegalle ( Vilgāle ), Eze ( Eža ), Kewele ( Ķēvele ), Cormele, Kemele, Ywande ( Īvande ), Tygwe ( Tigve ) , Carilanken, Nabba (Nabe), Memcute, Swelgode, Welse ( Veldze ).

Bihavelanc

Bihavelanc or Piemare , Latin terra Bihavelanc , is a German term: along the lagoon. So this landscape is on the Baltic coast, south of Bandowe . Today in the Latvian region of Liepāja .

Locations in this landscape are Razge, Barta ( Bāta ), Wartan, Percunenkalwe, Duvenelke, Prusse, Karkele ( Kārkļi ), Sintere, Salene ( Saliena ), Sakke ( Saka ), Warta, Deteten, Unseten, Ylse ( Ilze ), Lypa ( Liepa ), Gaweysen ( Gawieze ), Warva ( Vārva ), Donen, Pene, Octo ( Okte ), Zilse, Lindale, Troyst, Jewaden, Byrsegalewe, Gerwe, Boynseme, Drage, Crote ( Krote ), Aparate, Ylmede ( Tebra ), Duppele , Grobyn ( Grobiņa ), Nercs ( Nerza ), Strutte ( Strutele ), Telse ( Tāšu ), Aystere ( Aistere / Aizteres ), Virgenare ( Virga ), Riwa ( Rīva ), Medce ( Medze ), Medda, Lyva.

South Curonian "undeveloped" areas

Curonian language area 1649

The term "undeveloped" does not mean in times of the order that the land was uninhabited, but that there was no agriculture here and that the order was planning to change this. In documents from 1253 it says "schedunge of the lands that were owned" , "the lands that we had not yet deiled" . In 1291 it is determined that no progress has been made in the settlement and cultivation of the land, and about a century later it is recognized that the implementation is hopeless. In 1328 the Memel area was ceded to the Teutonic Order, in 1392 the bishop waived his share.

It was also dangerous ground, because this stretch of land was important as a transit area between Prussia and Livonia, and many Christians were caught and murdered on the beach. Paths through the interior of the country were avoided as far as possible, because they could only be mastered with the help of locals due to the impassability and required sophisticated logistics. “Do we also actually acted and opposed both, the benefit and also the damage to our churches, and particularly noted that the lands of the same our churches are mostly located in desert and in gruelich wilderness and namely in the rise of paganism and with in grenitzen, and we and our church are too weak and too poor to be able to challenge the land and protect and shield them from paganism ... if we become one with the whole order ... "

Since the Order has never really owned this area, it has not been able to continuously divide it up. The area was still not uninhabited, as fishermen and semi-nomadic hunters who used the values ​​of the forests lived here. For the settlement of the castle area Krottingen should be mentioned here (April 1253): Velthune, Reygin, Twertiken, Saweyde. In the Livonian rhyming chronicle under 6977 you can read: “In what a castle was located over good milen dire, Kretenen what daz hus called. vil fat quamen they ran to Mimele in front of daz castle gate… the brother sehre daz verdroz, daz ir hochvart was so great. I was thinking of a journey… no stunt ir sin. Both to vuz ande ridden they quarreled with anger uf the brother share ... in what to starc the heathen who ... but helped in got von himele, daz si quamen zur Mimele. ” (Their castle was three miles from Memel, was called Krottingen They. They came marching very often in front of the castle gate of Memel; this insolence caused the knights great resentment. They hatched an undertaking: Off to Krottingen! On foot and on horseback they came with force towards the army of knights, but the heathen was defensive Too strong. They could thank God in Heaven that they saw Memel again.) Furthermore, the regulation of 1253 on the fishing inheritance law should be mentioned: “Vormeir was gevile the brodere lude in our visscherie to visschene, they should give us the end geven, and dat sulve solen unse lude den broderen against don, so dat no one is plumbing from sime erve in dirre vorbenomede visscherie. "

Dowzare or Duvzare , Latin terra Dowzare , or terra Duizare , south of Bihavelanc , today in the Latvian region of Liepāja , and to a small extent in Lithuania. The name is made up of the numeral duvi / dui : two and either ezers : lake or zars : branch.

Here are the locations Birstele ( Birstel river), Dames (Gr. And Kl. Dahmen ), Empilten ( Impelt / Ipiltis), Loke (Luka), Papissen ( Pesse / Pese), Patteycias ( Kalleten / Kaleti), Pretzele (Groß Gramsden ), Rutzowe (Rutzau / Rucava ), Trecne (Gr. And Kl. Trecken / Trekni ), Velienen ( Wellin am Kirbe -Moor), Virga ( Wirgen ). Peynis and Wart / Warse were not located .

Ceclis , Lithuanian Keklys , Latin terra Ceklis , the largest area with approx. 1500 km². The name may indicate a vegetation with bushes and tufted flowers. This landscape includes the river basins of the Virvyčia , Minija , Jūra (upper reaches) and Barta as well as the tributaries of the Šventoji in the Lithuanian north Žemaiten .

Locations in this landscape are Alizeyde ( Alsedžiai ), Apusse ( Apsze river), Appule ( Apuole ), Bebrungis ( Babrungenai ), Birsine ( Biržine ), Dobe ( Duobenai ), Duzene ( Dusai ), Embare ( Imbare ), Garde ( Kalvarija ) , Gandingen ( Gandinga ), Garisda ( Gargždai ), Gresc ( Grösen / Grieže / Grieze), Grumsle / Grumste ( Gruste / Grunschen / Grunsten), Kartine ( Kartena ), Letzime ( Lekeme ), Leypiasseme ( Lieplaukis ), Lobe ( Luoba ) , Maysedis ( Mosedis ), Nateye ( Notenai ), Nedingen ( Medingėnai ), Newarie ( Nevarenai ), Pilenen ( Peleniai ), Pomenie ( Minge / Minija River), Pregelwe ( Pregalva ), Pylwe ( Piteve River ), Remtene ( Remte Lake), Retowe ( Rietavas ), Sansugale ( Žasugalas ), Sare ( Žarenai ), Schoden (Schoden / Skuodas ), Vesete ( Viešeta river), Vieswe ( Viešvenai ), Vitwizen / Vicwiten ( Vitvite river / Widwit river) , Zegere ( Gegrenai ) Zelende ( Gelindenai ) Zesele ( Gesalai ). Pretzitwe , Amelinge , Calneseme / Kalnesemme , Spermes / Spernes , Zelecoten , Seculmzeme , Eycayswe are not localized .

Megowe or Megava , Latin terra megowe . This landscape includes the narrow coastal strip from Palanga to Memel in Lithuania and extends east to Kartena . The name means forest.

The Older Grand Master Chronicle of 1372 speaks for the settlement and especially for the dangerousness of this area of ​​the Knights of the Order : “Do her czur Memel quam, do quam the Voigt of Grobyn with few brothers and said that they still heard on the beach blessing ... dy quamen zcu to the master zcu Palange, and said that the beach were reyne. ” (When he came to Memel, the Vogt von Grobyn came with some brothers and said that they had neither seen nor heard anyone on the beach ... they came to the master of Palanga and said that the beach was free.)

These include Aggemine ( Akmena River ), Caucas ( Kiaken / Kayken), Cretyn ( Krottingen / Kretinga), Dupie ( Dupulčiai ), Dwiristis (Groß Wirsteniken / Virštininkai / Virkštininkai), Gowrene ( Gaure / Gauris), Lasdine ( Lazinkai ), Maycinele (Kurmaičiai), Palange ( Polangen / Palanga ). Matwa / Matuwa and Waste can not be located .

Pilsaten or Pilsāts , Latin terra Pilsaten , the smallest area with approx. 200 km². The name of this landscape around Klaipėda (Memel) derives from “pil, pilstu, pilt, pilti” : flow, pour, pour, trickle off and indicate an area rich in water and swamp.

The localities Ackete ( Ekitten ), Calaten ( Kollaten ), Drivene ( Drawhnen / Heuschlag in the Sarden area), Galmene ( Kerndorf / Callnuwhnen), Lassiten ( Leisten / Lausti), castellatura Poys (plantation north of Memel), Burg belong to this landscape Mutene (Groß Tauerlauken), Pelltien / Pellicen / Schanze Piltynas ( Sudmanten-Trusch ), Sarde ( Szarde ), Sarde-Fluss (melt river / Schmeltelle ). Are not localized sub-areas of Poys: Twartikini , Negelite , Sunt Elite , octene .

Lamotina . This landscape name is based on lama : puddle, swamp.

The area around Heydekrug / Šilutė is not precisely described in order documents, which speaks for a very sparse settlement. A description of the route given by the Knights of the Order on December 18, 1384 only reports on geographical conditions, but not, as in the more northerly areas, of dangers that could emanate from residents: “This is the route that Gayline de tolk has gone from the Memel ... than you want from the Memel ... so one must lay the first night vff the Menye, that sint III milen from the Memel; von der Menye are III cleine mile vff die Wewerse, do one liet the andir night, do cbetween liet eyn cleyn vlis, that is eyne myle von der Menye and is called Ayse; from the Wewerse sint III cleyne mylen to vff eyn flys, that is the Grawmanape, you lead the third night; doc between geet ouch eyn flys, that means the Sweisna ... " (" Gayline, the interpreter of Memel, took this route ... If you want to leave Memel, you have to stay on the Minge the first night; that's 3 miles from Memel. From the Minge It's 3 little miles to the Wewirsze; you stay there the other night. In between there is a small river a mile from the Minge called Aise. From the Wewirsze there are 3 little miles to a little river called Graumena. There stays the third night. In between there is a small river called Schwekschna. ")

The eastern border is not located far west of the Jūra , the western border is the Curonian Lagoon . In the 15th century, the former Bailiff of Žemaiten, Michael Küchmeister , reported to the Grand Master: “I also did not know that the Jure nykeyn Samayte ny won off our side when the land between the Jure and the Kuwrisschen Habe got the heysset Lamyschken . "

Curonian place names

Memelland

Samland

  • Cranz / ru. Zelenogradsk (krant, kranta: beach, shore)
  • Grenz-Kuhren
  • New Kuhren
  • Kuhren , large / ru. Primore and Klein
  • Sarkau / nk. Zarkau / ru. Lesnoi (not definitively clarified whether Prussian or Kurish, Lithuanian excluded)

history

prehistory

The Memelland culture also included the cures belonging to the Indo-European Baltic tribes, which began around 2500 BC. Settled along the Baltic coast.

In the 4th century BC The Memelland was settled. Archaeological finds show connections with cultures of that time in what is now the Dnepr region in Belarus .

From around the 2nd to the 5th century AD, one speaks of the "Golden Age of the Balts", because during this period there was evidence of long-term undisturbed settlement through around 1000 grave fields, because the burial rites remained unchanged during this time. The cure graves differ from others in that the dead were buried in the middle of round or rectangular stone enclosures. There were also no signs of emigration, population shifts or invasions by foreign tribes.

In the Middle Iron Age, the period between the 5th and 9th centuries, the living conditions of the Baltic tribes changed, because they were pressured from the east and south by the expansion of the Slavs , and Swedes and Vikings pushed from the Baltic Sea in the country. The Prussian and Curonian tribes played the leading defensive role among the Baltic tribes during this period. Curonian and Prussian settlements can be distinguished by the way they were buried: the Prussians cremated their dead, while the Cures kept their typical body graves until the 7th century. They still used stone walls, in the middle of which the graves lay next to each other in a honeycomb shape. It wasn't until the late 7th and 8th centuries that cremation was taken over. Grave goods prove that the cures had to defend themselves against Scandinavian incursions.

Castle hills are documented from the 5th century. These hill castles were preferably built on steep banks or in bodies of water on headlands and fortified with walls made of tree trunks and tamped clay. The interior space of such a castle was between half a hectare and a whole hectare.

Written certificates

The cures were first mentioned in 867 by Rimbert : “ A people who are called Chori and who live far from them were once subjugated by the Svea (Swedes). But it was so long ago that they rose and shook the yoke off. "

Around 1070 Adam von Bremen mentioned the cures. Since the 11th century there have been reports of raids by the Kurds on the coasts of Scandinavia. Denmark had to protect its coasts in summer and winter. Adam advised all Christians to avoid the coast of Courland. A traditional prayer says: “ O Mighty God, keep us from the cures. “Curonian devices, typical of the Memel and Kretinga area, have also been found in Scandinavia.

In the 13th century, the Icelandic Egils saga reported about the Swedish King Ivar Vidfarne in the 7th century. This is said to have brought the area of ​​the cures under Swedish rule. King Harald Hildenand also kept the cures under his rule. After his death, the cures regain their independence. Later Danish and Swedish attempts at conquest failed.

Chronicles of the 13th century report that Kuren ravaged and plundered Denmark and Sweden several times, dragging church bells and other equipment with them.

Livonian Order

Reconstruction of a medieval Upper-class Curonian house in Lielvārde

Henry of Latvia described the cures around 1210.

When the Knights of the Livonian Order invaded their territory at the beginning of the 13th century, the South Curonian landscapes were almost deserted. Most of the Curonian population had migrated to the north. Long-term precipitation had led to a change in the climate, so that in the long term people gave up their damp living spaces in the lowlands along the Baltic Sea and moved to the north, which is in itself climatically less favorable. Individual clans had only stayed on the dry spit.

Numerous order documents deal with the Curonian landscapes and provide information that Northern Curland was inhabited, so it could also be divided, while the Southern Curonian landscapes were referred to as "the lands that are still unbuwet". The fact that the south of Courland was not completely uninhabited is also documented in order documents, because the well-known, established "seniores" were often used when it came to marking and naming areas of land.

The fact that at the end of the 13th century the cures were subject to the German Order of Knights and from then on no longer existed as an independent ethnic group is considered refuted.

It can be assumed that the migrated cures had repeatedly sought out their old fishing grounds, because official accounts from the 16th century also show that fishermen from Kurland came to the lagoon, paid a fee at the Memeler Tief and into the southern lagoon near Schaaken went fishing. In 1541 162 people paid the Curonian fishing interest to the Memel office. Modern spit cures also reported that Latvian cures sought shelter from hurricanes in the lagoon and stayed with them. There were no language problems.

From around 1400 a return migration from Kurland began, especially in the years 1409, 1439, 1445 and 1481. The migration from Kurland assumed such an extent that the order officials repeatedly complained to the Grand Master about it.

Kuren founded the first fishing settlements in the Memel Delta, and it was not until 1593 that the Schaakener official registers differentiated between Kuren and Lithuanians. The Große Treßlerbuch mentions cures in Memel, Ragnit, Windenburg and Rossitten. The Livonian chronicler Paul Einhorn even claimed that Kuren lived as far as Gdansk.

In the 17th century, Curonian places were created in the offices of Tilsit, Ragnit and Insterburg. Kursch place names can even be found in southern East Prussia. When Szemaites and Lithuanians were increasingly accepted as settlers, the cures, along with the Prussians, were already in more privileged legal positions. The paternal ancestors of Immanuel Kant are those who migrated back to the Curonian Latvians who settled in the Memelland.

see also Curonian Kings

language

The schoolmaster is transferred to the spit to hold church services in the vacant parish.

In the meantime, the Curonian language had adapted to the Latvian language , so that only a few people spoke Curonian . Mixing with the Prussian language of the Schalauer (south of the Minge ), the Nehrungskurisch developed . From the 15th century onwards, Germans, Prussians, Szemaites and Lithuanians also lived in the old South Curonian landscapes, so that a language developed among the rural population that was shaped by Latvian, Prussian and, above all, Lithuanian, but differing in many terms from Lithuanian difference. The Low German language was an important link to German culture.

The rural population was consistently multilingual, but they seldom mastered High German, the language of law, schools and church services. So the church adjusted itself by having German or Lithuanian preaching depending on the location. Lithuanian was a compromise, because it was the language that everyone ultimately understood and that the preachers were able to learn because a Lithuanian literary language had developed, while the languages ​​of the Kurds and Prussians slowly died out. Nonetheless, pastorships often remained vacant because no preacher could be found. Schoolmasters with knowledge of the Lithuanian or Curonian language were enticed with special allowances. So the German language was bad. That only changed when at the end of the 19th century the intellectual needs of the rural population increased and tourism also developed.

The Curonian language developed into a purely male language or a technical language that was only spoken at sea. Since Kurish men liked to marry women from the other Baltic peoples, it was customary to speak the mother tongue at home and the male language at sea. The fact that she was also quite rude is proven by a number of Curonian family names.

Linguistic monuments

Grave tablets in toad shape
The Lord's Prayer
Teve mūses, kur do it danguj,
Garbiets ir taue vards.
Lai nāke taue karelīste.
Taue vale nuoase duoade ka is dange, ta ir us zeme.
Mūse diene maize duoade mums šuoadiene.
Ir paduoade mums must be cold,
Ka ir mes paduoadame mūsams kaltejams.
Ir nevede mums is pajundijuma,
Islidze mums nu piktume.
Tad taue ir ta kareliste un ta sile un ta šviesibe
Nu amžu lidz amžu. Amen
Kuoa tie Laužes ede (eating habits)
Kad tie zvejes par labes saguvumes juoa dauge āspelnij, tap pirages cept, tas jau pussvete tap uoazgrieste un duoate. (If the fishermen earned more from good catches, cakes were also baked, which were cut open and served on Saturday.)
Svedienes deve tad sāles rāpučes ar pečānes brādes, apvirtes gribes, tie rudina tap ieligte, va ieliktes bruklines lasete is kāpe meze. (On Sundays there were boiled potatoes with roast pork, steamed mushrooms that had been pickled in autumn, or pickled lingonberries from the spit forest.)
Ieliktes melines, kracines va aviečes deve nu kāde reze va us svediene pa edine. (Canned blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries were only available on special occasions or on Sunday pudding.)

Religion and superstition

Pagan Curonian tomb for a beloved woman

The Baltic pagan religion persisted in the cures until modern times (see Baltic mythology ). In the old cemetery of Nidden there are still grave steles with pagan symbols, the wooden grave markings of which basically had the shape of a toad, the symbol for the earth goddess and her life-giving powers. In addition, birds are shown, but also flowers, snakes, trees and heavenly signs. When pagan symbolism was banned during Christianization, the tombs were cunningly enriched with crosses and other Christian symbols and in this way it was ensured that they did not have to be destroyed.

For the Curonian population, chapels were established in Sarkau and Rossitten in 1541. After 1550 the pastor of Rossitten called himself pastor of Kunzen. Ins, Loye and Ackel on the eastern bank of the lagoon as well as Nidden and Karwaiten also belonged to the parish of Kunzen. Schwarzort belonged to Memel, Neegeln switched between the two. In 1609 the pastor of Kunzen states that: the majority of Churen and Lithuania cannot pray. The visit of 1670 deals with the situation in Kunzen and Sarkau in detail. Worst of all are the Pillkopper and Preeder. There are fortune tellers, boathers, blessing speakers, also salt pusher in Rossitten. Many, especially in Pillkoppen and Preeden, apologized by saying that they could not speak German. So the visitors decided that if the pastor could only speak German, the schoolmaster would read from the Lithuanian postil. In fact, there were people in the Pillkopper and Preeden areas who really couldn't speak German and were therefore unable to internally follow the service. In 1738 the population of the spit was overgrown with drastic words. They are only outwardly human-like. Even at the end of the 18th century, only 20% of the population in these parishes were German. The foreign language to them was the reason that the authorities could not come close to the cures spiritually and that the old pagan belief and the old pagan rites continued to give them inner support.

There were numerous East Prussian idioms relating to the cures. Drunks like to describe themselves as “bewitched by cures”, stormy weather was called “Curonian weather”, and “Curonian coffee” was warm beer with schnapps. No woman from Königsberg liked to mess with Curonian market women, because she was afraid of being cursed by her. It was feared that the cures, if they wanted to leave their market stalls for a short time, were able to secure them with a single witch's glance in such a way that a possible thief would have to stay rooted until the owner returned.

Home decor

Living room

The low-slung houses were considered primitive, as they originally had no chimneys, and the interior of the houses was accordingly smoke-filled. But that made perfect sense for its residents, because this was how the nets hung in the floor space were dried and at the same time the fish were smoked to save firewood. (A replica of a Curonian house can be found on the northern spit on the southern tip towards the Maritime Museum.)

The houses were always painted in the colors brown (earth), blue (water and sky) and white (clouds and foam crowns) in order to express the bond with the corresponding gods. The ridge was provided with stylized crossed stallion heads, the "zirgs", which point to the thunder god Perkuon , the husband of the earth goddess Zemes , who is represented by the brown painting of the house. Often diamond-shaped patterns were worked into the ridge decorations, the symbols for the supreme goddess, the sun goddess Saule and her husband, the moon god Menis . The rhombus also stands for the sacred plant Rūtele , the branches of which grow rather confused and thus symbolize the interplay and interactions of all things in this world.

dress

The Curonian men are described as almost entirely beardless, and it is also said that they wore short-cropped hair. As a rule, they were dressed in jackets or jackets that were knitted from white or blue wool, or made from woolen material that they had knitted themselves. They also wore drill trousers and, depending on the weather, a hat or a southwestern jacket. When it came to fishing, thick frieze-like wall skirts and long water boots that reached above the knees were worn. In winter they wore logs, in summer everyone mostly went barefoot. The women wore long-sleeved blouses under a bodice and stiffened skirts, the number of which increased with the wealth of a woman. Women always wore headscarves, while girls only wore exits. On festive days they draped the headscarf around a bonnet.

character

As far as the nature of the cures is concerned, it is reported that they were tenaciously attached to the traditional and were almost entirely inaccessible to innovations, however contemporary and advantageous for them. A “melancholy touch over her being” is justified with her constant struggle against the elements, with her isolation from the rest of life and with her defiance and shy retreat. It is recorded that they are of "strict justice" and "most hospitable" in all living conditions. On the other hand, they are referred to as ruthless towards stranded castaways, but only with regard to the ship's cargo, because the stranded people were hospitalized. They considered what was thrown on the beach to be their property. The cures were considered difficult to access, and it took time for them to become more open to strangers. But her unmistakable physiognomy, the friendly, open look from her blue eyes and her discreet charm made a sympathetic impression on chroniclers as well as her obvious ability to live.

Fishing and economy

Curonian Lagoon. View from Nidden in south direction.

The Curonian fishermen built their boats themselves. The boat types were named after the characteristic type of their nets: The Keitel (kidel) is a 10 to 12 meter long funnel-shaped net that is pulled by just one boat, the Keitelkahn. Keitel barges could still fish profitably at wind force 9, Kurrenkähne still at wind force 8, and even in a hurricane a return was still possible. The Kurrennetz was a three-walled net of 240 to 300 meters in length and had to be towed with the wind direction by two equally strong sailing boats. Since these ships were exposed to very heavy loads, the thickness of the timber had to be as thick as that of a Keitel barge. The Bradden barges did not need such strong timber, but fished in pairs with a 180 meter net. All Haffboats had a draft of only 40 centimeters. Several nets were used for night fishing, and there were also a large number of special nets, depending on the fish you were after. In the northern Curonian Lagoon, fish traps were very well developed.

View from Windenburg to Preil
Memel Delta

The fishing law regulated very precisely when and with which yarn to fish. Probably the most fascinating was the extremely physically strenuous ice fishing. Here every fish keeper only had the right to half a winter twine, so that he was forced to work with a colleague. In addition, six to ten assistants were needed, two box sleds, so-called washing, with mounted winches as well as numerous equipment: ice axes, ice chisels, ice cutters, various forks, bar hooks and two interlocking bars about 10 centimeters thick and 50 meters long. Work began before sunrise, and the luck of the fish was to find fish stores where the fish had lazily gathered. Some fishermen worked less expensively with set nets, others preferred rattle fishing, which was forbidden for a while before the First World War because a large number of non-professional fishermen were active here.

From 1844 onwards, all fishing boats had to use the spa pennant to indicate their home port.

Not all cures lived on the spit, which was unsuitable for farming. The Nehrungskuren cultivated their hay meadows on the land side of the lagoon, but the majority of the population called "Zippel-Kures" lived around the lagoon and in the Memel Delta and cultivated vegetables. With their timber barges they brought onions, pumpkins, cabbage, savory and leeks to the Königsberg city port, to Labiau and Tilsit, in order to market their products there directly. The major buyer for the hay, which was piled high on the boats, was the army administration. Of course, the fish markets were also supplied via the waterways.

literature

  • August Ambrassat: The Province of East Prussia . Frankfurt am Main 1912.
  • J. Endzelin: About the nationality and language of the cures . In: Finnish-Ugric research . XII, 1912.
  • Wilhelm Gaerte: Prehistory of East Prussia . Koenigsberg 1929.
  • Anton Salys: The Zemaiti dialects . Part 1: History of the Zemaitic language area Tauta ir Zodis . Volume VI Kaunas 1930.
  • Kurt Forstreuter: The development of the nationality relations on the Curonian Spit . In: Old Prussian research . 1931, pp. 239-261.
  • Albert Bauer: The maintenance tax list of the Goldingen Commandery . In: Messages from Livonian History . XXV, No. 1, Riga 1933.
  • Helene Dopkewitsch: The castle searches in Courland and Livonia . Riga 1933.
  • Hans Mortensen, Gertrud Mortensen : The settlement of northeastern East Prussia up to the beginning of the 17th century . Leipzig 1938.
  • Hans Mortensen, Gertrud Mortensen: Kant's paternal ancestors and their environment . Speech from 1952. In: Yearbook of the Albertus University in Königsberg / Prussia . Holzner, Kitzingen 1953, volume 3.
  • Heinrich A. Kurschat: The book from Memelland . Siebert, Oldenburg 1968.
  • Richard Pietsch: Fishermen's life on the Curonian Spit shown in Curonian and German . Camen, Berlin 1982.
  • Marija Gimbutas: The Balts . Munich, Berlin 1983.
  • Wolfgang P. Schmid (Ed.): Nehrungskurisch. Linguistic history and instrumentalphonetic studies on a dying dialect . Stuttgart 1989.
  • Johann Uszpurwies: Sucking dialect . Foundation of Lithuania Minor, Chicago, Illinois 1990.
  • Richard Pietsch: German-Curonian Dictionary . Northeast German Cultural Work, Lüneburg 1991.
  • Ulrich Tolksdorf: Fisheries and fishing culture in East Prussia . Heide, Holstein 1991.
  • Richard Pietsch (artistic design and text): picture map around the Curonian Lagoon . Northeast German Cultural Work, Lüneburg 1994.
  • Gerhard Lepa (ed.): The Schalauer . Tolkemita texts, Dieburg 1997.
  • Wolfgang P. Schmid: Nehrungskurisch. An overview of the history of language . Steiner, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-515-07475-9 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Vita Sancti Ansgarii