Spreckelsen (family)

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The von Spreckelsen family is a middle-class merchant family originally from Stade , who had also been based in Hamburg since around 1400 and rose in individual branches to the local patriciate of the " Hanseatic League ". The family spread widely and continues to exist in many lines and branches to this day.

history

The merchant Hinricus de Sprekenze, who died in Stade before 1341, is known from the Stader city books as the oldest bearer of the name . Later generations produced councilors and jury members for the wall tailor's office, i.e. long-distance cloth merchants. Hartig moved from Spreckelsen to Hamburg around 1400. His grandson Johann von Spreckelsen was elected councilor in 1498 and mayor in 1512. The family later provided two other Hamburg mayors: Peter von Spreckelsen (officiating 1539–1553) and Lucas von Spreckelsen (officiating 1750–1751), as well as seven senators.

The “von” in front of the family name since it was first mentioned meant, as is often the case with North German families, no belonging to the nobility . In Low German and Dutch, a “van” (often “de” or “ab” in Latin documents) did not necessarily refer to the aristocratic class, but often only to the local origin. When the family names were “Verified German”, the impression of aristocratic origin could arise, which rarely occurred in southern Germany. However, two family members were later actually ennobled: The councilor Johann von Spreckelsen by Emperor Leopold I in 1676 and Hermann von Spreckelsen, who died unmarried in 1683. Johann's descendants, however, made no use of their nobility, as it was considered improper among Hanseatic people to accept non-Hanseatic orders or classifications.

coat of arms

coat of arms

The family coat of arms has come down to us from around 1550. It shows a golden, three-leaf (1/2) branch in a red shield.

"Pfingsthöge"

On May 12, 1505, the Mayor of Hamburg, Johann von Spreckelsen , invited all family members to his house on Rödingsmarkt in Hamburg. This family festival , the so-called Pfingsthöge , was then celebrated annually at Pentecost "to maintain good friendship and unity" . In 1625, the Pentecost was celebrated for the last time and then canceled because of too many participants. On May 17, 1986, the Pfingsthöge was brought back to life by the namesake of Spreckelsen and has been held annually at Pentecost ever since.

Name bearer

Mayor's penny on Lucas von Spreckelsen (Mayor) from 1751

literature

Web links

Commons : Spreckelsen (family)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files