Baptist on Eiderstedt

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Anabaptists settled north of the imperial border on Eiderstedt / North Friesland around 1550

Anabaptists in Eiderstedt were found between the 16th and 19th centuries. They were among the Dutch settlers who settled in the North Frisian landscape of Eiderstedt from around the middle of the 16th century and played a decisive role in building up the dairy industry , in trade and, last but not least, in building dikes . Both Mennonite and Davidjorist groups were found on Eiderstedt .

history

The first Anabaptists settled in Eiderstedt before 1550. They came from the then Catholic-ruled Netherlands, with which they had intensive trade relations. One focus was the eastern part of Eiderstedt and especially the port town of Tönning and the town of Oldenswort , where several Anabaptist families can be identified. Last names like Bouwens or Lammerts still point to these early immigrants today. Persecuted Anabaptists from the Palatinate also settled here at the end of the 17th century . Besides Tönning and Oldenswort, Anabaptist families also lived in Witzwort and Koldenbüttel , and at times also in Kotzenbüll and Kating . In western Eiderstedt ( Everschop and Utholm ) Garding and Tetenbüll can be named as places of residence. It was not until the 17th century that Anabaptists also found themselves in Wester- and Osterhever .

The Eiderstedt Anabaptists were exempt from the Anabaptist mandate decided in 1529 , since Schleswig , which was then Danish, was outside the Roman-German Empire , but they were also subject to persecution here . In 1557, the Gottorf Duke Adolf called on the local pastors in a rescript to report Anabaptists. This resulted in several conflicts with Orthodox Lutheran pastors. The first documented expulsion took place in 1566, when Duke Adolf had five Anabaptists expelled from Oldenwort, Tetenbüll, Kotzenbüll and Tönning. In June 1588, the council of Eiderstedt, Evershop and Utholm decided to expel another six Anabaptists. There was also a provision against Anabaptists and sacramentarians in the Eiderstedt land law of 1591 . It was not until December 1, 1614 that Duke Johann Adolf declared that the Mennonites living on Eiderstedt were allowed to keep quiet. The 1623 by Duke Friedrich III. The privilege issued for the Mennonites in the newly founded Friedrichstadt was finally extended to Eiderstedt, so that the Mennonites were tolerated for the first time . The Mennonites were also exempt from the oath and arms service . However, the privilege still included the restriction that church activities could only be carried out in Friedrichstadt itself. Nevertheless, there were still occasional conflicts, as the mandate issued by Duke Christian Albrecht in 1663 against the writings of the Wederdoopers shows.

Also, the David Jorists as alleged heretics were not included in the privilege of 1623 and continued to be persecuted. In 1635, at the instigation of the Lutheran provost Moldenit, Davidjoristic writings were banned. In the David-Joristen trial in Tönning in 1642 several citizens were accused of being David-Jorists, which they denied. The process finally ended with her public commitment to the Lutheran denomination and the burning of Davidjoristic books on October 10, 1642 on the market in Tönning.

Johann Clausen Kotte , who represented the Eiderstedter Mennonites at the religious disputations in Tönning in 1607 and at Gottorf Castle in 1608 and was able to win the favor of Duke Johann Adolf, was of particular importance for the North Frisian baptismal people . Kotte is an example of the economic strength that came from the Dutch who came to North Frisia. They intensified cheese-making , engaged in intensive trade with the prosperous Netherlands ( Friesland , Holland and Flanders ) and, above all, with their knowledge of dyke construction, were of great importance to the sovereigns. Their influence was also evident in the cultural and linguistic area - not least in the replacement of Eiderstedter Frisian by Low German .

It is not known whether and to what extent there were fixed Anabaptist church structures on Eiderstedt. David Joris speaks of parishes in his letters to addressees in Eiderstedt between 1549 and 1551 . Due to the threat of torture and deportation, however, they are only likely to have come together in secret conventicles , such as the one Anna Ovena Hoyer housed on her Hoyersworth estate. When Friedrichstadt was founded, the Mennonites joined the Flemish, Frisian and High German communities formed there. Some of them also had their own schools.

After Friedrichstadt was founded, the number of Anabaptists on Eiderstedt soon decreased. While there were several hundred Anabaptists there until the beginning of the 18th century, their number fell rapidly until the 19th century due to assimilation and emigration, but also under political pressure such as the mixed marriages decree of 1751.

literature

  • Robert Dollinger: History of the Mennonites in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lübeck. Neumünster 1930.
  • Reimer Hansen : The David-Joristen-Trial in Tönning 1642. In: Writings of the association for Schleswig-Holstein church history. 1st volume, 5th issue, Kiel 1900.
  • Reimer Hansen: Anabaptists in Eiderstedt (until 1616). In: Writings of the Association for Schleswig-Holstein Church History. 2nd row, 2nd volume, 2nd issue, Kiel 1901.
  • Silke Göttsch: ".. Scolded for a Dutchman .." Anabaptists in Eiderstedt in the 17th century. In: Kiel sheets on folklore. XVI, Kiel 1984.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robert Dollinger: Mennonites in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1930, p. 82 ff .
  2. ↑ Silke Göttsch: ".. Scolded for a Dutchman .." Anabaptists in Eiderstedt in the 17th century . Kiel 1984, p. 14 .
  3. ^ Reimer Hansen: Anabaptists in Eiderstedt (until 1616) . Kiel 1901, p. 176 .
  4. ↑ Silke Göttsch: ".. Scolded for a Dutchman .." Anabaptists in Eiderstedt in the 17th century . Kiel 1984, p. 14 .
  5. ^ Reimer Hansen: The David-Joristen-Trial in Tönning 1642 . Kiel 1900, p. 35 .
  6. ^ Robert Dollinger: Mennonites in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1930, p. 81-82 .
  7. ^ Robert Dollinger: Mennonites in Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1930, p. 105 .
  8. ^ Reimer Hansen: Anabaptists in Eiderstedt (until 1616) . Kiel 1901, p. 176 .