Württemberg Lodge No. 1
The Württemberg Lodge Nr.1 in Stuttgart is a lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows , an internationally active and humanitarian order . The first lodge founded in German-speaking Europe was set up on December 1, 1870 by means of a charter.
History of the foundation
At the United States' grand lodge meeting on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the order, the delegates of the state of Oregon submitted a motion to establish the Odd Fellow Order in Germany by founding a lodge. Due to the numerous admissions of immigrants of German origin to the order, there were already lodges in the USA that met in German. The ritual, the laws and the religious literature were translated into German and finally the desire arose to bring the order into being in Germany.
The then Grand Sire Farnsworth first went to England in 1870, where he heard of the news of the outbreak of the Franco-German War (1870/71) and was stopped in London. He asked Dr. John F. Morse, an American friar, went to London and sent him back to Germany with full powers for the planned establishment of the order in Berlin. The Prussian government was not interested in the turmoil of the war and the establishment of the order remained unfinished.
Dr. Morse turned to M. Bernheim, another member of the order who was staying in Stuttgart. In the middle of the war in the still independent Kingdom of Württemberg, which was characterized by great liberality, the first Odd Fellow Lodge on the European continent, the Württemberg Lodge No. 1 of Württemberg (IOOF).
Historical curriculum vitae
The rise of the lodge was accompanied by steady growth. With their support, the Helvetia Lodge No. 1 in Switzerland was founded in Zurich in June 1871. After only 18 months, the Württemberg Lodge had to be divided because the number of members was too large: Schiller Lodge No. 3 von Württemberg was the third lodge in Württemberg after the Danube lodge No. 2 in Ulm and founded as the eleventh lodge in Germany.
Different domiciles mark the first quarter of a century in the history of the Württemberg Lodge. The lodge grew and a third lodge was founded in Stuttgart and a lodge in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt. Finally, a prestigious box house in Herzogstrasse was acquired.
By 1929 the membership had reached 136 brothers.
On April 2, 1933, the Grand Lodge of the German Reich resolved to dissolve the Odd Fellowship in Germany and dissolved the order. Thus, the Württemberg Lodge was also dissolved, liquidated and the property expropriated in favor of the state.
Twelve brothers survived the war in Stuttgart. They had officially met as a dice society for weekly dice games and thus unofficially continued to investigate the contents of the order. So they handed over a lodge that actually never went under. Friendship as a basis and as a link was stronger than the turmoil of society.
After the ritual meetings were resumed on August 18, 1946, the Württemberg Lodge No. 1 became officially active again.
In 2008 the joint owners of the lodge house decided to sell it and look for new accommodation. The meetings and ritual sessions have been held in Esslingen since 2009.
literature
- Georg Schuster: Secret societies, connections and orders , 1905. Reprint: Komet-Verlag, Cologne, March 2003, ISBN 3-89836-326-0
- Lennhoff, Eugen, Oskar Posner a. Dieter A. Binder: International Freemasons Lexicon , Munich, Herbig, 2006, ISBN 978-3-7766-2478-6
- Müller, Stephanie (2008): Visit the Sick, Relieve the Distressed, Bury the Dead and Educate the Orphan: The Independent Order of Odd Fellows. A scientific work in the field of cultural studies. WVT, ISBN 978-3-86821-093-4
