I've been told that the population of Gesmold (abt. 10m east of Osnabrück) was a 'Catholic' town. Are there any conclusions to be drawn from that statement. Was it surrounded by Lutherans or different in any way from other towns?
Ich bin dass die Bevölkerung von Gesmold erzählt worden (abt. 10m Osten von Osnabrück) war eine 'Katholik' Stadt. Sind dort irgendeine Schlüsse, von jener Aussage gezeichnet zu werden. Wurde es von Lutheranern oder verschieden in wie auch immer von anderen Städten umgeben?
Thanks
Gary Stoltman
Mercerville, NJ
Gary,
http://www.gesmold.de/kirche/kirchengemeinde_gesmold.htm
Look here - the way I read it, the church in Gesmold is/was Catholic.
Not far from Melle which had a Lutheran church.
Barbara
Let me take a moment and take a quick look at the past. The Fürstbistum
Osnabrück was governed by a Roman Catholic bishop for hundreds of years. He
was both the secular as well as the spiritual leader of his land. The 30
Years War (1618-1648) was a religious war for power and predominance of one
belief over another. People thought they were killing each other for God but
in the background was a fight for property and power of the various rulers.
The peace of Westphalia was arranged at Münster and Osnabrück and left the
Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück with a curious governance by alternating
rulers by religion. The Protestant bishops were to be nominated by the Dukes
(later Electors) of Brunswick-Luneberg. This led to the last prince-bishop,
Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany (1763-1827), being elected at the
age of 196 DAYS to enable him to hold the position for as long as possible.
From this arrangement we can infer that the rule of "Cuius regio, eius
religio" (Whose the region is, his religion) could not work. It was
therefore agreed that the status of particular towns or Kirchspiels
(parishes) would remain as is.
Gesmold fell into the Catholic mold while Melle was Lutheran. Both areas
stayed that way until the present. It goes to show that birth place often
determines the belief system we hold as true and holy. The vast majority of
the residents of Melle are Lutheran while the opposite is evident in next
door Gesmold. This is quite common in the Osnabrück area.
Today Gesmold belongs to the RC deaconage of Grünenberg which also includes
the area of Bissendorf & Buer which is part of my own historical research
and past. Back in the early 70s Gesmold had around 2800 Catholic and 300
non-Catholic residents. (Melle - 4500RC, 11,200 NC; Buer - 500RC, 4500 NC)
Anyway the reason for Gesmold being what it is go back to who ran the town.
It started out as the homebase of the lords of Gesmele way back around the
year 1000. Initially it developed out of the church of Melle under the
deaconage of the Probst of St. Johann in Osnabrück. In the 14th century the
von dem Busche family took over and assumed the patronage of the church. In
1541 the von Amelunxen family took ownership and in 1608 the Prince-Bishop
of Osnabrück became the owner and ruler. This was the time religious
convulsion and being that the bishop often resided in Gesmold he kept the
place RC. In 1664 the von Hammerstein family took over the patronage of the
church and holds it to this day. They call themselves Freiherren von
Hammerstein, Erbdrosten zu Grünenberg since at least 1862. They still own
the castle in Gesmold. http://www.castles.info/germany/
Hope this clarifies the religion question a little.
Fred
730 5th St. NW
Naples, FL 34120
FredRump@gmail.com
Hi Fred:
As always, good stuff!
<<therefore agreed that the status of particular towns or Kirchspiels
(parishes) would remain as is. >>
Now, I assume these towns & villages were alligned by religion starting with the reformation?
Thanks
Gary
Gary writs:
Now, I assume these towns & villages were alligned by
religion starting with the reformation?
Well yes. Before the Reformation everyone in Western Europe was simply
considered Christian as part of the Catholic (universal) Roman Church.
The attempt to reform this Church into various belief systems created the
ruckus. Now everyone was right - not just the pope. 
Generally speaking entire regions were told by their rulers what to believe.
In the Osnabrück area this became more complicated because the central
government of the Prince-Bishop was relatively weak. The city of Osnabrück
generally told him to go where the sun doesn't shine. In other words the
power to enforce via arms and armies didn't exist or was insufficient. So
local affairs and local lords made up their own rules as to how their
subjects should pray.
I believe much of this was taken with a grain of salt by the people but many
were quite serious about their faith and struggled against the rules from
above. They would walk for miles to attend a church of their choice or even
leave the area for one more friendly to them. Each town has its own history
of these struggles and some did not get to attend a church of their choice
in their communities until more recent times. There was always a slight mix
with the minority being snubbed by the majority. Typical human stuff.
If we move a little to the north, to the Oldenburger Münsterland, we find a
whole section of Lower Saxony being staunchly RC but surrounded by a
Protestant Northern Germany. This goes back to the will and power of the
Prince-Bishops of Münster to whom this land belonged until 1803. To go there
as a Protestant in the past was to tempt fate. If you weren't Catholic you
really didn't belong and the locals made sure you knew that. This really
didn't change until some years after WWII when so many refugees from the
East came to live there and slowly merged into society.
Fred
730 5th St. NW
Naples, FL 34120
FredRump@gmail.com
Dear Werner,
Do Braunschweig and Brunswick refer to the same area?
Barbie-Lew
.
Dear Barbie,
Brunswick (english) and Braunschweig (german) is the same town, like Munich and München.
Werner
"Cactus Flower" <barbie8674@hotmail.com> schrieb:
Dear Werner,
Do Braunschweig and Brunswick refer to the same area?
Barbie-Lew
.
Hello Barbie,
Brunswick is the English name for Braunschweig. It's the same.
Regards
Wilfried (Petersen)