HOMBERG ON THE EFZE
Hessian Fairy Tails, Reformation and American Revolution
In
February of 1776 the Von Donop Regiment of Hessian Grenadiers under
the command
of the
flamboyant
Colonel Von
Donop left their garrison at
the town of Homberg along the Efze River in north Hessen to fight for
the British crown in the American Revolution. Renting out its army was
a common practice for German dukes to earn money and the Landgrave of
Hesse-Kassel, Frederick had signed a treaty with King George III of England
to fight his war with his unruly colonies. Hiring troops was apparently
cheaper than raising and training your own. The Von Donop regiment was
engaged in the early battles of the Revolutionary War and the Battles
of Trenton and Washington’s crossing the Delaware, where Von Donop
was apparently detained by his dalliance with an attractive widow, a seamstress
named Betsy Ross, whose contribution to the war effort seems to be more
than just sewing a flag.
Old Town Homberg Efze
Upon
visiting the lovely little walled town of Homberg (Efze), with its
beautiful of half-wood houses
and buildings that have remained much
as it was in the 1700s, this bit of local lore is not even mentioned
in the town's printed history, but a lot of the soldiers who left this
part of Germany never returned and many Americans of German heritage
can trace their ancestry roots to this area. Still existing is the regimental
hall (Jäger Kaserne) where the Hessian troops 
would have
mustered, just two
doors from the town church. The cobblestones of the town Market Square
would have echoed with boots
on drill. Here
in
Homberg is the Krone Inn (Gastehaus
Krone), a tavern and restaurant that
has stood at the corner of the square since 1480, when the town was a
major wool trading center, already 300 years old at the time of the
revolution, where soldiers and conscripts
would
have
tipped steins of beer.
The
town has plenty of other history and interest beyond its American family
connections. First established
in 1231, it suffered heavily in
the 30 Years War and again under occupation by Napoleon’s troops.
The city’s Gothic Marienkirche (St. Mary’s Church) was originally
Romanesque but rebuilt in the 14th Century and played a major part in
the German Reformation of Martin Luther (see Lutherstadt
Wittenberg).
It was at Homberg on the Efze in 1526 Landgrave (Duke) Phillip the Magnanimous,
whose statue reclines in the town center, declared Hesse to be officially
Protestant. Homberg is known as the Reformation City of Hesse (Reformationstadt
Hessens). One of the church’s prize jewels is the Baroque period
organ, 250 years old and can be heard rehearsing at times during the
day upon wandering inside.
German Fairy Tale Road
Homberg
(Efze) is one of the towns along the German Fairy Tale Road (see Brothers
Grimm Fairy Trail).
It stands
at the edge of the Knüllwald,
also known as the “Red Riding Hood Forest”,
a German holiday area for nature lovers where the Grimm Brothers heard
a tale of a lost girl and a nasty wolf. Costumed guides called Tower
Watchmen give guided
tours in the summer evenings (in German, though they can translate a
bit) of the towns historic sights, including a hint at catching a glimpse
of the city’s own ghost, the Woman in White, who hangs out by the
medieval town prison and executioners square near the iconic Gunpowder
Tower in the city wall. Without a guide, the town has 36 historic buildings
which can be followed from a map available at the tourist office in the
town square. The ruins of the Homberg Castle, the Hohenburg, destroyed
during the 30 Years War stands on the hill above the city, which can
be reached by driving or walking through a gate in the walls behind the
Rathaus and climbing through the thick gardens, for a view of the surrounding
countryside.
For visitors
by car there are underground parking lots for the old city entered
through tunnels in
the historic
stone defensive walls. Homberg/Efze is a little over an hour from
Frankfurt and half an hour from Kassel or Marburg. For an interesting
stay in a real German
baronial
Landgrave’s
Schloss Castle Hotel nearby (see Schloss
Ludwigseck Hotel ). The Krone does not provide accommodations
but another historic inn hotel and restaurant is the Hohlebach
Muhle in a former
mill with it's ancient waterwheel still turning after centuries.
There is a Burghotel in town, but it's not a castle hotel, just a small
hotel
near the castle. © Bargain
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More German Ancestry Genealogy:
HAMBURG BALLIN-STADT EMIGRATION MUSEUM
PALATINE ANCESTRY MUSEUM KAISERSLAUTERN
