Falkenstein Photo Gallery
(This Page Was Last Modified Saturday, 11-Jul-2009 00:19:04 MDT.)
In May, 2000, and in May, 2002, John and Eleanor Blankenbaker traveled to Germany and Austria to visit villages from which our Germanna ancestors immigrated. This page contains photos taken in Falkenstein, Germany.
(Each photo is labeled for the month & year it was taken.)
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(Photos of German and Austrian Villages, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 John BLANKENBAKER.)
(Photos of German and Austrian Villages Web Pages, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 George W. DURMAN.)
(While we allow downloading of these pictures for your enjoyment, and for personal genealogical uses, they are copyrighted material and commercial use of them is FORBIDDEN.)
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Photos of Falkenstein, Germany
Falkenstein Village
The Burg* Falkenstein sits on a rocky spur that comes out from the mountain. Between the Burg and the mountain, there is room for one street with houses on both sides. This is one section of this linear village, which extends to the left and the right. (Today there is small chapel, or church, in the village, but when the Yagers lived here they had to go to a church in Marienthal or Winnweiler, which were adjoining villages.)
(Click here to see photos of Marienthal.)
(Sorry, but no photos yet of Winnweiler; however, you can see maps of these three closely connected villages on this map web page.)
(May, 2002)
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Plan of Falkenstein Village
Falkenstein was principally a castle site. Around it would have been the homes of dependencies, or those who supported the work of the castle. There was not much room where Falkenstein was built; it was on a hillside.
(Translation of the German words in the legend of the plan: Obere=Upper; Burg=Castle; [thus, Obere Burg=Upper Castle]; Ritter=Knight; Haus=House or Building; [thus, Ritterhaus=Knights' House or Building]; Knechte=Menials, that is, vassals, serfs, servants, laborers, farm hands, or subordinates]; [thus, Knechtehause=Servants' Building]; Vorwerk=Ante [or Front] Building; Bauernh�user=Peasants', or Farm Laborers', Houses; Haupttor=Main Gate or Entrance; Ring=Circular or Round; Mauer=Wall, Stone Wall, or Side Support for a Building; [thus, Ringmauer=What we would call a Wall Tower]; Schild=Shield-shaped plate for displaying a Coat of Arms; [thus, Schildmauer=The wall where the ruler's Coat of Arms is displayed]; Zwinger=Kennels [for animals, probably dogs]; Wachtturm=Watch Tower.)
(May, 2002)
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Detail of Part of Old Falkenstein
This picture shows the main entrance through the stone wall around the old Falkenstein castle.
(May, 2002)
(File size: 870 x 576, 550,008 Bytes)
(For more photos of Falkenstein Village, click here. These photos were found on the web and some of you may find them useful.)
(* "Burg" translates to "Castle" in English. Towns in Germany with this ending were built around a castle, and the towns kept the name, even though, in some cases, the castles no longer exist. "Burg" can also mean "fort", "fortress", "chateau", "palace", or "stronghold". In its simplest translation, a "Burg" is a "fortified home", "fortified" meaning it had a high wall around it, with easily defended entrances through the wall. On the other hand, a "Schloss" can be translated as a "palace" (a home ) without fortifications.)
(Often, towns will have a name ending with "Berg", which is quite different from "Burg". "Berg" translates to "Mount" or "Mountain" in English. Rarely, it might also mean "Hill". I suspect, however, that the root for both words may be the same. It isn't a far stretch from a "Berg" [mountain], to a "Burg" [castle], which was always built on a mountain, or, at least, on a the highest hill in the vicinity.)
(Comments by Webmaster, GWD.)
NOTE !!!!!
(Photos of German and Austrian Villages, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 John BLANKENBAKER.)
(Photos of German and Austrian Villages Web Pages, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 George W. DURMAN.)
(While we allow downloading of these pictures for your enjoyment, and for personal genealogical uses, they are copyrighted material and commercial use of them is FORBIDDEN.)
(If you find errors on this page, please email me.)
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