Schwarzenau

In spite of cold and wintery conditions, Schwarzenau emitted an amorphous energy. Peter Gehner, our guide was waiting for us just as he had promised, at the large cross-timbered dwelling. As you enter Schwarzenau take the first left. Drive past the pharmacy and turn left again. You will see a large cross-timbered house. Since we were unable to be there during the regular open hours, the first Sunday of each month between 2-5pm, we had made arrangements. Schwarzenau is somewhat difficult to find even online because since 1975 is has been subsumed into the city of Bad Berleburg. Even Schwarzenau has parts though. We had to drive up the hill to upper Hüttental (where poor huts housed 18th century religious refugees). In the late 17th and early 18th centuries Count Henrich Albrecht tolerated the settlement of refugees of faith from various parts of the German-speaking world here in Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein County. As we stepped out of the car we were warmly greeted by a black and white cat who stayed with us throughout our visit. Unfortunately the photos I took of our feline friend are all a bit blurred because she was in constant motion but the energy came through. Although most likely Alexander Mack himself didn't live here, the house dates to his era. He came here from Schriesheim near Heidelberg and founded here a movement, baptizing seven adults in the Eder River which snakes through the valley below. As the movement grew it became evident that this high mountainous terrain could not sustain the greater numbers of inhabitants so they were forced to move on to Krefeld and then on to Pennsylvania where they could escape persecution for their heretical practices and beliefs. Not only did they believe that only as responsible adults should one be baptized but that they should return to the ways of the early Christians. It was in Germantown, PA, where they became known as the Church of the Brethren. The name of the denomination is difficult to translate into German since it never really existed as a church on German soil. Working our way through the three small rooms of the museum we gathered information about local history as well as the visits of innumerable Americans, mostly members of the Church of the Brethren, making a pilgrimage back to the place of origin of their church. There was a two-volume scrapbook filled with clippings documenting these visits and other related events. In the 1950's the Brethren had donated a significant amount of "Deutschemark" for the construction of a local elementary school then named "Alexander Mack Schule". Although the building still stands, the school no longer exists. As I sat down to write my parting paragraph in the guest registry our friend the white and black cat came right into my line of activity clearly unconcerned about folks wanting to write in books. Having shut off the lights and exited, all three and a half of us, we noticed the powerful presence of a full moon on this the day before Christmas Eve, 2007. My photo hardly gives it justice but it does serve to convey a bit of the energy emanating from this place in Hüttental.