The first Lutheran Pastor in Banat:
Johann Karl Reichard (1700-1753)
Rosina T. Schmidt
Document obtained by Barbara Kümritz
In the Hessian Staves
Archives of Darmstadt (Abt.XI. Fol. 61-64) is the original letter to be found
written back on 20th of April 1722 by the Emperor Karl VI of the
Austrian Empire to his uncle the Landgrave Ernst-Ludwig of Hessen-Darmstadt in
which he invites his uncle Ernst-Ludwig to send him 600 of his subjects to his
Domain in the Banat, even though the Hessians were of Evangelical faith as
their Landgrave himself.
Miners were needed foremost
for the silver and copper mines around Banat’s southern Military border, north
of New Palanka on the Danube, which were re-opened in 1722. Lieutenant Johann
Franz Krauss suggested establishing freehold German mining cities in Orawitza,
Lippa and Moldowa, as the Serbs and the Romanians already worked the
surrounding farmland.
As the copper, iron, lead and
silver mines were re-opened new towns were established in Lugosch, Boksan,
Dognatschka, Gallina, New-Moldowa, Reschitza, Szaszkabanya,Devitsch, Hauerdorf,
and Orawitza. The first ethnic German villages were Denta, Langenfeld in 1717,
Facsad in 1718, Kudritz in 1719, Neupetsch, Groda, Jahrmarkt, Detta, Burzias
in 1720.
The first settlers arrived
from the area of Upper Hungary, from Siebenbürgen, the Zips and lower
Hungarian mining towns as well as from Sachsen. The Sachsens were Lutherans,
as well as the newest settlers coming from Hesse and Franken (upper Bavaria)
duchies. After his arrival in Banat, pastor Johann Karl Reichard wrote on 3rd
of June 1724 to the pastor Surdorff in Adelsheim, Hesse: “Around the Pajlanka
here in Banat are already 10 German villages established.”
The Lutherans of Langenfeld
invited Pastor Reichard to be their spiritual leader and with the permission
of Count of Mercy, the Governor of Banat young Pastor Reichard left his hometown of Gross-Rohrheim in
the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and together with other 18 families (all
together 82 members) from the same town headed for Banat.
The 18 families were as
follows:
Johannes Orth with wife and 5 children;
Johannes Knorr with wife;
Johannes Baumann with wife and 2 children;
Heinrich Österreicher with wife and 5 children;
Hans Peter Rindfuss with wife and 5 children;
Conrad Rindfuss with wife and 1 child;
Heinrich Schmitt with wife and 5 children;
Johann Schmitt with wife and 4 children;
Johann Jacob Weiss with wife and 2 children;
Hans Seebald Lass with wife and 6 children;
Georg Nicolaus Ramgen (died AD 1724) with wife and 4 children;
Peter Kroh with wife and 3 children;
Heinrich Schönbein with wife;
Anton Kohl with wife,
Nicolaus Handschuh with wife and 3 children;
Nicolaus Daub with wife and 1 child;
Gertrud Freyler von Franenhausen, widow;
Ludwig Gottfried Guth (he returned home in 1725)
Pastor Reichard held the first sermon in Langenfeld on the Turk’s cemetery on
the 5th Sunday after Trinitatis. From all six German villages, from
Langenfeld, Petrillowa, Orawitza, Russova, Hauerdorf and Saalahusen streamed
the faithful to be part of Banat’s first Lutheran sermon. The contemporary
letters of those days describing the event mentioned that more than 600 souls
attended, most of them in tears and some even crying loudly.
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German
1725-Tolna-Lutheran-Settlers
Jan 2010
