Coat of Arms Hachenberger
This is the Coat of Arms that was obtained from our 2nd cousin David Hakkenberg who has done considerable research on the name Hakkenberg. I owe a lot of information that I have obtained to him and the hard work he has done. I don't know the meaning of this coat of arms, or the various components of it. I don't even know from which year it originates, or how it is connected to our family. If anyone has information in this regard, please let me know and I will include it here. From the information I was able to gather, Gottfried was born in Kirburg/Hachenburg, and arrived in Naurod in 1618. He may have had the name Hachenberger as his family name, or the name may have been given to him as having come from Hachenburg or the region around the city. There is no mention of his parents or extended family.
Symbolism of a Coat of Arms: From Anne-Marie
They first appeared in the 12th century among the knights in Europe. Originally they were worn to distinguish the different knights from each other in battle since they were unrecognizable underneath all their armor. Later on with the rise of gunpowder, the use of armor faded, but the coat of arms still remained as an honorable symbol to the family.
The five basic components are: a shield (which is pretty visible in ours), the crest (which is above the helmet – in our case a lion), the helmet between the shield and crest, this was believed to denote the rank of the wearer, a wreath (which is the twisted cords above the shield, with one of the cords the principal color of the coat of arms –not real visible in ours) and a mantle (which was said to represent the cloth that protected the back of the head and neck of the knight) it is displayed behind the rest of the coat of arms using the same principal color as the wreath. The principal color in a coat of arms also had a special meaning. Ours is black and white (whatever that means ;-)
Sometimes coats of arms would be combined indicating marriage and maternal ancestry, with symbols from each family creating a blended coat of arms. If the shield was quartered that most likely meant that the family was from royal descent combining the four families. Unfortunately ours is only halved, but that does probably mean that the woman and her family were esteemed highly and therefore her coat of arms was added to her husband’s arms. (my thoughts)
The lion is one of the animals most often used as the crest. The lion is the emblem of deathless courage. It is said to be a lively image of a good soldier, valiant, courageous, strong and a foe to fear.
I found it interesting that ours was holding a ‘number one’ (I believe) and the top of our shield was the top part of the lion and the bottom half of our shield had the number one on it. Possibly the bottom part of the shield depicted the symbol from the maternal side and the top the paternal side and that our crest (our lion) is holding the ‘number one’ showing his protection.
The German word wappen simply means Coat of Arms, in case you were wondering what “Wappen der Familie” meant above the crest, as I was.
Symbolism of a Coat of Arms: From Anne-Marie
They first appeared in the 12th century among the knights in Europe. Originally they were worn to distinguish the different knights from each other in battle since they were unrecognizable underneath all their armor. Later on with the rise of gunpowder, the use of armor faded, but the coat of arms still remained as an honorable symbol to the family.
The five basic components are: a shield (which is pretty visible in ours), the crest (which is above the helmet – in our case a lion), the helmet between the shield and crest, this was believed to denote the rank of the wearer, a wreath (which is the twisted cords above the shield, with one of the cords the principal color of the coat of arms –not real visible in ours) and a mantle (which was said to represent the cloth that protected the back of the head and neck of the knight) it is displayed behind the rest of the coat of arms using the same principal color as the wreath. The principal color in a coat of arms also had a special meaning. Ours is black and white (whatever that means ;-)
Sometimes coats of arms would be combined indicating marriage and maternal ancestry, with symbols from each family creating a blended coat of arms. If the shield was quartered that most likely meant that the family was from royal descent combining the four families. Unfortunately ours is only halved, but that does probably mean that the woman and her family were esteemed highly and therefore her coat of arms was added to her husband’s arms. (my thoughts)
The lion is one of the animals most often used as the crest. The lion is the emblem of deathless courage. It is said to be a lively image of a good soldier, valiant, courageous, strong and a foe to fear.
I found it interesting that ours was holding a ‘number one’ (I believe) and the top of our shield was the top part of the lion and the bottom half of our shield had the number one on it. Possibly the bottom part of the shield depicted the symbol from the maternal side and the top the paternal side and that our crest (our lion) is holding the ‘number one’ showing his protection.
The German word wappen simply means Coat of Arms, in case you were wondering what “Wappen der Familie” meant above the crest, as I was.
Town of Hachenburg
The castle located in the town of Hachenburg was founded by Count Heinrich II of Sayn in 1180. It was completed by his son Heinrich III in 1212. The name appears at that time as Hackenberg. The name is from the Middle High German word 'hagen' and refers to a place that is protected by a thorn bush ('einen Platz geschützt durch Dornverhau"). Add 'berg' or castle to 'hagen' and you get Hagenberg or Hachenberg, mean a castle surrounded or protected by a thorn hedge (durch ein Dorngebüsch umhegte Berg).
Hachenburg is a town built around the castle, and as you can see from the streets, the town is partially built on a hill. It is located on the river Nister which flows into the Sieg, a tributary of the Rhine. As you can see from the pictures, Hachenburg is a quaint little town. In the 1500's there would have been less than 1,000 inhabitants. Today there are about 6,000 people living in Hachenburg. The middle picture on the right is the present day castle which was built in the 17th century, after a fire destroyed much of the town, including the original castle on October 13, 1654.
Hachenburg is a town built around the castle, and as you can see from the streets, the town is partially built on a hill. It is located on the river Nister which flows into the Sieg, a tributary of the Rhine. As you can see from the pictures, Hachenburg is a quaint little town. In the 1500's there would have been less than 1,000 inhabitants. Today there are about 6,000 people living in Hachenburg. The middle picture on the right is the present day castle which was built in the 17th century, after a fire destroyed much of the town, including the original castle on October 13, 1654.
Hanus Hachenburg 1929 - 1944
There has always been a feeling in the family that our name has some connection with the Jewish community. I was not able to find anything that connects us genealogically, however, I think that emotionally there will always be a connection. What is interesting is that as early as 1587 there is a mention of a Jewish graveyard in Hachenburg. This is not unique however, as there were Jewish communities in many other cities. The name of the town, however, has been carried within the Jewish community. One that stood out to me is that of Hanus Hachenburg.
Hanus was born in Prague on July 12, 1929. Kim and I visited the old Jewish town in Prague centre when we lived there, and walked through it many times. Along with many other children, he was separated from his family and deported to Terezin in 1942, a town just 65 kilometers north of Prague. It was in this camp that Hanus and a number of other young boys, supported by their instructor, hand produced Vedem, a Czech language literary magazine. Below I have a translation of a poem that was written by Hanus. On December 18, 1943, Hanus and his mother were deported to Auschwitz, where he died in early July of 1944, possibly on his 15th birthday.
Hanus was born in Prague on July 12, 1929. Kim and I visited the old Jewish town in Prague centre when we lived there, and walked through it many times. Along with many other children, he was separated from his family and deported to Terezin in 1942, a town just 65 kilometers north of Prague. It was in this camp that Hanus and a number of other young boys, supported by their instructor, hand produced Vedem, a Czech language literary magazine. Below I have a translation of a poem that was written by Hanus. On December 18, 1943, Hanus and his mother were deported to Auschwitz, where he died in early July of 1944, possibly on his 15th birthday.
I never saw another butterfly
Terezin
That bit of filth in dirty walls,
And all around barbed wire,
And thirty thousand sleeping there,
who will awake one day
And see their life blood
Spilled around them.
I was a child once - two short years ago
My youth was longing for another world
I am a child no longer - I saw things to make me blush
Now I am adult and have known terror,
Bloody words and murdered days,
That is no longer just a bugaboo!
But I also believe that I am only sleeping
That I'll wake up, a child again, and
start to laugh and play.
I'll go back to childhood sweet like a briar rose,
Like a bell which wakes us from a dream,
Like a mother with an ailing child
Loves him with aching woman's love.
How tragic then, is youth which lives
With enemies, with gallows ropes,
How tragic then, for children on your lap
To say: this one is good, that one is evil,
Somewhere in the distance,
childhood sweetly sleeps.
Along the narrow paths of Stromovka park,
There, from that house, someone leans out,
Where only contempt is left for me,
Where long ago, in gardens full of flowers,
My mother brought me into the world to weep.
In candlelight I sleep on my hand pallet,
And one day perhaps I shall understand
That I was just a tiny creature,
As little as this song.
These 30,000 souls who sleep
Among the trees will wake,
Open an eye
And because they see a lot
They'll fall asleep again.
1944 Hanus Hachenburg
That bit of filth in dirty walls,
And all around barbed wire,
And thirty thousand sleeping there,
who will awake one day
And see their life blood
Spilled around them.
I was a child once - two short years ago
My youth was longing for another world
I am a child no longer - I saw things to make me blush
Now I am adult and have known terror,
Bloody words and murdered days,
That is no longer just a bugaboo!
But I also believe that I am only sleeping
That I'll wake up, a child again, and
start to laugh and play.
I'll go back to childhood sweet like a briar rose,
Like a bell which wakes us from a dream,
Like a mother with an ailing child
Loves him with aching woman's love.
How tragic then, is youth which lives
With enemies, with gallows ropes,
How tragic then, for children on your lap
To say: this one is good, that one is evil,
Somewhere in the distance,
childhood sweetly sleeps.
Along the narrow paths of Stromovka park,
There, from that house, someone leans out,
Where only contempt is left for me,
Where long ago, in gardens full of flowers,
My mother brought me into the world to weep.
In candlelight I sleep on my hand pallet,
And one day perhaps I shall understand
That I was just a tiny creature,
As little as this song.
These 30,000 souls who sleep
Among the trees will wake,
Open an eye
And because they see a lot
They'll fall asleep again.
1944 Hanus Hachenburg