Emsiger-Land (Niedersachsen, Germany)
Emsiger-Land (Emderland), located between Reiderland and Broekmer-Land at the mouth of the Ems River, East Friesland, Germany (the region between Emden and Greetsiel), was a government district at the time of the Reformation under Edzard I. Later this territory between Emden and Greetsiel was divided into Emden Amt, Pewsum Amt, and Greetmer Amt. During the Reformation this was the area in which the largest number of Anabaptists of East Friesland were located. Melchior Hoffman began his work in Emden and Leenaert Bouwens baptized more than 450 persons in this area, most of whom were living in Emden and ‘t Falder, a suburb. That the Mennonites were soon located all over the rural area can be seen from the lists of names of persons who paid a protection fee to the government during the 17th and 18th centuries. These lists have been preserved in the archives of Emden and Aurich and been partly published by Müller. Mennonites were located in and around the following places as renters of farms, farm hands, etc.: Suurhusen, Osterhusen, Canum, Canhusen, Wirdum, Eilsum, Jennelt, Hösingwehr, Schoonorth, Greetsiel, Pilsum, Manslagt, Grothusen, Upleward, etc. Uko Walles, for example, for many years rented the estate of Sielmönken, a former monastery.
Emsiger-Land is sometimes also referred to as “Emderland.” Blaupot ten Cate (Groningen I, 225 f.) reports that there were two (Groningen) Old Flemish congregations in this area in 1715, one in Emden and the other in Hösingwehr, the latter usually known as the Emderland congregation. In 1746 the congregation at Emden had 70 members and in 1762 there were only “five or six brothers” left, while the one at Hösingwehr was a little larger. Today there are hardly any Mennonites located in the villages north of Emden. Whether they all moved to the cities or gradually joined the Reformed and Lutheran churches is not known. The spread of the Mennonites in the rural area of Emsiger-Land and East Friesland in general, the number of congregations found here and their gradual disintegration has not been studied.
Bibliography
Heimatkarte von Ostfriesland. Oldenburg.
Müller, J. P. Die Mennoniten in Ostfriesland. Emden, 1887: 207-26.
Reimers, H. Ostfriesland bis zum Aussterben seines Fürstenhauses. Bremen, 1925. See “Karte II” and “Karte III” in appendices.
| Author(s) | Cornelius Krahn |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Krahn, Cornelius. "Emsiger-Land (Niedersachsen, Germany)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 24 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Emsiger-Land_(Niedersachsen,_Germany)&oldid=94513.
APA style
Krahn, Cornelius. (1956). Emsiger-Land (Niedersachsen, Germany). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Emsiger-Land_(Niedersachsen,_Germany)&oldid=94513.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 212-213. All rights reserved.
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