Rathaus in Hosenfeld

We left our rental vehicle parked on Kirchberg (Church Hill) and walked from the cemetery onto Schulstrasse (School Street). Since Hosenfeld is a small community (a population of approximately 1,500), it is very easy to walk from one destination to another. The fact of the matter, when I lived in Germany, I found myself walking alot. My waist size can attest to that! The European culture, which I envy, accentuates walking more so than in America.

We strolled past the Kindergarten and arrived at the intersection of Kirchpfad (Church path). To our left stood the Rathaus. Just like any community, the Rathaus is the town hall. Within are the municipal offices serving the community. I figured that perhaps there may be civic records on hand to examine for genealogical purposes.

Kellie and I walked inside with trepidation. With my command of the German language, I will think I'm asking for family names, but instead probably asking, "Do you want fries with that?" We were greeted in the vestibule by a pretty young fraulein by the name of Elisabeth Rutzel. After introducing myself and my wife in German, I asked if she was able to speak English. She said a little bit. So between us, we were able to mix and match the two languages to get our point across.

I told her we were there to do genealogical research. I told her that my great, great, great, grandfather was born in the town in 1822 and emigrated to America in 1847. She asked what my last name was again. I said, "Hillanbrand". She said, "Ah, such a good family name!" Whew! At least I didn't learn that Franz Hillenbrand was a murderer or was kicked out of this decent little town for being a vagrant! She went on to say that there weren't any historical records held within their archives. The only records that she surmised that were available, could perhaps be church records. And they were held in another village. I asked, "Is there another church within Hosenfeld?" She rolled her eyes and said, "We're ALL Catholic here." I laughed thinking how monogenic a small town can be, even over seven hundred years. She probably did too, that's why she rolled her eyes. I guess there's no choice.

We thanked Elisabeth for the information she had given us. She in return gave us a map and information regarding the surrounding area. Although, I didn't find much information regarding the past, I felt as if I did find home.