150 Years Breisgau-Geschichtsverein Schau-ins-Land

It's a long time since you didn't read a new blog. I was simply busy, so:

When people ask,

"Is Red Baron still alive?"
You should tell them, 

"Yes, he's still alive."

He was busy writing websites 
About a reception for AYF students and his annual class reunion alike,
And finally, he traveled on the Road of Democracy.

This text is a verbalization of the popular Hecker Song, which we, a group of members of the Museumsgesellschaft, sang on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the Baden Revolution while on an excursion to honor its beginning on September 12, 1847, at Offenburg, and its end on July 23, 1849, at Rastatt:

Wenn die Leute fragen,
„Lebt der Hecker noch?“
So sollt ihr ihnen sagen,
„Ja, er lebet noch.”
Er hängt an keinem Baume,
er hängt an keinem Strick,
er hängt an seinem Traume
einer freien Republik …

Friedrich Hecker is the mythical figurehead of the Baden Revolution. After its failure, he fled to the US and lived on a farm in Illinois.

Let's continue with history. Last night, Red Baron was invited to a festive event celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Breisgau-Geschichtsverein Schau-ins-Land.

I will not go into the association's history here because it is described in a Wikipedia article I once initiated, and to which I contributed 65% of the text.

For the 150th anniversary, the Geschichtsverein offers a firework of events, especially excursions. Vice President Renate Liessem-Breinlinger presented the already completed program in a slide show. Red Baron participated only in the visit to the district Waldsee.

I had seen Freiburg's historical streetcars before, had already participated in a city tour devoted to Fritz Geiges, followed the historical Bächle, visited Günterstal, walked the Bundschuh trail, and on Gustav Struve's traces in Staufen.

In his speech, the chairman of the historical society, Dr. Andreas Jobst, reviewed the work of the Geschichtsverein. He also addressed the general problem of dwindling membership, which affects all societies.

Red Baron took photos of the screen using my Phone's 5x optical zoom.
 The strange coloration is due to the projector's light.

Dr. Jobst underlined his positive outlook for the future with the new modern logo.

The doyen of the early Freiburg and Zähringer history, Prof. Thomas Zotz, held the ceremonial lecture with the title: 

"For our own pleasure

To teach the people, 

To honor our homeland!" 

Foundation and first decades of the Breisgau-Verein Schau-ins-Land.

The original motto of the historical society still gives food for thought today. 

Zu eigner Lust: Yes, I enjoy dealing with Freiburg's history. Since 2002, I have been working on the Freiburgs Geschichte in Zitaten website, adding to it whenever I learn something new. 

Fritz Geiges for the 9th year of the Schau-ins Land! foundation

Dem Volk zur Lehr: My richly illustrated website could convey knowledge of Freiburg's history in a light form. In times when right-wing radical ideas are celebrated happily, and democracies get more and more in distress, a reminder of past times would be so necessary. Remember a Russian proverb, "If you forget the war, then a new war arises."

    

Democracies, which people in Germany fought for 175 years ago, have their drawbacks but are still the best form of government. 

1896: Vignette by Fritz Geiges in the Schau-ins-Land

Der Heimat zur Ehr!: Certainly, our German history has often not been to our credit. Therefore, looking for positive moments in the past is not forbidden.

Unsurprisingly, Prof. Zotz's last slide showed the great Freiburg influencer Fritz Geiges.

The festive event was followed by a reception, where mostly old white-haired men did justice to the anniversary wine from the Weinbaugemeinde* (wine-growing community) Ebringen.

*Recently, Baden-Württemberg's State Government attributed the title to the community

When I left the building, it was dark. Facing the south side of Freiburg's Minster Church, I tested the wide-angle lens on my iPhone. What a spectacular sight!

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