Donauschwaben in den USA

The Chronicle of German Nation

“Germanic Cultures” 

and Their Influences in the Development of Europe  

By Hans Kopp

hans_kopp@hotmail.com

from the book “The Last Generation Forgotten and Left to Die” The History of the Danube Swabians”.

All Rights reserved. ISBN No. 0-9701109-0-1  

Updated as of:

     02/24/13  

The history and the culture of the Germanic presence in Europe are as interesting as they are confusing. This is the primary reason I thought that I should include a detailed chronology showing the development of the German Nation as it appears to unfold over the period of years in Europe. There might be certain questions you may have in regard to the origin of the Germanic tribes, their background as well as their development as we go through time. As we sort through the development of the migration of the many cultures in Europe, we may not at all be surprised that the Germanic race is the melting pot of many cultures such as the Indo-Germanic, East- and West Germanic, Celtic-Germanic as well as the Nordic-Germanic tribes and others cultures mixed in thoroughly over thousands of years.

The great migration of the Germanic tribes during the first several hundred years after the birth of Christ is mostly caused by climate changes and overpopulations or by intruding Slavic and Asiatic tribes such as the Huns and Avars. The years after the reign of Emperor “Karl the Great” (better known as Charlemagne) of the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation”, several lines in distinct Germanic regions establish themselves in Europe, like the Franken (Franconia), Schwaben (Swabian), Sachsen (Saxon) Thüringen (Thuringia), Lothringen (Lorain), Burgund (Burgundy), Bayern (Bavaria), Böhmen (Bohemia), Mähren (Moravia), the East Mark (Austria) and others. It would take again another 800 years before we can recognize more distinct borders of modern provinces of Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Austria today.

The underlying sources for this chronology are listed below. Thanks to these authors and publishers of these books in the German and English languages, I was able to translate some of the more important data for clarification as well as your study of Germanic history. 

Sources:            The Anchor Atlas of World History, by Hermann Kinder and Werner Hilgemann.  

                         Die Chronic Österreichs by Professor Kleinfeld, Chronic Verlag in der Harenberg Verlags-und Mediangesellschaft mbh & KG Dortmund 1984. ISBN: 3-88379-027-3  

Die Chronic Wiens by Isabella Ackerl, Chronic Verlag in der Harenberg Verlags-und Mediangesellschaft mbh & KG Dortmund 1988. ISBN: 3-661-00064-7  

Illustrierte Geschichte Österreichs by Roman Sandgruber, Pichler Verlag Gmbh & Co KG, Wien 2000. ISBN 3-85431-196-6.  

Die Chronic Deutschen, Redaktion by Bodo Harenberg, Chronic Verlag in der Harenberg Verlags-und Mediangesellschaft mbh & KG Dortmund 1983. ISBN: 3-88379-023-0  

Tausend Jahre Nachbarschaft Deutsche in Suedost Europa by Gootlieb Rhode, Verlag F. Bruckmann KG, München 1981. ISBN: 3-7654 1831-5.  

German-American Achievements - 400 years of contributions to America by Don Heinrich Tolzmann, Heritage Books, Inc.  ISBN 0-7884-1993-5  

The Last Generation Forgotten and Left to Die, the history of the Danube Swabians, by Hans Kopp Cleveland, Ohio 2003 ISBN:0-9701 109-0-1, Library of Congress control number: 2003111776.  

300,000-26,000 Evidence of first signs of agricultural activities by men on Germanic grounds was found in caves.  

5,500-3000        During the early Stone Age, evidence of farming and animal husbandry was discovered.  

3,900-2,200       During the Copper Age, Pfahlbauten (houses in lakes build on stilt’s) were found in the Salzkammergut, (Austria) and at Bodensee (Germany) regions. Several finds of boats hewn from pine trees were found in the swamps of several lakes, like Mondsee and Attersee in Austria. It is interesting to note that they understood the difference of the sunny side and the shady side of the pines which they used to their advantage. From the lesser tensor sunny side they removed the wood with fire and stone tools while the denser shady side served better as the boats outer shell. During the mid nineties a well preserved man was found between the borders of Austria and Italy on the glacier of the Ötztal mountain range and named Ötzi.  

2,300-1,200       During the early and middle Bronze Age a transition to “Hill Graves” is evident.  

1,800-1,500       The great “Indo-Germanic” period becomes evident, during the Late Stone-, Copper- and Early Bronze Ages.  

1,800-800.         The “Early Germanic” period is evident during the Bronze Age in the northern regions of Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea. These tribes are believed to have their origin directly from the south of their locations and may be directly related with the Celtics, Italic and Greek cultures which may have moved north for reasons unknown.  

800 B.C. to  

800 A.D.          A split of “East- and West-Germanic” tribal cultures is evident. The “Large Germanic” period becomes more evident during the Iron Age. Germanic tribes can now be identified as  Ostgermanen in Scandinavia,  Nordgemanen and Angeln in Denmark,  Warnen in Schleswig-Holstein, Chauken on the North Sea in Friesland, Sachsen on the North Sea, Rugier and Goten on the Ostsee or Baltic Sea what is today’s Poland, Lemowier and Weichselgermanen in northern Poland, Langobarden in the central northern part of Germany, Wetsgermanen in the north western region of Germany, Rheine-Weser Germanen in the Rheine-Weser region of Germany, Elbe Germanen near the Elbe River, Sweben between Elbe and Oder in northern Germany, Ostgermanen near the Warthe River, Wandalen in central Poland, Brukterer in Central Germany and Oder Warthe Germanen in Poland near these rivers. From these locations they began to move south. Scientists believe that the south movement of the Germanic tribes was influenced by the lack of food due to the colder weather of that time.   

800-400            Salt changes their lives. The “Hallstatt Period” begins during the Late Iron Age. Celtic tribes establish several kingdoms in the Alps and assimilate Illyrians living there at that time into their kingdom. Trade routes from the north to the south establish the trade of raw materials such as Bronze, Iron and salt which has become a commodity among the cultures in Europe.  

450                   It was first mentioned by Herodot, that the legions under the Persian King Darius went up a river (Danube) in boats from the Black See (Pontus Euxinus) and found a narrow in the river with turbulent waters (most likely the Iron Gate on the Danube).   

400                   During the “Younger Ice Age” (La-Tene-Time, Switzerland and France), there is evidence of Celtic Tribe migration into the Alps and into the regions of the Illyrians to the east are found. Heavy plows and sickles are developed during this period by the Celtics. The Greek writer Diodoros writes the following about the Celtics; “they have white facial colors as if they were sick. Their long hair is blond and they use a chalk solution to wash it which acts like a bleach and thickens the strands of their hair which makes it look like a horse’s mane. They have beautiful large statures. Some shave their facial hair and grow mustaches which give them a beautiful appearance.”  

300-100            The Celtic cultures extend from the regions of France into the British Islands to the west and to the east as far as northern Serbia and Romania. They formed three Kingdoms in the Alps from the west to east Rhaetia, Noricum and Pannonia. The regions of the three Kingdoms extend from the Danube in the north including Bavaria and Baden Württemberg to the south of the Alps into Italy and from Switzerland to the banks of the Danube in Hungary.  

200-100            Over the period of time Celtics and Germanic cultures have intermingled so we actually have to call some of them Celtic-Germanic tribes. The Euten who settled at the Rheine River Delta were living near the North Sea. The Angeln settled in Schleswig and the Sachsen (Saxons) on the North Sea stretching to Baltic Sea in northern Germany. The Chauken settled on mounds near the North Sea and live from fishing. The Friesen who live in marshland live from fishing while the Cherusker live close to forests near today’s Paderporn. The Warnen originate from Ostjütland and live from fishing. The Fosen are thought of Celtic origin and make their homes in Ostjütland. The Heruden also live in Ostjütland. The Avionen are part of the Jütisch tribes and make their living from fishing as do the Eudosen who live in Denmark, however their origin is unknown. Living in the western Rheine regions are the Belgen of Celtic origin and make their homes in the North West Gallic regions. The Canninefaten live between the Waal and Zuidersee in the Netherlands. The Chatten make their homes near the Fulda and Eder rivers. The Bataver settled near the Rheine delta, the Brukterer originate from the Ems river region, the Ubier originate from the regions of the Rheine, Main and Westerwald areas. The Sugambrer make their homes near the right banks of the Rheine River north of Cologne. The Chattuarier live near the middle and upper Ruhr River area. The Usipier live in Upper Hessia as do the Tenkterer who settled in Upper Hessia. Cultures which make their homes on the left banks of the Rhine River are; the Baetasier living in the regions of Brussels. The Caerosen who make their homes in the Eifel region settle on the left bank of the Rheine as do the Condruser who live near the Maas. The Eburone people are possibly of Celtic origin, but it is not known for sure. Among the Elbe Germanen are the Sweben who moved from Thüringen to the south west. The Markomannen are living in the Bavarian regions. The Quaden live north of the Main River. The Hermunduren live along the Elbe River but it is not known if they are of Germanic or Celtic origin, but it is assumed they are part of the Sweben tribe. The settlements Thüringen extend over the Harz Mountain and are probably of Celtic origin. The Bojer were original Celtics and lived in the 4^th Century B.C. in the Apennine area near Bologna and after their defeat by the Romans in the 2^nd Century B.C. part of their tribe fled to Bohemia. The Langobarden settle at the Lower Elbe River. Among the East Germanic tribes were the Kimbern they originate from Jütland and are probably Celtics in origin, the Teutonen are of Celtic origin, the Ambronen came from Friesland and are probably of Germanic origin and joined with the Teutonen. The Wandalen are of Germanic origin and came from Jütland. The Burgunder are of Germanic origin and originate from Scandinavia. The Goten are of Germanic origin and came from the Scandinavian Island of Gotha. Finally the Rugier are of Germanic origin and live near the Weichsel River Delta in Pommern (today’s Poland).  

150                   The Roman Empire expands to the north. Located in south of the Danube are many Celtic towns called “Oppida” by the Romans and become trade centers with the Romans.  

59                     Julius Caesar rules the Roman Empire. During his time the Romans control the Mediterranean Sea. Julius Caesar began his career as a “Council of Illyricum” for a period of five years which was extended to another fife years. He felt it was vital for the security of the Roman Empire to occupy Gall and came to the conclusion to move also against the Germanic tribes in the north. Julius Caesar advances into the Germanic settlements and his legions brought many cultural advances with them to their regions.  

83 B.C. to 15    The Romans occupy the Celtic Kingdoms of Rhaetia, Noricum and Pannonia and from there they began their northern expansion to the Danube into what is today’s Austria.  

29-9                  The legions of Julius Caesar occupy the regions of Illyricum and Pannonia extending into today’s Hungarian Lowland to the east and today’s Austria to the Danube in the north, where they established the two provinces of Pannonia  

00              The birth of Christ in Bethlehem.  

00                     Caius Scribonius Curio is the first Roman to see the Danube River and names it “Danuvius”, after he hears the Celtic name for the river.  

09                     Armin defeats Varus at the “Teutoburger Forrest”. 12 years later Armin is assassinated.  

83-87-138         The Roman army advances north to what is today’s southern Germany. They defeat the Chatten and Sueben and set their borders at the Limes which were a defense ditch extending from near Regensburg on the Danube to the Rheine near Bonn, to secure their Empire against advances by Germanic tribes. On the opposite side of the ditch they placed a wall constructed of Wood and erected watchtowers along the wall for guards to see possible advances by the Germanic tribes of the Markomannen, Hermunduren, Chatten and the Tenkterer living in the areas near the Limes and are not protected by the natural boundary of the rivers Danube and the Rheine.  

113-101.           The Zimbren originating from Jütland (northern Germany) and the Teutonen advance to the Gall regions, Spain and Italy and succumb to the roman armies.  

120                   The Roman Emperor Hadrian take action to fortify the Limes.  

130                   Notations from Tacitus (Roman historian) about the Germanic culture; “they have strict marital rules one man and one woman. Their men are the only Barbarians satisfied with one woman; the dowry is given by the man to the bride and consists of practical thing like a horse, cow and a shield for protection while the bride gives him a sword for the same reason. The women come into a marriage as equal partners and they are expected to share happiness, sorrow and their possession. At the end of their life’s their possessions shall be shared equally among their offspring this does also include their daughters in law.” Tacitus goes on saying; “food is simple, they collect wild fruits, drink milk, buttermilk and hunt wild game. They also drink a brew made from wheat or barley which they allow to ferment which becomes a similar drink as wine.” He also notes; “we should give them wine as much as they want to promote their love for drunkenness and then they we will be easier to defeat in such conditions”.

140                   With the expansion to the south to the Danube and to the west of the Rheine, the Romans bring new prosperity and developments to the regions not known to the Germanic cultures. They introduce Gold, Silver and copper coins, build roads of more then 100,000 Kilometers in total length and they build bridges across rivers. The stone “Mosel River Bridge” near Trier built in the year 41 is still intact. Now traveling from Trier to Rome is possible in 120 days, which was quite an accomplishment at the time.  

150                   Trier (Augusta Treverorum) becomes a center for the Romans on Germanic ground. They built a terminal bath in the City. Tacitus mentioned the following: “the Germanic tribes have no cities, not even closed settlement and live on the land. The do not build villages as we do with connecting houses, their houses are free standing just as they please. They do not use bricks or stones to build their dwellings. The construction of their house is made randomly of wood without regard of appearance or appeal to the Eyes. They use earth carefully to fill spaces in between, thus giving them the appearance of patched paint. They take possession of as much land as they can use and divide it among their followers according to their rank.”  

166-167            Roman Emperor, Mark Aurel surrendered the province of Pannonia to the Germanic tribes of the Markomannen and Quaden. There are first signs of Christianity in the Germanic regions.  

166-180            The Markomannen establish their Kingdome in today’s upper Austria and Bohemia.  

180                   Roman Emperor Mark Aurel contracts the pestilence and dies of this ailment.  

200                   The social foundation of the Germanic cultures of the time; the “Sippe” originates from the old Germanic word “Sibba” and includes all relatives. The Sippe is the first and closest union for protection. It includes all members living in their houses and close surroundings. “Haus” (House) is another form of union it includes not only closely related family members but all relatives and friends. “Stamm” (tribe) includes many houses of the same ancestry to band together for the prosperity of all.  

200                   The reasons for the Germanic tribe migration can be found in the climatic changes during the second Century which has caused food shortages among the northern tribes, coupled with tribal expansions and over populations. The migration affected all of the northern Germanic tribes. The first move was undertaken by the Kimbern, Teutonen and Ambronen. The Semnonen are moving south to the lower Main River region. There they integrate with other Germanic tribes and form the new culture of the Alemanen. The origin of the name has a very logical meaning “alle Männer” “All Men”. A treaty between Saxons, Franks and Aleman’s is formed. The Goten originate from South Sweden and come from the Island of Gotland. Their saga tells of three ships that took the tribes of the Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Gepiden across the Baltic Sea where they displaced the Langobarden (Lombard’s). The Gothic tribes are the last tribes settling in the northern regions of Germany. The Langobarden move to Brandenburg and Schlesian (Silesia), the Wandalen move to Schlesian and into the regions of today’s Hungary. The Langobarden and Wandalen (Vandals) come from North Jütland and South Sweden and are related with the Kimbern. Germanic tribes continue their move west crossing the Rheine River and south to the Danube River and enter the regions of the Celtics by crossing the Danube River.  

240                   The main tribes creating the Franken were; the Salier in Niederfranken, the Ribuar between Ruhr and Main and the Chatten in Hessia. The origin of the Franken is pure Germanic. The Celtic tribes still living in the region near the Franken never mixed with them. The name Franken has it origin in the Words; “die Freien” meaning “The Free”.  

200-250            “First Germanic Tribe Migration”, brings the gothic tribes of the Westgoten (Visigoths), the Ostgoten (Ostrogoths) and the Wandalen into Bohemia, Moravia and the Hungarian Lowland while the Gepids migrated into the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania and the regions of the Banat and Batschka today’s Vojvodina and establish their Kingdoms there.  

248                   The Gothic tribes together with their allies under the leadership of Argaith and Guntherich cross the lower Danube. The crossing is followed by the first Gothic war against the Roman during which they defeat their emperor Gaius Dacius. The Rhine Germanic tribes destroy the reminder of the upper Limes as they cross it to expand. However remnants of the Limes still exist today in several regions where it was build.  

251                   The Gothics defeat Gaius Decius together with his son Herrennius near Abrittus and kill both. Part of the Gothics led by Kniva moved to Moesien in the Balkan and besieged the town of Novae at the river Iastrus near the Danube while the other part moved on Philippopel. During this engagement 30,000 Roman and Gothic troops are killed.  

259                   War Emperor Marcus Cassinius, is the founder of an independent state consisting of Germanic and Gall provinces, Spain and Great Britain.  

269.                  Gothic tribes advance into the Balkan Peninsula and are defeated by Claudius II and pushed back to the left riverbank of the Danube, to a region that became known as the Batschka and the Banat today’s Vojvodina.  

300                   The longevity of the Roman slaves is estimated to be 17 years in captivity.  

321                   The Roman Emperor Konstantin I declares Sunday as a day of rest. The origin of the Latin word “dies solis” has its roots in a Germanic heathen word.  

325                   During the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine I, the city of Nicäa, Asia Minor, becomes the location for the first Catholic Council meeting with 250 Bishops present. The council agrees to the “Holy Trinity”. Arius believes already in 318 that there are three different identities in God which are completely separate. As a result Arianism is banned and its followers forced to leave the empire. Arianism becomes the foundation of the Orthodox Church  

350                   The “Second Germanic Tribe Migration”, returns the Gothic tribes into regions near Lake Balaton.  

354                   Christmas is set to be on December 25^th by a Catholic Council. It replaces the feast of “Epiphany” held on January 6^th, which is the “Holy Three Kings Day”. Not to confuse the birth of Christ with the Holy Three Kings Day which had become a holiday among the public, Christmas becomes the holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ.  

361-368            The Germanic tribe of the Aleman’s are threatening Rome.  

341-383            The Gothic Bishop Wulfila (Ulfilas also known as Wölflein), translates the bible from Greek (follower of Arius) into the Gothic language, to do this he had to develop, the “Gothic script”. He was the first to convert Germanic heathens to Christianity on a large scale.  

350                   Since the second Century the Germanic “Runenalphabet” is used. It originates from the north Italic-Etrusken mixed alphabet and was brought from there to the northern Germanic cultures. At first Runen represent symbols inscribed in stone and wood. They are also assembled into “Buchstaben” (letters). The word Buchstaben derives its origin from the vertical line referred to as “Stab”. The oldest known meaning is “Runa” or secret discussions from the time of Ulfilas. The German word “Raunen” has its origin from it. It is also connected with magic and was only known to the “Runen Masters”. Women were often thought of being magical and names like Gudrun and Sigrun originate from the word. At first the “Runen” have specific meaning of objects and are arranged into an alphabet of 24 “Runen” called “Futhark”. Each of the “Runen” has eight basic groups. The process of connecting several “Runen” leads eventually to a form of scripture during the fifth Century. The “Runen” in Central Europe make room for the Latin brought by the advancement of Christianity from Rome. Runen were still used in Scandinavia in the 19th Century.  

375-400            The Huns an Asiatic tribe appear in the region and establish their capital (assumed) near Budapest after they defeat the Ostrogoths. Their King Attila establishes the great empire of the Huns.  

375                   Victory of Julian over the Aleman’s at Strasburg.  

378                   Victory of the Visigoths over Emperor Valens at Adrianople.  

379-395            During a Roman crises Theodosius I is appointed emperor simply by being an able general. He was baptized in 380, but after his death the two Roman empires grew apart.  

383                   During the Hun’s invasion in Cologne 11,000 Christian virgins had to suffer a martyr’s death.  

395-410            Alarich, King of the Visigoths conquers Rome and brings about the end of the Roman Empire. After his dead in 411 the Visigoths leave Italy and move to Spain.  

410                   The Roman troops withdraw from Britain which is now open for new settlers from Germanic and Scandinavian regions.  

413                   The Burgund’s move to the left bank of the Rhine River during the reign of Gundikar and build the city of Worms after  being granted the territory from the Roman Emperor Honorius.  

413                   The Franken Empire consists now of several independent Franken Kingdoms who have their own kings. They elect the strongest and bravest noble from among them. In case of failure the king is replaced with a more capable King. According to sagas, King Theodomer is a descendant of Caesar while King Chlodia is said to be a descendant of the Greek King Odysseus.

428                   The Vandals and Alanen under their leader Geiserich are forced from Spain by the Visigoths and set over to North Africa were they establish their empire.  

438                   The Theodosian code, the first Christian law was drawn up during the reign of Theodosius II.  

450-452            The Germanic tribes of the Angels and Saxons conquer the British Islands and settle there.  

451                   The fourth Ecumenical Council argues over the Christian doctrine but does not fully succeed in the argument that God and man are united in his son.  

445                   The Burgundian King Gundikar attempts to expand his empire and is defeated by a joint effort of Romans and Huns at Worms. However, Attila does not participate in the destruction of Worms. Both kings of the Burgund’s, Gundikar and Giselher die on the Battlefield. The battles on the west bank of the Rheine River form the bases of the Nibelung Sagas made famous by Richard Wagner through his “Ring Operas”.  

452                   Attila the Hun dies on his wedding night to Ildoko of an apparent heart attach. Or according to the Germanic Nibelung sagas, of poison by the hands of Krimhilde who marries Attila to take revenge for having, Siegfried, her husband killed.  

453                   A Germanic tribal alliance defeats the Huns. The alliance under the leadership Arderic, king of the Gepids, led the Gepids, Ostrogoths and Rugier to a victory in the battle near the Leitha River, also known as Nedao or Ledao, located in present day Austria.  

457-752            The “Salinische Franken” elected Merowech as their king and the reign of the Merowinger (Merowingian) follows as they begin their expansion to the west.  

481-614            Chlodwig I, (Clovis) son of Merowech establishes the Franken (Franconia) Empire between years of 481-511. After the war in the Gall regions against the Romans, Chlodwig became sole ruler of the Franken by executing all of his opponents and this included several family members. Following his victories he moves his residence to Soissons. In 489 he is baptized along with 3,000 of his men and becomes a Christian. He calls a Catholic Synod consisting of catholic bishops to Orleans to discuss a variety of reforms. Chlodwig dies in Paris at age 45 in 511. Despite the early death of Chlodwig, he became the most important figure of his time by creating the foundation of today’s France and the spreading Christianity among the Germanic heathen nations. The development of France during the reign of Chlodwig sees the following provinces as part of the Franken Empire. Austrien (not to confuse with Austria) including Belgium, Hessia, Alsace and Lorain, the Palatinate and Thüringen in the north, Syagrius in northern France, Alemanen, Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and today’s eastern Austria, Aquitania, Gascoigne, Toulouse, Burgund and Provence.

487-493            Theoderich (Theodoric) becomes King of the Ostrogoths in Italy (471-526) and becomes a friend of Pope Gelasius (492-496). Theoderich marries Chlodwig’s sister Audofleda and begins important marriage politics with their daughters by giving them as wife’s; Theudigotha to King Alarich of the Visigoths, Ariagne to Sigismund, son of the King of Burgund, his sister Amalafrieda to Thrasamund, King of the Wandalen, and his nice Amalaberga to the King of Thüringen, King Herminafried.  

500                   The Germanic tribe migration to Central- and Western Europe brings cultural changes. The result is the development of a Germanic language the so called (Ur)-Germanic language which differs very slightly in pronunciation from the Indo-Germanic language. It became the dominant and far reaching language in Europe.  

500                   During this time period we see the Sweben in Portugal, the Visigoths in Spain, the Ostrogoths in Italy Southern Austria, Slovenia and Croatia, The Gepiden in Hungary and Romania, the Langobarden in northern Austria, Bohemia and Moravia, the Rugier to the west of the Langobarden, the Baiwaren (Bavarians) to the west of the Rugier, the Alemanen in Bavaria and Württemberg and the Franken rule today’s German regions of Hessia, the Palatine, Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg as well as the regions of today’s Alsace and Lorain and western France to the Pyrenean Alps while the region of Switzerland, Western France, Northern Italy and Monaco are under the rule of the Burgund’s.   

531                   The Franken begin their move to the east into Thüringen after the death of the King Theoderich of the Ostrogoths.  

525                   The calculation of a universal calendar has Easter as bases, but is disputed in several regions of the Christian world. A Roman church leader Dionysius Exiguus, a born Skythian is living in Rom, takes the position that the Calendar of Kyrillos which is based on the calculation of Emperor Diokletian's begin of reign in 284 should not be accepted by the Catholic Church. The bases of calculating time on a man who persecuted Christians is not appropriate, instead it should be based on the birth of Jesus Christ. Therefore he prepares a calendar based on the birth of Christ, in the year 532, that is 754 years since the founding of Rome on which the calendar of the Romans was based.  

555                   Saxons and Thüringen join to oppose the advancements of the Franken.     

567                   In Hungary the Lombard’s defeat the Gepids and assimilate the majority of them into their culture. Later they move jointly to Italy in what is today’s Lombardi. However, it is believed that the Kingdom of the Gepids has existed in the Carpathian Mountains for as long as 700 years.  

568                   The Avars, an Asiatic tribe reinforced by remnants of Huns, enters the Hungarian lowland regions. They settle the regions east of the River Tisza (Theiß) and from there they conquer the Slavs living in the Pannonia region and move westward to threaten the Franken Empire.  

660                   Widukind writes about the origin of the Sachsen. He bases his writing on a Saga, since according to him, by gone times are too long to know for sure about the origin. Some believe the Sachsen came from Denmark and are Normans other again believe the Sachsen are part the following of Alexander’s army who after his early death were scattered all over his empire. But he goes on saying; “for certain is that they landed at the location of Haden on boats near the lower Elbe River delta. There they encountered the Thuringians and a furious battle took place which took many lives on both sides. After the battle it came to a truth and piece was made.”  

661                   The royal chain in the Franken Empire of the time was. a) the Frankish royalty, b) the service royalty, c) the provincial royalty, d) the free farmers who are under the protection of the King and have to serve in the army and have to give portions of their products as taxation to the king, e) the half-free who are directly responsible to a lordship and f) the “Leibeigene” who are directly responsible to a master and have no rights. They have to pledge live long obedience to their masters.

710                   The importance of the “Hausmeier” of the Franken in absence of a king becomes evident in Karl Martell, a son of Pippin out of wedlock, who had the powers almost equal to the King. Karl Martell led eight battles of the Franken kingdom successfully during the years 716 to 738.  The most notable and historically important battles were against the intruding Arabs lead by their leader Abd-ar-Rahman in Tours and Pointirs.  

722                   The Angel-Saxon monk Wynfreth is appointed missionary by Pope Gregor II and named benefactor   “Bonifatius”. With a letter of permit from, Karl Martell, he travels to Hessia and experiences problems with the heathen near Geismar. They became angry and did not want to part with their old traditions and believed in the Germanic Gods. In particular Donar their God of thunder to whom they had dedicated the Oak tree under which they celebrate their rituals. Bonifatius took an ax and cut down the tree in front of the angry crowd, but when they saw that Donar did not strike him down while cutting down the tree, they began to believe, convert to Christianity and build a church in Fritzlar. According to a Saga, they used the wood from the tree to build the church.  

750                   The “Vasallentum” (pledge of allegiance to as superior) during the Middle Ages was a life long pledge of obedience to a master. The  “Vasallen” pledge has its origin from the Latin word “vasallus“ which has its origin from the Celtic word “gwas”, “slave” or obedient follower. “Vasallentum” is created during a ritual called the Commendation. The person places his hands into the hands of his master who closes the hands during which time the person pledges life long obedience to his master with the words; “Your enemy is my enemy, your friends are my friends, I will be faithful and loyal to you to the end of time”. The Master pledges to protect and support the “Vasall” as long as he lives. These binding pledged between master and his subjects are customary from the highest ranks of the Kings down to the lowest ranking peasants or “Leibeigene”.  

763                   Duke Tassilo III, a Bajuwar (Bavarian) breaks his “Vasallen” pledge he made to King Pippin of the Franken Empire and refuses to follow Pippin with his troops into battle.  

768                   After the death of King Pippin, both of his sons Karl and Karlmann began to reign as followers of Pippin. However Karl does not agree with the division of the kingdom. He wants to bring about reforms and his brother is in his way. After the death of Karlmann in 772 Karl becomes the sole ruler of the “Carolingian House”.  

768                   Interesting to note is the origin of the word “Deutsch”. It was first mentioned in a Latin script in 768 as “Theodiscus lingua”. The origin of the name Deutsch “theudisk” comes from the subject “thiot” meaning Volk (people) and when adding the adjective “isc” the meaning is changed to “Citizen of a culture or tribe” (Zum Volk gehörig). Several forms were in use. The general Frankish form “theudisk” and the altered form “theudiscus” and “diutisc”. The latter was lesser known. The word “Teutonic”, first only meaning “Gallic” or “Gaul” for the former Roman occupied La Tene Culture in today’s France, originating from the Teutonen and would later become the same meaning as “diutisc” for all the people of Germanic origin. The word German most likely originates from the Celtic word “Ger” meaning neighbor or “neighboring men” and would also be used by the Romans.  

770                   The first dictionary, the “Abrogans” is developed in the Latin-Althochdeutsches (Old High German) “Synonymenlexicon” a type of dictionary.  

772-779            King Karl invades the region of the Sachsen near Paderborn and finds resistance by Widukind.  

785                   Widukind gives up the resistance maintained for many years against the Franken and agrees to allow them to be baptized in the Attigny River east of Rimes.  

791-796            The Avars and several Slavic clans are defeated by “Karl dem Großen” (768-814), King of the Franken. Karl is better known as, “Charlemagne”.  He establishes a great empire, but did not extend it further east as to the south bend of the Danube River in the “Hungarian Lowland”.  

793                   During the administration reform of the Franken by Karl closed settlements named “Pfalz” are formed. The Pfalz consisted of the grouping of buildings housing the landlord’s residence, a church, housing for the land administrators, farmers working the acreages nearby, supporting craftsman like blacksmiths and others as well as laborers or “Leibeigene”.  The settlement is fenced in and has a main portal. This gives a Pfalz some protection from outsiders, however it is never considered to be a fortification but a system of an effective community cultivating the land. The provinces of the Rheinpfalz (The Palatinate) and the Fränkische Pfalz in today’s Germany ultimately get their names from the Pfalz. “Karl der Große” of the Franken, whose advanced thinking and reforms allow the establishment of schools for all children and the promotion of art. But most important for the Catholic Church is organized missionary work throughout his empire in Western Europe. He was responsible for building new monasteries and gave land grants not only to dukes but also to bishops and most important of all land grants to the pope in Rome, the Vatican, although the Pope received much larger land areas as the Vatican of  today.

800                   Pope Leo III crowned “Charlemagne” in Rome “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation” protector of Rome and the Christian world. Italy becomes a part of the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation” again, mainly as a protection for the Pope and the Catholic Church. With his crowning, Karl leads the nation into the beginning of a new era that would last 1,000 years till the last reigning “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation”, Habsburg’s Franz II laid down the crown in 1806 to become Franz I “Emperor of Austria”.  

805                   “Charlemagne” mention the Slavic clans of his time among them the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians and Slavenoi that had settled the regions of the Balkan and Pannonia. The clans to the north included the Slovaks, Czechs, White Croats and the Poles.  

814-843            Ludwig, son of Charlemagne becomes “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation”. After his death, his three sons Lothar I, Ludwig the German and Karl the Bald divide the Empire into three parts.  

       “West Franken” the “Gall” eventually becomes France under “Karl the Bald” while “East Franken” develops into the German Nations under “Ludwig dem Deutschen” (the German). Lothar the oldest son receives “Central Franken” which consisted of the Burgund and Lothringen. Since Lothringen also included parts of Belgium and Holland “Central Franken” reached from the Mediterranean Sea to the North Sea. Today Lothar’s Lothringen makes up Northwestern Italy, South Eastern France, Switzerland, Alsace-Lorain, Luxemburg, Belgium and Holland. Since his early death to the present, the former regions of Lothar are cause of continued wars between France and the German Nation. West Franken is ruled by the Carolingians (Karolinger) till 987. The last West Franken ruler was Ludwig V. East Franken is ruled by the Carolingians (Karolinger) till 918. The last of the East Franken ruler was Ludwig, the child, who died in 911.  

862                   The Magyars, an Asiatic tribe appears in today’s Kiev (Dnepr) region in the Ukraine. Historically it has not been established from where they originate, but it is believed from Asia and consisted of an alliance of eleven tribes.  

896-933            Led by their King Arpad, the Magyars cross the Tisza River and bring chaos to the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation”.  

904                   New duty rules are established under trade commissioner Count Arbo, establishing and stimulating busy trading in the Danube region.  

911                   Konrad I, Duke of the Franken, becomes the first elected King after the death of Ludwig, the child.  

933                   King Heinrich I of Saxony is elected King and begins the Saxon dynasty. He organized a German Empire which defeats the Magyars near Merseburg.  

934                   King Heinrich I lead his troops against King Knuba of the Viking clan Haithabu from Sweden, who had settled in the narrow strip of Schleswig in 890-934 where they displaced the Frisians who had settled there in earlier years. The narrow land strip is the trade route between Scandinavia and the northern Germanic regions in Europe.  

936                   King Otto I, of Saxony is elected King of the German Empire.  

955                   The armies of King Otto I defeat the Magyars on August 10^th near Friedberg, Augsburg and forced the retreat of the Magyars back to Hungary.  

962                   King Otto I “the great” nicknamed after his armies defeat the Magyars is crowned “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation” by Pope Agapitos II in Rome. He released a public order which governs bishops and started the “Prince Bishops” designation throughout the Empire.  

970-997            During the reign of Geza, the Magyars became permanent settlers in Hungary where they begin to establish their empire in the Hungarian Lowlands.  

976                   Emperor Otto II grants Luitpold from Mainfranken the Bavarian Mark in the east who begins his reign as Duke (Markgraf) Leopold I of the “Marcha Orientalis” which would become part of present day Austria.  

996.                  Otto III crowned Emperor by Pope Gregor V. During the reign of Emperor Otto III, the name “Ostarrichi” what would become Österreich (Austria) was first mentioned.  

996                   King Vajk of the Magyars, son of Geza marries Gisela, the sister of the Bavarian Duke. He was baptized as Stephan I of Hungary (after the “patron saint” of Passau, Germany). This begins a long lasting good relationship by the German Nation with the Magyars which over time would prove extremely beneficial for both of them.  

1000                 The map of the German Nation, which can also be considered the beginning of the German Nation, takes the following shape staring with; Lothringen extending to the North Sea, Sachsen (Saxony) extending to Denmark and the Baltic Sea bordering Pommern and Poland. To the south of Sachsen and east of Lothringen are the Franken, Bohemian and Moravian. To the south of the Franken are the Schwaben including Alsace, Eastern Switzerland extending to Italia’s northern border. Bavaria is to the east of the Schwaben which also included Upper- and Lower Austria and Italy’s Alda Badia. To the east of Bavaria are the regions of the Steiermark, Mark Pitten, Kärntner Mark, Mark Kärnten and Mark Grain. Located to the south of Lothringen and Schwaben is Burgund and the Kingdom of Italy. The regions to the west of the Empire are developing more and more into modern France. To the east starting at the Baltic Sea going south is Pommern, Poland, Silesia, Hungary and Croatia.  

996-1085           Several Germanic church leaders ascend to the throne as Popes in Rome. They are; Brun von Kärnten as Gregor V 996-999, Suitger of Saxonia Bishops of Bamberg as Klemens II 1046-1047, Bruno von Dagsberg Bishop of Toul as Leo IX 1049-1054, Friedrich, brother of the Duke of Lothringen, as Stephan IX 1057-1058, Gerhard from Burgund as Nikolaus II 1058-1061 and Hildebrand a Benedictine Mock from the monastery of Cluny as Gregor VII 1073-1085.  

1001                 Pope Sylvester II crowned Stephan “King Stephan I of Hungary”, marking the beginning of Christianity in the Hungarian Kingdom. It became an empire of intrigue and admiration, but not without controversy in European history. The Magyars are unique in many ways; they are of Asiatic origin and the only culture establishing a multi national society that lasted for a thousand years, despite the fact that they are a minority in their own country. This fact would create many problems during their history.  

1014                 Heinrich II, Duke of Bavaria since 995 and King of Italy since 1002, is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation. He is the last emperor from the house of Saxonia.  

1022                 At the Synode of Pavia, Pope Benedict VIII, banns marriages by priest. While priest in Italy live more in seclusion and do not have families, the German priest do and work the land grants once given to the churches there, since their life’s are depending on the harvest of the land. The pope states in doing so their children who inherited the land reduce the churches land by division. Based on these developments in German Nation he forbids all married priest to conduct church ceremonies.  

1024-1125         The Emperors from the house of the Franken (Franconia) (Salisches Haus)  

1038                 Stephan I of the Magyars dies. His advice to his son: “Be good to the foreigners in your country, it is better to have them on your side rather than having them opposing you”. 

1012                 Emperor Heinrich III removes the three unworthy Popes from Rome and reforms the papacy.   

1049-1054         During the reign of Pope Leo IX the papacy recovers its lost influence.  

1055                 There is a dispute over Southern Italy where many Greeks are living causing a double excommunication; Rome excommunicates Constantinople and Constantinople excommunicates Rome.  

1039-1056         during the reign of Emperor Heinrich III, Hungary is placed under German rule.  

1077-1095         King Ladislaus of Hungary extends his empire into Slavonia and Croatia.  

1073-1085         Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand) reforms the church and cleans house. He rids the church of lay princes and makes the priests celibate.  

1083                 King Stephan I of Hungary is given Sainthood.  

1096-1099         The First Crusade: Purpose; it is called by Pope Urban II in 1095 to protect the Christian Church in Jerusalem from Mohammed followers. The participants were 330,000 troops of which 40,000 reach the “Holy Land”. The leader was Gottfried of Bouillon from Lower Lothringen (Lorain). The result is the founding of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1099. The Crusade was financed by the Crusaders. Participants also had to be on horseback and had to bring food reserves for two years and were called knights.  

1102                 The Kingdom of Croatia becomes closely connected to the Kingdom of Hungary by contract (pacta conventa)  

1138-1254         The Emperors of the German Nation during this period originate from the House of the Hohenstaufen  

1138-1152         Emperor Konrad III, grants Saxonia and Bavaria to the House of the Babenberger.  

1147-1149         The Second Crusade takes place. Purpose; Zengi of Mossul had taken “Edessa” in 1144, a state the crusaders had established. The participants were 240,000 troops of which 90,000 reach the “Holy Land”. The leaders were King Konrad III, Friedrich von Schwaben, and Ludwig VII of France. Result the crusade failed. The Crusade was financed by the Crusaders plus an imposed taxation by Ludwig VII in his duchesse.  

1152-1190         Duke Friedrich of Schwaben is elected as King of the empire. He is crowned Emperor Friedrich I, Barbarossa (Redbeard) by Pope Hadrian IV in 1155. The nickname stems from Friedrich’s red facial hair. During his reign knighthood reaches their heights. A dispute over Bavaria between Heinrich II, of Babenberg and Heinrich from the house of the “Welfen” is settled in Goslar in 1154 by Friedrich I in favor of Heinrich the Welf. In 1156 Emperor Friederich I grants Heinrich II the eastern part of Bavaria and thus forms Österreich (Austria). By doing so Heinrich II can no longer claim the territory of Bavaria and two entities are formed what are parts of today’s Bavaria and the Northeastern provinces of Austria..  

1180                 Bavaria is granted to the House of the Wittelsbacher.  

1141-1162         Following the continued raids by nomadic tribes from the east, among them the Kumanies, the Hungarian King Geza II responded by hiring German mercenary soldiers from Saxony (near Aachen) and settled them in the Carpathian Mountains where they became known as the Transylvanian Saxons.  

1150                 The development of the Gothic architecture takes place.  

1156                 The Babenberger Heinrich II becomes Duke (Markgraf) of Austria.  

1190                 The founding of the German Order (des Deutschen Ordens)  

1198                 The double election; 1198-1208 Philipp of Swabia (Schwaben, House Staufen) and 1198 -1215 Otto IV, of Brunswick (Braunschweig, House Welfen) Emperor after 1209.  

1189-1192         The third crusade. Purpose; to regain Jerusalem lost 1187. The participants were 350,000 troops of which 280,000 reach the “Holy Land”. The leaders were Emperor Friedrich I, Philipp II of France and King Richard of England. The result is a treaty with Saladin allowing free travel for the Christians to Jerusalem. During the crusade Emperor Friedrich I, drowns in the river Saleph in Anatolia, during a hot day while taking a swim during a lunch brake on June 10 1190 at the age of 68. The new leader is Friedrich von Schwaben.

Duke Leopold V of Austria, commander of his troops brakes through the walls of Akkon and is given the Red-White-Red flag for his effort, but is denied the honor of being the first to scale the walls of Akkon by King Richard.

During the return of King Richard, although in disguise since he knew of Leopold’s intentions to take him prisoner from the Emperor Heinrich III and King Philipp II of France. However, all of his precautions did not help since he was recognized by the locals in a “Gasthaus” in the town of Erdberg and taken to the “Dürnstein Fortress” near the Danube. Here he was located by Blonde and released for ransom after two years of captivity.

Thus the legend of King Richard began. Today thousands of British citizens, tour the city of Dürnstein to see the castle where their King was held for ransom.

1211                 King Andreas of Hungary calls for help to defend against the intruding Kumanies. As a result he summons the “German Order” from Burzenland for help.  

1202-1204         The Fourth Crusade. Purpose: Pope Innocent III wants to reestablish the kingdom of Jerusalem. The main reason of the Crusaders, however, is to conquer Egypt. The participants were 30,000 troops mostly from France. The leaders were Duke Montefaz of Montferrat. Result; plundering of Constantinople and the forming of a Latin Emporium in 1204.

1220                 The building of castles and fortresses flourishes everywhere.  

1215-1250         Emperor Friederich II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily is seen by the Pope politically as the most dangerous enemy. During 1243-1254 Pope Innocent IV led a secular fight against Emperor Friederich II.  

1228-1229         The Fifth Crusade. The purpose was to fulfill an oat made by Emperor Friederich II in 1215, to lead a crusade. Despite the fact that it was not sanctioned by the Pope he undertakes it. The participants were 70,000 troops of which 60,000 reach the “Holy Land”. The leaders are Friedrich II and Hermann of Salza. The result was successful. Friederich II conquers Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth for the Christians and proclaimed himself King of Jerusalem.  

1234                 Social difficulties lead to unrest’s among farmers in the nation. The taxations and labor demands required by the farmers annually are as follows: 10% of all farm goods such as wheat, wine, vegetable and fruits, farm animals and dairy product. Properties are taxed according to size of the acreage and a head tax is collected according to the size of the family. Special demands were marriage license taxes and inheritance taxes at the death of a farmer. The requirements were to give; the best farm animal and the best piece of clothing to the collectors. Performing “Frondienste” (labor duty hours) at the masters house was set to be a minimum of four days per week, special labor hours at harvest time, labor hour during the building of bridges and roads were also excessive demands made by the landlords.  

1241                 Bela IV of Hungary has to fight invasions against the Mongols with very little success, since he did not receive any help from his allies in the west.  

1246                 Friedrich II is the last one of 12 Counts and Dukes of the house of the Babenberger, who reigned in Bavaria and part of the land of today’s Austria. He is killed in the battle at the River Leitha against Hungarian’s King Bela IV.  

1248                 The Sixth Crusade saw 25,000 France troops participating of whom 10,000 reached the “Holy Land. Their leader is King Ludwig IX who pledges to save the “Holy Land” and move against Egypt. The result was a failure and ended with the King’s imprisonment. King Ludwig IX was freed after a payment of ransom.  

1254-1273         The “Interregnum” was a time of confusion which saw leaders from many different houses. 

1254                 During the Interregnum, the cities near the Rheine River formed the “Rheinische Bund” of “self help” for the protection of their cities. It is the cities of Mainz and Worms who lead the way and are joined by Binge and Oppenheim. This treaty is in response to the death of King Konrad IV and the reign of opposition King Wilhelm from Holland.  

1257                 Alfons X of Castilian and Richard of Cornwallis are kings of the empire during the same year.  

1264                 Pope Urban IV declares “Corporals Christi” a holiday to be observed with its own rituals honoring the body of Christ. This is in response to underplaying anxieties, unrests and superstitions among the public.  

13^th Century      saw the crumpling of the Empire of German Nation and the dwindling of its influence in Europe, several small Kingdoms and splinter duchesses appear as the empires dominance vanishes.  

1270                 The Seventh Crusade. The participants were 25,000 French troops. 10,000 reached Tunis. The leader is King Ludwig IX and Karl of Anjou. The result was King Ludwig IX, the Holy dies on the way and Karl of Anjou decided to return to France. The death of King Ludwig IX ends the crusades.  

During the time of the crusades over a million knights participated of which less then 50% reached their goal. The victims of the crusaders who perished during their travels of exhaustion and disease, such as pestilence or died in battle are estimated to be 500,000. The crusades which can be considered being initiated by the popes in an attempt to win the “Holy Land” for Christianity are considered as a whole a failure. The children crusade in 1212 is considered a perverted idea promoted by religious fanatics and business opportunists, primarily the seafarers of Venice and Genoa, who send thousands of boys in their teens to their death.  

1273                 The territorial “Royal Princes” of the empire elected Rudolf I of Habsburg as their King. He was 55 years old when he was elected and was expected to be a week King. In his 18 years of reign he proved to be the opposite and became known as a very strong King. He re-established the dominance and influence of the German Nation in Europe. His strength was overwhelming so that the nobles began to fear him and after his death they elected the week Duke Adolf of Nassau as their King.

1273-1291         King Rudolf I, of Habsburg and his struggle against the “Robbing Nights” (Raubritter), who became famous during these years as blundering knights who devastated the Nation and its rural farmland.  

1275-1410         The reign of several rulers come from various “Houses” who had very little influence on the Nation.  

1290-1301         King Andreas last King in Hungary from the Arpad line.  

1291                 The provinces “Kantone” of Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden unite to form a “Ewiger Bund” a “union of eternity”. The “Bundbrief der Eidgenosssen” (The letter of the oath partners) a declaration of independence is a response to the death of King Rudolf I of Habsburg and the following Interregnum followed by the uncertainty of times. 

1298-1308         Albrecht I of Habsburg, the oldest son of Rudolf I advanced to the throne as King.  

1305                 King Albrecht I pledged the oath to be faithful to the Pope. 

1309                 “Der deutsche Orden in Preussen” (German Order in Prussia). The eleventh Grandmaster, Siegfried von Feuchtwangen, of the German Order moves the Order to Prussia where he establishes the residence at Marienburg on the Nogat River. The regions of the nights included the landmasses along the Baltic coast of today’s Poland from Pommern to as far north as the states of Lithuania and Estonia and the Island of Gotland of today’s Sweden. The order purchases the land of Estonia from Denmark

1308                 Karl of Anjou is crowned King of Hungary.  

1309-1377         during these years the popes reside in Avignon.  

1330                Count Otto von Ortenburg settled Germans in the Carniola March (Krain) a region located on the southern tip of present day Slovenia near the Kulpa River and the Croatian border. This settlement became known as “Die Herrschaft Gottschee” (Settlement of the Gottscheer). The descendants of these Germans, predominantly from the regions of Austria survived many adversities during their existence in Slovenia.  

1346                 At a royal meeting in Rhense, the Bohemian crown prince Karl is elected King Karl IV. He is the founder of the University in Prague in 1348, the first German University patterned after the Universities of Bologna and Paris.  

1150                 An outbreak of the pestilence decimates the population in Europe by one third. Fearing being punished by God, they perform rituals of self punishment. The lower classes finally blame the Jews of placing poison in the water and persecute them following their superstitious beliefs.  

1356                 The unification of the Hanse Towns. The city of Lübeck calls for a meeting of the cities to save guard the free trade of the German merchants in Brügge. It leads to a contract among the cities which is considered the beginning of the “Hanse Trade Union” among the Cities. Some of the larger cities belonging to the “Hanse” are Braunschweig, Bremen, Danzig, Hamburg, Köln, Lübeck, Reval and Stettin.  

At a “Reichstag” meeting in Nürnberg, Emperor Karl IV in the presence of Church and other royal leaders sets new reforms of laws for the Empire (Reichsgrundgesetz which becomes known as the “Goldene Bulle”). This law which should promote unity among the royal families regulates the hierarchy of the relations to each other as well as their voting rights.  

1362-1526         The Expansion of the Ottoman Empire begins to cross into the Balkan regions.  

1367                 Hans Fugger traveled from his home town “Graben am Lech” to Augsburg and marries a weavers daughter and thus found entrance into the weaver’s guild. He became the purchaser of raw materials for the family and soon the purchaser for the entire weaving industry situated on a small canal in Augsburg created as a wash. The industry flourished and soon Hans used his connections to place the goods of the weavers on the markets in other towns of Europe and the Mediterranean regions. He rises in wealth much like the Welser Family has done before him.  He established contacts with the “Thurzo Family” in Hungary in 1494. He imports their silver and copper ore from their mines and brings it to the markets of the known world.  By 1510 the “Fugger Enterprise” is directed by Jakob Fugger who extends it to become the largest monopoly in the world.  

1370                 A peace treaty is reached at Stralsund during the height of the power of the Hanse.  

1370                 The German Order under Grandmaster, Winrich of Kniprode, defeats Lithuania.  

1387                 Sigismund of Luxemburg becomes King of Hungary. His defeat against the Turks weakens his position.  

1396                 Trade unions gain on power. Among the trades are the butcher, the fisherman, the tailor, the shoemaker, the farmer, hide curer, wool weaver, painter, goldsmith, the harness maker, the maker of armor, the zinc foundries, the barrel maker, the linen weaver, the baker, the stonemason, the blacksmith, the knights and the sales-trades people. An organization in the construction field of houses, churches and palaces organized itself too. The organization includes all who provide the labor necessary to be performed on the construction sites.  

1400                 The “Rheinische Royals” remove King Wetzel, because of neglect and failures and elect Rupprecht III as new king. The royals have the right to elect a king as well as the right to remove a king of his duties in case of failure and neglect of his duties.  

1401                 Klaus Störtebeker and Godeke Michels are leader of organized sea piracy in the North- and Baltic Sea. They are beheaded with 32 others in Hamburg after their capture.  

1411-1413         King Sigismund of Hungary is preoccupied with matters not concerning Hungary and is said to have neglected Hungary.  

1415                 The council of Constance (1414-1418) burned John Hus Wycliffe’s Czech disciple marking the beginning of the Hussite churches and rebels in Bohemia.  

1418                 The in conclave in Constance comes to an end after three years of deliberation in which it addresses a variety of church problems occurring between various factions supporting three different popes during the same time period. King Sigismund arranged the conclave with Pope John XXIII of Pisa. The three Popes are Gregor XII, John XXIII and Benedict XIII. The Conclave releases the three Popes from their duties and elects Martin V as new Pope.  

1419-1436         King Sigismund reaches a stalemate with the Hussite in Bohemia and finds it necessary to reestablish the catholic order in Bohemia and in 1423 King Sigismund becomes the Duke of Moravia.  

1424                 The new weapons, guns and cannons which found their first use in 1313 are much improved and become the dominant weapons in the new war fare, thanks to the Hussiten leader Johann Ziska who invented the howitzer “Huffnitz” the mobile little cannon.  

1438                 Albrecht II from the “House Habsburg”, is crowned “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation” and King of Bohemia. After the death of Albrecht II, a fight for the crown begins to have negative effects. The Habsburger prevailed and establishes the longest dynasty in the history of the German Nation which carried over to the Austrian Empire in 1806 under Franz I.  

1411-1443         Johann Hunyadi a Hungarian General, gains an impressive victory against the Turks and gains the respect and admiration of Europe.  

1430                 With the building of the “Fachwerk-Rathhaus” in Esslingen a new façade is created in architecture. These types of building appear now in many towns in Germany. It is constructed with an arrangement of many wooden beams to give the buildings not only the strength of the walls but also a distinct feature in architecture you can still find today in the older section of the towns across Germany. This period of architecture is followed by an upswing of the economy during the post pestilence years. This development of philosophy “do more work with less people” brings more wages and less labor hours for them.  

1447                 “Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden” better known as Johannes Gutenberg, invents movable letters which allows him to set a text in a press to duplicate pages of printed text.  

1452                 The city of Nürenberg finds it necessary to release a reform about women working rights in particular for midwives, nurses and teachers. While during the 14^th Century women had taken their place in the workforce, primarily in the textile industry. During this time the women suffered from the lack of work to support their existence especially single women, they could not find husbands, since there was a shortage of men due to wars. The monasteries for nuns were also overcrowded and 10% of the men became priests which left them with very few options either work in family owned businesses or turn to prostitutions. The profession of midwives was looked down upon, since the physicians of the time only gave advice and left the work of childbirth to midwives. The city of Nürenberg decided to help the women in distress by providing for their education to become teachers, nurses or midwives.

1453-1456         Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire prepares to move north in the Balkan and takes Belgrade. Johann Hunyadi is successful in a small battle against the Turks again. In remembrance of this event, Pope Calixtus III orders to toll all the church bells at noon every day. This order is still followed today, therefore if you hear the church bells toll you know it is the bells wringing in freedom.  

1455                 The “Holy Script” as a printed book is introduced by Johann Gutenberg in Mainz. The volume of Gutenberg’s bible has 1282 pages and about 350,000 letters. Gutenberg dies at the age of 71 in 1468 as a poor man. Johann Fust pressed Gutenberg into a contract for which he foresaw that all future income of Gutenberg work would go to Faust for sponsoring the work of Gutenberg.  

1459-1479         Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire conquers Serbia, Bosnia and regions further north. He is now a serious threat to Hungary.

1459                 Friederich III becomes King of Hungary.

1463-1554         Calculations and mathematics; Johannes Müller wrote about the calculations and trigonometric formulas of areas and spares. By 1467 he used decimal points. 1518 Adam Riese develops “Rechnen auff der Linihen” also known as “algorithmic calculations” and began to use the “0” in empty spaces. The roman numerals do not use zeros. In 1524 Johannes invents the modern root calculation process. 1525 Albrecht Dürer develops exact geometric rules. 1544 the Augustine Monk Michael Stifel develops geometric expressions still in use, mostly unchanged. 1551 The astronomer Georg Joachim von Lauchen develops and collects the trigonometric tables of 10 places used throughout the middle ages. 1554 Georg Mercator works with geometric land maps and develops a global map in 1538. He also develops a globe with heaven and earth in 1541.  

1466                 The second peace treaty with Poland, following the defeat of the “German Order”.  

1476                 Regiomontanus the mathematician and astronomer is dead at age 40 in Rome. His actual name was Johannes Müller the creator of the astronomical plate used later by Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama in their quest to discover the new world. Müller was born in Königsberg and changed his name to Regiomontanus which means Königsberg in Latin. Already as a 12 year old he calculated a yearbook and discovered the comet Halley named after the man who documented the discovery later. In 1475 he became the adviser of Pope Sixtus IX during the time of the calendar reform initiated by the pope.  

1482                 The Saxon royals set guidelines for the working class guaranteeing; two warm meals a day and other protections for their well being.  

1483                 King Matthias of Hungary and Sultan Bayezid of the Turks sign a peace treaty.  

1483-1546         On July 2^nd in 1505 a men traveled from Mansfeld to Erfurt during a severe lighting thunderstorm and began to pray to St. Ana and made a pledge to the lord; if he would survive the lightning and thunderstorm, he would enter a monastery and become a monk. Despite the opposition of his father he entered into the Augustiner-eremiten monastery in Erfurt and became a monk.  This man was Martin Luther.  

At the same time several events took place one of which was the building of St. Peters in Rome. He observed that there was according to his believes, wrong doing during the absolution process and that you could pay for the absolution of your sins. The money would benefit the building of St. Peter in Rom, however, perhaps less then half of the money reached Rome.  

According to the time; a sinner had to pay for its present sins, for a sinner still lingering in the purgatory, for the sins you would do in the future and of course, the larger the sins the more it would cost to obtain an absolution.  

In 1517 Luther published his 95 Theses of Absolution.  This created a rift between Luther and the Pope Leo X in Rome. Many of the poor locals embraced his teaching and it would spread over northern Germany and Sweden. He translated the bible’s New Testament into the German language in 1522 and used the Greek bible to do so since he believed it to be more correct in the interpretations of the word of the Lord. Luther was a sick man for most of his life he fought many ailments but kept working till the end of his days.  

1492                 Christopher Columbus landed in the West Indies.  

1493                 The city of Nürenberg publishes an extensive book about the “Weltchronic” world chronic by Hartmann Schedel in Latin. The book with is graphic presentation features a globe besides plants and other material in color. It is the most expensive book of its time. The work was conceived by Sebald Schreyer and several intellectual of the city of Nürenberg and financed by the painter Michael Wolgemut. Other contributors to this masterpiece were the poet Konrad Celtis, city scribe Sigmund Meisterlin, Humanist Willibald Pirckheimer and Johann Müller, the mathematician and astronomer.  

1493                 Emperor Friedrich III dies in Linz at the age of 77. With 43 years in power, he was the longest reigning of all German Kings and Emperors. In 1452 he was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman German Nation by Pope Nikolaus V in Rome. With his considered good nature in politics he stabilized not only the house of the Habsburg but also the German Nation as a whole.  

1493-1519         during the reign of Emperor Maximilian I the “Renaissance of Humanism” take place.

1500                 Germany is divided into regions “Kreis” which include from the north-west; the Burgundische Kreis including Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg, the Niederheine-Westfälischer Kreis from Bremen to the south, Niedersachsen- and Obersachsen Kreis from Bremen to the east including Pommern to the borders of Poland and to the south of Hessia, the Oberrheinische Kreis including the Pfalz and Lothringen, the Hessische Kreis, the Frankische Kreis, Bohemian and Moravian Kreise, The Burgundy, the Schwäbische Kreis, the Beierische (Bavarian) Kreis including the Salzburger Land, the Österreichische Kreis extending from Bohemia-Moravia to the Adriatic Sea westward to Switzerland, Northern Italia and Savoy.  

1502                 The armies of the knights are defeated by the “Landknechte” the people’s or farmers army.

1505                 The victorious path of the pocket watch began when Peter Hele (or Henlein) of Nürenberg replaced the counterweight with a spring, thus reducing the size of the watch to a pocket size. Johannes Coclaeus notes; “he makes little clocks with a lot of little wheels which show 40 hours, ring and can be worn in a coat or purse”.  

1506                 in Rome the start of rebuilding of St. Peter’s Cathedral takes place.  

1508                 King Maximilian I, the first Habsburg crowned Emperor of the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation” with the agreement of the Pope he clears the way to independence from Rome.  

1514                 Hungarian farmers oppose Hungarian noblemen, causing a war within Hungary.  

1516                 Ludwig II becomes King of Hungary and Bohemia as a 9 year old.  

1517                 Martin Luther publishes his ninety-five theses against indulgences and is excommunicated in 1521 by the pope. At the diet of Worms in 1521 Luther was outlawed by Emperor Karl V and the majority of the Diet.  

1519-1556         Emperor Karl V unites the German Nations and incorporates them into his “World of Nations”, a nation where the sun never sets. However, he had to literally pay for the votes from the German royal lords to the crown for the price of 851,718 Gulden. He borrowed 543,385 Gulden from Jakob Fugger of Augsburg the richest man in the world at the time and 143,333 Gulden from the Welser Family. The rest of 55,000 Gulden he borrowed from three Italian merchants. To pay of his debt of 400,000 Gulden, Karl V, grants the rights of salt-, silver- and copper mines to Jacob Fugger. The remaining debts were paid from Karl V possessions in Spain, since he was also King Karl I of Spain. Karl V was crowned in 1530 as Emperor of the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation” by Pope Klemens VII. This was the last crowing of an Emperor of the German Nation by a Pope.  

1521                 Süleyman II, of the Ottoman Empire, marches into Hungary. It is too late for Ludwig II, to militarize an army to resist. As a result the Hungarian army is totally destroyed and Ludwig II dies accidentally by falling from his horse crossing a river and drowning. This defeat is followed by a 150 year long occupation of Hungary by the Ottoman Empire. Hungary no longer exists with the exception of a narrow strip of land stretching along the Austrian border from the south to the north and from there to the east including today’s Moravia in Slovakia. Pressburg today’s Bratislava, capital of Slovakia became the capital of Hungary.  

1522-1525         the first mass rebellion within the German Empire broke out in South- and Southwest Germany. The unrests were triggered by several religious rebellions without central leadership.  

1523                 Zwingli starts his reform in Zürich.  

1525-1530         The Protestant Reformation spreads rapidly in central and south western Germany and Switzerland.  

1525                 Early group of Anabaptists in Zürich.  

1525                 Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights converted the holding of the Knights into the Duchy of Prussia.  

1526                 The defeat of the Hungarian armies at Mohacs by Turkish troops. Ludwig II dies while crossing a river near Mohacs without leaving a successor to the Hungarian throne. The Habsburger Ferdinand I, Arch Duke of Austria is crowned legitimate King and protector of Hungary after being elected by a Hungarian committee of landlords while the royal Johann Zapolya is supported by the Turks. This leaves most of Hungary and Croatia Turkish occupied with the exception of a small northwestern part (religuiae reliquarum) with Zagreb as the center remained under Austrian and Styria protection. These sections however are exposed to many Turkish raids while Slawonia and Syrmia remained Turkish occupied for 150 years. .  

1529                 Süleyman II names Johann Zapolya as opposing King of Hungary. September 25^th The Turkish troops surround Vienna. October 14 the Turkish troops retreat from Vienna while doing so they murder all their prisoners by strangulation. The Turkish troops take the West-Hungarian cities of Raab, Komorn, Gran, Ödenburg and Tyrnau.  

1529                 The diet of Speyer during which German states and cities protested against an effort to stop the reform movement, hence the name “Protestant”.  

1530                 The diet of Augsburg during which the Protestant Movement presented the “Augsburg Confession” became the classic Lutheran statement of faith.  

1533                 Anabaptists in Münster seized the city but were overthrown by force.  

1538                 The formation of the “Catholic League” in Germany.  

1560                 During the reign of Duke Ferdinand of the Pfalz, the Palatinate (Pfalz) accepts the faith of Johann Calvin of Switzerland.  

1555                 The “Religious Pease at Augsburg” brings about the final split of the churches in the Empire.  

1555                 The separation of Spain from the Empire of German Nation. The Netherland becomes part of Spain.  

1545-1563         Opposition to the reformation at the council of Trient takes place.  

1572                 The Netherlands war for peace and independence.  

1576-1612         the reign of Emperor Rudolf II, who since 1572 is also King of Hungary by acclamation by Hungarian landlords.  

1580                 The conference of Luther followers in Augsburg. The most important documents of direction are written, presented and are established in the “Konkordiendienstbuch” the “Order of the Lutheran Church”.  

1582                 Pope Gregor XIII reforms the 1628 year old Julian calendar on the bases of Erasmus Reinhold planetary movement calculations which sets the year as 365.2425 days. At the council of Nicäa the Gregorian calendar was developed to correct the days which by than already were 10 days ahead of time, by skipping from October 4^th to October 15^th 1582 and insert a day in February as February 29 every four years which did become our leap year. The first leap year was 1600. The remaining error of one day in every 3,000 years represents an error of .0001% per year.  

1589                 With the recognition of the Wittelsbacher Ernst of Bayern as archbishop of Cologne, Cologne stayed Catholic after several conflicts are settled.  

1590                 The Hanse trade organization loses on power.  

1591                 New advances by the Ottoman Empire on the Balkan reach Hungarian and Romanian Soil.  

1600             As we enter the new Century we see many drastic political and territorial changes or they are looming on the horizon. We see the reestablishment of the Roman Empire of German Nations under the reign of Karl V, although he could not have it done without the financial support of the wealthy families of the Fugger’s and Welser’s. We see the Catholic and the Lutheran faiths split the German Nation and the search for independence by many nationality groups living within the Empire. This movement toward independence by these nationality groups begins to form modern Europe as we ultimately know it today.  

1608                 Several Protestant regions in the “Kurpfalz” form an alliance in an effort to promote the new faith.  

1608                 The first Germans arrived on the Mary and Margaret in Jamestown. They were glassmakers and carpenters. In 1620 we saw millwrights and mineral workers arrived in Jamestown and settled in Virginia.  

1609                 Astronomer Johannes Keppler, after six years of studies, develops and publishes two planetary laws. He discovered a) that the planets move in an elliptical form around the sun and the elliptical form can be calculated exactly and b) if one connects the sun with an exact imaginary line with the planets, the areas are the result of equal movements in time and the elliptical distance from the sun as the planet travels through space to the position of the planet at that point.  

1609                 Emperor Rudolf II guaranties Bohemia the right of free religion in his letter of the “Majestätsbrief”  

1609                 Several catholic royals join Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria and form the Catholic League.  

1610                 Duke Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg becomes the leader of the “Protestant Union”.  

1610                 Johan Tilly becomes the leader of the “Catholic League”.  

1626                 Peter Minuit born in Wesel, Pfalz near the Rhine River, purchases Manhattan from the Indians and became New Amsterdam’s first governor.  

1618-1648         The “Thirty Year War”, is brought about by the reformation and re-reformation within the “Roman Empire of German Nation”. The internal opposing forces created by the religious split and “Dualisms” created by the Empires laws which are separating the powers of the Emperor and the Royal Houses. This leads to the point which left the Emperor “De Facto” powerless, since the empire prior to the 30 Year War did not possess a unified power structure, although in general a strong unified interest existed among German Nations.

The war began in Bohemia the strongest state of the Austrian provinces when Hussite and Protestant rebels who opposed Emperor Ferdinand II religious politics, demonstrated this by throwing two of the city official out of the window of the castle in Prague, although both of them did survive the fall it was enough to start a war. In reality there would be no winner in this war. 

At the end the German Nation had lost one third of its population due to starvation and disease caused by the war. The Protestant Reverend Johann Daniel Mink writes; people have nothing to eat and eat rotten meat and contract diseases. Dogs and cats have become a delicacy and the royal families also eat frogs. There is no salt or spices and the fields are bare, since there is no one who can work them. Many farms and rural communities are completely deserted and the survivors have left and moved to the cities. It took a hundred years to recuperate from the loss of the population.

1634                 The citizens of Oberammergau pledge to hold a passion play every ten year if they are spared by the pestilence. Due to their isolated location in the mountains of Bavaria, the pestilence would never touch them. The first play was held in 1634 but has grown since. Participants are selected from among the residents of the town and are now held regularly every tenth year.

1648                 “The Westphalia Pease Treaty” officially ends the “Thirty Year War” and sets the stage for a European understanding among not only the German Nation but also France, Spain, Sweden, and the newly formed independent states of Holland and Switzerland. Within Germany “The Westphalian Pease Treaty” is the end of one era and the beginning of a new.  The paradox is that the unions of the larger small territories ruled by royal families are now referred to as the German “Fürstenstaaten”. Following the treaty many of the smaller territories, although flourishing at first with the resurgence of the industry and economy have little chances to survive and many face bankruptcy, therefore new unions had to be formed.  

1648                 Captain John Smith refers to the Germans “Dutchmen”. The confusion between Deutsch and Dutch is understandable since the people from Holland were a part of Germany at the time and are actually Germanic in origin.  

1651                 Prußia forms a central government.  

1654                 The Magdeburger half-sphere demonstrated by Otto von Guericke proves the existence of vacuum. He demonstrates this by using two eight horse teams connected to two halves of a sphere and uses a pump to create a vacuum inside of the sphere. The horses are unable to pull the Sphere apart until air is allowed to enter the sphere again.   

1655                 Archduke Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Preußen forms the first army in that region.  

1658                 A duty system regulates the economy of the nation and strengthens it.  

1658-1705         during the reign of Emperor Leopold I, the emperor was no longer the “Primus inter pares” but the ruler of the Empire.  

1661                 Jakob Leisler from Frankfurt arrives in New York. In 1689 Leisler became the leader of a revolt against the British harsh ruling governor Nicholson. In April of 1690 Leisler invites the governors of Massachusetts, Plymouth, East and West New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia to a common council in New York. The meeting took place on May 1^st and was the first congress of American colonies assembled made up entirely by colonists.  

1676                 Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz invents a new calculator based on the Arabic numerals with the decimal point a more accepted form by mathematicians in Germany since 1518 and introduces differential calculation in 1686 at approximately the same time as Isaac Newton’s “flexion calculations”. In 1695 Gottfried Wilhelm defines the forces of body in motion, so called “Kinetic energy”  

1669                 Duke and Archbishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn is the first to ban the burning of women as witches. With his order, a new era begins, although it still took time to completely stop beliefs and superstitions of evil doings which they still are often blamed for. During Medieval times tens of thousands of women were blamed of witchcraft, were brutally tortured and burned which was almost a monthly occurrence. While the women were tortured they were forced to name other misfortunate women in desperation who then were also accused of the crime and burned.   

1678                 The war of the empire with France ends with the peace treaty at Nijmegen  

1670                 New tastes Germany; they are Café, Tee and Coco.  

1671                 Duke Friederich Wilhelm von Brandenburg provides shelter for Jews expelled from Vienna. The persecution of Jews has been a continued practice because of the fear of their religious rituals and believes by many cultures throughout Europe, even prior to the turn of the last millennium. Many of them could not practice trades such as a blacksmith, shoemaker or carpenter, they were permitted to trade goods in many parts of Europe, which eventually lead to the establishment of flourishing enterprises for them.  

1671                 Athanasius Bircher is one of the first who believes that small organisms of microscopic size are responsible as carriers of illnesses like the pestilence and are transferred through the air. Something most people could not comprehend and instead believed in all sorts of witchcraft and devils courses as culprits bringing those diseases upon them. Only now, many doctors picked up on the teaching of Hippocrates again who believed that illnesses may be caused by several malfunctions of the body and thus a new era began toward understanding and determining symptoms of individual illnesses.  

1676                 Following several severe fires in Hamburg, the city establishes the first insurance against fire damages in the world with the “General Feuer Cassa” insurance company.  

1680                 Emperor Leopold I (1658-1705), and King Jan Sobieski III of Poland, came to an agreement to send military aid of 30,000 troops in support of each other, should either Vienna or Krakow be attacked by the Ottoman Empire. Other Christian countries promising military aid were Baden, Bavaria, Franken, Loraine (Lothringen), Saxony, Swabia, and Venice.