My fifth great grandparents on my mom's side are from a little town in the Vosges National Park.
My parents and I woke up before the kids and drove down the mountain to check it out.
Meet Christian Dormire & Magdalena Helmstater.
They were born around 1806 and married in 1830.
I'm pretty sure they left the town and moved to Ohio in the 1870s.
Graufthal has been around since 723, when a Benedictine abbey was founded.
This Catholic church is from 1905, so they wouldn't have seen that.
We walked all the streets of the town (there were only three),
Stepped inside of the red sandstone church,
Snapped a photo of cave houses built into the cliffs,
And tried to open the door to the church on the lower left,
Which was built in 1619 and shared by Catholics and Protestants,
for almost 300 years.
(G&G Dormire were probably married there)
Love it!
ReplyDelete{The past posts, too. Simply felt to enjoy observing without commenting the previous days.}
I already find this trip the best, but hearing/seeing even more detailed from this perspective is wonderful.
Always struck in good ways by your beautifully keen family stories and same town, spiritual histories.
It's a blessing when you share.