Sunday, May 25, 2008

Moeckmuehl, Germany















Moeckmuehl is not really a tourist destination, but it is the home of the Reifeis clan which made it worth a visit. My sister is married to a Reifeis (hi Tom!) and since the town is only 2.5hrs away I thought I would check it out while Robert is in Arizona. The city's history indicates that it was founded in 260 AD and even has a castle (which is privately owned). According to the following file (it takes a minute to load - be patient), Jakob Reifeis owned a house next to the city wall in 1853 (which is now a parking lot). I was able to find some additional information about the family on ancestry.de. I visited all 4 cemeteries in the area (Korb, Bittelbronn, Zuettlingen and Moeckmuehl) and was able to find the maiden names of Gueltig and Gauer, both on WWI memorials. Korb has a road named Raiffeisenweg (an older spelling of Reifeis) which is also the name of a huge bank in Europe. I had a great time exploring the area and found a weather rock and something built into a building (in 1832) which remains a complete mystery. Here's a short video of marktplatz - see all the pictures here.

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