Bautzen

By Dr Anne and Lois headed by train to Bautzen.  Lois' ancestors lived in the villages around Bautzen before they emigrated to South Australian in the 1840s.  Lois' ancestors were Sorbs.

They headed for the Sorb museum.

They spent a captivating afternoon listening to the story of the Sorbs and looking at the artefacts.

The Sorbs worked on the land.

The houses had wooden frames and mud which was white washed.

To eek out their living they turned to additional jobs.

Bee keeping.

Red is youth.  Green is for grown ups.  Black is for special occasions.  White is for funerals.

Note the bagpipes above.

In one of the books Lois found a letter written by her great, great grandfather Johann Zwahr describing the trip from Hamburg to Port Adelaide on the boat 'Helena' in 1854.  

Some Sorbs were Catholic but the majority were Lutheran.  On the right are the Catholic Sorbs and on the left are the Lutheran Sorbs.  In the centre is their link with civil society.

There are presently 60,000 Sorbs and the culture and language is alive.