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Have you heard of the Swabians? Most people think the Germans are the ones with Dirndls, Lederhosen and the Oktoberfest. No. These are the Bavarians. But forget about the Bavarians: The Swabians are the cool gang in Germany. (Yes, I’m Swabian.) Huh? The Swabians? Here goes:
5 Things You Need To Know About The Swabians
1. There are 8 million Swabians living in Germany. Most of them in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the South, some even in Bavaria. We call the area we’re living in “Ländle” (dialect form for small land). The capital of the “Ländle” is Stuttgart.
2. We speak Swabian, a German dialect mostly not understood by other Germans. Example? Jam in standard German is “Marmelade”, in Swabian we call it “Gsälz”. And we love that no one understands us. We even have an advertising campaign with the slogan “Wir können alles. Außer Hochdeutsch” which means: “We can do anything. Except (speak) High German.”
3. We can do anything! We invented the car, the newspaper, bras. Albert Einstein was Swabian, we have Mercedes, Porsche and we have the Swabian “Kehrwoche”, a house cleaning tradition which ruins every Saturday. But our houses and sidewalks are really pretty clean.
4. They say the Swabians are the ‘German Scots’. Well, we’re not stingy but one of our leading life mottos is “schaffe, schaffe, Häusle baue” which means: “work, work, build a house”. So yes, we are the thrifty and hardworking Germans.
5. But we also know how to party. Twice a year there’s a big funfair at Cannstatter Wasen in Stuttgart and the one in autumn is the second largest beer festival in the world after the Oktoberfest in Munich.
And I haven’t even started talking about the tasty food, the “Spätzle”, the “Maultaschen” or the “Butterbrezeln”…
One last thing you have to know about the Swabians: “Net bruddelt ischt gnug globt” which means: Not complaining it’s the biggest compliment you’ll ever likely to get.
And yes, I do also speak standard German. And yes, I’m happy living in Berlin without the Swabian “Kehrwoche”.
Discussion150 Comments
Did not know Einstein was a Schwab, but not surprised as a displaced Ostpreusse or grudgingly tolerated foreigner living in pre and postwar Schwabenland near Ludwigsburg for about 7 years before emigrating. They are a truly unique and earthy German breed not only in dialect but in character and ingenuity….even to this day. A younger cousin whom I babysitted made it to CEO of Dresdner Bank. You must be a Schwab to fully grasp the nuances of their dialect and the content of this post.
Hi.
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, in Baden-Wuerttemberg. -Historically Swabian town indeed.
But he was a Jew, not a German and not a Schwab at all.
Over a couple of centuries many Jews emigrated to Europe from Israel and adopted german names.
In North America (where they emigrated also) they adopted English-sounding names.
He was born a Swab. Every Swab came from somewhere – far enough back it was Africa.
Now you’re talking rubbish. Don’t tell me that Swabians come from Africa.
Anybody knowing a little german history wouldn’t dare to make such a crap statement.
True, Germany colonized parts of Africa, for example: Suedwestafrika (today Namibia),
Tanganika (today Tanzania), Kamerun (today Cameroon or Cameroun, as the country
has both English and French as official languages today).
Coming back to Albert Einstein, he had german NATIONALITY as he was born in Ulm/Schwaben
(Swabia in English if you like) but ETHNICITY remains JEWISH.
His roots were by no means german, let alone swabian.
But his mame loshn was Swabian… not Yiddish, Hebrew or German.
Hirsch, Please be more clear on your comment. It looks like you were drunk while writing it.
What are: “mame”, “loschn”???
Many Jews adopted German/Swabian names after immigration to Germany from Israel.
This includes Einstein, Rubinstein, Loewenstein and also Hirsch!
I think that comment meant that the cradle of civilization is in Africa whether you believe in creationism or evolution.
R Steiner
You need to get rid of your self righteous attitude. The earliest human originated in Africa
The “Out of Africa Theory” has been debunked with the latest DNA and Haplogroup data. And even if Mankind did originate in Africa that doesn’t mean that the first modern humans looked like modern sub-Saharan Africans as much as your anti-European mass media generated worldview wants to believe that. The full genome of the remains of a Cro-Magnon man found in Italy was sequenced and it proved that modern Europeans have remained virtually genetically unchanged for nearly 30,000 years. There are also fossils of pre Cro-Magnon hominids found throughout Europe and Asia that are just as old as some fossils found in Africa, some may even be older. “Out of Africa” was pushed by mainstream academia after WW2 when the world was being made safe for globalism and communism. And we all know that main tenet of communism, other than “Even the best of the gentiles shall be killed” ie “Truth is a mere bourgeois illusion”
Barbara Brooks, with your logic then we are all monkeys, or further back we are all fish, or let’s take it to it’s illogical conclusion and say we are all single cell amoeba eh…..
Mostly correct,
No not Africa, the “out of Africa” theory was proven to be wrong and a racially motivated agenda.
My team made a DNA Test in many Jews Askhenazy and they are nor Jews anymore. They are, amost all, real germans. And many germans still have DNA from Jews. We found askhenazy jew DNA in many Native Americans in Brazil.
That is a lie! Ashkenazi Jewish DNA is clearly identifiable in autosomal DNA tests and is VERY distinct from other European ethnicities. Jews are proud of this fact and you should be proud to be whatever you are as well. “My team….” come on man! lol
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/science/ashkenazi-origins-may-be-with-european-women-study-finds.html
You are actually trying to say that Ashkenazi Jews are the real Germans and many Germans have Jewish DNA?! Nice try, (((Hery)))….
Because Europeans are The Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
You do realize Jewish is a religion, right? Not an ethnicity.
No Jew ever left Europe for Israel, my dear.
The state of Israel was created in 1948.
Einstein was born on March 14, 1879.
His mother was born in Stuttgart, most definitely Swabian.
His father was born in Buchau, Mainleus in Bavaria which is right next to Baden-Württemberg.
Albert Einstein was most definitely Swabian or as we call it a “SCHWAB”. ?
You do realize that Ashkenazi Jewish and Sephardic Jewish are in fact ETHNIC categories. Just take an autosomal DNA test and find out for yourself, “my dear”. And no, Albert Einstein was not an ethnic Swabian, he was in fact a proud Zionist Ashkenazi/Sephardic Jew. Telling the Truth about ethnicity and race as it pertains to Germans and Jews does not mean one is Hitler or a “Nazi”.
Jew is a religion not an Ethnicity. ?
Jews can be both a religion and an ethnicity. They are part of the Semitic tribes of people, some of whom became Palestinian.
In 1921, Albert Einstein presented a paper on his then-infant Theory of Relativity at the Sorbonne, the prestigious French university. “If I am proved correct,” he said, “the Germans will call me a German, the Swiss will call me a Swiss citizen, and the French will call me a great scientist. If relativity is proved wrong, the French will call me a Swiss, the Swiss will call me a German, and the Germans will call me a Jew.”
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany to assimilated Jewish parents in 1879.
– One thing is sure if he didnt ran to the USA, the great majority of German Nazi population would have sent him to Auschwitz and burnt him until his dead,
Of course he was a German citizen and schwaebisch. How does being a Jew not make home either??
He certainly didn’t travel on a Jewish passport, but a German one.
You do know the German Jews were and are German citizens?
Holy smokes, you must have not gone farther than Hauptschule.
Except The Jews came from Deutschland and Poland to The Levant in 1948 to create Israel.
SVEA , SUEVI , SWABEN , SWEDEN
The Swaben Descended Into Roman Germania From Svea Reich ::: Sverige Which Today Means Sweden , Some
” Suevi” Settled In Galicia , Spain
SVION, SVEA, SVERIGE, SWEDEN, are one thing.
SUEVI, SCHWOBA, SCHWABEN, SWABIA, -another.
The only capital that the Swabian had was Braga, in Minho, North Portugal! Old Celtic region later ruled by Rome, Octavio Augustus. After came the Germanic Swabians and Visigoths. Many experts say that Portugal is an independent country from Spain based on the Swabian admnistrative organization. The first Swabian king in Gallecia was Hermerich, after his death, his son Rechila who was catholic introduced christianity into the Swabian nation. The Swabian lived for more than one century in Bracara Augusta (Braga) being annexed by the Visigoths in 585 ac. A Swuabian coin from the Vth Century https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermerico#/media/Ficheiro:Sueben_coin_II.jpg
I too was born in Ostpreussen, dann emigrated to the US, verheirated, ended in Ohio verwittwed mit 2 kindern. Es ist manchmal langweilig hier, aber ruhig.
wir haven nun eigentlich nur ein Leben and musste das beste damit machen.
Question: What is the origin of the Scots.
Answer: They were Swabians who were kicked out of the tribe for being frivolous spendthrifts.
Well said, Jurgen. They are the original pfennigpinschers reflected in their life long motto: Save, save…to build a house, and when completed to die, except the Swabian term for die would be rather vulgar to other Germans.
The Scots are said to be mean, but when you’re poor you have to spend little. The Scots live on a rather poor territory and have learned to survive hardship by being thrifty.
Herman Schlaich was my great-grandfather who was a well known Swabian. Let me tell you that there isn’t anything to be proud of. He abandoned his American wife and children in the dust bowl of the 30’s so that he coud make his millions. He was a true scoundrel. Let me tell you something about his theiving German wife Lottie….
Hi Linnea,
I am doing research on the Boyce Motometer and wonder if your great-grandfather was the Herman Schlaich who started that company. Could you reply to me please.
Kevin Casey
Herman Schlaich did not start or ever own the Motometer Co., Inc (of Long Island City, NY. He only worked for the company and spent his time there, virtually pillaging their patent files, and later claiming that he not George Henry Townsend II was the founder, owner and inventor of a device that was not named after him, but rather its true inventor Harrison Hurlbert Boyce. All detailed and exhaustive research on this individual lead to the conclusion that he was an immense fraud. His assertions about founding and owning the Motometer Company became more pronounced and propagated once the principles left the company and/or passed away and could not or did not challenge his false assertions. Even his own granddaughter (Linnea Schlaich Bradbury) knows and speaks of the man as being a scoundrel. Again, my research validates her accounts and statements.
Just because your family member was a scoundrel doesn’t mean all Swabians are scoundrels. Take your hatred of a family member out on him or better yet your family.
swabians are second gen pesants. no manners inward looking and nieve. iv been all over the world, no im not army! just never met sutch a bunch of repressed autistic wa!!ers..
Souls? Gingers don’t have souls. Everyone knows that. And that’s what Celts are — poor, carrot-topped freaks, only fit to lick the boots of Anglo-Saxons. They are the forebears of the American hillbilly — i.e. Deliverance — and country music. A cursed, wretched people.
“The problem with Scotland is that it’s full of Scots”.
And that’s assuming the Scots are still Celtic after all those Viking invasions and Prima Nocta. Most likely, they’re the sons of Celtic mothers and Germanic fathers. Only the Gaels are still Celts, and they’re the lowliest of the low, not even fit to lick the boots of Anglo-Saxons. The Vikings probably captured at least a quarter of their population, and a good majority of them more than likely ended up in the Balkans or Turkey. Which, for some odd reason, is where you seem to think Swabians originated.
Odds are you confused the Balkans with the Baltic, because that’s actually where Swabians — i.e. the Suebi and Alemannic tribes who defeated Roman legions on numerous occasions — originated. Not the Balkans (I’ll ascribe that one to your exalted Celtic intellect). And the Baltic Sea region is where Norse/Germanic people come from, FYI. So get your facts straight, oh glorious Celt. And God Save your Queen.
hate to burst your bubble,
King David was a ginger.
Great men and women are gingers,
reflects their fierce courage, endurance and passionate joy,
serious over-comers,
bold pioneers,
Walter, ignorance begets moronic, rants like yours. I have no idea what your problem is, but your rant is apropos of nothing, in this thread. BTW, because you seem to lack the ability to communicate your thoughts, clearly, I am not sure what you were attempting to convey by: “Only the Gaels are still Celts”, but Scots, and Irish are both Gaels.
You have no idea, do you? From gingers to other things, you have no idea.
By the way, there is no evidence “prima nocta” was a thing, and red hair isn’t just a Celtic trait (I’m a red-headed German).
Go away, troll.
Even just a small amout of research will prove your points to be incorrect.
First of all, the British people are not Celts. There is a small amount of genetic and cultural influence from the Celts, but little more. France, Southern Germany, Austria, Iberia, Switzerland, Northern Italy, some of Eastern Europe… These are the Celtic heartlands. I shouldn’t have to explain why.
Secondly, there is nothing wrong with being a “ginger”. Where do you come up with this vile shit? Can you even explain why it is “bad”? Red hair is found everywhere, from Mongolia and Afghanistan, to Denmark and Portugal.
I could go on, but we all know you probably won’t listen or do some real research.
You are a moron. The Europeans spread from Mt Ararat into The Pontic Steppe and The steppe is where Europeans come from.
you don’t know ANYTHING
WHO doesn’t know ANYTHING??
Me? If so narrow it a little bit, please. What is it about?
and one more thing! had a scotish wife for 7 years.to draw a parallel with the celts is absurd we are a people with a warm welcome and a soul plus thousands of years of history. swabians are peasant migrants with origans in the balkans.
Hi- nice site!
My mother was from Augsburg. Would that still be considered Swabia? She did use terms like “Gruss Gott”, but If I’m not mistaken, more than Swabians say that…
Her mother’s side, if you go back a couple generations last name is Schaffer and at least some lived in Mosbach, maybe around the middle of the 1800s. Would that have been considered “Swabian” at the time?
Thanks for any info and Gruss Gott!
Augsburg is Bavaria, Mosbach would be Baden, but close.
Hi!
Augsburg is the capital of Swabia 😉 (Regierungsbezirk Schwaben), even though it’s in the state of Bavaria!
Greetings from Stockholm!
Yes, geographically Augsburg is in Bavaria (Bayern)
but is located in south-western part of this Bundesland named Swabia (Regierungsbezirk Schwaben) and culturally, linguistically and historically not bavarian. They are descendants of Alemannic tribes therefore more related to inhabitants of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany), Vorarlberg (Austria), Liechtenstein, most of Switzerland and Elsass (eastern France).
Hi Yvonne,
You also forgot to mention the Donauschwaben who moved from Baden-Württemberg. We number around 2 to 3 million in mainly what was Kingdom of Hungary. Unfortunately in Germany they don’t seem to teach this to the new generation.
A bit of Info for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donauschwaben
This is our coat of arms: http://www.donauschwaben.net/images/wappen.gif
I am always asked by Germans, Swiss etc. how come I have a German name and speak fluent German if I am from Hungary. Well, I always have to enlighten them about the Donauschwaben and they seem to look at me in confusion and amasement that so many Schwabs can’t have possibly moved to a country like Hungary.
My family are from Herzogendorf (Hercegfalva in Hungarian) which is one of hundreds of German towns in Hungary and old Hungary.
You may just want to add that as a point, about millions of Schwabs also live in other Central and Eastern European countries.
Yes there were millions of Germans living in Hungary called Donauschwaben. My family was from
Glogowatz which was a German town in Hungary now part of Romania. They were part of an ethnic German region. Johnny Weissmuller was from a town in those areas.
The only problem with the Danube Swabians is that research about them drowns out the research done about “German” Swabians.
My family is swabian in origin.
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KENNETH EUGENE ABERLE
Born: 20 April 1927 (Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America)
Died: 4 July 2007 (Harris, Minnesota, United States of America)
Country of Citizenship: United State of America
Degrees:
•Major in Marketing, Minor in Political Science (University of Minnesota)
Blazon: Or, a lion passant Sable in the dexter forepaw Luthers symbol proper, on a chief Gules between two bezants an oak spring with six leaves Or. Crest: On a wreath Or and Sable a sinister arm embowed vested Murray cuff Or holding a staff Or flying a banner of the arms. Motto: “Buy Truth and Sell It Not.”
This blazon is an original design made in memoriam.
IHR Registration Number: US2011A1927
Registered by: Craig Scott Aberle
Design Rationale: The arms were designed by Dr. David Pittman Johnson and Artist Dr. Robert Bray Wingate of the American College of Heraldry. The single black lion on the field of gold is meant to say that the family is descended from those from the Swabian tribal, or stem Duchy. According to the book, the Black Forest Its People and Legends (1885) By Lisbeth Gooch Seguin, on page 37, the Swabian dwelt in the western portion of the Black Forest, having their own special dialect. The lion’s second role is in the form of a canting charge for the family name, Aberle. The Aberle surname is explained in the Dictionary of German Names by Hans Bahlow translated by Edda Gentry (for the Max Kade Institute for German American studies University of Wisconsin-Madison 1993). The Aberle surname on page 2 is as follows: “Aberle, Aberlin is the Swab.-Alem. Short form for Abrecht or Albrecht e.g, Aberlin.” The book, A Dictionary of Surnames, by Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges mentions on page seven that the ABERLE name is derived from the first name, (Albrecht-Albert) meaning “noble,” “bright,” and “famous” (Adal being the root meaning “noble”). Spelling variations are ABERLIN, ABERLEN, and ABERLEE. -Lin, -len, -le, and -lee act as a diminutive meaning “little” or “small.” 3 The lion is a traditional noble device. The book, Heraldry Sources and Meanings by Ottfried Neubecker, mentions on page 110 that the lion is a symbol of strength, agility, and in fables, he is described as being noble, and king of beasts. The Luther Rose, being held by the lion is in reference to the fact that the family was, by tradition, Lutheran in Faith. (Johann Georg Aberle was a judge of the Ecclesiastical Court at Schwanenbach, Hornberg, Baden until his death on the 14th day of January, 1787. The prior information was provided by Trudy Schenk, an Accredited Genealogist specializing in Germanic research. The upper portion of the shield reflects the color from the sleeve on the crest, which brightens the design. The two golden coins allude to Kenneth Eugene Aberle’s profession as a buyer and his work in purchasing. The sprig of six leaves symbolically says “I am the stem and I have six fine children who are living extensions of the family.” Also, the sprig is of an oak tree, symbolizing his marriage which took place in Sherman Oaks, CA. The crest shows his arm raising the family banner as the originator of the family coat of arms. The arm is vested in Murray and gold, which represent the colors of his alma mater, The University of Minnesota, which his father, Erwin Bassett Aberle, had attended prior to Kenneth. Coincidentally, Johann Adam Aberle served as a soldier in the Badische Infantry Regiment von Neuenstein stationed at Frieburg,in 1825; the arms of the Grand Duchy of Baden consisted of gold/yellow and red as well. The motto is taken from Proverbs 23:23, “Buy Truth and Sell It Not,” which means to seek knowledge or truth, and not to forsake it. The arms began as a petition to the College as a Father’s Day gift in the spring of 1985.
Evidence of Prior Use:
•The American College of Heraldry, 1985 (vol. III p. 57)
•The United State Heraldic Registry # 20081012C
Genealogy:
8GGFather: Christian Aberlin (1605 – 1689), Baden – Wohnenbach/
Wonnenbach-Hornberg, Baden
7GGFather: Hans Aberlin (1637 – 1690), Hornberg, Baden –
Reichenbach/Rothenbach-Hornberg, Baden
6GGFather: Michael Aberlin (1665 – 1746), Hornberg, Baden –
Reichenbach/Rothenbach-Hornberg, Baden
5GGFather: Christian Aberlin (1696 – 1753), Reichenbach/Rothenbach-
Hornberg, Baden – Reichenbach-Hornberg, Baden
4GGFather: Johann Georg Aberle (1738 – 1787), Reichenbach/
Rothenbach-Hornberg, Baden – Schwanenbach
3GGFather: Johannes Aberle (1766 – 1842), Reichenbach/Rothenbach-
Hornberg, Baden – Reichenbach/Rothenbach-Hornberg,
Baden
2GGFather: Johann Adam Aberle (1796 – 1870), Reichenbach/Rothenbach-
Hornberg, Baden
GGFather: Mat(t)hias Aberlee/Aberlen (1829 – 1915), Tennenbronn
Villingen, Baden – Minneapolis, MN
GFather: Jesse Herbert Aberle (1872 – 1937), Eau Claire Co., WI –
Minneapolis, MN
Father: Erwin Bassett Aberle (1903 – 1950), Hopkins, MN –
Inglewood, CA
Mother: Lillian Linnea Carlson (1900 – 1994), Worthington, MN –
Anoka, MN
Spouse: Melba Ellen Anderson (1926 – 1993), Todd Co, MN –
Minneapolis, MN
i. Marlene Rae Aberle (1957 – ), Orange Co, CA –
a. Megan Lynn Cady (1997 – ), Chisago City, MN –
ii. Linda Kay Aberle (1958 – ), Orange Co, CA –
a. Heidi Lynn Purdy (1979 – ), Fridley, MN –
I. Bionca Elise Purdy (2006 – ), Edina, MN –
b. Joshua James Tousignant (1985 – ), Brainerd, MN –
c. Matthew Phillip Tousignant (1987 – ), Brainerd, MN –
iii. Kenneth Eugene Aberle II (1962 – ), Orange Co, CA –
iv. Craig Scott Aberle (1963 – ), twin, Orange Co, CA –
Spouse: Katherine Mary Boner (1965 – ), Minneapolis, MN –
a. Allett Katherine Mary Aberle (1986 – ), Minneapolis, MN –
I. Lillian Louise Lykins (2011 – ), Bismarck, ND –
b. Kaitlyn Ellen Louise Aberle (1992 – ), St. Louis Park, MN –
Spouse: Benjamim Joachim Burdine (1987 – ) Norfolk, VA –
(The son of Edward Francis Burdine)
c. Seth David Craig Aberle (2007 – ), St. Louis Park, MN –
v. Carol Renee Aberle (1963 – ), twin, Orange Co, CA –
a. Ashley L. Voss (1991 – ), Omaha, NE –
b. Jeremy Ryan Voss (1996 – ), San Antonio, TX –
vi. Debra Lynn Aberle (1967 – ), Orange Co, CA –
a. Joseph Jeffrey Avery Matzke (1999 – ), Coon Rapids, MN –
b. Taylor Lynn Matzke (2002 – ), Monticello, MN –
“4. They say the Swabians are the ‘German Scots’. Well, we’re not stingy but one of our leading life mottos is “schaffe, schaffe, Häusle baue” which means: “work, work, build a house”. So yes, we are the thrifty and hardworking Germans.”
Well, the accents certainly do sound similar 🙂
And Hessians are the German Glaswegians, then 😉
Why so much hate to Scotsman …great Grandmother was Motz…her husband was a McKinney. They loved each other very much.
I guarantee the “people” insulting Scots are neither Swabian nor Scottish, nor European for that matter. Remember Karl Marx aka Mordechai Levy also had a problem with Scots. Mordechai “Karl Marx” Levy wrote that the Scottish Highlanders along with some other European ethnicities that he saw as too “primitive” (more like freedom loving) to be able to be slaves in his communist utopia should be “exterminated”.
The movie “Deliverance” was written by people who were devoted Marxists. The Scots-Irish of Appalachia didn’t start getting painted as “hillbillies” until the early 20th Century when the independent free spirited descendants of the Scots-Irish frontiersmen and Revolutionary War Vets became an impediment to rapid “social progress”.
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! OUCH!…. My mother’s ancestry is Scotch, My father’s is Swabian…. OUCH!
Erwin Rommel was Swabian and his son Manfred was Oberbürgermeister of Stuttgart.
Working on a Backpacker Survival Guide to Stuttgart and found my way here. Hope we can cross paths again soon Yvonne!
Ha! Too funny! Let me know if you need any tips!!! Lived there for some years 😀
Was stationed in Göppingen in the 80s. Loved that area. Americans had a saying “bigger than Stuttgart” which meant completely awesome. The beer was incredibly good and the local Germans were very nice to us. Fond memories.
Thanks for your service brother! I have ancestors from Göppingen and nearby Heiningen! They immigrated to Ohio in the 1860’s or 1870’s. They were all Swabian Lutherans and their children married other Lutheran Germans for the first 3 generations with my 2nd great grandmother marrying a Lutheran Prussian from near Posen. Whenever I see pictures of the Göppingen area it is so beautiful that I can not believe my ancestors left it!
Hi there! Came across your blog while attempting to learn more about what my hair stylist told me (I am visiting my twin sister in Germany for a few months and we just got our hair done for our birthday) – my stylist told me that, “In the Swabian way of life, we do not move from our birthplace. We travel a lot, but we find we are most comfortable staying in our hometown”. Or something like that – my question is – why do they not move? I am highly curious, as I am posting a story about it in the blog I write for our yoga studio back home in VA. I would LOVE this information so that I may complete my post (I would also like to reference your post about the 5 Things in mine) Thanks for your help 🙂
Thanks so much – I plan to follow your blog it is refreshingly honest and full of personality.
Hi Mary,
I think one of the reasons is that Baden-Württemberg (the federal state in which Swabia is located) has the second lowest rate of unemployment in Germany (after Bavaria), so there is no real reason to move away.
It might also have something to do with the fact that Germany as a country only exists since 1871 and the people of the various kingdoms (the biggest of them being Prussia, Bavaria, and Württemberg) still don’t like each other very much. (Some Bavarians actually want their federal state to be a sovereign state.)
Also, there are no Spätzle in other regions and in northern Germany they don’t even have Brezeln (as far as I know), so what are we supposed to eat there 🙂 ?
I also feel that the Swabian mentality differs from that of other Germans; we tend to be a little bit reticent when we meet strangers and “unbend” only when we get to know people better.
I think I would also miss the landscape if I had to move away (especially the beautiful Schwäbische Alb); it’s so strange to go to northern Germany and see no hills and mountains.
Aaaand I would really miss our football club VfB Stuttgart, of course 🙂
I hope I could help you 🙂
“Grüßle”,
Roberta
Hi Roberta,
are you descendant of Robert Schlienz of VfB Stuttgart, who lost one arm ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Schlienz
I used to watch him play in the “Neckarstadion”
:))
My Opa is from Bavaria and he makes the best homemade Spätzle with his Sauerbraten that can not be beat! 🙂
I am Swabian, Bavarian, Prussian and Highlander Scot so I really have no animosity against my fellow German personalities lol 🙂
My great grandfather X 6 Wilhelm Klein born in Swabia in 1730, relocated to the Mohawk Valley in NYS with a land grant from King George. As far as I know, he remained there all of his life and never returned to his beautiful, native Swabia..
My grandmother moved and that is why I’m American.
Many Donauswabin lived in former Yugoslavia – many died in Titos concentration camps after WW2 including my maternal great grand parents & uncle…… My fathers family lived in a Donauswab town in Hungary.
I am sorry to hear about your relatives murdered by the Communists in Yugoslavia. A lot of my Prussian relatives disappeared during the Red Army’s murderous rampage through East and West Prussia too.
There is a Donauschwaben Cultural Center near my hometown in Northern Ohio, USA. I used to play soccer there as a kid. Many Hungarians come there as well and everybody gets along great. I love going to festivals there.
God Bless you Ana my friend 🙂
Well i am Bavarian and Swabian.
^^
Ja same here
I’m a Bavarian Schwab and I’m proud. Straight outta Senden (not the one by Dortmund, the one by Ulm)!
Jim, salute mein Brüder Landsmann! I’m a proud Swabian (Heiningen), Bavarian (Weiler im Allgäu), Prussian (Karlshof, Province of Posen) and Highland Scot (Clan Fraser of Lovat near Fort Augustus)! God Save Germany, Scotland and All of Our Sacred European Nations!
I assume my last name is consistent with Swabian origins. Have not been able to tie it up yet.
David, I’m not exactly sure if Eberle is Swabian, it’s definitely Germanic in origin. I know one of my favorite singers of all time from the Big Band Era was Ray Eberle when he would sing with the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
I’m a Mueller and a Kimmel. My family left the kingdom of Württemburg in the middle of the 1800s and ended up in Ohio and Pennsylvania in the U.S.
I love finding out it’s so different from the rest of Germany, language and all, and that I am of Swäbian ancestry. It seems so exotic. What a rich history.
I have Kimmel ancestors from the Heiningen area of Württemburg who came to Ohio as well! What a small, Swabian world 🙂
Hi Yvonne. I have two questions. First why Swabians called gold feet, Gelbfüssler by other germans ? What is the or find of that term ? Also my mom is from allgaue near kempten, is she bavarian or swabian?
Gelbfüssler is the nickname for the people in Baden, situated next to the French border on the Upper Rhine.
Gold feet would be “Goldfuessler”.
“Gelbfuessler” indicates “yellow feet”…
Kempten is largest city and capital of Allgau -southern part of Bayerische Schwaben.
People native of this region speak dialect that is a mixture of Allemannisch und Bayrisch.
Fred, my Opa is from Weiler im Allgau near Kempten! He has the same name as me! He may be related to your mom and we could be cousins 🙂
My mother was a Zurn (originally Zern from Wurttemberg in the mid-1800’s.) Was this likely a Swabian surname, and is it related to the Zorn family of the region?
Thanks for the guidance.
My best friend is a Swabian, and his character is phenomenal. Utterly reliable, trustworthy – I can trust my life with him. He’s the one you call upon when in a bind, and he’s there for you. Intelligent, kind and generous. Well-traveled, and… he moved.
🙂
How to explain the Swabians to the British or American people? I’ve tried it with a joke:
It’s Monday, 21st July, 1969. Some hours ago the “Eagle” has landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong leaves the spacecraft and climbs down the ladder. Just as he wants to set his foot on the Moon’s surface, he discovers something lying close to the landing pad. It’s a doormat, embroidered with letters:
FIRST WIPE YOUR BOOTS!
Mr. Armstrong calls mission control: “I have bad news for you, guys. The Swabians have already been here.”
(I must apologize for my clumsy English. I’m Swabian.)
I am a descendant of the group who left with George Rapp and cane to Pennsylvania…are you familiar with the name, schnobel???
I have other family names also related and can go back to about 1750…
Would love to hear if you are familiar with this name for a start???
Hi.
Well, as a person having german ancestry, speaking German fluently and spending a large part of my life in Germany and Austria I can tell I have heard surname: Schnobel on an occasion. However more often the original version: Schnabel, which, to translate into English, means: “Beak”. Please, don’t be offended 🙂 .
Katheryn, I grew up near New Harmony IN and became familiar with the Rappites as a result. Especially remember their 150th anniversary in the 1960’s – they had a great pageant telling the history of the Rappites. I did not know any Schnobels in that area. However Arthur Schnabel was a famous pianist! Probably the same name with an anglicized spelling.
Love this – made my smile – my father is from Albertshof, Wiessenttal FO. On the house front – my great aunt Barbara Distler came to Buffalo, NY, USA and yes, built the house where I grew up (it was almost a requirement)
Was actually responding to Neal Armstrong being met by “Michael the old Hun’s” joke about a Schwäbisch Door mat on the moon. It’s the first thing I do when we move – doormat, feet wiping outside the door – didn’t realize it was genetic
Love this – made my smile – my father is from Albertshof, Wiessenttal FO. On the house front – my great aunt Barbara Distler came to Buffalo, NY, USA and yes, built the house where I grew up (it was almost a requirement)
Why is there still the need to paint a group of people with the same brush? Peasants, etc, but Empress Maria Theresa moved a large group of the Schwaben to modern day Serbia. I don’t expect to find royalty in my family but there are creeps, liars, thieves, philanderers in any part of Germany. Just stop it once & for all! The world we live in is fragile enough with terrorism striking anywhere (US). Look to where we each came from & celebrate similarities & acknowledge differences. There is always something we can sit down to discuss calmly over a bier. Despite the worst of the past, Germany & German people have much to offer to the world!
Barbara, we may be related! I’m a Lehrbaum by birth. Don’t know much about their history pre Empress Maria Theresa moving the family to modern day Serbia 200+ yrs ago. Find me on Facebook please!!
Re: “the cradle of civilization which is in Africa…”.
1. Today, there is more proof (even scientific) for CREATION than it is for EVOLUTION.
Even scientists who stubbornly try to stick to EVOLUTION theory remain very confused.
2. Theory of EVOLUTION is fairy-tale and a crap that has missing elements and lacks logic whatsoever.
More and more discoveries proove it false and failure.
Only stupid people and those without discernment dwell on it.
3. The Universe clearly was DESIGNED by someone very inteligent and didn’t just appear by chance
or accident -INCLUDING ETHNICITIES. Just as the Bible says, by the way.
4. Africa is only one of many speculations coming evolutionists -ignorants of clear evidence of CREATION.
5. The Bible mostly consists of information, from elsewhere, that was misenterpreted.
6. There is no reason that creation and evolution might not be both at play.
7. Don’t be so arrogant. What if you turn out to be wrong?
Robert Steiner, new DNA and Haplogroup studies have already disproven the “Out of Africa Theory”. Mainstream academia and the mass media are remaining hush on the issue lest we all become raving mad robotic “Nazis” upon learning a simple truth about the ancestry of Mankind lol.
That being said Creationism is still applicable with the DNA and Haplogroup evidence at some point.
I have enjoyed reading your posts in this thread and have even learned some things I didn’t know or that I was a bit muddied about. Thanks for spreading correct information brother. God Bless You
My grand parents immigrated from Germany in the 1700’s and later homesteaded in what is known as the Ukraine. The Schwaben language still exists but is seldom heard. My question for the readers is: When one
would speak of someone – the last name was spoken first, for example der Schmitt, Jacob. Is this isolated colloquially to only the Swabish speaking community? Haueflich gedankt.
Hi
I’m Swabian, grew up in Weil der Stadt.
Both my mom, her brothers and my Oma and her brothers did that last name first thing you referred to in your comment.
Swabian towns are usually small.
Every family knows every family.
It’s more efficient to use the family name first then the given name as families were large also there might be Schmidt, James or Franz.
Or Schmitt, Harald.
Do you see? It’s kind of funny.
I have family in Munich, they do the same thing. ?
Ken, I am fascinated by the Germans of Ukraine and the former Russian Empire, especially the Volga Germans. What a brave, courageous and indefatigable people who had to overcome horrors that modern Europeans can not even fathom!
Are you aware of the Crimean Goths? Now that is a story my friend! 🙂
Use of the diminutive in Schwabisch, as I was told back in the days of my time in Friedrichshafen (1968): “Gisele! Wasele? Ein Bierle! Sodele!” Corrections welcomed!
A jo, I glaub dass wahrschoinli es isch korrekt. Na, oba auch: Bissle, Karlsru, Schproch, Samschtag, Schwoba.
Oba viele mehr Dialekte sind gschprocha in Bada-Wirttaberg.
-Jedafalls das isch Badisch vo Pforzheim un Karlsru.
Is anyone involved in the Historical European Arts Movement (HEMA)? My son started taking German Longsword lessons in New York. It turns out that this international movement is using a manual written in Schwabisch by Johannes Liechtenauer (also Lichtnauer, Hans Lichtenawer), a 14th-century Schwabisch fencing master. My son didn’t know the origins when he started but it’s from our people. His instructor actually conducts annual workshops in a Schwabisch speaking community in Romania. (We really have had a diaspora (scattering)
I’m not involved with HEMA directly, but I do have some experience with the martial art and its influences.
That’s really cool that your son is into that stuff.
The type of thing a German feels in his bones.
Linda, it’s encouraging to see the Transylvanian Saxons (Swabians lol) of Romania celebrating their unique and amazing heritage. They have really integrated well into Romania but have still managed to retain their unique identity, against all odds. The president of Romania is even a Transylvanian Saxon, how amazing 🙂
my grandmother born in sremka mitrovic & my grandfather in hatzfeld(now jimbolia) as was his grandfather(1813). grandmother Schumacher & grandfather tabar. any idea on source of tabar surname. both spoke “german” . migrated to us 1907
Moin!
A good portion of my ethnic background is Suebi (get it?) as well. I noticed some things that are off, though.
My grandparents speak a strange combination of Plattduutsch and Schwabisch, with a bit of Hochdeutsch thrown in. I don’t know why, yet they like to call it “Low German”. Both parts make sense to me, seeing as I’m also an ethnic Saxon (you know, far Northern Germany).
Perhaps the two families tried to meet halfway.
Have you ever seen anything as odd as that?!
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hello, I’ve been looking over the web for the history of my surname, i am not close to my father’s side of the family, but am wondering what part of germany my surname came from. I was wondering if there was any chance the name rost was swabian??? anyone with some answers would be a big help.
Is Neu-Ulm, Augsburg, Lindau and the Swabian Bavaria considered as Swabian even it belongs to bavaria?
It means thier dialact for example is more close to Stuttgart or to Munich?
Love this story!
My grandfather was born in Bad Liebenzell am Nagold and my Grandmother in Kleiningersheim am Neckar. My second cousins still live in Brackenheim kreis Heilbronn. I am proud to carry their Schwabisch “Blut” in America.