On the parade ground with fraktur artists

This past March, I returned to Marburg, Germany where I did most of my undergraduate college studies. While there, I wanted to head north a bit in the state of Hesse to learn more about the whitework embroidery practiced in the Schwalm. So, I visited the Museum of the Schwalm, located in the middle of the moated fortress at Ziegenhain that was built in the 16th century.

Moated fortress Ziegenhain, Topographia Hassiae (1655)

Right in front of the museum is a military parade ground that was built in 1769.

Paradeplatz (parade ground), Ziegenhain, Hesse

When Frederick II the landgrave of Hesse-Kassel made a deal with the British to supply them with soldiers, he gathered the recruits on this parade ground in Ziegenhain. Those Hessian soldiers sent to America by the British were actually the cause of one of the grievances against the crown written in the Declaration of Independence:

[George III] is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny…

As I stood there, I reflected on two of our most well-known Pennsylvania Dutch fraktur artists. Friedrich Krebs (c. 1749–1815) was the most prolific fraktur artist. He likely lived in Zierenberg, about 40 miles north of Ziegenhain. Krebs came to America as one of these Hessian soldiers, but stayed and taught in Swatara Township and lived near Hummelstown in Dauphin County.

Geburts- und Taufschein by Friedrich Krebs, 1957.1212A, Winterthur Museum

My thoughts then turned to another well-known fraktur artist Christian Strenge (1757–1825). Strenge was born in Altenhasungen, about 60 miles north of Ziegenhain. He also came to America as a Hessian soldier, stayed in America, and lived in both Hempfield and East Petersburg in Lancaster County.

Vorschrift by Christian Strenge, 1981.0002, Winterthur Museum

Standing there on the former parade grounds, I wondered if Friedrich and Christian were at the same spot years ago being recruited before heading to America. They arrived to fight Americans, but stayed to make these beautiful works on paper and to teach our ancestors. Indeed, they became “one of us” Pennsylvania Dutch.

Maria Himmelfahrt (15 August 2025), The Bullfrog Inn