Finding My Swiss Family

Fountain in Lengnau with village emblem of the horse

Where we left off last August, I was quite convinced I had found the names of my great grandfather and his father and his brother in the census records in the Gemeindehaus (community center) at Bad Zurzach, and visited Lengnau the village of their birth. And now, six months later, for the “Rest of the Story.”  In February I spent an afternoon in the Canton Aargau Staatsarchiv, scanning spools of microfilm and delicately handling fragile old immigration documents searching for the name Köferli.  I hoped to learn when my great-grandfather emigrated to America, and why.  The staff at the Staatsarchiv was most accommodating, telling me they often had visitors searching for family records. With their help, I was able to find a census record of Jakob Leonz Köfferlin, born in 1757, six generations from me.  I searched the immigration records from 1853 to 1870, which gave numbers of people who left for North America, but no names.

Lengnau, with Dorfmuseum and tower of St Martin's church

 

 Beginning to lose hope, I revisited Lengnau and this time gave my name and my daughter’s Swiss phone number to the Gemeindehaus staff, asking them to contact any remaining Köferli folks in the village to see if they would be willing to meet me.  Just before leaving the village, I stopped in at the bank and mentioned to the young lady at the teller window that I was in Lengnau searching for family, and she told me my Swiss name was one of the founding families of the village!  She told me some of the other family names: Bucher, Schmid, Angst, Müller, Suter, names which I had seen over and over in the Staatsarchiv records.  There was a book about the village, written by Hans Schmid, which I purchased, with old photos and stories of the families.  I later met Herr Schmid who gave me copies of the “Wappen” (coat of arms) for the founding families, including mine, and told me the name originated as Küfer, meaning a coppersmith, such as “Cooper” in English. He said one of his cousins is a Köferli, and I began to suspect the founding families were all inter-related.

The Surb, which flows into the Aare, which flows into the Rhein River

The following week, we got a phone call from Theresa Köferli-Suter, who arranged an afternoon meeting with us (my daughter and son-in-law) to include two other cousins, Helen and Josephina.  What a joy to meet my long-lost relatives, and they were simply delightful; we were all amazed at finding each other, pointing out family resemblances with much laughter, lots of German and English translations of the conversations and stories.  They presented me with a booklet “Köferli von Lengnau, Familie Genealogie.”  This booklet described our family in Lengnau as dating back to 1470, and the earliest name was one Hans Köfferlin von Lengnau born in 1550!  I gave them a copy of the Kaferly genealogy I had drawn up for the American side, and we pinpointed where the families diverged. They told me my great-great grandfather emigrated with his wife and four children in 1851, and they left probably because of bad economic times.  They showed me photos of their fathers, and their businesses in Lengnau, and told me about the Köferli Family reunion to take place in June that I simply must attend! And indeed, I have my tickets already…

The Köferli Metzgerai (third generation butcher shop) in Döttingen

The following week I meet with my Köferli family for lunch, and since it was the day after my birthday, they sang Happy Birthday to me in English, German, French, and Italian.  True multi-lingual Swiss.  After lunch, which they wouldn’t dream of letting me pay for, Helen and her husband Felix drove me around the valley of the Surb River to visit the tiny farming communities surrounding Lengnau and showed me where she and Josephina had lived as children.  It was a hazy winter day, with the chilly mist settled on the fields and the afternoon sun glowing on the hoarfrost on the tree branches in the hills above us.  What a perfectly peaceful rural scene, barns, grain silos, farmhouses, horses and cattle, and the friendly residents walking their dogs. I felt as though I had always been part of this land, and had known these lovely people all my life.

A winter walk in the Surb River valley

I can hardly believe it: from knowing almost nothing of my father’s family a year ago, I now have the Köferli Family history and genealogy that stretches back 15 generations. And the best part is I have met and fallen in love with my Swiss Family Köferli and plan to see them often in the future!

First visit to Munich

January sunrise over Lake Starnberg

It’s hard to believe, but in all my journeys to various places in Germany, I had not been to Munich.  This egregious oversight cannot persist, I thought, but I must see for myself the great city, the capitol of Bavaria.  How can one claim to have sampled southern Germany without Munich? 

Marienplatz, Munich

 

The drive from Zürich to Munich, a distance of about 310 km, was through charming winter scenery with the fields under a blanket of snow, the forests dusted with sparkly powder, and the setting sun shining on the white mountains --  a glorious sight. Being caught speeding in Switzerland results in a hefty fine (maybe 250 CHF) so I made sure to be the pokiest driver on my way to Sankt Gallen until I got to the Austrian border near Sankt Margarethe at the southern end of the Bodensee (aka Lake Constance, the largest inland lake in Europe). Very grateful to have GPS to guide me through the maze of tiny roads and tiny villages in Austria (after I stopped at a filling station to buy a road tax sticker called a ‘vignette’) before crossing the border into Germany just north of Bregenz.  What a huge, beautiful lake the Bodensee is, and how stunning the snow-covered Austrian Alps appeared just south of me. 

Museum Kaiserin Elisabeth in Possenhofen















The lake and snow covered mountains receded and I was in the rolling farmlands of Baden-Württemburg, familiar territory after many road trips through here.

But as I crossed the border into Bavaria and approached Munich, I had that sense of excitement from being someplace new. My GPS Lady guided me to Starnberg, about 30 km south of Munich, where I had reservations at the Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth.  The route took me through the town of Pöking, which I remembered as the home of Dr Otto von Habsburg, who settled there with his family in exile after Austria was declared a republic after WWI.  I wondered whether anyone at the hotel might know where his house had been.

Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth

In the small town of Feldafing, south of Starnberg, is the Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth, a fine old lady with a 19^th century Bavarian elegance. My room overlooked Lake Starnberg, the site of the mysterious drowning of King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1886. His cousin, the Empress Elisabeth of Austria, for whom this hotel was named, stayed here every summer for 24 years. While ordering my supper in the quaint gasthof, the printed menu included the story of how this hotel was founded in the 1500’s and expanded in 1876, and hosted the Empress Elisabeth and her daughter Valerie when the two came to Bavaria from Vienna to visit Elisabeth’s mother in Possenhofen.  The halls and stairwells of the hotel are filled with portraits of Elisabeth (called ‘Sisi’ by her family), perhaps the most famously beautiful queen of all time. Not to be completely overlooked, a nice portrait of Ludwig hangs in the bar.

Lake Starnberg

 

There was a cordial friendship between Ludwig and Sisi.  I was told that Ludwig, when spending time at the Schloss Berg on the opposite shore of Lake Starnberg, would often cross over by boat to a carriage which would take him to this hotel where he could spend some time chatting with the Empress, his cousin. The site of some of their meetings was also at the Roseninsel, just off the shore of the hotel golf course.

Dining Room at Hotel Kaiserin Elisabeth with portrait of 'Sisi' on far wall

 

After a nice breakfast in the sunny dining room, I caught the tram for the 30 minute ride to Munich, emerging at the Karlstor, one of the original city gates.  Wandered up the pedestrian shopping zone and noticed the façade of St Michael’s church.  I realize that I can’t resist visiting a Baroque church, and this one is stunning and is also famous for containing the burial crypt of many Wittelsbachs, including King Ludwig II.  I detoured off the main street when I saw the huge Frauenkirche, the largest medieval building in Munich, and walked through it. Originally built from 1468 to 1488, this is the reconstructed and restored version, since this building and much else in Munich was bombed to rubble in WWII.

 

Next was the ‘Neue Rathaus’ the New Town Hall, a fabulous neo-gothic construction with niches filled with statues of saints, kings, and legendary figures. 

 

Above the main arches is the Carillon, consisting of bells and carved figurines that dance to the bells at 11 am.  The tower of this marvelous building is 283 ft high, and gives a panoramic view of the city.  But no time to climb it because I was on a quest to find the English tea shop just south of the Viktualienmarkt, a little paradise for foodies. 

 

Wandering through the square of the Viktualienmarkt I saw the choice of fresh produce was overwhelming, and all seasonal, so that the winter vegetables and herbs and mushrooms were plentiful.  But also there was fresh geese, duck, chicken, and an innumerable variety of wursts, seafood, beef and veal. 

 

A leftover from the Christmas market was the ‘Glühwein’ stand, the hot mulled wine so welcome on a cold snowy day.  So many shops to check out, including one that specialized in Bavarian clothing, with the dirndls and lederhosen in abundance, and of course, the shop overflowing with cuckoo clocks, beer steins, and Bavarian dolls. 

 

 And the snow started in earnest, driving me back to Marienplatz where I caught the tram back to Feldafing, footsore, and loaded down with all my purchases.  A great first visit to Munich, and will plan to return in the warmer season!

 

 

 

Excursions in Switzerland

A small church outside Zurich, on a snowy Sunday morning

Greetings from Switzerland! Already 2015 promises to be a good travel year.  Spent New Year’s Day on a flight to Zürich, and after surviving a serious cold, have been doing some exploring.

One of my first excursions was to find and visit Lengnau, Switzerland, the birthplace of my great-grandfather.  My family name of Kaferly is so rare, I just assume any Kaferly I meet is related to me.  However, genealogical records for the Kaferly family are even rarer, most were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The Swiss vineyards in hibernation.

In doing some genealogical research on my family name over the past few years, all I was able to uncover using US census records was that my great-grandfather, Joseph Caspar Kaferly, was born around 1850 in Switzerland. With a little more digging, I found his brother’s name, John Baptist, who lived in Sandusky, Ohio, and their father, John Joseph Kaferly, who also lived in Sandusky; the country of origin for all three was listed as Switzerland.  I was unable to find the date of their emigration, or from where in Switzerland they came. 

On my first visit to Zürich two years ago, I stopped into the Central Library of Zürich near the campus of the ETH (Eidenössische Technische Hochschule, Switzerland’s MIT, the internationally known university where Albert Einstein once studied). With the help of one of the research librarians, I scanned through volumes of Swiss immigration records, searching for my family name, with no success.  The librarian could find no instance of my last name in the Zurich directory of historical names, and suggested that I write the Swiss National Library for help. 

The answer I received was most encouraging, and explained why I had had no luck thus far.  My family name was derived from “Köferli” or “Koeferli” and I had been looking for records under the wrong spelling.  The National Library search on that spelling indicated the place of origin for my name was the village of Lengnau, in the Canton Aargau, and dated back before the year 1800.  My time in Zürich ended before I could continue with my research, but on this trip I was determined to find out whether Lengnau was truly my great-grandfather’s birthplace. My breakthrough came when I visited the Gemeindehaus at Bad Zurzach, which I knew to be the district center containing all the census records for the surrounding villages, including Lengnau. 

The sleepy farm village of Lengnau, Aargau, Switzerland

A very kind lady at the Gemeindehaus in Bad Zurzach pulled out massive ledger books that were stored in a locked safe, and painstakingly searched the census records (deciphering for me the ancient German “Schrift” writing) for the “Köferli” name. While at first not entirely convinced we had found my great-grandfather, whose name was given as Kaspar Josef Köferli, born 1849, we persisted in identifying other names using the US census records I had for John Baptist, and John Joseph.  The dates matched, so we kept on delving into the past for earlier records, ending with “Johann Baptist Köferli” of Lengnau who was born in 1786 and died in 1843.  Curiously, the information in the column for date of death for my great-great grandfather and his two sons had a notation from 1913 indicating that they had “disappeared” and no further information was available.  That suggested to my helper that they had perhaps emigrated, but with no indication of when or to where.  I felt this evidence supported the idea that that they had in fact emigrated to America.

 

St Martin's church and cemetery in Lengnau, with mistletoe in the trees

Feeling quite confident that I had found my great-grandfather, I located Lengnau on the map, which turned out to be about 35 km northeast of Zürich, just a bit south of the Rhine River across the border from Germany.  Driving to Lengnau was an easy matter, through charming agricultural territory of wooded hills separating snowy wheat fields, grazing cows, with a village here and there, real sleepy winter scenery.  The history of this area is quite ancient; excavations have uncovered Roman villas, the land was once controlled by the Habsburgs, and the regional history parallels the formation of the Swiss Confederacy.  Lengnau lies on a picturesque little stream called the Surb, and has a population of around 2400 people. The largest, most stately building in town is the Jewish synagogue, built around 1846. Turns out that in the 17^th century Lengnau and the neighboring village of Endingen were designated protected villages where Swiss Jews could settle. In fact, Lengnau was the birthplace of Meyer Guggenheim who immigrated to the US in the early 19^th century and founded the famous Guggenheim dynasty.

The Jewish synagogue of Lengnau, a Swiss heritage site of national significance

 

After wandering around this very tiny community, I decided to look in the village cemetery next to the church of St Martin to see whether I could find any tombstones with the name Köferli.  My search was rewarded, and I took a photo of the tombstone of one Josef Köferli, born 1893 and died 1980.  Must be a long-lost cousin.

The grave of Josef Köferli, perhaps a long lost cousin

 

With unanswered questions, such as: what occupation did my ancestors follow (probably farming), what year did they emigrate (my guess is 1853 based on something I found in the US census records), and why they left (I may never know), I have some more digging to do.  My next stop will be a visit to the Canton Aargau government archives to search for Swiss immigration records.  But this has been quite an exciting and interesting experience – at last to see the village where my great-grandfather, Joseph Caspar Kaferly, was born.

 

Living the Dream in the South of France

Courtyard of Castillon du Gard

Knowing the fine dining restaurants in Languedoc takes more than reading reviews on travel sites.  My good fortune is in travelling with friends who know this region, and are happy sharing their expertise with me. 

We called ahead for dinner reservations at the Hotel Le Vieux Castillon, a lovely hotel in the medieval village of Castillon du Gard.  I had driven the Route de Nîmes many times from Bagnols sur Cèze to Nîmes, but did not remember seeing this village, tucked away from the road behind the plane trees and vineyards.  The evening promised to be mild, no wind, and the clouds reflected a warm rosy glow of the setting sun on the ancient limestone buildings of the village.

Ancient streets of Castillon du Gard

Like so many villages in this part of Languedoc-Rousillion and Provence, Castillon du Gard dates from about the 11^th century, is built on a hill, has evidence of Roman influence, and probably began as a Celtic oppidum in the years before the Roman legions arrived in the 1^st century BC.  The courtyard leading to the restaurant was shaded with ancient olive and cypress trees, and huge terracotta pots had been placed near the hedges of pink and white blooming oleander bushes.  The steps led up to a terrace with the outdoor seating, with umbrellas and cushions of green and white stripes.  Inside the restaurant the décor was elegant, yet relaxed, with an emphasis of southern French style.  The menu was heavy on the “classics of regional gastronomy.”

Living the Dream...

I wandered up to the terrace with the swimming pool which overlooked the Gardon River valley, noting the section of a wall kept as a romantic ruin, empty windows and stairs leading nowhere, just like a Salvador Dali painting.  Behind me the evening sky became a deeper blue, and the warm lights from the restaurant interior shone on our wine glasses.  Dinner was relaxed, starting with the appetizers, called amuse gueule, and carried on to the cheeses and dessert. 

Still not sure how I had overlooked this lovely spot, I was reminded that I had no excuse: the Pont du Gard was only about 5 km south of here, and the Roman city of Nîmes was just a bit beyond.  Another reason to take the less-travelled path when exploring Languedoc --  to experience some regional delights!

For a lovely stay in a four-star hotel, and romantic dinner the next time you’re in the south of France, try:

Hotel Le Vieux Castillon

10 rue Turion Sabatier

30210 Castillon du Gard, France

vieux.castillon@wanadoo.fr

Wine tasting in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Cave du Verger des Papes, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

We are travelling in the Rhône valley region of southern France, crossing and re-crossing the Rhône River from Provence to Languedoc-Roussillon.  With the afternoon free, we were on a mission to do some degustation at several of our favourite Domains.  But because today was a bank holiday, they were all ferme.  Frustrated, we drove on to the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in hopes of finding a wine shop open.  I had been here about five years ago, but my vague memories did not prepare me for such a delightful village.  With so many of the crowds of tourists gone due to the holiday, we had little trouble finding parking a spot and wandered the cobblestone streets.  After peering into shop windows, ‘caves de vin,’ and checking restaurant menus, I suggested we climb up the hill to the ruin of the papal castle, thinking of the nice restaurant I saw there years ago. 

We came upon a wine dealer, the “Cave du Verger des Papes” and decided to look in.  What a treat!  This happens to be the only Roman-era wine cave in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2000 years old, with the original wine vats carved out of the stone used by the Romans (crushing the grapes by foot), and examples of the terracotta amphorae for transport.  Even though we may think of the Avignon Papacy as the originators of viticulture here, in fact the Romans brought the wine industry to this part of the Rhône Valley.  Of course the Roman Popes enlarged the industry, especially Pope John XXII, for whom the papal castle on the hill above Châteauneuf-du-Pape was built between 1317 and 1333.

The proprietor gave us a few samples of nice whites and several reds, with the AOC (Appellation d’origine Contrôlée) label Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the distinctive bottles with the papal tiara and crossed keys.  She told us the reds were blends of thirteen varieties of grapes, and that only three producers made their reds using all thirteen.    She explained how the Châteauneuf-du-Pape vintages were of higher alcohol content, and were better after aging. Traditionally the wines of this region have relatively high alcohol content but are not allowed to go higher than 15.5% and if they are drunk too young, the taste will be a bit high in tannic.  She said they could be opened and drunk as young wines, but suggested that the wines aged at least five years would be more pleasing.  A well-balanced wine, given at least five years to age will be much more enjoyable and display the true skill of the winemaker.

Roman wine vats carved out of the rock

Until the wine critic Robert Parker highlighted the Châteuneuf-du-Pape and gave a rating of ‘100 out of 100,’ these wines were relatively unknown. Of course, the increased fame increased the price! Our guide explained that their cave made an effort to carry the lesser-known Châteauneuf-du-Pape producers in their inventory, recognizing that the larger Domains had the means of advertising, marketing, and exporting.  One of the wines we tasted was from their smallest producer consisting of four workers, the father, mother and two sons.  I asked how long that producer had been in business and she told me ten generations, and they were the youngest.  With my astonishment, she added the oldest producers in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region had been making wine since the 13^th century, before the popes moved from Rome to Avignon.

 

We made our selections, and I bought some charming wine glasses, which we asked to have stored and pick up later so we could continue the climb to the papal castle, really just a bit farther up the hill.  The view was marvelous, with the huge Rhône about two miles in the distance, winding through the valley.  The breezes whistled through the empty window-openings in the thick castle walls -- only the south wall is intact to give the visitor a true perspective of this massive building.  The combination of the popes’ return to Rome in 1376 and the French Wars of Religion in the mid 1500’s contributed to the decay and destruction, with the site becoming a ‘quarry’ as the stones were re-used for other buildings.  But in seeing the ruins, one can only imagine the magnificence of this castle in its prime.

Next time you are in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and would like a unique wine-tasting experience, visit

Cave du Verger des Papes

4 Montée du Château

843230 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

www.vergerdespapes.com

Day tripping in Lucerne

 

Switzerland is truly a four-language country, and Lucerne is in the heart of the predominantly German region.  Using the variety of German called “Schweizerdeutsch” this German is different enough for speakers of the standard “Hochdeutsch” to almost qualify as a dialect.  Short day trips from Zürich (about 1.5 hours by car) keep us in the German regions, including our visit to Lucerne last September. 

 

This lovely city is perhaps best recognized from photographs of the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) a wooden covered bridge spanning the River Reuss, with the stone octagonal shape Wasserturm (Water Tower) next to it.  Dating originally from the mid-14^th century, the bridge was nearly destroyed by fire in the late 20^th but was reconstructed so Lucerne would not lose this iconic structure.  Now when crossing the bridge, warnings are posted “Rauchen verboten” (No Smoking) – cigarettes were said to be the cause of the fire.  This is a very long bridge to cross, almost 700 feet, and at intervals paintings of medieval scenes of Lucerne are added to entertain the pedestrian.  But really, the views across the river are all the entertainment I needed.

Lucerne was not one of the original cantons that formed the Swiss Confederation in 1291, but joined a short time later.  In those days, the Habsburg dukes from nearby Aargau ruled this land, and Rudolf von Habsburg was elected and crowned King of the Romans in 1273, the first Habsburg in the long ruling dynasty that lasted until 1918.  However, the cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden formed a confederation to declare independent rule after King Rudolf’s death in 1291.  As one would expect, medieval kings did not accept loosing revenue producing territory without a fight, and the deciding battle to defend this new confederation included Lucerne at Sempach in 1386 which resulted in the death of the Habsburg Duke Leopold III of Austria, and recognition for what is now called the “Old Swiss Confederation.” 

For this quick visit, we wandered the medieval Old Town, crossed the Kapellbrücke, and stopped in a restaurant for a lovely dinner and bottle of wine.  With the shortened September day, we decided to head back to Zürich before dark.  I will visit Lucerne again on this trip.

 

 

Next:  a day in the gorgeous Italian-Swiss city of Lugano

 

Visiting Switzerland

Zurich, Switzerland -- July 2014

Travelling again, and does it feel great!  This year I have resolved to relax more, to observe rather than sightsee, and to get the feel of daily life of the places I visit. 

Here in Zurich this resolution is quite easy to follow, as I have the unique opportunity to stay with my daughter and son-in-law, and share their daily activities and routines.  Getting that  ‘up close and personal’ view of life in Switzerland.

Work day starts very early with lunchtimes strictly observed, meaning the shops are services are closed from 12:30pm to 1:30pm, so don't plan on stopping at the post office or picking up your cleaning during lunch hour. Promptly at 5pm the workforce emerges from the trams for the short walk home.  The public transportation system of busses and trams is great here - convenient, quiet, clean (but expensive), and environmentally sound.  In fact, people here opt to use public transportation to get to work rather than their cars.  The city traffic planners seem to discourage use of cars here, methods of an unacknowledged “car-tax” which include steep parking fees (300 CF per year) to park on the street but with no guarantee of finding a place, city shopping areas with no parking lots, and extremely restrictive speed limits and huge fines for minor exceedances. And of course, the streets are narrow, winding, with tiny parking spaces - if you can find one.  In general, this is a very expensive city in which to live, but it is a very beautiful, safe, crazy-clean city.  As my son-in-law tells me, Zurich keeps you in a warm jacket, but it is a very tight jacket!

 

We went for a weekend drive south-east past the Bodensee, across the tiny land-locked country of Liechtenstein, to the Austrian Alpine resort of Silbertal.  Weather was stormy, but the dark clouds made the scenery even more dramatic.  The town of Silberstal was a quaint Alpine site with charming Gasthauses for the winter skiers, hi-end shopping, and a city hall flying international flags.  All the houses and businesses were decorated with colorful flowerboxes and Tyrolean woodcarving. Above the town was the 13^th century village of Bartholomäberg and a well-preserved Baroque church with the classic onion-domed tower, and we drove up to it and got a few photos of the amazing views to the valley below.

Lots more to see here in Switzerland, then I will be visiting Germany and France in the weeks ahead!