What Michael Geis writes about Hettstadt in his fourth book

Always curious to find out the background to his place of residence in Hettstadt, Michael Geis became a hobby historian. He went deeper and deeper into the past of the district community. Supported by the population, he collects, documents and backs up images of village life that have been old for more than three decades. In order to keep the history of the place, memories and stories of contemporary witnesses from being forgotten, “Mike” Geis, as the Hettstadter knows him, even worked as an author.

He now dedicates the fourth volume of his “Hettstadt story (s)” to structural changes in the streets and alleys of the village. In an illustrated book with historical photographs that slumbered in photo albums and cardboard boxes of the population, photographs can be found on almost ninety pages that go back to 1900.

Fewer names for privacy reasons

But it is not only the recognizable changes in the townscape that fascinate the 62-year-old author. Geis also researched some of the personal backgrounds of the respective residents for the images. Geis was able to trace the owners back to the 19th century through matrices from the parish of Hettstadt and the diocesan archive in Würzburg. The “walk through the old streets of Hettstadt” becomes a journey through time. However, Michael Geis was also committed to data protection when it was published in the current volume. For this reason, from the 20th century onwards, he refrains from naming the images unless they are public figures, business people or companies.

Particularly interesting when researching a visual foray through Hettstadt’s streets: The respective house numbers were once identical to the field numbers owned by the owners. At the end of the 19th century, however, the municipality reassigned the house numbers. However, this was hardly taken into account in everyday life. This subsequently led to confusion in the assignment – and of course also made research more difficult.

1910: photographer on the road

When looking for pictures, Michael Geis noticed that an unusually large number of pictures exist from 1910. The reason for this can only be guessed from the fact that a photographer was out and about to photograph the properties and their owners.

The fourth volume of “Hettstadter Geschichte (n)” is a visual tour of the past of the place. The photographs from the historic streets and alleys essentially relate to the period between 1900 and 1952. The oldest known picture of a street in Hettstadt dates from 1900. It shows a view of Langgasse. Michael Geis, like much of his research, found it by chance in the State Library in Stuttgart. The buildings depicted in the illustrated book show the former stock in many places, as it looked before the newer development through the branch of the Sparkasse or the new town center. Also, only a few Hettstadter will remember the advertising pillar and cattle scales in the center of the village.

Lectures in primary school

Instead of being asked by Hettstadt residents, as is often the case in discussions, he prefers to pass on his knowledge of the history of Hettstadt to lectures in primary school or in the new Soleo day care in town. To authentically reproduce the past, he even sewed himself a medieval robe for this purpose, in which he slips.

The series “Hettstadt story (s) by hobby historian Michael Geis have so far appeared: Volume 1:” 1. April 1945 – Battle for Hettstadt “; Volume 2:” Archaeological finds in Hettstadt “; Volume 3:” The reconstruction of Hettstadt after 1945 “; Volume 4: Michael Geis:” A walk through the streets of Hettstadt “The books are published by Books on Demand (Norderstedt) appeared and can be purchased in the town hall in Hettstadt, at the Seidenspinner butcher or directly from him as well as in bookshops for 9.90 euros.

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• Hettstadt

• Herbert marriage stop

• Civil engineering and structures

• Illustrated books

• Book trade

• Photo albums

• Photographs

• Photographers

• Middle Ages (500 – 1419)

• State libraries

• Publishing houses

• reconstruction

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