Dan and I spent a day in Bern while the rest of the family went looking to touch a glacier.
Daughter Sarah who didn't make this trip had asked if we were going to see the tower where our ancestor was imprisoned. We had that in mind when we came to this tower now named the Democracy Tower.
It once looked like this:
And yes it was a place where people were imprisoned.
Torture probably used this rack that we saw at the Bern museum later in the day.
No signs of torture machines in the Democracy Tower now just the workings of the clock.
More about my ancestor: Reverend Benedict Brechbuohl born in Transelwald, Berne, Switzerland in 1666. He was a leading teacher and preacher of the Swiss Mennonites. Because of his influence with the Mennonites, the Swiss government more than doubled the reward for his capture. He was imprisoned in 1709, after being expelled twice from Berne. So he would have likely been in this tower.
In 1710 he was deported along with 58 other Mennonites and was on his way to North Carolina when he escaped to Holland and then returned to Manheim, Germany where he had been residing before his capture. At some point he traveled to Prussia to visit land on which King Frederick wished to found a Mennonite Colony. That didn't work out and after a conference of Mennonite leaders the decision was made to emigrate to Pennsylvania in 1717.
He sold his property in Germany and sailed with his wife and three children to Philadelphia in August 1717. He purchased land near Strasburg, PA where he farmed for three years until his death in 1720.
My paternal ancestors also were Mennonite who emigrated from Switzerland to PA in 1721.
[My source for this is genealogy research completed by my uncle.]
7 comments:
We still torture to this day, sometimes in more “sophisticated” ways, but often still in ways as brutal as at any time in history. We are a lovely species, aren’t we?
...keep Democracy strong.
The past was often grim.
What a story. A strong man, your ancestor. And I sure see why you wanted to go to Switzerland, or at least one reason. I know you said that you also chose it as the best for families and children, but this history! So glad you were able to visit this piece of your past.
What a fascinating glimpse into your family's history! It's incredible to connect with the past through such significant sites and stories. Thank you for sharing this journey with us!
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Beautiful pictures! And how interesting about your ancestor!
fascinating!! what a cool trip and ancestry!
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