Goerkwitz Pilgrimage

In 2005 I visited the childhood home of my grandfather, William Louis Schauerhamer in Goerkwitz, Germany. Using these photos taken in the early 1900's, I searched the tiny village for the home that matched the photo. While I was unable to locate the home, those who lived in Goerkwitz knew exactly where it was.  Here are a couple of photos from the early 1900's.

 Here is the home in 2005.  From the street you can only see a small portion of the home.  We were lucky to be able to go inside the courtyard of the home where we could also see the huge barn.  We knocked and knocked but no one answered and were about to leave when we noticed that a woman had opened a second story window and was shaking out a rug.  The couple who had directed us to the home spoke with her, telling her that we were descendents of the original owners and asked if we could come in the courtyard.  She graciously allowed us to do so.  What an adrenaline rush to know that this is where Grandpa had grown up and lived over a century ago.

 

Here were are in front of the barn (left) and the home (right).  The home has been remodeled but it is still here after over 125 years.  I would like to find out when it was actually built.  An awecome experience!