1. THE SPIELHAUSEN OF KRAYENBURG, TIEFENORT AND EISENACH

    Graf Adam von Beichlingen  is buried in  Tiefenort and below is the elaborate memorial to him.

Heinrich Philipp Spielhausen (1555-1607) is recorded as having resided at Krayenburg, and later in Eisenach. He was Rentmeester (treasurer) of Saxe-Eisenach. He also owned the freehold estate of Kaltensundheim, awarded to him by Prince Ernst in recognition of his services, . There is a memorial to  him in Tiefenort church,  Thus, before the start of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-48) this was a family that had built up two major estates in this part of Thuringia. They were wealthy landowners, well-established in the region.

Heinrich Philip Spilehausen married Cordula Herwarth, who had been married before (the family name of her first husband was Strauss). Cordula Herwarth’s family were important citizens of Coburg. Cordula died in 1613 and there is an elaborate memorial to her in Nikolai church in Eisenach, where the couple lived in a house near the church. The memorial includes the Spielhausen coat of arms, as well as that of her own family (and also possibly that of the Strauss family).

The Thirty Years' War changed everything. It was one of the most destructive and brutal wars of all time, and no one escaped the ravages of the conflict. The family living through this war will have experienced all it’s horrors, including the famiine and disease caused by it. In 1634 they will have witnessed the capture and destruction of Krayenburg castle by Croatian cavalry troops, commanded by Imperial General Johann Ludwig Hektor von Isolani.

Originally the castle was very large, once more extensive than Wartburg Castle. The ruins have now been restored in modern times, and can be visited. However, the hotel restored on part of the foundations is now closed. There is now a model of the castle which shows how substantial it once was. A tower from the top of the restored part of the building allows a panoramic view of the Werratal valley. A mural in the interior depicts Graf Adam von Beichelingen.

There is also a mural in the interior of the restored building, depicting Krayenburg as it was in 1184. This gives an idea of the immensity of the buildings.

.Johann Heinrich Spielhausen (5th generation, 1633-1670, b Krayenburg),became owner of the Tiefenort estate after the death of his father, Johan Lukas Spielhausen, in 1649, immediately following the end of the interminable conflict. By that time, the family finances had been severely dented by the impact of the War. As regards the castle itself it must have been daunting even to contemplate the challenge of its reconstruction.

During Johann Heinrich’s lifetime he continued to own and manage the Tiefenort estate. However, within two years of his death, his widow sold Tiefenort in 1672. This brought the connnection of the family with Tiefenort to an end. The 1618 Spielhausen coat of Arms above the entrance to the Tiefenort Manor house still records the family’s period of ownership of the estate.

The Manor House was extensively renovated in 2000, and the interior now serves as the offices of the municipality of Tiefenort. The exterior remains substantially unchanged.

Views of Krayenburg Hill, from Tiefenort, are shown below.

Above: Krayenburg Hill above the rooftops of Tiefenort

Below: Lutie Spilhaus and his wife visited Tiefenort 85 years ago, in 1937. This visit is still recorded in the Town’s annals.

So strong was the connection of the Spielhausen family with Tiefenort in the early 17th Century that there are no less than four additional monuments to members of the family in the Tiefenort church

II THE SPIELHAUSEN OF SCHMALKALDEN

Johann Lukas Spielhausen (4th generation, 1587-1649), who had acquired the Tiefenort estate in 1619, moved to the nearby town of Schmalkalden during the Thirty Years War, and died in that town in 1649. Thus he was already a citizen of Schmalkalden.

As we have seen, it was only 25 years after that conflict that Anna Maria, the widow of his son, Johann Heinrich, sold the Tiefenort estate. She then moved to Schmalkalden. At that time her son Johann Heinrich Spielhausen (6th generation, b 1665 Tiefenort) was only 7 years old. Johann, therefore, grew up in Schmalkalden and established himself as a ‘barbierer chirurgus’, a barber surgeon.  Healthcare in 17th Century Thuringia was basic: as a ‘barbierer’ he would have acquired his medical knowledge through practical apprenticeship rather than academic study. He was, therefore, no more than a medical craftsman who cared for wounds, helped the sick and healed their ailments. He spent his working life in the town of Schmalkalden and died in the town in 1723. His son Johann Friedrich Spielhausen (7th generation, 1703-1756) was born in the town, and also practised as a surgeon. He, however, moved to Eisleben, further north and nearer Leipzig. He was a Stadtrichter (town judge) there.

An article in the Thuringer Hausfreud of 1891 described the Spielhaus family as having lived in a house in Schmalkalden, now Soldatensprung 3. until 1750. This is consistent with the dates of the three generations of the family, associated with the town, Johann Lukas, Johann Heinrich and Johann Friedrich. The article states that, during the thirty years war, a member of the Spilhaus family was made a prisoner by enemy troops and had had to be ransomed for a small fortune. Since that war ended in 1648, we can readily identify this man as Johann Lukas Spielhausen, the first of the line of Spielhausens who became Schmalkalden citizens.

The family house can still be found and identified in the town. Thus, during the 17th Century, the Spielhausen family having lost their grand estates as a result of the ravages of war, had become townspeople, of more reduced circumstances but still worthy citizens of their adopted town.

In the Schmalkladen Archives there are a number of documents that relate to Sigmund Philiip Spielhausen.

The most elaborate of the documents, and apparently particularly treasured in the Archives, is the following:

Lehrbrief des Kauf-und Handelsmannes Sigmund Philiip Spielhausen fur Friedrich Wilhelm Fischer. Unterschrift: Sigismundus Phillippus Spielhaussen,

1737 (Letter of apprenticeship from the merchant Sigmund Philiip Spielhausen for Friedrich Wilhelm Fischer. Signature: Sigismundus Phillippus Spielhaussen

1737)

A search has not been able to identify his relationship to the Spielhausen family members in our line of ancestry. However, based on the range of dates of the documents, showing him as an active trader in the town from 1714-1733, he may well have been the last of the Spielhausen family to live in the house in the town centre, after his relations had moved off to Eisleben.

THE LINE OF DESCENT OF THE SPIELHAUSEN FAMILY OF KRAYENBURG, TIEFENORT AND EISENACH

PETER ELLIOTT’ BOOKS ON THE SPILHAUS AND MUIR FAMILIES

All three books are available worldwide on Amazon, both as printed editions and eBooks. This includes the book on the Spilhaus history, and on the life and artwork of the painter Nita Spilhaus. However, additionally the book on the life and work of Sir Thomas Muir may interest readers (Nellie Muir married Carlos Spilhaus in Cape Town, and therefore was the maternal founder of that branch of the Spilhaus family).

In addition for South African readers, who cannot readily access Amazon for print books, all three books can be obtained via Africana Books in Woodstock, Cape:

Contact: Stefan Blank

Africana Books, 374 Albert Rd Unit 2 Salt Circle Arcade Woodstock 7925 Cape Town South Africa