On this page you may find a brief history about the Weierhof itself and the earliest days of the Mennonite Congregation here.

1682 , the Mennonite congregation at the Weierhof (nowadays Bolanden) was officially founded. However, the history of this place is much, much older. 

Some indications direct to the late Roman era. The yet oldest information about it's existence goes way back to the Franconia time around 760 b.C. As ruled by the Kings Court at Albisheim (Albulfi Villa), Willare goes with all it's properties to the House of the Carolings.

The first documented mention comes from the year  835 b.C. as Ludwig The Godlier endows Willare to the Convent  Pfrüm in the Eifel.

Around 1000 b.C. the Weierhof consists of 9 complete farms and several smaller buildings.

1122 Werner The First of Bolanden endows the Weierhof to the new founded convent Hane at Bolanden (and this although he did not own the property at all). The juridical battle between both convents was fought out in the pope's court at Rome, showing the wealth and importance of the Weierhof property.

1183  Pope Lucius III confirms that the  Court's Property at Wilre shall remain with the Convent Hane. In the regarding document, the first mention of a chapel at Wilre , much older as the Hane Convent, can be found. The remaining of this chapel are still to be found in the cellar of one of the farms. 

1635 During a 30-years longing European war the entire region suffers basically from pillaging and plundering by empire troops. Only one family,  Jakob Sülz,  survives the horrors from this war and the waves of pest striking the country. The manor encloses almost 445 acres of  fields, grassland and forest. As nobody is left to treat the property, it decays rapidly.

Between 1635 and 1682 pillowing is regular on the scene. Tenants of the manor have been the mentioned family Jakob Sülz,  a certain  Theis Bohn and  the Miller Hans-Steffen Sülz.
Finally in 1682, the entire manor goes to the Swiss Täufer Peter Crayenbühl. It is him and his family granted, "die Wiedertäuferische Religion nur privat zu exercieren" ("to exercise the Baptists religion in private").

1689 French troops destroy the Castle at  Bolanden and also the Weierhof cannot get away from these troubles without taking damage again.

1706 the Weierhof was assigned  by the  "Polander Tausch"  (the Bolander Trade) to the Court of Nassau-Weilburg, residing at  Kirchheim.

1707 the manor was split into five parts and leased to the five descendants and successors of  Peter Crayenbühl (Krehbiel).

1712 "Ulli's Hof", a farm nowadays mainly still in it's original shape was build. In the same period, two other farms were build within the old Weierhof center. For Services, the residents gather in the upper room of the  "Adamhof".

1771 the first church was build. Today, the walls of this building are used for a ceremony hall at the cemetery. 
Still Mennonites are not allowed to build churchlike buildings. The Grant for this building however was done on the condition, it would neither show round bowed churchlike windows nor have a bell tower.

1804 on Napoleons order, he is in need for money for his warfare, the Weierhof is sold. The former Colonel of Napoleons Armey Ernst-Christian von und zu Humboldtstein purchases by auction the major properties for the sum of  9.244 Francs and 21 Centimes. 1821 his descendants sell it for  5.806,- Guilders to the Jewish merchandisers Steinach and Goldschmitt from Mainz. It takes until 1851 when the Weierhof farmers definitely could buy off the tenancies.

1837 the Weierhof consists of 10 farms with  60-80 residents. From the surrounding area, other fellow Mennonites come to the Weierhof for services. The old  "Lehr" soon could no longer hold all people anymore. According to a  Quaker church  in Tottenham UK, a new church building,  "das Bethaus" was build and established in 1837. The image of this building is used as logo on these internet sites. Building costs in those days: 3.298 Guilders.

1867 Michael Löwenberg, Teacher at the Court's private elementary school, established  a secondary educational institute for boys from all denomination. There was the ideal of combining the institute with a Mennonite seminar. 

1869 the institute became its own building, called "Anstaltgebäude". As with the building of the church, also now many gifts and grants were needed . They also came from outside the congregation. As from the Mennonites in Northern Germany, the Congregation at Hamburg-Altona spent money to buy the ground for the new property.

1884, after many difficult years, a former student ,  Dr. Ernst Göbel - just 24 years old - was appointed as director and through the years to come, he enlarged and expanded the school into as the "Realanstalt am Donnersberg" into one of the major private institutes in the Palatinate. As still for today, after so many, many years the institute still exists, now being called the Gymnasium Weierhof.

1909 the farms and houses at the  Weierhof got their direct connection to a public freshwater system. For 25 years, nobody pays anything for the use of freshwater. The interests from the surplus money, the Weierhof raised for their freshwater system,  covered the annual service costs until the great inflation of the late twenties. 

1925 Christian Neff, Preacher at the Weierhof since 1887 takes the initiative to celebrate internationally the 400th  anniversary of "Taufgesinnten" in Basel and Zürich. In 1930 a larger international conference at Danzig was organized and finally in 1936 he could join the first Mennonite World conference in Amsterdam, which he also initiated and helped to realize. This conference already bears the signs of great repression in the neighboring Germany. The University of Zürich grants Christian Neff the title of honorary doctor in theology for all his efforts.

1941 the Realanstalt, in the meantime expanded to "Oberschule" with general university classification, becomes part of the political situation in those days as "Nationalpolitischen Erziehungsanstalt" (National Political Institute of Education). The confiscation of the school was only possible by a breach of a 1936 treaty between the school and the regional government, concerning the ensurement of continuing the as it was called in those days Christian-patriotic tradition of the school. It would take four years of indoctrination of this so called "Herrenvolk" and their horrifying ideal of a thousand year lasting realm. Then the spook was over. 

1945 the US-Army together with French troops rolls through West-Germany, including the Palatinate. General Patton finds the school premises ideal for his Headquarter. To the local residents of the Weierhof this meant emergency quarters in their church....

1947:  From the temporary headquarters of a four-star US general, the school becomes a permanent stay of an entire French garrison, later to be replaced by the US forces again. Already in 1951 attempts were made, to regain the ownership of the premises and to restore school activities again. But only Mennonite influence with strong and direct contact to the White House in Washington could turn around the time in favor for the Weierhof school. Finally, in 1958 the occupation of all school buildings and the premises was lifted.

1959 the Heimschule Weierhof am Donnersberg started business as school again. The German evangelical church supported this enterprise actively. 

1962 The descendants from the  1682 Swiss immigrants still live as fulltime farmers on 8 Weierhof farms. Mechanization and farmland consolidation stand for prosperity and progress.

1966 The establishment of a own Mennonite hall fulfill a long cherished dream. Now finally, there is room and space for youth groups, for meetings and private festivities.

1980 The church was renovated substantially. A new ceiling was drawn. Heater mats were installed as well as windows and benches. Several years later, a new organ came into service. 

1992 In Europe, the political situation changed rapidly. The iron curtain did no longer exist. The US Army disestablished many support- and battle stations, including their underground nuclear warfare premises at Kriegsfeld (what's in a name).  The US premises at the Weierhof (still 6 larger blocks, a school, a church and several other buildings) also are abandon. The Bolanden community buys the properties as conversion project and sells them soon after to an Investor. The entire premises are dismantled, renovated and renewed. Partially sold as private property, partially rented. New building lots are developed. In a very short time, the number of Weierhof residents grows from some 200 to far over 800.

The Weierhof  is in danger to collapse and break apart into two separate areas; the old traditional community and a new anonymous suburb area. But it is the close Weierhof community tradition that understands the signs of time and takes the initiative to overcome a realistic social threat. As it is a part of their own history and tradition to shelter and support those who are in need. Not in an arrogant way but in a pleasant daily way of living ...

From the "tradition" of the Summernightfestivals the Weierhof farmer families used to enjoy, a new tradition spinned off.
Not on the farmyards within a closed community but on the street, for everybody the Weierhof Street festivals were initiated. There are some picture on these sites where you can see for yourself what that meant. And it was this congregation that joined into the organization of the festivals. Now, traditionally the Weierhof Mennonite Congregation invites everybody who wants to, including neighboring communities, to join a large street happening on the final Sunday of the Weierhof Street Festival: it's called "Kirch uff de Gass" which means as much as celebrating Service on the Street. It is a ecumenical service which appeals to many enthusiastic attendants, including many families from the "new Weierhof".
After two festivals at the old Weierhof in 1997 and 1999, the Third was held 2001 on the new Weierhof area, and the next is planned for 2003.

The Weierhof Mennonite Congregation shows a church community strongly rooted in old important traditions as tolerance and harboring, yet a modern church community with many, many activities within and outside the borders of their congregation. Therefore, the history of this congregation is not finished yet...

Many thanks to Hermann König ( † 2007) for his historic research activities.

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