Swabian Pride

"It has been evident for a long time that, of all members of all the Germanic tribes, the Swabian is the most difficult to understand and the most mysterious. In him the most intense contradictions are found. Often, in one individual, meet both extreme boldness and amazing timidity, rebelliousness and philistinism, winning kindness and resentful standoffishness, skillfulness and awkwardness, firmness and instability, mistrust and friendliness, soaring idealism and grounded realisticism." - Fritz Rahn, Der Schwäbische Mensch und seine Mundart: Beitrage zum schwabischen Problem , Stuttgart: Hans. E. Günther Verlag, 1962.

by Sean Jobst 26 January 2018 I am officially launching this blog as a celebration of the heritage, history and culture of the South German region of Swabia. The entries will focus on different aspects about Swabians and Swabia, and will be added periodically. The subjects will be in no particular order. Although born in the United States, I am the son of a German immigrant father from Schwaben. My paternal side has deep roots in the Ostalbkreis region especially, including the towns of Baldern, Aalen and Ellwangen. My direct ancestors later moved to Bad Canstatt, which is now an outer suburb of Stuttgart, but maintained the ancestral farm back in Baldern. Schloss Baldern Two ancestral lines I am particularly interested in following are my Schneider and Vaas lines. My great-great-grandfather, Alois Schneider, was connected to the forestry service and worked as a groundskeeper at Schloss Baldern, in the early 20th century. My Vaas line has roots in Ellwangen, but were origi...