Five Views of Siddinghausen

by Joe Beine, July 1995

Siddinghausen is a small village of about 1,090 people in Nordrhein-Westfalen near Büren. My great great grandmother, Christine Walter, was born there in 1840. Using microfilmed copies of the church books, I traced her Siddinghausen ancestors, eventually finding branches in the nearby towns of Weiberg and Hegensdorf. I visited the area in 1995 and here are some of the photographs I took.

Welcome to Siddinghausen, Gold Village

Interior View of St. Johann Baptist Catholic Church

War Memorial in the Church Yard

Pigs Relaxing in the Village

This stone memorial lies at the bottom of the hill that the town church is on. In German these are called "Heiligenhäuschen" ("mini chapels" or literally, "holy little houses"). Most of the inscription has weathered away, but near the base it says "Elisabeth Kemper 1866." I have Kemper ancestors from Siddinghausen so I was curious as to the nature of these chapels. They are built as a thanksgiving to God for the memory of a person. Many farms have these along the roadside at the foot of the farm. On All Souls Day (November 2nd) candles are sometimes lit and placed in the enclosed "chapel" area. Thanks to Matthias Plass, who lives near Paderborn, for providing some of this information.

Siddinghausen 1200 Jahre

799-1999

Siddinghausen celebrated its 1200th anniversary in 1999.