Are you a Schwenkfelder?

As with many groups that have immigrated to the United States, the descendants of the first settlers have grown exponentially, with later generations having lost knowledge of their heritage. To help people interested in genealogy, the Society of the Descendants of the Schwenkfeldian Exiles https://schwenkfelderexilesociety.org/ was founded in 1921 and the Genealogical Record of the Schwenkfelder Families was published in 1923. Society volunteers continue to keep the records up-to-date. The Heritage Center’s library and archive is a good place for people to conduct their own genealogical research. Click here for Genealogy Resources.

In addition, periodically the Heritage Center sponsors the Heritage Tour of the homelands of the Schwenkfelders. Heritage tours visit eastern Germany and those parts of Poland where Caspar Schwenckfeld and his followers lived in the 1500s through early 1700s. Highlights include exploring the grounds of the Schwenckfeld estate and church in Ossig (now Osiek, Gmina Lubin), walking where Schwenckfeld walked in Liegnitz (Legnica), and visiting the Viehweg Monument in Harpersdorf (now Twardocice). The tour then follows the Schwenkfelder immigrant route along the Elbe River starting downtown in the old city of Pirna and continuing through Dresden, Meissen, Torgau, Wittenberg, Magdeburg, and Tangermünde.  For current information on tours, email info@schwenkfelder.org.