Concordia's Wendish Heritage

Concordia University at Austin is the only university in the world founded essentially by people of Wendish/Sorbish ancestry. Established 75 years ago in 1926 by Lutherans in Texas, the majority of whom had roots in the Wendish community, the university today is a part of the ten-school Concordia University System, the only national university system in the U.S., and is accredited as a Division III university (undergraduate and graduate institutions) by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. On March 23, 2000, the university was officially accepted as an associate member of the Domowina, the governing body of the Sorbs in Bautzen, Germany. This status recognizes Concordia's history as well as its significant cultural role in giving expression to the educational vision of the Slavic people in America.

Arriving in 1854 under the leadership of the Wendish Lutheran pastor, Jan Kilian, approximately 600 emmigrants arrived in Galveston and purchased land in Lee County and other Texas communities. Bi-lingual from the start, the newcomers hoped to preserve their language and culture, but were too easily assimilated by the surrounding Germans so that within 70 years, the Wendish tongue died out in official use (worship, newspapers, etc.). Language and customs continued in family usage, but today the language is remembered only in terms of songs and sayings, the memorization of which has been passed on in family settings. Egg decorating, celebration of festivals like Ptaci Kwas (The Bird's Wedding) and the making of egg noodles is still practiced in some circles.

Wendish roots are still evident at Concordia University. "Old Main," constructed 75 years ago, is named after the pioneering Wendish leader, Jan Kilian. The bell which used to hang in the tower, brought by the Wends in 1854, stands on a pedestal at a central place on the campus. A beautiful model of the ship, "Ben Nevis," on which the Wends sailed from Liverpool, England, to Galveston, Texas is on display in Founders Library. The chapel has a large baptismal font from a hill in Serbin, Texas, from which the immigrants took the rocks to build their first church-modeled after one which still stands in Klitten, Germany.

In the communities east of Austin, there are numerous Wendish congregations. The oldest is St. Paul, Serbin, with a thriving congregation and school. The cemetery surrounding it has the graves of many of the Wendish pioneers. Nearby is the Texas Wendish Historical Society's Museum, the largest such museum outside of Germany which keeps records of Wendish geneology as well as a substantial library of Wendish literature, plus attractive displays about the emigration.

The roots of the Texas Wendish communities lie in regions of the former East Germany west of Poland and the Czech Republic between Leipzig and Berlin. Usually designated by ethnographers as Upper and Lower Lusatia, the population is contained within the states of Saxony and Brandenburg. Although the Wends never had a national government of their own, their Slavic roots go back well over a thousand years. Akin to Czech and Polish, the inhabitants of the region maintained their culture and language largely through religious communities and schools. Often persecuted because they found themselves as Slavs in German territory, they survived both National Socialist and Communist eras and have a new commitment to reclaiming the language and culture for coming generations.

Concordia maintains its ties with this Slavic heritage in various ways. In recent years, the following events have strengthened it's ties to it's the Wendish/Sorbish community in Europe: · Hosted faculty from Evangelisches Gymnasium Johanneum in Hoyerswerda (Feb. 1998) · Hosted Volktanzgruppe Schmerlitz (Wendish singers/dancers), Sept. 1998 · Hosted Dr. Madlena Nowack Norbergova, University of Potsdam, lecturing on Wendish culture (Feb. 2000) · Hosted Toma Zur (Thomas Sauer), Domorganist, St. Hedwig's, Berlin, on Texas tour in March 2000 · Concordia Wendish Council sponsors annual Austin Ethnic Fair on Jan. 25, Ptaci Kwas with all ethnic groups in the capital city · Homecoming king and queen of student body (October, 1999) were Wendish ancestry students, Paul Goeke and Angie Zoch · Accepted as associate member of Domowina, March 23, 2000

Approximately 10%-15% of Concordia's students, faculty and staff are still of Wendish origin. Over the course of 75 years, thousands of Wendish students have graduated from Concordia. Names like Kieschnick, Hobratschk, Moerbe, Tschatchula, Patschke, Matetzschk, Nowack, Miertsching, Knippa, Zoch, Kasper, Teinert, Symmanc, Wukasch and many others study, work or teach at Concordia. Future projects at CUA involve a fall 2000 Jazz Concert for the Czech/Wendish community with Emil Vikliztky of Prague, 2001 renovation of Kilian Hall and establishment of an Austin Wendish Museum, and a 75th Anniversary gathering of Wendish alumni in 2001. Those interested in learning more about Wendish history can access an on-line heritage of the Wends by visiting the Sorb/Wends in Germany Website.