The Four Brothers and Eisboßeln
Johann Bielenberg (1833-1884)
Claus Bielenberg (1835-1908)
Peter Bielenberg (1837-1915)
Herman Bielenberg (1840-1929)
,
Herman’s letter to the descendants of the Bielenberg brothers:
“We four brothers were great sports when in our prime. We all had
unusual and remarkable strength. For instance, we could lift a 100 pound weight
with one hand over our head; we could throw a 50 pound weight 25 feet.
There was a great game where we were born called EISBOZELN, meaning an ice
ball. The game was played only in the winter.
We four brothers were famous regarding throwing. We generally
used a 2lb.ball. A wooden ball 1 1/2 inches in diameter with 5 holes
filled with lead. Anyone who could throw 18 rods (313 feet) was considered a
good thrower. As brothers we threw: John-363ft., Claus-380 ft., Peter-414ft.
and Herman-450ft.
The brothers will all born in Neuenkirchen, Germany on the Stoer River,
30 miles south of Hamburg. Competitions were held town against town in the
winter. The Bielenberg brothers won their biggest contest against a team from
Hamburg in 1860.
The sport is still in existence or was in 1925 and was played somewhat
like cricket wherein they took breaks to have lunch by our old and young ladies
followed by music and dancing.
The Bielenberg boys were quite famous EISBOSTLERS in Germany and Herman
who visited there in 1913 said they were still remembered for their victories
53 years after beating Hamburg. The brothers all went to the United States in
1865.”
About Eisboßeln:
According to German Wikipedia (I was assisted by a German friend in
finding the article and translating it):
The sport has existed for 4000 years. The form practiced by our
ancestors was popular in the northern Germany, southern Denmark and the
Netherlands agricultural and marshland areas as a winter team sport because the
farmers had more free time then and the fields were cleared and frozen thus
facilitating a large playing area. Often a team was made up of most of the men
in a village. As Herman described they used wooden balls with lead plugs as
pictured below. The distances measured included the roll after impact. From
what I can surmise with my limited German is that a form of the sport is still
practiced in 2016 and there are some variations and derivations including bowling
and what looks a bit like curling.
Thank you, Herman, for leaving us this little glimpse into your lives in
Germany so many years ago.
My connection to the Bielenbergs is through my grandmother, Margarette Anne Bielenberg, wife of H. C. Baldwin. Peter, who threw 414 feet, is my second great grandfather. This post is dedicated to shotputter, Rick Baldwin!
