The author introduces himself

Uwe J. M. Reichelt
Physicist - Book Author

Finsterwalde, the town of my birth, a small, tranquil place, known to most people only through the popular song "Wir sind die Sänger von Finsterwalde" (We are the singers of Finsterwalde), has been in Brandenburg since 1815, when, as so often happens, the Saxon rulers were once again on the "wrong" side and gambled away half their kingdom for royal dignities. The nearby village of Doberlug was an old Wettin possession with one of the oldest monasteries and a pretty little castle (since it was painstakingly restored after being misused by state and military rulers after 1989).
My maternal ancestors were among the original inhabitants of Finsterwalde, one of my uncles, Richard Rietschel, had even contributed to the revival of the singing tradition in a singing quartet, and my grandfather, whose first name "Julius" was given to me as a middle name, was for many years a member of the singing society "Green Oak". He died 13 years before I was born.
I still remember my paternal grandfather, Moritz Reichelt. His first name became my third. In my older relatives he was probably the intellectual greatness, was a country priest, had travelled the Holy Land. He spoke Latin, Hebrew, Greek and Polish, which he also needed in his younger years as a tutor at a Polish noble court.
A small series of pictures juxtaposes today with watercolours from my childhood.
The people of Finsterwalde only made their town a "singer's town" after the burlesque by Wilhelm Wolff (1899), which they didn't like at first. But then they recognised the PR value and took the name of the town out into the world.
The original name "Singers from Finsterwalde" probably stems more from the fact that Finsterwalde used to carry songbirds to the Leipzig Fair as well as cloth, as you can see from the lyrics at the song.

The Finsterwalde Castle photo 2011 from the park

Watercolour of the castle 1956 from the parkside

Front courtyard Photograph 2021

Watercolour view of the castle from the front courtyard 1956

City Church St. Trinitatis Apse Side Admission 2021

Watercolour Trinity Church 1953 Apse side