Sievern
is a small farming village between the port cities of Age old stone graves help define the history of this area, and the
people that lived here nearly 5,000 years ago. Large megalith graves and
mounds are found in an area known as The Pipinsburg (left picture), which was
believed to have been from around 900 BC. Also, near Pipinsburg are many heathen
and pagan graves, in an area known as Heidenstadt (pagan city). In 1139,
the Bremer Erzbischof Adalbero (1123-1148) of the Kloster Saint Pauli in One of
the more noteworthy landmarks of Sievern was the Windmill which was built in
1847. It was used for grain and corn and was retired in 1941. It was partially destroyed in World War II,
and became a landmark in 1967. It was totally razed in 1981. In 1970, Sievern merged
with Langen, Debstedt and Imsum into Langen Stadt (state). Today, Sievern has
many small farms and has become a renowned vacation area. The “Sieverner See” or The house
shown below was the Cordes Ancestral home.
It was built in 1850 by Johann Hinrich Cordes and his wife, Meyn, nee
Hencken. The living quarters were in the back area and the larger barn in the
front. In 1857, a great fire resulted in the destruction of 64 living
quarters and 32 barns. The Cordes home survived the fire. Later, his son
Johann Diedrich Cordes lived there with his wife, Anna Margaretha, nee Fitter
and their children Adele, Luise and Matilde. Matilda and Luise married and
moved out of the house. Luise and her
husband Hinrich Budke moved to Lehe, where he was a teacher. Adele stayed in
the Sievern house until her death in 1962.
In 1949, after the war, Hinrich and Luise returned to Sievern and
lived with Adele. Hinrich then became the teacher in the Sieverner schools.
In the summer of 1955, Henry and Hans and their families returned to Sievern
to celebrate their parents 50th Wedding Anniversary. The party was held in the Sievern House. Attending
from After the death of Adele,
Luise and Hinrich, the house was sold, and by the 1980s was in complete
disrepair. In 1989, it was severely damaged by a storm, resulting with a
large hole in the thatched roof with two of the main rafters severely
damaged. It was in such a state of disrepair and very likely was to be
destroyed. In 1990 Arthur Burmeister
purchased the house and started the long process to restore it to its
original design. In 1994, it was opened as the John-Wagener-Haus, a museum
named after a local Sievern resident who traveled to |