The Potato Germans (''Kartoffeltyskere'') were a group of German families who settled in the

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

lands of central

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

during the mid-1700s. The term is sometimes also extended to their descendants.

History

The German immigrants moved to central Jutland when King

Frederick V of Denmark Frederick V (Danish and Norwegian: ''Frederik V''; 31 March 1723 – 14 January 1766) was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein from 6 August 1746 until his death in 1766. He was the son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophie Ma ...

promised 20 years of tax freedom, soil, livestock, money, and freedom from military service, for anyone who would cultivate the Jutlandic heaths. The settlers were mostly from

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

and

the Palatinate The Palatinate (german: Pfalz; Palatine German: ''Palz'') is a region of Germany. In the Middle Ages it was known as the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz'') and Lower Palatinate (''Unterpfalz''), which strictly speaking designated only the wes ...

in modern-day

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

as well as from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Men, women, and children included, 965 individuals spread across 265 families first arrived between 1759 and 1763. The majority settled on Alheden in the southernmost part of Fjends and the northernmost part of

Lysgård Lysgård is a small Danish village with a population of 101 (1 January 2010). It is located 15 km south from Viborg near Dollerup Hills in central Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as ...

in central

. This comprises the site of the towns of Frederiks, Grønhøj, Havredal, and

Karup Karup is a town in Viborg Municipality, Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , su ...

. Much of this land was difficult to cultivate because of how much heather the soil contained, but after it was burned the area became better suited for the cultivation of potatoes. The situation was difficult for the families. Many of settlers were craftsmen with little knowledge of farming. Most of the settlers subsequently left, with many moving back to Germany, but 59 of the families stayed on Alheden for more than a year.

Surnames

The Potato German settlers introduced a number of new surnames to Denmark. Though still rare in the country as a whole, many people living near Alheden still carry these surnames. *Agricola *Betzer, Bitsch, Bräuner, Bärthel *Cramer *Dickes, Dürr *Frank *Gantzhorn *Harritz, Herbel-Schmidt, Hermann, Herold *Jung *Keller *Krath, Kriegbaum *Lajer, Lauth *Marcher, Marquard, Maul, Morratz *Philbert *Rost *Schönheider (also spelled Schønheider) *Wacher, Wendel, Winkler, Woller, Würtz

References

Bibliography

*Valdemar Andersen (1970) ''Den jyske hedekolonisation'' (Aarhus: Universitetsforlaget. Skrifter udgivet af Jysk Selskab for Historie, Number 24)

External links

"Bemærkninger over Alheden og dens Colonier, af Fr. C. Carstens, Præst paa Colonien. Viborg, 1839. 137 S. 8." (''Historisk Tidsskrift'', 1. række, Bind 1; 1840)

Ejlif Bøgebjerg: "Den danske Regering og de tyske Kolonisters Indkaldelse 1759—65" (''Historie/Jyske Samlinger'', 5. række, Bind 1; 1932)

P. M. Rørsig: "Fra Alhedens første Kolonisation" (''Historie/Jyske Samlinger'', 4. række, Bind 5; 1925)

Fridlev Skrubbeltrang (anmeldelse af): "Valdemar Andersen: Den jyske hedekolonisation. Skrifter udgivet af Jysk Selskab for Historie 24. Universitetsforlaget i Århus, 1970" (''Historisk Tidsskrift'', 12. række, Bind 5; 1971)
German emigrants to Denmark 1759 in Denmark German Palatines Ethnic groups in Denmark German diaspora in Europe {{Europe-ethno-group-stub

History

Surnames

See also

References

Bibliography

External links