Siegelsum is an

East Frisia East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...

n village in

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is an ''

Ortsteil A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...

'' of the municipality of

Upgant-Schott Upgant-Schott is a municipality in the district of Aurich, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Origin of the name Upgant-Schott was first mentioned in the records in AD 945 as ''Cuppargent'' in the endowment register of Fulda Abbey. The name ''Upgant'' ...

, part of the municipal association (''

Samtgemeinde A (, ; plural: ''Samtgemeinden'') is a type of administrative division in Lower Saxony, Germany. ''Samtgemeinden'' are local government associations of Municipalities of Germany, municipalities, equivalent to the ''Amt (administrative division) ...

'') of

Brookmerland Brookmerland is a ''Samtgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Aurich, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated southeast of Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to ...

. It is located south of Upgant-Schott and

Marienhafe Marienhafe is a municipality in the district of Aurich, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alp ...

History

Siegelsum is mentioned in a document from 1450, a contract for the sale of land known as ''Sygildsum''. In a contract from 1475, the priest Hero seals ''to Sigelsum'' and in an income register of the parishes in

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

from the same year, ''Sigelum'' is also listed. In 1478, the place is called ''Sygheldsum'' in a purchase contract, and around 1500 it is called ''Sigelzum'' or ''Sergum'' in the income register. The two

n maps by

David Fabricius David Fabricius (9 March 1564 – 7 May 1617) was a Frisian pastor who made two major discoveries in the early days of telescopic astronomy, jointly with his eldest son, Johannes Fabricius (1587–1615). David Fabricius (Latinization of his prope ...

from 1589 and 1613 as well as the oldest map by

Ubbo Emmius Ubbo Emmius (5 December 15479 December 1625) was a German historian and geographer. Early life Ubbo Emmius was born on 5 December 1547 in Greetsiel, East Frisia. From the ages of 9 to 18 Emmius studied in a Latin school, before having to leave o ...

from 1595 already contain the place name ''Sigelsum''. In a map made by engineer Johann von Honaert in 1674, the place is listed as ''Sygelsumb'' and the district administrator Cirk Heinrich Stürenburg calls it ''Siegelßum'' several times in his 1735 description of the Aurich district. The place name is often incorrectly associated with a

sluice A sluice ( ) is a water channel containing a sluice gate, a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. There are various types of sluice gates, including flap sluice gates and fan gates. Different depths are calculated when design s ...

or with

brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a clay pit, quar ...

, which did indeed exist. The ending ''-um'' is derived from ''hem'' ("home") and is usually combined with a personal name. In this respect, the first part of the name of the old documented place names can indicate an early settler named Sygheld, Segheld, or similar and the ending can indicate his home or residence. The small village of Siegelsum already had a church in the 13th century, which had to be demolished due to damage sustained in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. The current church was built in 1822. Until 1 July 1972, Siegelsum was its own independent municipality, when it became incorporated into the municipality of

References

{{Authority control Villages in Lower Saxony Towns and villages in East Frisia