Return Home 

This is a crucifix made from red sandstone (common in the Northern Black Forest area) at the entrance of the cemetery. The inscription says: The words about the cross are foolishness for those who are lost, but God's power for us who are redeemed. 1st Cor. 1,18. Renovated in 1940.

This is today's St. Katharina; it is constructed in the 1890's at the same place as the small former church dedicated to the same saint

Busenbach Cemetery

Another Steppe name

Another Steppe name (Wilhelm)

Cemetery Stone showing Hilda Steppe/

This is the interior of St. Cyriak's in Stupferich, Northern Baden, Germany. The high altar (1763) was a donation of the marquis Ludwig Georg of Baden-Baden.

This is a typical Busenbach framework farming house just on the other side of the street. The rooflet in the front is typical for the region and protects the wood from rain. The framework in the upper floor is covered by a later sealing. You may imagine Karen's gggrandma having lived in such a house.

This is a typical old Busenbach framework farming house just at the main street. The rooflet in the front is typical for the region and protects the wood from rain. The framework in the upper floor is covered by a later sealing.

This is a closeup of the inscription plate on the village hall's wall. It reminds of the "glorious fights" of the Baden divisions in
which the "sons of the community" participated in the German-French war in 1870/71 (in which Alsace and Lorraine on the west bank of the Rhine were reconquered, Germany was united and the 2nd Reich was established under the Prussian kings, then German emperors).
You will notice a grenadier Rudolf Steppe among them.

Probably of an aquarelle, showing the old Busenbach
church built in   1750/51. In this Baroque church all of Karen's ancestors
were baptized. It was replaced by the new one (on the photo above, in New Roman style) in 1891-93. Both churches were dedicated to St. Catharine. 7/2000

This is St. Cyriak's church in Stupferich 2 miles northeast of Busenbach. It was first
mentioned in 1110 and partly reconstructed because of dilapidation using the old foundation in 1759/60. The Busenbachers attended and were baptized in this church before 1751, because the church in Busenbach was dilapidated, too. It is the same style as the Busenbach church replaced by a new one in the 1890's.

Busenbach Map 1784
This is a map of Busenbach, Reichenbach and Etzenroth of 1784 (you see that B. is a   illage "along the road", the Alb valley is on top now

This is a map of today of Busenbach and surrounding area (you see the Black Forest on the right side, the Rhine valley on the left side, the Alb valley leaving
the Black Forest at Ettlingen)

Busenbach Cemetery showing Lorenz Steppe and Other Stones

Busenbach Station

This is a view of the (former railway, now streetcar) Busenbach station down in the Alb valley. You may reach Busenbach from Karlsruhe by the street car painted in red and yellow, the colors of the town of Karlsruhe.

Idyllic view of the valley of the river Alb in the Northern Black Forest, some miles south of Busenbach.
Black Forest

Graveyard in Busenbach Cemetery showing Steppe names

This is the village hall of Busenbach, constructed in the 1840's. You may assume that Karen's ancestors attended school here,
as it housed the classroom, too. Today it houses a restaurant and a doctor's office.

            
The names of the 19th century parish registers still are very common in the community's cemetery (as people buried at this cemetery mostly are born in the beginning of the last century and the people who settled down in the 1960's-90's, mostly coming from Karslruhe and now being the majority, have not yet died).

              

This is an aerial view of Busenbach today (you see the main road stretching upand down the hillside from the church in the center, the housesbeside it are the older ones, the new ones mostly are built after WWII. The trees in the fields are fruit-trees, no wine is grown here. Ontheleft side you see the end of the Alb valley, on top, behind the lasthills of the Black Forest, the Rhine valley with the Haardt-forests. Ontheleft side is Ettlingen, on the right side southern parts of Karlsruhe;the tower-like white building in the background in the right uppercorner is the power station situated directly at the Rhine harbour of Karsruhe. On a clear day you might see the mountains of thePalatinate's Forest some 40 km away to the right on the other side of the Rhine Valley 

Return Home