Rimhorn, Odenwaldkreis, seen from the south

September 7, 2016

Jim and Susan Stokum visited the hamlet of Rimhorn, in Odenwaldkreis, Germany on this day. It was the first trip to Europe for Jim and Susan and so naturally, they had never been to this part of Germany. 

The Odenwald is a quiet, rural part of the country. There are no major highways and rail service is limited. Therefore, it has not really changed much in the past 200 years, other than the fact that people have cars now to get around and the roads are better. Villages remain very small, and very, very quiet. 

We walked around Rimhorn on a bright and warm morning. James Derheim, owner of European Focus Private Tours, had arranged in advance that the little Evangelical Lutheran Church would be opened at a specific time. We got to the village about 45 minutes ahead of that time, and used the interval to walk around the little cemetery where we found a few Stockum headstones. The name was changed later in America, dropping the "c." 

The photos on this blog page were taken by James. This blog page may be freely shared by all members of the extended family. 

Susan photographs Jim as he points to names on the World War I memorial on the edge of 

the village. 

One of the Stockum graves

The caretaker opens the north door of the church, once used by the men and the boys of the village to enter into the upper balcony. 

 The organ is from the late 1700s and still plays

Paintings of the Four Evangelists Matthew,

Mark, Luke and John along the altar were

completed in 1722. 

Jim Stokum stands at the sandstone baptismal where

generations of Stockum ancestors were baptised. 

The church is from the 1100s and 1200s and it was 

"updated" in 1722 through the donation of money from a local

aristocrat. 

 

 The pulpit and to the left, the organ and the altar

 A very old house, possibly an inn, at the lower center of the 

village. It is now used as a home for the disabled. 

Thanks for "visiting" Rimhorn via this blog site. If you are interested in learning how you can make your own personal journey to the land of your ancestors, please visit www.europeanfocus.com

Thank you,

James Derheim
Amboise, Loire Valley, France
September 15, 2016