IGS Presents...

Genealogy and historic research are nothing less than traveling in time. Have you ever thought about exploring a medieval city in Germany? Of course, historic places do not exist as they once did, but is it possible to transport oneself back to a specific time frame? Why not to a time of 500 or 600 years ago?

What can be found today, and how to approach such a challenge, especially when you want to conduct this research from your own desk?

In this lecture, Dirk Weissleder provides a survey on how to find “witnesses” — sources and artifacts from a certain historical period. It offers concrete examples from medieval times, before and after his having visited former Imperial cities (Reichsstädte) in Southern Germany as part of his own research. The methodology shown can be used for different time periods and places in German history. By jumping back into the time of the 14th and 15th century one will also get an idea of what made a medieval city then, and remains still until today.

The lecture does not only intend to teach a methodology of “how to“, but also seeks to change our understanding of what a place is today, was back then, and will be in the future. Is there something like a soul, or a character, of a place? Let´s find out how to work on those questions, and explore applications for your own research on the genealogical and biographical background of your ancestors and relatives.

The presentation will last approximately one hour, and there will be time for some questions.

Dirk Weissleder

Dirk has been the chairman of the Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft genealogischer Verbände e. V. (DAGV), the national umbrella organization of German genealogical & heraldic societies, since 2012, and he was elected General Secretary of the World Federation of Genealogy and Heraldry (CIGH) in 2019. He is also 2nd Vice-President of of the the International German Genealogy Partnership (IGGP), and Secretary of the International Academy for Genealogy (AIG).