The history of the BRIXEL family
“Caminante no hay camino, se hace camino al andar…” (Antonio Machado)
The path of all Brixels begins in Frauenfeld in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, south of Lake Constance. From there, at the end of the Thirty Years’ War, it leads to the imperial city of Esslingen, and over the course of four generations continues via Schluckenau in northern Bohemia to Römerstadt in northern Moravia.
Later generations spread across northern Moravia, move to the heartland of Austria and to other countries, as a result of expulsion mainly to Germany.
Migration is a recurring feature of the family history.
From Frauenfeld to Römerstadt
Generation 0
Hans Jakob Brüchsel, brickmaker and Barbara Studer marry in 1630 in Swiss Zurich. They are listed in the 1634 household register of the city Frauenfeld (40 km away) with their children Hans Melchior (2) and Susanna (1).
Generation 1
After the end of the Thirty Years’ War (Peace of Westphalia 1648), Melchior moves to the imperial city of Esslingen, becomes a master mason and engraver in 1654, and marries Anna-Maria Enoch in 1655, registering the name Brüxel.
Generation 2
Melchior and Anna Maria´s children Maria Magdalena and Johannes are born in 1657 and 1659 in Esslingen. The respective church archives document for the first time the use of the family name Brixel.
Generation 3
Johannes’ son Augustin comes from Fridenthal. From there, he moves to Schluckenau in northern Bohemia, probably as an itinerant journeyman, and works as a linen weaver. The parish registers of Schluckenau show births of six children.
Generation 4
The five sons of Augustin settle in Harrachsdorf, a parish in Römerstadt in northern Moravia, working as weavers. Next generations also settle in neighbouring parishes. All living Brixels descend from these five brothers. Römerstadt remains home for many more generations of Brixels.
Frauenfeld – Generations 0 and 1
Frauenfeld was and is the capital of the Swiss canton of Thurgau, directly south of Lake Constance. Today it has over 25,000 inhabitants. In 1630 there may have been under 2,000, most of them Protestant. Church services were still held alternately in the same church, and the mayor alternated every year between the religions. The so-called Old Confederacy, which was still loosely integrated within the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation at the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War, became not only de facto but also legally independent with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. It had kept out of the war, but there were internal religious tensions. After a peasant war in 1653 there was also a religious war in 1656 between Reformed and Catholic cities.
The marriage of Hans Jakob Brüchsel and Barbara Studer is documented on 8.2.1630, and in 1634 the family is listed in the town’s household register with the children Hans Melchior (2 years) and Susanna (1 year). Hans Jakob Brüchsel is listed as a brickmaker.
Brickmakers usually produce bricks from clay, sand and other earth components using molds. By its very nature, it is a localized profession, since it usually requires a kiln. Interesting in the later context of the profession of weaver is the itinerant brickmaker. This term refers to structures of seasonal migrant work that can be traced back to the beginning of the 17th century. Wikipedia cites the Lippe itinerant brickmaking industry as a particularly well-known example of early modern labour migration: “Due to the poor earning opportunities in hand spinning and hand weaving and triggered by the increasing mechanization of this work, young men from the agrarian Lippe region migrated seasonally to brickworks in Friesland. They worked there during the summer and returned home for the winter. In winter, they often worked again as linen weavers.”
Esslingen – Generations 1 and 2
The imperial city of Esslingen suffered heavily during the Thirty Years’ War. Its population grew from 6,000 to 18,000 at times due to refugees, but was reduced to around 4,000 due to famine and epidemics (the plague in 1635).
Melchior came to this town, probably as an apprentice on his travels. Archives of the city of Esslingen show a report on the presentation of his masterpiece 19.3.1654, under the name Melchior Preßell. In an ethical examination report to the council dated 29.8.1662, Melchior signs his name as Brüxel. This name can already be found in the church archives of his marriage to Anna Maria Enoch on 25.11.1655.
The surname changes to Brixel with the registration of the births of their children: on 7.8.1657 of Maria Magdalena, and on 11.2.1659 of Johannes. Those spelling changes were quite common in the Middle Ages. There is no doubt that Melchior Brixel is the same person who was born in Frauenfeld in 1632 as Melchior Brüchsel.
In some cities, the founding of guilds was associated with a so-called “guild revolution” or a political upheaval. The guilded citizens were often granted extensive autonomy from the outset, in order to make the founding of new towns attractive for traders and craftsmen. According to Wikipedia, in certain cities in the Holy Roman Empire, craftsmen organized in guilds even managed to seize political power in whole or in part. In the imperial cities, guild constitutions were at times quite powerful, which guaranteed the guilds dominance in the council. One became a guild member as a master craftsman by presenting a masterpiece, passing an oral examination and paying a fee. Members often had civil rights, which journeymen were not yet entitled to. Guilds did not only represent the members interests to the outside world, but also provided mutual support. They were often highly regulated for their own protection, including the requirement that you were only allowed to marry when being a master and guild member, and then preferably to daughters (or sons in the case of a female master) of other masters and guild members.
Fridenthal – Generations 2 and 3
Augustin, the son of Johannes, is documented in the registers of the subsequent parish of Schluckenau, with Fridenthal given as his origin.
It is still unclear which Fridenthal this refers to, or whether it is a different spelling such as Friedenthal or Freudenthal. There are various theories, for which local research is required. The proof of a connection between Johannes from Esslingen and Augustin in Schluckenau is so far only based on the names in the registers and the plausibility of timing. It is assumed that Johannes had already moved on from Esslingen, as no further entries could be found in the church records of Esslingen. Without knowing Johannes’ occupation and which Fridenthal it is, we do not know the social framework conditions.
Schluckenau – Generations 3 and 4
Schluckenau is a town of just under 6,000 inhabitants in northern Bohemia, in what is now the Czech Republic, not far from the border triangle with Germany and Poland. Schluckenau was ravaged by a major fire in 1710. In 1745, another fire destroyed nearly all houses. Historically, due to its border proximity between Bohemia/Saxonia/Prussia/Poland, it was always a transit area for various belligerent armies. In early 18th century it was peripheral of the so-called Great Northern War between the Swedish Empire and the Russian Tsardom, and during the War of the Austrian Succession from 1740 to 1748, it saw a few painful military occupations.
It is assumed that Augustin came to Schluckenau as a journeyman from Fridenthal. The church registers of Schluckenau show two marriages of Augustin in 1719 and 1737, and the births of six children from both marriages, from 1722 to 1738. The further migration of the whole family from Schluckenau to Römerstadt happens around 1748.
Linen weaving was the main industry in the town already when Augustin arrived. In 1715, 304 weavers were counted, among them 85 foreign journeymen. One century later, in 1825, there were 261 master weavers (out of 516 masters of all trades), 126 journeymen, 59 apprentices and 91 other unskilled workers working in Schluckenau.
In 1721, the county Schluckenau, as well as the county Janowitz near Römerstadt, became part of the Count Harrach family through marriage. Count Ferdinand Bonaventura II was instrumental in the further migration of Brixels to Römerstadt.
Römerstadt – Generations 4 and following
Allegedly, Ferdinand Bonaventura Count von Harrach founded the first linen factory in Moravia and Austrian Silesia in 1721 on his Janowitz estate (Römerstadt district). Anyway, he arranged for the influx of weavers from northern Bohemia and Saxony through locators (entrepreneurs responsible for clearing, surveying and allocating land to be developed). This led to the founding of numerous villages, including Rosendorf in 1746 and a few years later Harrachsdorf. He had spinning schools set up, intensified the cultivation of flax and also achieved an economic upturn in the surrounding manorial estates through the establishment of iron hammers and wire drawing mills (according to Wikipedia). A chronicle of Römerstadt reports: “…soon thereafter, settlers arrived from German Bohemia, each one was awarded pieces of land, and they built houses where nowadays Harrachsdorf is established…”.
The five brothers start their families more or less simultaneously in Harrachsdorf, then in neighbouring parishes of Römerstadt. Their more than three dozen children are born between 1750 and 1775. According to current knowledge, all living Brixels descend from these brothers of generation 4, up to the youngest generations 13 and 14.
Augustin and sons were master linen weavers, as documented in church records. Linen weaving was the most important industry in Römerstadt into the 20th century. Only 3 generations later, the Brixels’ professional spectrum expands.
In 1834, the town had just under 3,000 German inhabitants (other ethnical groups were not mentioned in the statistics), at the turn of the century around 5,000, in the whole county around 25,000. The census 1921 shows more than 80 Brixels living in Römerstadt town and county. Today, the town Römerstadt (Rýmařov) is home to 8,000 residents, predominantly Czech.
Emigrations from Römerstadt
Emigration of the Brixels from Römerstadt took place at different times and had different characters. The available documentation shows following starting periods:
from generation 8 (mid 19th century) within Moravia and Austria, and to Brazil
from generation 9 (end 19th century) to Germany
later individually to other countries
Here, the current country names are used. For example, historically there was no “Germany”, but a Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (until 1806), then individual “German” kingdoms such as Württemberg and Prussia, then the German Empire. Moravia was predominantly ruled by the Kingdom of Bohemia and thus by the Habsburg dynasty, from 1804 the Austrian Empire, and between 1867 and 1918 the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Moravia became part of the newly founded Czechoslovakia in 1918 (and the ‘Sudeten Germans’ officially became citizens of Czechoslovakia in 1919 with the Treaty of Saint-Germain), and has been part of the Czech Republic since 1993.
Within Moravia
The further distribution of the Brixel family in northern Moravia is well documented in parish registers.
First entries in church registers of the county Römerstadt (Rýmařov) start in the 1750s in the parishes Harrachsdorf (Harrachov) and Rosendorf (Růžová) with the births of first Anton´s and then his brothers´ children. One generation later, first entries appear in neighbouring parishes, foremost in more industrial Janowitz/Johnsdorf (Janovice/Janušov).
The professional practise as weavers was inherited from generation to generation, starting with Anton. Even in the 20th century, individual Brixels were still working as weavers in Römerstadt, and it occurred that a weaver took his weaving business far away, as reported by Franz Brixel (1840) of his father in Graz.
The invention of the Jacquard machine in 1805 soon changed the living conditions of weaver craftsmen drastically. The industrial revolution created new jobs, however also led to social hardship. Neighbouring Prussia saw the Silesian weavers’ uprising in 1844, and the Austrian Empire the revolution 1848/49. Brixels began to move from Römerstadt into urban settlements and took new professions. A great-grandson of Augustin moved to Mährisch-Neustadt (Uničov) as early as 1831. From 1852, parish register entries are seen in other North Moravian cities. Besides factory workers, there are now teachers and pastors, then also merchants, tax inspectors, lawyers and doctors.
Within Austria
Evidence of early migration of the Brixels within the Austrian Empire can be found in parish registers. There are indications of isolated emigration of Brixels from Moravia as early as the 5th generation, in the 18th century. The oldest available documentation records the death of a Joseph Brixel in Vienna in 1794 at the age of 26. No descendants are known.
A first Brixel family in Vienna was established from 1811 in Lichtental by journeyman Hubert from Römerstadt. After the death of his first wife and remarriage, he returned with his family as master weaver to his home town in Northern Moravia.
The first permanent family establishment in Vienna came with the 3 brothers Johann, Karl and Franz, all weavers from Silesian Neustadt. From 1837 to 1860, they had among them 12 children and further grandchildren in the parishes Reindorf and Gumpendorf. Among them was the later, long-term principal of the Horak Music Schools, Franz Brixel.
Later family establishments started with:
Martin, weaver from Römerstadt (Rosendorf) with children from 1861 to 1870
Johann, tailor, with children from 1874 to 1883 (Gaudenzdorf and Meidling)
Eduard, carpenter from Römerstadt (Johnsdorf), with children from 1881 to 1888 (Gaudenzdorf)
August, postman from Mährisch-Neustadt, with children from 1889 to 1901 (Breitenfeld)
Maximilian, physician from Müglitz, with children 1905 and 1907 (Lichtenwörth).
Most references to Brixels in international databases come from Austrian records. This is understandable, because the migration from Moravia to the heartland of Austria was not a migration to a “foreign” country.
To Germany
Isolated records mention 2nd and 3rd generation Brixels in southwestern Germany. At least in one case, it is assumed to be related to a younger brother of Melchior, with the name Caspar. From mid 18th century, there are no further church records of Brixels in southwestern Germany, and so it is also assumed, that no independent, permanent lines had been established.
Unlike the migration from Moravia to Vienna or Graz in Austria, the migration to Germany was an international one, as it was to foreign kingdoms (Württemberg, Saxony, Prussia). First permanent migrations are documented only after the creation of the German Empire in 1871. Until World War One, Brixels from Northern Moravia established following new branches:
from 1873 in Dresden: Libor from Freudenthal, originally weaver, then labourer
from 1874 in Breslau: Franz, tradesman
from 1883 in Weißenfels, Saxonia: Albert
from 1889 in Nürnberg: Karl
from 1894 in Göppingen: Wilhelm from Karlsdorf near Römerstadt
from 1910 in Bremen: August, engineer from Müglitz.
The migration of Brixels increased. By far the largest wave took place during and immediately after the Second World War with the expulsion of the (Sudeten) Germans in 1945 and 1946. Most of the Brixels now living in Germany can probably be attributed to this phase.
To Brazil
Documented is the entry of a Johann with his wife and two daughters into the province of Rio Grande do Sul in 1877, by ship from Hamburg. In the 19th century, there was a long-term German colonization supported by the Brazilian government (today there are around 5-12 million Brazilians of German descent, or 3-5% of the total population).
The passenger documents 1877 show:
Johann, born ca 1847, worker from Römerstadt, with wife Victoria (ca 1849) and children Maria (ca 1870) and
Anna (ca 1875). Their son Gustavo was born in Brazil in 1890. He registered the birth of his 10 children in Curitiba in the South Brazilian state Paraná, in the years 1908 to 1929.
Currently, a few dozen if not more than 100 Brixels are living in Brazil, mostly in Curitiba, most probably all descendants from the first immigration family.
Individually to other countries
Hungary
A family line living in Hungary can be traced back to a Franz Karl, descending from Brixels from Römerstadt. He was born in 1889 in Karlsdorf in Moravia and died in Budapest in 1949. The move to Budapest took place at the time of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy, as his children were given Hungarian (spelling of) first names in 1915 and 1917: Ferenc József and László Gyula.
USA
The first Brixel family documented in the USA is that of a Leopold, born 1853 in Römerstadt, who arrived from Liverpool in 1880 and immediately married. Leopold is great-grandson of Johannes (1757). His 2 daughters have descendants, but no name-bearers Brixel.
The few Brixels currently living in the USA all arrived or were born there after World War II.
France
Civil registry documents from the 17th to the 19th century show a few Brixel names, exclusively in Cote-du-Nord in the Bretagne. The spelling seems to have derived from the family name Brexel which had been in use locally already in 1630, and that spelling was resumed from 1875. There is no connection to the family Brixel of Swiss/Moravian origin.
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