Station: [15] Huguenot Sites in Germany

In Hessen-Kassel, the immigration of religious refugees was well organised. The Huguenots arriving from the Mediterranean region were initially sent to Frankfurt. The city operated as a hub for the influx of refugees. Recruiters dispatched by the electors stood ready in Frankfurt to welcome the French Protestants and entice them to the various regions by detailing the privileges that awaited them. 
At the final destinations, refugee commissioners organised accommodation. Many Huguenots were directed to sparsely populated rural villages. Quite often, their flight, which had involved such deprivation, resulted in a very disappointing outcome. Some regions were completely devastated after the 30 Years' War, with derelict farms and overgrown fields. The new settlers found themselves facing the desolation of war.
Most of the Huguenots were housed in specially established colonies. In the towns, entire neighbourhoods were newly built, with an orderly layout and a systematically designed housing scheme. In Berlin, for example, the districts of Friedrichstadt and Dorotheenstadt are former Huguenot settlements. In Kassel, there's Oberneustadt, with Neustadt in Erlangen. In the city of Celle, the neighbourhood of Westceller Vorstadt became home to many Huguenots – and was formerly known as the "Franzosensiedlung", the French settlement. In rural areas, entire villages were newly established, including Carlsdorf, Kelze and St. Ottilien in today's administrative district of Kassel.
In their colonies, the Protestants mostly kept to themselves. As far as the locals were concerned, they were foreigners with a different language, a different diet and different traditions. Since the economic privileges applied solely to the Huguenots, the German population was not allowed to move to the colonies. It took several generations and the dismantling of the privileges before the population groups began to mix over the course of the 18th century.

Foto: © DHG