Ännchen von Tharau ist, die mir gefällt,
sie ist mein Leben, mein Gut und mein Geld.
Ännchen von Tharau hat wieder ihr Herz
auf mich gerichtet in Lieb' und in Schmerz.
Ännchen von Tharau, mein Reichtum, mein Gut,
du meine Seele, mein Fleisch und mein Blut!
Käm' alles Wetter gleich auf uns zu schlahn,
wir sind gesinnt bei einander zu stahn.
Krankheit, Verfolgung, Betrübnis und Pein
soll unsrer Liebe Verknotigung sein.
Ännchen von Tharau, mein Reichtum, mein Gut,
du meine Seele, mein Fleisch und mein Blut!
Recht als ein Palmenbaum über sich steigt,
hat ihn erst Regen und Sturmwind gebeut:
so wird die Lieb' in uns mächtig und groß
nach manchem Leiden und traurigem Los.
Ännchen von Tharau, mein Reichtum, mein Gut,
du meine Seele, mein Fleisch und mein Blut!
Würdest du gleich einmal von mir getrennt,
lebtest, da wo man die Sonne kaum kennt:
ich will dir folgen durch Wälder, durch Meer,
Eisen und Kerker und feindliches Heer.
Ännchen von Tharau, mein Licht, meine Sonn,
mein Leben schließt sich um deines herum.
Simon Dach was a German lyrical poet born at Memel in 1605. He received the chair of poetry at
the University of Königsberg which he occupied until his death in 1659. He was famous for many
hymns and he wrote about the house of the electors of Brandenburg in a collection of poems entitled
Kurbrandenburgische Rose, Adler, Löwe und Scepter in 1661.
His most famous poem is 'Anke von Tharaw öss, de my geföllt', composed in 1637, which Johann
Gottfried Herder translated into modern German as Ännchen von Tharau. It was about Anna
Neander, born in 1619 to the village minister Andreas Martin Neander in Tharau. Anne Neander
outlived three husbands, all ministers of the municipality. The song, which consists of 17 verses, was
originally in old German. Dach was apparently smitten with her beauty and wrote the poem as a
wedding present to her.
Ännchen von Tharau
In 1732, over 3,000 exiled Salzburgers found refuge and a new home in Memel. It had been sorely
devastated by plague before their arrival and they were greatly welcomed. Memel, near the lower
reaches of the Neman River in East Prussia, is a name found in sources from even before the 13th
century. The Bishop of Courland founded Castle Memelburg in 1252, and by 1258 a town was
granted Lübeck City Rights. The castle and environs were transferred from Livonia to the Teutonic
Order in Prussia in 1328, and it faced war between the Order and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the
castle being attacked every 15 to 20 years by Samogitians and Lithuanians, hindering growth.
Memel
With the Peace at Melno-See in 1422, the border was permanently set between the Teutonic Order
and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, with Memel remaining as part of Prussia. It became an important
trading center during the Middle Ages when it was part of the Hanseatic League. Ducal Memel
adopted Lutheranism in 1525, and after 1618, a defence was erected around the entire town in 1627.
This paid off when a small army of Swedes tried to capture the town in 1678. Memelfestung was
one of the strongest fortresses in Prussia. The border here was one of the longest lasting unchanged
borders in Europe until 1919.
Left: The centennial token issued on July 25, 1832 commemorated their arrival. It was an important date for all Salzburger
descendants. The commemorative coin was embossed with a Salzburger kneeling before the figure of Borussia (Latin for
Prussia) had an inscription which read: "My new sons, your new fatherland." Center: Dach; Right: Memel