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I am not sure if this is the right spot but here is an amusing anecdote. My wife and I were looking at her school pictures the other day and in one she is dressed in tradritional grab for the celberation of her hometown's 1200th anniversary, this was around 20 years ago. Apparently it was a great party and a good time was had by all. When I saw this I said hey, there is a monument to 900 years in the middle of town, she explained that subsequent research showed that her home village was in actuality founded in 999 A.D. and not 699 A.D. they couldnt read the original manuscript and a local history buff re-researched it and established 999 as the founding year based on church records at the local diocese and in Rome.I just think it is an interesting story. Incidentally, the town I just bought a house in is celebrating 1000 years this year. Needless to say, I have already grilled the local history club and they have assured me that their dating is correct.
I wonder what the qualifications were for considering something to be the “town origin”. Would it have been the date the first church was built, or when the town's name was first used in records, or something else? I know the city of Venice was supposed to have been founded on March 25, 421 A.D. Of course March 25 is the feast of the Marian Annunciation, and from what I have read the choice may have been made for its symbolic and religious importance to the city rather than the historical reality. In the same way, the date 999 A.D. sounds like a potentially symbolic date as well. Who knows? But if the local history buff was the one who did the research, it sounds like you live in a fairly small town….perhaps the best kind in Europe, IMO. You'll have to post some pictures of Old Town when you get settled in some more.
I believe it is mention of the founding of a parish in ecclesiastical records. I am not sure though. I know this is the standard used for many towns in England. We got lucky and fell into a great deal. I always wanted to live in an old town and Kemnath, Bavaria certainly qualifies. Parts of the stadtmauer or town wall still exist and there is an outstanding Italian Pizzeria in the old moat right next to the town church. I will have to post some pictures sometime, there are some on the town website @ http://www.kemnath.de unfortunately the site is in German.
