According to the city of Zerbst, it has a unique, complete collection of associations in the Middle Ages. The writings, which date back to the 14th century, are now being restored.
Zerbst (dpa/sa) – Historical documents document the history of the Zerbst Schützengilde up to the year 1397 – now the writings are being restored by experts. The records of the guild in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld have been completely preserved for more than six centuries. “It’s unique,” said archivist Juliane Bruder. The collection includes nine parchment documents from the period 1397 to 1490, one paper document from 1468, two files and 29 books.
According to the information, around 12,000 euros are provided by the coordination center for the preservation of written cultural assets (Berlin). Among other things, experts want to restore the seal of the Zerbst documents. In addition, the exhibits are to be made even more durable than before for storage. “An exhibition with the restored documents is planned for the second half of 2023,” announced the archivist of the more than 1,000-year-old small town.
According to historians, the Zerbst riflemen’s guild was probably founded around 1300. The oldest written source for this is almost 100 years older (1397) and is part of the collection. It is a parchment document, a so-called fraternity letter. It describes the participation of all marksmen in the good works of the Augustinian order of the time. The archivist explained that this was tantamount to being accepted as honorary members of the order. According to the information, numerous sources document the relationship between the riflemen’s guild and the Augustinian monastery, which goes back to the 16th century.
