Is it easy to visit the places where our ancestors came from?

Quite a number of American descendants of the Wittgenstein Riedesels (and other families) have enjoyed traveling back there. Keep in mind that this is still a rather rural area. The principal town of Bad Berleburg has only around 5,000 residents and the surrounding villages often have fewer than 1,000. This is not Berlin or Rothenburg or the Rhineland where tourism is a huge business and English is widely spoken.

That said, I would be glad to consult with you on travel plans. I have excellent contacts in Wunderthausen and can assure you of an hospitable welcome. Feel free to contact me by email.

The town of Bad Berleburg (pictured below) maintains a website for tourists in English. Bad Laasphe has tourism website, but only in German. Finally, the community of Erndtebrück  has a tourism site (in German). The villages are all technically part of these larger towns, so are covered as well.

Where John Henry, Peter and Marie (Zehner) Riedesel came from is now part of France and no Riedesels live there any more.  Nor do there appear to be any Riedesels in the area around Stralsund.

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