by
Robert J. Paulson

Parish Community of Waier

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Waier, a village with 73 houses and approximately 500 inhabitants, is located in the delightful valley where the Radbusa has its source, and is framed by forest and mountains like the 757 meter-high "grossen Fels" [great rock], the 787- meter Eisenberg, and the 859-meter Plattenberg, and in the general neighborhood of 876- meter-high Hirschstein.

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The establishment of Waier goes back to the 16th century. Between the years 1571-1579 a Knight named Wiedersberg must have laid out a pond for fish-farming there. The pond had a circumfrence of about 730 paces and held brood cages and carp. The house that may have been built for the pond-guardian could be house number 3. Later a sawmill was established there, on the same spot as today's "Rapauf" [something to do with eels]. The main village road leads past the former dam for the pond and is still called "Weiherdamm" today. I led to the main district highway. Waier was a crossroads point with Schönsee eight kilometers, Weissensulz eight kilometers, Hostau eight kilometers and Ronsperk also eight kilometers away. It was also only three kilometers from the Bavarian frontier.

Settlement of Waier began during the years 1760-1770. In 1785 there were already 24 houses and 129 residents in Waier. The number of inhabitants grew especially quickly after the parish was established. When it was first founded, Waier belonged to the parish at Muttersdorf even though, as with the other nearby villages, the church was almost three hours away. It was not until 1786 that the villages of Waier, Bernstein, Friedrichsdorf, Schnaggenmühle, Neid, Franzbrunnhütte, Schwarzach, and Unterhütte, OberhÄtte were separated from the Muttersdorf parish and a "Lokalie" was built in Waier. Later, the village of Paadorf, founded in 1870, also belonged to the Waier parish.

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The first pastor was Georg Killian from Eisendorf, chaplain in Ronsperk, who arrived in Waier on October 28, 1786 and held the first services in a chapel on November 5. Until the parish house was finished he lived for three years "auf der Troth."[literally "on the pavement]. In 1787 the first cemetery was laid out and in 1830 a new one -- but the latter had to be given up because of moisture. The present cemetery was laid out in

1914. The church was built during 1795-1798 with patronage of Baron Linker von Ronsperk. In 1827 Count Thun built the belfry, the Presbyterium, a long "Schiff" and installed two bells there. The patron of the church is Saint Anna. The church vestments and linens came from the abandonned monastery in Stockau, and from the Domincan monastery in Klattau. The pulpit and two paintings came out of the chapel at the former Mossburger Hutte by Walddorf, the organ came from the chapel in JohanneshÄtte. The Jewish glass manufacturer, Bloch, also came from Johanneshütte and in 1854 he purchased a new organ for the church. The large bell, poured in 1697, originated in the abandonned church of Marateinitzl and the second bell came from St. George's near Ronsperg. Thus the church was laboriously equipped, making it very costly and very precious to us.

During the First World War two bells were confiscated. In 1856 the "Lokalie" designation was elevated to that of "Parish." The ministers who served in Waier after 1900 are: Zeleny, Severin from Klattau, earlier chaplain in Muttersdorf, died in 1900 in Waier. -- Jiran, Johann from Hlavatetz, who arrived in 1928 after first serving in Metzling, died in 1955 in Taus. It was Pastor Jiran who arranged in 1923 for Althutten to be detached from the parish at Muttersdorf and to be attached to Waier instead. --Wittman, Georg from Metzling until 1939, died in 1972. --Bayer, Karl von 1939-1945 arrived after serving in Stadlern. --Manlik, Alois from 1945 until the expulsion, now in Reicholdsried/Allgau. A son of our parish community, Rudolf Liebl, son of the married couple Georg and Anna Liebl (nee Heumann from Althutten, Waier parish) received Holy Orders from the Archbishop Rudolf Graber, elevating him to the Priesthood on June 29, 1974 in the high cathedral at Regensburg. On July 14, 1974, the "Primiziant" [newly ordained] celebrated his first Holy Mass for the entire parish community in Oberviechtach, the hometown of the Liebl family.

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The church in Waier was looted after the expulsion and stood as a shell until its total destruction in 1964. Only three wonderful linden trees are left to remind one of the place where the church once stood. In 1973 new apartments and a school were built on the site.

Waier belonged to the school in Muttersdorf. In 1787 a school was built in Waier. It probably got it final and present form in 1894 when the schoolhouse was enlarged and received a floor. Bernstein, Friedrichshof, Grossgorschin, Putzbühl, Pfaffenberg, and formerly Neid und Schnaggenmühle also belonged to the schoolat Waier. In 1909 a branch school [Expositur] was built in Neid, likewise in Rindl where an Winterexpoitur had been established in Ÿ1891. In 1895 both place received year-round schools.

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The first teacher in Waier was Michl Suss from Taus who arrivedin 1812 after first teaching in Dianahof. 1812-1813 the teacher was named Hübner; Ludwig Krauss from Ronsperg taught from May 8, 1886 until November 31, 1922. He died in Waier in 1923. Johann Domeier from Waier was later the "Oberlehrer" in SchwanenbrÄckl and Muttersdorf. Thomas Preywich from Ronsperg, Georg Maurer from Neugramatin, who gave his life during the First World War.

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The inhabitants of the Waier Heimat were industrious, friendly people, who sang together very much. The cottagers has small farms with two to three cows in the barn. The women made lace, and in the summer the girls and young men when to work in the spa towns, in the autumn full families often went to the vicinity of Saaz to join in picking hops. There were three larger farms in Waier, three Gasthauser [inns], a general store, a butcher, a blacksmith, a tinsmith, a carpenter, a taylor, a shoemaker, a mason and a street mechanic. Our last Burgermeister was Franz Kraus of house number 46, the one previous was Josef Lang of house number 3.

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Waier's post office was originally in Bischoteinitz, later it was in Klentsch and Ronsperg. In 1904 it was in Schwarzach and it was moved to Waier in 1939.

The volunteer fire department was established in 1901 with Ludwig Krauss, Oberlehrer, as commander. After the First World War Johann Saffert took over as commander. A "Raiffeisen Society" was founded in 1903, in 1910 a chapter of the Bohemian Forest League and later a "Cultural Union" was also established.

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In 1925 Dr. Thierfeld arrived in Waier to practice medecine. His practice was in house Lindl, number 52; Dr. Linhardt who followed next had his practice in House Saffert. He died in Waier in 1933. Ever since 1938 Dr. Salomon practiced medecine in House Liebl Number 4. Earlier Waier's medical needs had been taken care of by Drs. Wurmer and Ehm of Ronsperg. After 1938 Doctor Jahn from Tiefenbach came twise a week to Waier.

A Gendarmerie Post was built in Waier in 1919 and was there until1938.