22 - World's Oldest Mennonite Church - Langnau, Switzerland
On Thursday, June 22, 2023, members of the Hiestand-Haston Heritage Tour group will see the oldest continuously active Mennonite Church in the world.
Langnau has a history of Anabaptism going all the way back to March 1525.
Today, Langnau has the oldest Mennonite church in the world, dating to 1530.
Its history is a story of suffering without equal. Only after 320 years did the severely tried congregation, which remained steadfast, receive full liberty of conscience. This occurred through the Bernese cantonal constitution of 1846 and the Swiss federal constitution of 1848
Much like the area on the southeast end of Lake Zurich in Canton Zurich where our Hiestands came from, the Emmental Valley in Canton Bern was a “hotbed of Anabaptism” in the 16th and 17th centuries. Some of the Mennonite families who lived and scattered out of the Emmental Valley were the Baumgartners, Lehmans, Gerbers, Burkhalters, Bergers, Hoffstetters, Rothlisbergers, Bauers, Bachmans, Schwartzs, Mosers, Mullers, Neuenschwanders, Grimms, Josts, Hofers, and Kipfers.
The Emmental - Valley of the Emme River in Canton Berne
Langnau, a District in the Beautiful Emmental – the Valley of the Emme River
Share this with Hastons or related family members who might be interested in the June 14-27, 2023 Hiestand-Haston European Heritage Tour.
