SCHWENKFELDER LIBRARY & HERITAGE CENTER
105 Seminary Street, Pennsburg, PA 18073
Phone 215 679-3103 Fax 215 679-8175
info@schwenkfelder.com
www.schwenkfelder.com

February 7, 2008

Contact: David W. Luz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 215-679-3103, phone; 215-679-8175, fax

GEORGE HAUPTMANN: NOTABLE SILESIAN SCHWENKFELDER

PENNSBURG, Pa. - The Board of Directors of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center invites the public to a lecture entitled: "George Hauptmann: Notable Silesian Schwenkfelder" on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at noon by Dr. L. Allen Viehmeyer, Associate Director of Research. The public is invited to bring a lunch to this free lecture, beverages will be provided. The lecture will be repeated on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 2:00 pm.

George Hauptman (1635-1722) was the leader of the Schwenkfelder community in Lauterseiffen, Silesia. The lecture, illustrated with materials from the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center Archives, presents the life story of this venerable Schwenkfelder. He was a medical doctor who was known far and wide for various chemical preparations for treating his patients including pills containing some gold. An elderly man when the Jesuit Mission set up headquarters in major Schwenkfelder communities for the purpose of coercing them to convert to Catholicism, he was required by the priests to submit a confession of faith, which is just one of the documents featured in this presentation.

The Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center was founded in 1884 as an informal collection in a private home to assure the preservation of the Schwenkfelders' cultural identity. Today the Heritage Center, a not-for-profit organization, is still preserving, interpreting, and documenting the history of this German Protestant group, along with the history of the Upper Perkiomen Valley. The Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Thursdays 9:00 am to 8:00 pm; Saturdays 10:00 am to 3:00 pm; and Sundays 1:00 to 4:00 pm. The Heritage Center is closed to the public on Mondays. For additional information call 215-679-3103 or visit our website www.schwenkfelder.com

David W. Luz
Executive Director
Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
105 Seminary Street
Pennsburg, PA 18073
Tel. 215-679-3103
Fax 215-679-8175
email: info@schwenkfelder.com
www.schwenkfelder.com