Apel Reunion - 2006
The 2006 Apel Reunion took place on Saturday 22th July. We all met in Køng in front of the Gl. Øbjerggaard.
About 45 people with relations to Georg Andreas Apel turned up. After a few words of welcome we were taken on a tour of Gl. Øbjerggaard, which is part of the museums in Køng. Gl. Øbjerggaard was the main building of the Køng factory and dates back to 1781. If you stand with your back to the main entrance of Gl. Øbjerggaard you can in a straight line catch a glimpse of the big Øbjerggaard which Niels Ryberg bought in 1774 when the Crown estates in the south of Zealand were sold at an auction. Gl. Øbjerggaard is now a museum for the linen industry, which Niels Ryberg built up in Køng and its surroundings. While production was at its highest the two largest weaving workshops were around the courtyard and Gl. Øbjerggaard itself complete with stucco panels and tapestries was the worthy residence of the factory inspector Voelker. This building is definitely worth a visit for everybody who is interested in a craft. Both school classes as well as private persons can all gain an experience in following the linen production, the growing, the working, the spinning and the weaving of flax.
In bright sunshine we walked over the grass to the hospital where the museum had grown flax on a little area the size of a postage stamp. With great interest we saw the hospital itself as it is known with certainty that Georg Andreas Apel and his wife spent their last years in this building. It was then an institution where the old people from the estate could come and live. They had free housing and received a small amount in cash.
On our walk round the village of Køng we also saw the spinning school before we headed for Køng church where several of our Apel ancestors have been christened, married, and buried. It was fantastic to have the opportunity to climb the church tower and enjoy the view over the land of our ancestors.
After returning to the courtyard in front of Gl. Øbjerggaard it was time to eat the lunch we had brought with us. To sit outside in green surroundings in the middle of Køng and picnic with distant relatives - it cannot be more historic!
During lunch all participants had to visit the common family tree, which had been hung up and with colours and symbols find their place and connection. It was fun to see that some had to draw several symbols as in the past an Apel had married an Apel.
After lunch we all drove in cars towards Vintersbølle to a cherished meeting with Maren Apel's public house in the forest. Here we were welcomed as in the olden days by an Apel in a black dress and white apron.
Afterwards we had coffee and cake - and all branches of the family chatted with one another. It turned out that there were several who were interested in contributing to the family database.
The last highlight of the day was the singing of a song written for the occasion by Carsten Warming (see material 2006 at the bottom of the page). Thereafter some went for a walk down to the beach and along the bleaching ground while others chatted on, found new relations, refreshed old memories and so on.
This day with fantastic weather became a day we will all remember. And when the organizers said good-bye to each other they said 'we did it'. Renewed energy for an Apel Reunion in 2007.
Material from 2006
Photos 2006 - Above pictures are taken by Anne-Lise Apel Rasmussen.
Apel Reunion 2006 - folder
- By Anne-Marie Jacobsen and Birgitte Apel Jacobsen.
Contents: Programme, copy of rent contract for a house for Georg Andreas Apel, the Apel song 2006 and other information.