Weil der Stadt

A Declaration

We the Burgomaster and Council of the city of Weil, one of the cities of the Holy Roman Empire, make known by these presents:

Whereas the high well-born Baron of the Empire, Heinrich Eberhardt von Speidel, Lord of Adlerstron, and Lord Lieutenant of the Anterior Austrian hereditary lands, in particular of the counties and dominions of Scheklingen, Ehingen and Berg, has made known to us that his baronial grace has been credibly informed that the Speidel family had settled here in this city of Weil several hundred years ago, and had lived here in fair numbers, and had counted amongst its members prominent citizens of the said city, and

Whereas his grace has requested us to ascertain from old books, documents and archives such details as would give a description of said original family, and to issue an authentic document concerning the same, we have caused some of the old documents as yet extant in this city to be examined for traces of the kind desired.

Firstly, in one of the Churches, to wit: the Church of Saint Augustine, we have found in an old parchment that in the year 1388 serious wars were carried on between the neighboring imperial cities, that in the serious battle of Doeffingen not far from this city 66 of its citizens, and amongst them men of the family of Beil, of Speidel and of Bersch, after fighting valiantly, were killed, and so died for their fatherland, and that in their honor their names were mentioned every year in an annual mass held in commemoration of them.
The Speidels have not only fought valiantly for their home city (fatherland) sacrificing their lives, but during times of peace they have occupied magisterial positions, as for instance Andreas Speidel who occupied the position as burgomaster and who also acted as administrator of the above mentioned Church of Saint Augustine in the year 1541.
Also, Bernhardt Speidel was one of the trustees of the municipal church in 1635 and in commemoration of the foregoing and of his brother Lienhardt, entries appear in the yearbook of the said parish.
Nor was there any lack of theologians and other learned people inasmuch as in the year 1536 Johann Speidel was incumbent of the parish here and was a zealous and faithful incumbent thereof. According to old tax books, Johann Speidel, a goldsmith, was in good financial circumstances in the year 1536, and so were others of the same ilk. That the family has been able to count a number of its members as inhabitants of the city of Weil is a matter beyond any doubt inasmuch as in the city, and particularly in the main street, there can be found a corner building where as an eternal memorial, and visible for everybody to read, two iron (speidel) wedges are found to have been driven in. Moreover, the said location shows a certain elevation (house) known to all the inhabitants as the "Speidelsberg".
That the Speidels had also been patricians and had been nobilitated can be assumed positively and with all certainty, inasmuch as the above mentioned corner building had been for more than 100 years in the hands of the noble family of Breunin and had then been inhabited by the Speidel family and passed on to them by contractual agreements.

In pursuance of all that has been said it becomes evident that this honorable Speidel family derives its origin from this city of Weil where it settled several hundred years ago, having originated there, and having fought for their home country as faithful fighting men, sacrificing their property and their blood, occupying high positions in the city government, and in the church in the worldly stations, having been patricians and nobilitated, having also been men of honesty, bravery, and upright disposition, having resided in the city of Weil and having participated in the government thereof, all of which is herewith certified to, written on parchment, and provided by way of authentication with the Great Seal of this city. Done on the 3rd of April 1687.

note: The city of Weil is now known as Weilderstadt which means "the City of Weil". It is not to be confused with Weil, which is another city on the Rhine opposite the city of Basel in Switzerland. WeilderStadt is situated about 20 miles from Stuttgart in Württemberg.