Domestic Artisans,
Farmer, Tradesman, Professionals, Clergy, Administrators & Manual Laborers
A sign of an
intellectually worthwhile life of a village are
always the social and cultural associations. The oldest association of our community is the
Trade Association, frequently also called
Zunft (Guild), Innung (Guild), or Meister
(Master Craftsman) Association.
It was a beautiful entertaining life that the
association led, at different formal events, but
especially at the annually held general assembly
where all the fellow shopkeepers were met by the
guild master with village music and after the
assembly they were accompanied back again by all
of the members of the association with music.
It also happened this way when the master
craftsman held a ball.
The association – called Zunft (Guild) in the
beginning issued apprentice and master craftsman
letters, but lost its privileges in 1867. It
remained, however, under the name as a social
association until 1877, then it operated until
1897 as Association of the Business
Enterprises.
Then it existed recently under the name Trade
and Commerce Association which from 1924 to the
end of 1929 was overheard to be the Iron Ring
Trade Association until finally on the 15th
of January, 1930 it became connected as the
local group of the German-Swabian Trade and
Commerce Association.
[Mercydorf
1734-1934 (Banat) by Peter
Schiff, translated by Brad Schwebler]
