Why this page, you might ask. Well I found my last
name "Osterburg" to be unusual enough on the one
hand and common enough on the other to make me curious about the origins and
speadings of the name.
Though my ancestor research did not lead very far, I
found interesting facts and data, that I thought might be of interest. Maybe
there are other Osterburg's out there
(Contact Me!!!) - according to a German phonebook there
are at least 362 people of that name - who share my curiosity.
The name Osterburg is not only a widespread last name of
people in Germany and all over the world. Currently I know of one city, four
castles, a small village and a bridge with that name.
Linguistical Origin of "Osterburg"
The name Osterburg consists of the two parts Oster and Burg.
Where Burg can easily by identified as the German word for
castle, it is not as easy to say where Oster comes from.
The two most obvious interpretations are also reflected by the English
word Easter(n): Osten (English: Eastern; as opposed to Northern, Southern...)
or Ostern (English: Easter; as in Easter bunny).
As for Ostern, here is what I found in a German newspaper (MAZ, 3.4.99, p. 12):
From the word origin Ostern supposedly has something to do with baptism.
The word could be derived from the North-Germanic word "ausa;"
for "schöpfen" (German for create) or "gießen"
(German for pour, water) explains Professor Jürgen Udolph from
the Seminar for Linguistic Science at the University of Göttingen.
The plural form of the word (Ostern instead of Oster), could be explained
from the habit to pour the water three times on the baby. Even today
the baptism is a central element of the Christian liturgy at Easter.
Until today the word Ostern was often mentioned in connection with the
heathen goddess of spring Ostara or Eostrae respectively. Problematic,
because in the end a mistranslation, is the connection to the word Osten
(English: East) that originates in the Latin word "aurora" (red dawn).
Places with the name Osterburg
First there is the
City of Osterburg . It is a small town of about 8500 inhabitants in the
north-east of Saxony-Anhalt. It was first mentioned in the 12th century,
but its origins go further back than that, archaeological excavations found
evidence of a castle from the 10th century, which probably
passed on its name to the city. The name supposedly originates
from the fact that the castle (German: Burg) was situated at the
Eastern (German: Osten) borders of German territories in this
time.
The Osterburg near
Weida, a city in the south of Thuringia,
was build in the 12th century under Vogt Heinrich I. Heinrich I and his
descendents resided in the castle and made Weida the capital
of a land that even today carries the name Vogtland. Since the 17th
century the castle is known as Osterburg, a name derived from that of the
countryside, the so-called "Ostland".
The tower, because of its special form also called "Tower without Roof"
is one of the oldiest and mightiest in Germany.
There was another castle called
Osterburg (http://www.rhoenline.de/burg/burg_osterburg.html) situated at the hill "Osterberg"
(Berg is German for hill) near Bischofsheim in Hessen. Since it was destroyed more
than 700 years ago it is a ruin, that had been forgotten about for a long time.
Only in 1897 it was rediscovered.
Very nearby - in the village of Hinte is another
Osterburg (it is also called "Wasserburg Hinta") that was build in the late 13th century. "Oster" comes from
the German "Osten" (East), there was also a Westerburg (Westen is German for West)
until it was destroyed in 1636.
In Bedford County/Pennsylvania, U.S.A., there is a small village (???) Osterburg, that has
an Osterburg Bridge
nearby.
People with the name Osterburg
As I mentioned above there are about 350 entries for the name Osterburg in
the various Online-Phonebooks for Germany. Searches for the U.S., Canada,
Belgium the U.K. and other countries revealed, that the name has spread around
the world.
In a map of Germany I have marked the places where the phonebook indicates that
an Osterburg lives there. If there are more people in one town the red circles
are larger.
Only few of all these Osterburg's have their own homepages yet, the few I was
able to find are listed below. Submissions are of course welcome!
Though my ancestor research did not lead very far, I
found interesting facts and data, that I thought might be of interest. Maybe
there are other Osterburg's out there
(Contact Me!!!) - according to a German phonebook there
are at least 362 people of that name - who share my curiosity.
The Osterburg near
Weida, a city in the south of Thuringia,
was build in the 12th century under Vogt Heinrich I. Heinrich I and his
descendents resided in the castle and made Weida the capital
of a land that even today carries the name Vogtland. Since the 17th
century the castle is known as Osterburg, a name derived from that of the
countryside, the so-called "Ostland".
This Osterburg, is situated in
Very nearby - in the village of 
In Bedford County/Pennsylvania, U.S.A., there is a small village (???) Osterburg, that has
an 