Bad Oldesloe (p. 12
)
Bartholomaus
von Ahlefeld (? -
1568) inherited Fresenburg
in 1543 and immediately invited Mennonites to settle on his estate. He
had met
Mennonites in Julich, North
Brabant and Antwerp when
he participated in a military campaign
against Charles V in 1542. Many Mennonites including Menno Simons
settled on a
small knoll about two kilometres northeast of Bad Oldesloe. Their
settlement
was locally known as Wüstenfelde. Ahlefeld provided Menno with
a printing press
in what is now the Menno Cottage. Menno Simons is buried in
Wüstenfelde.