About this chronicle

This chronicle is a family myth and a literary undertaking. Fockbek, the Eider, the Aalversupen (the drowning of the eel) and the canals belong to real local history. Aad Fock, the historical bearers of the name and the Fockbeker Blätter, the Fockbek Papers, belong to the story. Its motto is “De Aal swemmt wieder” (The eel swims on).

What is real

• Fockbek in Schleswig-Holstein, first recorded as Fokabikre in 1196.
• Grönsfurt on the Eider, the tale of the Aalversupen, and the herring and eel in the municipal coat of arms.
• Friedrichstadt on the Eider, founded by Dutch religious refugees in 1621.
• The foresail, as well as the Eiderkanal, the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal and the Rendsburg–Husum railway.
• The Baltic family von Brucken genannt Fock, to which this chronicle expressly claims no family connection.
• Hagen Aad Fock as the present bearer of the name.

What belongs to the narrative

• The four historical bearers of the name: Adriaan Focke, Wiebke, Claus and Grete Aad Fock.
• The bestowal of the hereditary honorary name by the village assembly of farmers in Fockbek in the spring of 1667.
• Grete’s manuscript, the Fockbeker Blätter, and the inn “Zur Fock”.
• The family coat of arms and all its images, which are reconstructions made in 2026.

The form

The project brings the known local history of Fockbek together with an openly identified family story. Its grave and affectionate voice follows the form of a local chronicle. The comedy lies in the events handed down and in the laughter shared by the people within them.

Responsibility

Hagen Aad Fock lives in Austria. He prepared the Fockbeker Blätter for digital publication and publishes a selection from them. This chronicle makes no further statements about his life. Its distinction between local history and literary narrative remains part of the project.