Guenther Publishing

Founded 1981,   Electronic Publishing Since 1993

Introduction -- Please Note:

• Where does the Name Guenther come from?

  • From old German: gund (battle) and heri (army), thus: "Warrior" (Soldier, Militia, Mercenary).
    No wonder some of us Guenthers are so agressive ;-)
  • The earliest mention of the name dates back to about 413 (legendary Gunther, King of Burgundy). The earliest documented Guenther was mentioned in a letter from Pope Gregory II in 722 (found in the letter collection of Bonifatius), who referred to "Gundhareus" (a Latin version of Gundahar, or Gunther) in connection with the Schwarzburger clan, whose lead name became Günther for the next eleven centuries.
  • There is nothing new about names being passed on in different spellings. So it was with the name Günther. We have speculated about some of the reasons for the different ways to spell Guenther (sorry, in English only).

• So is Günther a first name or a last name?
  

  Yes of course ;-).

• In the past I had mentioned the Gold and Silver coins minted by the Schwarzburgers in this location.

  Meanwhile, the prices of these coins have skyrocketed. Most of us can no longer afford them at these prices. In 2003 I was offered a "proof" 10 RM coin (about 1/10 oz of Gold) for 4,000 Euros (about $4,000 at the time). I will not mention these coins any more ;-)!

• People, places, and things named Günther (or Gunter):

  • Nobility -- Mostly the above Schwarzburgers, with a couple of surprizes.
  • Famous (and infamous) Guenthers.
  • Towns -- Mostly very small (i.e. exclusive ;-).
  • Miscellaneous stuff -- whatever didn't fit above.