Adam Joseph Betz

Adam Joseph Betz (born November 25, 1795 in Worms ; † March 5, 1880 ibid) was a German merchant , grocer and mayor of the city of Worms from 1856–1860 .

Life

Like his predecessor Franz Euler , Betz belonged to the upper class of Worms and had been a member of the municipal council since 1852. He had also held one of the two posts as mayor's deputy since that year. It is not known why he only accepted his office as mayor after the new elections of the municipal council (which he could have done before). All that has been handed down is the fact that at the time of Euler's resignation there was no successor, which, according to the rules in force at the time, forced the local council to dissolve itself in order to clear the way for full new elections.

At the time when Betz held the office of mayor of Worms, the population of Worms grew significantly: In the year Worms already had a population of 10,000. However, one must also consider that at this point in time not only the total number of the Worms population increased, but also the disproportionately high proportion of people who belonged to the so-called “poor, lower social class”. This fact burdened the Worms poor relief fund to a considerable extent and drove the city into financial dependencies as early as the middle of the 18th century.

The city did not experience a notable economic upswing until the 1860s, when Adam Joseph Betz's term of office expired. At that time, Worms had barely outgrown its old city wall.

literature

• Fritz Reuter: Worms between imperial city and industrial city 1800–1882 . Stadtarchiv , Worms 1993, p. 79 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ The (upper) mayor of Worms> Stadt Worms. In: worms.de. Retrieved February 9, 2016 .