Adolf Heinrich Bercht

Adolf Heinrich Bercht (born July 6, 1875 in Vienna , † October 25, 1940 in Sankt Veit an der Glan ) was a Greater German, Austrian politician and mayor of the state capital Klagenfurt .

Adolf Heinrich Bercht

Nelly Bercht

Bercht family crypt in Maria Wörth

Life and education

Bercht had North German ancestors, his father had emigrated to South America in 1854 and represented his new home Argentina as Consul General in Vienna from 1870 . Adolf Heinrich saw the light of day on July 6, 1875 in the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy . He was the only son and was called Heinrich. He received his academic training in Geneva and Graz . In 1894 he became a member of the Arminia Graz fraternity . In 1902 he was promoted to Dr. jur. PhD. At the time, his parents were already spending their retirement years on their estate in Reifnitz am Wörthersee in the Seevilla built in 1898 . Since the family was wealthy, the young lawyer was able to postpone his life plans and explore the world on trips around the world for the next seven years.

Career

In 1909 his everyday working life began, he had decided on local politics and had become a councilor of the Greater German Party in Graz. Bercht quickly made a career: in 1911 he became a city councilor and the following year he became a finance officer and first deputy mayor . The world war initially put an end to his political career. After the fall of the monarchy and his return from the war, Bercht made the Reifnitz lake villa his residence. He was still a bachelor at this point . In 1920 he resumed his political activity as a councilor in Klagenfurt . He made his house available several times for meetings of the inter-allied voting commission for the plebiscite in voting zone A on October 10, 1920 . As in Graz , he was also appointed financial councilor in the Carinthian capital and on July 13, 1926 he was elected mayor. He took responsibility for the city at a time of great economic depression . In order to help the city save, the mayor waived his salary and any reimbursement of expenses.

The twinning between Klagenfurt and Wiesbaden was established during the term of office of Mayor Bercht ; it was the first of its kind in Europe.

Familiar

In 1922 Bercht married Cornelia Josefine Liertzer, who was born in Brno and was the daughter of a Viennese lawyer. On May 31, 1924, the couple had their son Georg Heinrich. In 1929 the mayor's wife acted as godmother at the christening of the seaplane Nelly in Pörtschach am Wörthersee on July 14th . The aircraft subsequently became one of the main attractions of the tourist region. A 20-minute flight over Lake Wörthersee and Lake Ossiach , however, cost 25 schillings per person.

Old age and farewell

After the end of the legislative period, Bercht resigned on May 31, 1931. In the course of the thirties the landowner got into increasing financial difficulties privately, which finally led to the sale of his father's inheritance towards the end of 1939. At that time, Bercht was already seriously ill and spent most of the time in care with the Brothers of Mercy in Sankt Veit an der Glan . He died with them on October 25, 1940 at the age of 65. He was buried in the family crypt in Maria Wörth . His wife survived him by eleven years; she died on August 21, 1951. Her son Georg Heinrich was a travel agent and died on September 25, 1996 after a long illness.

literature

• Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume 1: Politicians. Sub-Volume 1: A-E. Winter, Heidelberg 1996, ISBN 3-8253-0339-X , p. 80.
• Anton Kreuzer : Carinthian. Biographical sketches. 14.-20. Century. Kärntner Druck- und Verlags-Gesellschaft, Klagenfurt 1999, ISBN 3-85391-166-8 , pp. 139–141.
• Gotbert Moro (ed.): The state capital Klagenfurt. From their past and present. Volume 2. Self-published by the state capital, Klagenfurt 1970, p. 314, ( Free votes. Deutsche Kärntner Landeszeitung , July 14, 1929, ZDB -ID 2004865-8 ).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Sub-Volume 1: A-E. Winter, Heidelberg 1996, ISBN 3-8253-0339-X , p. 80.

predecessor	Office	successor
Friedrich Wolsegger	Mayor of Klagenfurt 1926 - 1931	Franz Pichler-Mandorf