Adolf Silverberg

Adolf Silverberg (born August 14, 1845 in Goch , † September 9, 1903 in Cologne ) was a German-Jewish industrialist and councilor. At the end of the 19th century he made a significant contribution to the economic development of Bedburg . Under his leadership, a modern lignite industry developed in the Rhineland .

Life

The first connection to Bedburg arose through her marriage to Theodora Schönbrunn in 1872. He and his family helped the town in what was then Bergheim (Erft) to achieve some prosperity. Silverberg first worked in his father's company in Goch before investing his part of the profit in founding Bedburger Wolle and the Rheinische Linoleumwerke . In doing so, he created a thousand jobs in the town. The connection of Bedburg to the railway line in 1869 was possibly the reason for Silverberg's activities. On his initiative, the district council approved the construction of a network of meter- gauge small railways , the Bergheimer Kreisbahnen, in 1894 . They were used to transport raw lignite and briquettes .

In 1898, a company led by Adolf Silverberg and the Sal. Oppenheim bank from Cologne bought the Fortuna lignite mine. A short time later, the Beisselsgrube was also acquired.

His son Paul Silverberg (1876–1959) succeeded his father in 1903 as General Director of Fortuna AG for lignite mining and briquette production. And his daughter Anna Landsberg, b. Silverberg (1878–1938), was the mother of the philosopher Paul Ludwig Landsberg (1901–1944).

Naming

The Silverberg Gymnasium in Bedburg - located on the site of the former Rhenish Knight Academy - has borne his name since 1998 . The street on which the linoleum works were also named after Adolf Silverberg.

Web links

• Adolf Silverberg on Bedburg.de