Albert Cahn

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Albert Cahn (* 1816 in Bonn ; † 1886 in Plittersdorf ) was a German-Jewish banker who contributed his considerable fortune to charitable foundations and is known as the builder of an important neo-Gothic residential building, the Villa Cahn .

Life

Albert Cahn was born as Abraham Cahn in Bonn in 1816. He came from a wealthy Jewish banking family. His grandfather Jonas Cahn had founded a bank in Bonn, which Albert later ran with his brother. His wife Ernestine died in 1861 after only three years of marriage; the two had no children. Apparently Cahn became a supporter of the assimilation of German Jews at this time , which was expressed in the adoption of the name "Albert". Some architectural and decorative details of his villa, built between 1868 and 1870, can also be interpreted in this sense.

Villa Cahn - aerial view

In his will, he bequeathed the villa to his sister's family and apparently intended to establish a kind of "ancestral home" for the family. In addition to the villa and his art collection, Albert had invested his fortune in charitable foundations and also volunteered in this respect.

Cahn was a city councilor in Bonn. According to his testamentary available Cahn was cremated and the urn in the park of Villa buried one of his time for Christians, but very unusual especially for Jews and controversial procedure. The grave was desecrated by the National Socialists in 1936 or 1937 , and the remains of the grave were moved to a Jewish cemetery in Frankfurt am Main after the war.

He donated the money for a piece of land in Bonn-Plittersdorf on which the Haus Emmaus retirement home was built. There the Albert-Cahn-Weg is named after him.

literature

  • Wolfgang Brönner : The Villa Cahn in Bonn-Plittersdorf. A "German house" on the Rhine. History, architecture, furnishings, art collection (=  contributions to architectural and art monuments in the Rhineland . Volume 31 ). Bachem, Cologne 1991, ISBN 3-7616-1001-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Eichner: Protestant social work on the move. From the history of the parish in Bonn . 1986, p. 279.
  2. ^ Albert-Cahn-Weg in the Bonn street cadastre
personal data
SURNAME Cahn, Albert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German banker
DATE OF BIRTH 1816
PLACE OF BIRTH Bonn
DATE OF DEATH 1886
Place of death Plittersdorf (Bonn)