Barmer Bank Corporation
The Barmer Bank-Verein Hinsberg, Fischer & Comp. KGaA, or Barmer Bank-Verein or Barmer Bankverein for short, based in Barmen (today in Wuppertal ) was founded in 1867 and was one of the largest German regional banks until the merger with Commerzbank AG during the banking crisis in 1932 .
In 1924 the head office was relocated to 25 Breite Straße in Düsseldorf .
history
On March 29, 1867, the Barmer Bankverein was founded as a partnership limited by shares . As personally liable partners, Matthias Hinsberg and Gustav Adolf Fischer , whose bank had recently become insolvent, took over the management. Fischer's creditors converted part of their claims into shares, so that the Barmer Bank-Verein could be founded with share capital of one million thalers (= 3 million marks).
The rapid expansion of the Barmer Bankverein only began in 1898, when it merged with the Gladbacher Bankverein Quack & Co. in Mönchengladbach . After 1900 banks in Altena , Bielefeld , Bonn , Dortmund , Düsseldorf , Hagen , Iserlohn , Krefeld , Lüdenscheid , Osnabrück and Remscheid were taken over.
After the First World War , the Barmer Bank-Verein expanded its branch network to include smaller towns in northern and western Germany. Many of the branches taken over (e.g. Coesfeld or Unna ) were closed after the currency reform in 1924 as part of rationalization measures.
As a result of the global economic crisis, the then Reich government decided to merge the Barmer Bank-Verein with Commerz- und Privat-Bank AG , later Commerzbank. The general assembly on April 2 in Düsseldorf confirmed the merger. The legacy of the Barmer Bankverein lived on in Commerzbank and was articulated in various ways. For example, personalities from the Barmer Bankverein, such as Paul Marx and Hans Harney, shaped Commerzbank's fortunes well into the post-war period. The naming of the Bankverein Westdeutschland was also understood as a recourse to the tradition of the Barmer Bankverein.
Building in Wuppertal
The former building of the Barmer Bankverein is located in Barmen on Winklerstrasse, at the corner of Fischertal, in the immediate vicinity of the Alter Markt . The building, which was built in 1873/1874, was designed by the Cologne architect Hermann Otto Pflaume for around 105,000 thalers on the former theater site. The extension from 1909 was designed by the Cologne architect Carl Moritz . During the air raid on Barmen in 1943 during World War II , the building was the only one that was only slightly damaged, while many other buildings in the area were destroyed.
An original stone tablet with the inscription "Barmer Bankverein" is located inside the building, which is now used by Commerzbank.
Individual evidence
- ↑ A hidden treasure in Wuppertal, formerly on the website www.regionale2006.de
literature
- Commerzbank AG (Ed.): 100 Years of Commerzbank 1870–1970. Knapp, Frankfurt am Main 1970.
- Commerzbank AG (ed.): From Barmer Bank-Verein Hinsberg, Fischer & Co. to Commerzbank (1867–1992). Wuppertal 1992. In: Bank historical archive. (1992) No. 18. pp. 22-38
- Commerzbank 1870-2010. A journey through time. Facts and pictures compiled by Detlef Krause. Published by the Eugen Gutmann Society, Dresden 2010.
- Detlef Krause: Between the First World War and the banking crisis: The Barmer Bank-Verein Hinsberg, Fischer & Co.
- Richard Poppelreuter; Georg Witzel: Barmer Bank-Verein, Hinsberg, Fischer & Co. 1867 to 1917. Memorandum for the 50th anniversary. Essen 1918.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 16 ′ 8 ″ N , 7 ° 11 ′ 50 ″ E