Bernhard Kuhse
Bernhard Kuhse (born February 22, 1856 in Cologne , † July 10, 1917 in Berlin ) was a German teacher and pioneer of touring rowing .
Live and act
After Kuhse had taken a detour and - after an aborted career as a seaman - at the advanced age of 24 the Abitur at the Royal Realgymnasium in Bromberg (today Bydgoszcz ), he studied mathematics and physics at the University of Königsberg , later in Berlin and Halle further subjects and in 1886 after completing his studies he became a teacher at his former school in Bromberg . There he taught English, math, physics and sports. Since Kuhse saw his task not only in imparting knowledge, on June 26, 1894, together with 23 students, he founded a football club, which is one of the earliest school sports clubs to be founded in Germany. A little later, on September 2, 1894, at the instigation of Bernhard Kuhse, the same students founded the Frithjof rowing club, of which Kuhse was to be president from 1898 to 1904.
In 1904 Bernhard Kuhse switched to teaching at the Royal Kaiser Wilhelm Realgymnasium in Berlin, where he also taught geography in addition to his previous subjects. His great passion for rowing, especially touring rowing, led him to initiate the establishment of a school rowing club here too. Wandering rowing, for him a kind of object lesson, he describes in one of his writings as follows:
“We get to know the various phases of the development of our rivers in their innumerable meanders, with their initially weak, then stronger currents in the upper reaches, increasing width in the middle and their lazy creeping up in the lower reaches and get an exact picture of the estuary, often far more precise than the cards give [...] "
Kuhse, dubbed a “rowing professor” by his contemporaries due to his numerous publications, regularly organized weekend rowing trips with the young people of his student rowing club, Kaiser Wilhelm . In addition, competitions were on the agenda, but he gave preference to touring rowing (“seeing the world through the world”). His books and articles in professional magazines made him widely known in sports circles. The Prussian state also honored the work of the "rowing professor": in 1906 he was appointed "Council IV class" and in 1908 Kaiser Wilhelm II presented him with the Red Eagle Order IV class, the second highest order in Prussia.
In addition to his teaching activities, he was protector and treasurer, most recently also president of the school rowing association Niederschöneweide founded in 1912 . In addition, there was the guidance of rowing teacher courses, the participation in the subcommittee for youth rowing in the German Rowing Association , the work as a specialist for student rowing in the monthly magazine for gymnastics and the management of the Berlin student regattas.
At the age of 61, Bernhard Kuhse suffered a heart attack and died on July 10, 1917 in Berlin. His work was unforgettable for many years. Water sports books from the Weimar Republic quoted him again and again, and until the 1930s the Berlin school clubs held a cow memory race among themselves.
Works (selection)
- In a school boat through East German waters. With a foreword about the further development of student rowing . In: “45. Annual report of the Royal High School in Bromberg ”, Gruenauersche Buchdruckerei Otto Grunwald, Bromberg 1896, pp. 3–20.
- In a school boat through northwest Germany . In: “Annual report of the Königlichen Kaiser Wilhelms-Realgymnasium Berlin on the school year from Easter 1906 to Easter 1907”, printed by AW Hayn's Erben, Berlin 1907, pp. 3–30
- Student Rowing - History and Operation . Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, Berlin 1908.
- In the school boat to the Spreewalde. Whitsun trip of the rowing club "Kaiser Wilhelm" . Hermann Paetel Verlag Berlin-Wilmersdorf 1912 (= collection of instructive entertainment pamphlets, volume 46).
- Kaiser Wilhelm II and rowing in the higher schools in Germany . Weidmannsche Buchhandlung Berlin 1912
literature
- Wickenhagen, Hermann: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kuhse (obituary) . In: "Watersport" 29/1917, p. 245 f.
- Kuhse, Knut: The adventurous life of my uncle Bob . Rockstuhl Publishing 2003.
- Kuhse, Knut: 'With a light pouch and a happy heart' - From cabin boy to professor. Biography of my grandfather Bernhard (1856–1917) . Vineyards 2016.
Other sources
- GEB - Gießener Electronic Library Personal lexicon of 19th century teachers: Part Kaak to Kysaeus, p. 590
- Annual reports of the Royal High School in Bromberg, 1894 to 1904.
- Festschrift to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Royal High School in Bromberg in 1901.
- Feschrift: 30 years of the Frithjof Rowing Club in words and pictures. Bromberg 1924.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kuhse, Bernhard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German teacher, pioneer of touring rowing |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 22, 1856 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cologne |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 10, 1917 |
| Place of death | Berlin |