Bernhard Maximilian Lersch

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Lersch in his study

Bernhard Maximilian Lersch (born October 12, 1817 in Aachen ; † February 23, 1902 there ) was a doctor and scientist . He is one of the most important representatives of German balneology .

Life and work

childhood and education

Bernhard Maximilian Lersch was born in Aachen on October 12, 1817, the son of the brandy distiller and liquor dealer Johann Anton Lersch and Maria Gertrud Dupont and the younger brother of the classical philologist Laurenz Lersch .
After attending the Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium from 1826 to 1835 , Bernhard Maximillian Lersch studied medicine in Bonn and at times in Berlin and Paris . In addition to his medical training, Lersch took courses in philosophy with Christian August Brandis and Immanuel Hermann Fichte, and in chemistry and geosciences with Karl Gustav Bischof and Johann Jacob Nöggerath . In March 1840 his doctorate Lersch with a thesis on the microscopic structure of the retina .

Professional background

Lersch settled in Aachen in 1841 as a surgeon and was also active as a doctor for the poor in the St. Paul parish (1842-1851) and in the St. Foillan parish (1851-1863). Bernhard Maximilian Lersch wrote countless medical, pharmaceutical and scientific treatises during this creative period . He was particularly interested in the Aachen and Burtscheid thermal springs . In 1862 he wrote the first of over 20 scientific works on the origin of the thermal springs in Aachen and Burtscheid and their therapeutic benefits .

In 1868 Lersch was appointed pool inspector for Aachen and Burtscheid. He devoted himself intensively to balneological research . On behalf of the city spa committee, however, from 1873 he also wrote popular scientific travelogues about the spa towns of Aachen and Burtscheid.

Bernhard Maximilian Lersch was particularly committed to numerous charitable matters as a state pool inspector . In 1870/1871, together with other respected citizens of Aachen, he founded a private hospital to care for the wounded of the Franco-German War , which he also helped to lead. Lersch received numerous awards and medals from the Prussian state for his commitment, also for the association for the support of unprofitable foreigners who need a well or bath at the mineral springs in Aachen and Burtscheid .

Due to his great experience with the history of the baths in Aachen and Burtscheid, Lersch was entrusted with the documentation of the archaeological excavations in the area of ​​the Roman Büchelthermen in 1877. In the following years he dealt intensively with various aspects of Aachen's history and wrote numerous monographic treatises on them.

In the last decades of his life, Bernhard Maximilian Lersch dealt with numerous astronomical phenomena as well as researching the history of seismological events in the region around Aachen. Shortly before his death, he presented the results of his research in 1901 at the International Seismological Congress in Strasbourg , but he was no longer able to complete them.

Due to his respected social position, Lersch took an active part in public life in Aachen and held numerous honorary positions a. a. in the school committee, in the parish council of St. Peter as well as in the municipal committees for spa and bathing and library and archive matters. In addition, Lersch was one of the most active members of the Association for Customers from Aachen Prehistory and the Aachen History Association .

Honors

Fonts (selection)

  • De retinae structura microscopia (dissertation, 1840)
  • Contributions to drug prescription theory and chemical nomenclature (1851)
  • Introduction to the theory of mineral springs, a handbook for chemists and physicians: A handbook for chemists and physicians (1852, 1855)
  • Catalog of the library of the medical association and the von Sartorius library in Aachen. Aachen (1858, 1876)
  • Monographic sketch of the Burtscheider thermal baths (1862)
  • with Nils Peter Hamberg : The Burtscheider Thermal Baths near Aachen (1862)
  • History of balneology, hydroposy and pegology, or the use of water for religious, dietetic and medicinal purposes. A contribution to the history of cult and medicine. Wuerzburg 1863
  • On the advisability of drilling in the area of ​​the Kaiserquelle (1864)
  • Hydrochemistry or manual of the chemistry of natural waters according to the latest results of science (1864, 1870)
  • Proposal for the establishment of a large bathing establishment in Burtscheid for Prussia's invalid warriors, made by the Medical Association of Aachen
  • The physiological and therapeutic foundations of practical balneology and hydroposy based on experimentation and observation on the healthy and the sick, human and animal organism (1868)
  • The carbonate iron waters of Spa: a monographic sketch (1868)
  • The cure with fruit (grapes, strawberries, cherries, etc.), as well as with malt extract and herbal juices (1869)
  • The seasonal cures with milk and its preparations, as well as with fruit and herbal juices (1869)
  • About the absorption of salts in the bath (1869)
  • Instruction for the bathing staff of Aachen and Burtscheid (1869)
  • Hydrophysics; or, doctrine of the physical behavior of natural waters, namely the formation of cold and warm springs (1870)
  • History of the Aachen baths (1870)
  • Polymorphic balneology, a treatise on sand baths, mud and mud baths, pine needle baths, and some other less common types of baths .: A treatise on sand baths, mud and mud baths, pine needle baths, and some other less common types of baths (1871)
  • The ferrous sour waters of Malmedy (1872)
  • Essays from the Aachen-Burtscheider Curliste from 1872 (1873)
  • The Herzogenrath earthquake in 1873 (1874)
  • The Vesuvius eruption in 1879
  • Aachen, Burtscheid and the surrounding area, the latest guide for spa guests and tourists (1881, 1885)
  • The harmonic relationships in the orbital elements of the planetary system (1880)
  • Aachen, Burtscheid and surroundings A guide to Aix-La-Chapelle, Burtscheid and the environs for visitors and tourists (1884)
  • About the symmetrical relationships of the planetary system (1885)
  • About the productivity of the Aachen thermal springs (1887)
  • The first book printer in Aachen (1889)
  • Meteor stone or hailstone? (1889)
  • Aachen cloth (1889)
  • Charlemagne in the bath (1889)
  • Aquisgrani? (1889)
  • Grani and the Granier (1890)
  • Porcetum Forseti's cult site (1890)
  • The Roman Baths at Bath in England (1890)
  • Skipper in Aachen (1890)
  • The bathing calf (1890)
  • The grave inscription of Gerhard Chorus (1890)
  • Kockerellstrasse, Komphausbadstrasse, Druffnas (1890)
  • Aix-la-Chapelle nouveau guide du baigneur et du touriste (1891)
  • The "saints" of the year 1376 in Aachen (1892)
  • Lousberge and Lousbüchel (1892)
  • Christian interpretation of an evil Charlemagne legend (1892)
  • History of the popular epidemics - after and with the reports of contemporaries. With consideration of the animal diseases (1896)
  • Introduction to Chronology (1899)

literature

  • Heinrich Savelsberg: Bernhard Maximillian Lersch. A picture of life in: From Aachen's prehistory. Volume 15 (1902), No. 1/4, pp. 1-12.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Lersch, Bernhard Maximilian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German doctor and scientist
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1817
PLACE OF BIRTH Aachen
DATE OF DEATH February 23, 1902
Place of death Aachen