Bernhard Wencke

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Bernhard Wencke (born September 7, 1814 in Bremen , † July 11, 1881 in Hamburg ) was a German shipbuilder and shipowner .

Life

Bernhard Wencke was a son of the Bremen shipbuilder Friedrich Wencke (1779-1865) and his wife Catharina Elisabeth, née Wulssen. The shipbuilder and ship owner Friedrich Wilhelm Wencke (1806-1859) was his older brother. Wencke completed an apprenticeship as a shipbuilder, just like his brother. He went into business for himself near his father's shipyard with his own shipyard at the Stephanitor bulwark and began building ships there around 1838 on his own account.

On the occasion of a tour of the dry dock that Wencke's brother had built in his shipyard in Bremerhaven on the Geeste , Wencke came into contact with the Hamburg shipowner Robert Miles Sloman in 1846 . He had the idea of ​​building such a dock in Hamburg as well. Wencke therefore went to Hamburg and found a suitable building site for the project on the Elbe island Steinwärder at the confluence of the Reiherstieg in the northern Elbe . Slomann leased the site on September 30, 1847 from the Hamburg treasury. Wencke moved with his family to Hamburg in early 1848 and became a Hamburg citizen on May 26, 1848, but initially retained Bremen citizenship.

He began to build a dry dock at Steinwärder, but encountered difficulties due to the damp subsoil. Water ingress was frequent, which necessitated continuous operation of pumps. One spoke jokingly of a "spring valley". Nevertheless, Wencke was able to announce the completion of the new building in October 1851 and start operations. At this time he also gave up his previous Bremen citizenship. In addition to the repair business, he expanded a shipyard and began building ships. Wencke obtained the description of the company premises in his name and took up residence in Norderelbstraße. His sons Friedrich Wencke (1842–1905) and Heinrich Wencke (1844–1919) both received training as shipbuilders abroad and then supported their father in the shipyard management. This cooperation was so successful that Bernhard Wenke was also able to turn to the shipping business. In 1866, the two sons took over the shipyard with the dry dock completely and Wenke stayed with the shipping company. He moved from Steinwärder to Eimsbütteler Strasse 38.

Wencke belonged to Hamburg's citizenship from 1862 to 1865 and 1874 to 1876 . He was also a member of the Deputation for Trade and Shipping.

See also

literature

  • Kuno Schuldt: Bernhard Wencke (1814–1881) . In: Association for Hamburg history (ed.): Hamburg history and home sheets . tape 10 . Hamburg 1981, p. 285-290 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Th. Tilemann: The Hamburg citizenship since 1859 . Langhoff, Hamburg 1892, p. 59 .
personal data
SURNAME Wencke, Bernhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German shipbuilder and shipowner
DATE OF BIRTH September 7, 1814
PLACE OF BIRTH Bremen
DATE OF DEATH July 11, 1881
Place of death Hamburg