Christian Friedrich Bahn

Christian Friedrich Bahn (born March 18, 1773 in Rügenwalde in Western Pomerania , † September 9, 1834 in Papenzin near Rummelsburg in Western Pomerania) was a German businessman, entrepreneur and landowner.

Life

After the early death of his father, who had practiced as a surgeon in Rügenwalde , Christian Friedrich Bahn started an apprenticeship with the businessman Zettwach in Köslin , according to his inclinations. After completing his apprenticeship, he first took up a position in Berlin , then in Hamburg , where he began to be interested in shipbuilding and shipping, and acquired relevant knowledge. With the knowledge he had acquired, he returned to his hometown in 1801 and became a partner in the Rügenwalder trading company Knötzelein. On August 6, 1802 he married Johanne Louise Knötzelein, the eldest daughter of the widowed business owner Knötzelein. After a few years he founded his own trading company and operated international maritime trade with his business activities that gave the shipping line in Rügenwalde, which had come to a standstill as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, new impetus.

Both in the war of 1806, which was unfortunate for Prussia, and during the successful campaigns of 1813-1815, Bahn showed himself to be a patriot. In 1806 he personally informed the commandant of Kolberg about calls by the French authorities to the local population to disclose important information about the state in confidence, whereupon the latter issued a public warning and threatened the death penalty for violations. During the siege of Kolberg in 1807 , Bahn had 80 Prussian foot soldiers carried to the Kolberg fortress at risk using a merchant ship still partly loaded with goods. In the war of 1813–1815, he contributed considerable capital to the defense spending of Prussia.

Bahn acted as a patron in his hometown of Rügenwalde and promoted young entrepreneurial talents. Every year he invested considerable sums in shipbuilding and created jobs for the local population in factories and factories that he had built. As a thank you, he was entrusted with high offices by the city of Rügenwalde several times, and ten cities in the province elected him their member of the state parliament. The Danish King Friedrich VI. appointed him Danish-Norwegian Vice Consul for the city of Rügenwalde. In 1833 the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III awarded him . the title of Commerce Councilor .

At an advanced age Bahn suffered from visual disturbances and feared for his eyesight. He handed over most of his business to his son-in-law, who was also his partner , and then stayed frequently on his Papenzin estate , which he had acquired in 1829. There he suffered heat stroke in 1834 , of which he died.

Honors

• 1833 Awarded the title of Kommerzienrat by the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III.

literature

• New necrology of the Germans . Twelfth year (1834), part II, Weimar 1836, pp. 670–673.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Supplement to Sundine. Literature and intelligence sheet for New Western Pomerania and Rügen . No. 27, Stralsund, May 22, 1833, p. 108, left column: Personalia .
2. ^ The district of Rummelsburg. A home book. Pommerscher Buchversand, Hamburg 1979, p. 183.