Johann Christoph Lüders

Commemorative plaque for J. Chr. Lüders on the family grave in the Görlitz municipal cemetery

Johann Christoph Lüders (born July 12, 1803 in Bettingerode , Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , † August 26, 1872 in Görlitz ) was an industrialist, local politician and promoter of culture.

Life

Johann Christoph Lueders grew up as a shepherd boy in poverty, and graduated in 1817, the education with the primary school completion . He then went on to apprenticeship as a saddler and varnisher and then on a journey ( journeyman years ). From 1826 onwards, through diligence, he became a foreman at the royal carriage factory in Dresden . In 1827 the move to Görlitz, which then had 12,000 inhabitants. At the age of 24 he founded his saddlery and varnishing workshop in 1828 in the house at Obermarkt 8. In the same year he married Louise Uhse, with whom he had four children.

He made carriage wagons . The first order from the city of Görlitz to build two eight-wheel rail freight cars was given in 1849 to Lüders and Schied, who was the master locksmith on Büttnergasse. Due to the expansion of production, the company was relocated to the site in Brunnenstrasse in 1853. This made the transition from manual to industrial production.

Grave of the Lüders family in the Görlitz municipal cemetery

Lüders' stays abroad in 1859 and 1869 led him a. a. to Egypt and Russia. In 1867 he took part in the Paris World Exhibition and received the bronze medal for design and tasteful interior decoration.

In 1869 he converted the growing company into a " stock corporation for the manufacture of railway material in Görlitz". 4,000 shares of 200 thalers each were offered. In the end, 2 million thalers were drawn.

Johann Christoph Lüders died on August 26, 1872 in Görlitz and is buried in the municipal cemetery . To mark his 100th birthday, a monument was inaugurated on what was then Christoph-Lüders-Platz (today's Hildegard-Burjan-Platz ) as a great tribute to the city of Görlitz .

Act

With his commitment, Johann Christoph Lüders developed the largest and best-known industrial company in the city - Waggonbau Görlitz . By merging with other companies in 1921, the company became the Waggon- und Maschinenbau-Aktiengesellschaft (WUMAG). The successor company still produces today in Görlitz and is part of the Bombardier group . The city of Görlitz was known for its textile production until the middle of the 19th century . With the new branch of industry, wagon construction , the city's industry was significantly expanded and experienced new momentum. Even during the prosperous development of his company, Lüders remained an economical master craftsman and solid businessman . He signed the contracts himself and organized their fulfillment in the factory. He attached great importance to the quality of the products. He was valued by his workers for his role model effect and his craftsmanship. The top products of the company ( railway - passenger cars , dining cars , freight cars , Salon trains , high-speed railcars , double-deck coaches ) attracted international attention and dominated the German railway history with. Even today, wagon construction is still regarded as an economic barometer for the city and many people in Görlitz still consider it an honor to have worked in wagon construction.

Lüder's commitment was not only to his factory, he was also active in the community for the good of the city. I.a. as district chairman , city ​​councilor and representative in commissions of the city administration, e.g. B. in the decision to use financial resources. The city administration received 30,000 thalers from him to support needy workers.

The work in local politics after the introduction of the Prussian town order in the city was exemplary . From 1842 to 1869 Lüders worked as a city councilor. He was particularly committed to construction , transport , industry and trade , popular education and culture and promoted apprenticeship training .

He sponsored the building of the trade association (today Humboldthaus) with more than half of the construction costs and supervised the construction of the theater in 1851 on behalf of the city.

For Lüders, economy , local politics and culture were inseparable. Entrepreneurs and city ​​administration should jointly shape and enforce these three sides of social progress in their unity.

literature

• The joint stock company for the manufacture of railway material in Görlitz . Hoffmann & Reiber publishing house, Görlitz 1903
• Heinz Tietze: Görlitz - Outstanding citizens of our hometown from the 15th to 20th century . Lower Silesian Publishing House, Görlitz
• City of Görlitz: Görlitz mosaic . Edition 10/1991
• Wilfried Rettig: Görlitz railway junction . Bufe-Fachbuch-Verlag, Egglham 1994
• Ernst Kretzschmar: Görlitz trade association 1830. Roots of a new departure . Bayerische Vereinsbank, Munich 1995
• Wolfgang Theurich: 150 years of wagon building in Görlitz. 1849-1999 . Eisenbahn-Kurier-Verlag, Freiburg 1999
• Official Gazette of the district-free city of Görlitz: page 12, edition 7/2002
• Wolf-Peter Lüders: Unpublished speeches, memories and conversations . 2003