Ernst cake book

Ernst Kuchenbuch as director in 1889

Ernst Ludwig August Moritz Kuchenbuch (* July 23, 1858 in Niederlößnitz ; † March 27, 1902 in Dresden ) was a farmer, soldier, emigrant to the United States, served in the American army and, on his return, became a top manager in the early years , initially as a station manager of the Saxon-Bohemian Steamship Company in Aussig , then from 1894 as director of the company.

He headed the board until his death. Emperor Franz Josef awarded him the title of knight in 1901 because of his services. After many transformations, the company lives on today as " Saxon Steamship " and advertises with the slogan: "Welcome aboard the oldest and largest paddle steamer fleet in the world." Most of the paddle steamers in the fleet were built or set up for passenger travel at the time of his management were.

Life

Kuchenbuch was born as the son of the winery owner and art gardener / garden architect Carl Gottfried Emanuel Eugenius Kuchenbuch ( Niederlößnitz , Paradiesstraße 19). He attended schools in Kötzschenbroda and Dresden and did his military service a. a. with the Saxon artillery. He then temporarily worked as an estate manager for friends and relatives, decided to emigrate to the USA in 1879, entered service in the American army, first as a cavalryman, then entrusted with special tasks in logistics, and apparently had the opportunity to and get to know communication systems thoroughly.

In 1883 he returned from America, married in Aussig (Bohemia) and in 1885 began working for the “Bohemian Saxon Steamship Company” as a station manager in Aussig. In 1894 he was appointed director of the company in Dresden.

On the occasion of the Emperor's visit to Aussig in 1901, Franz-Joseph I awarded him the title of knight combined with an order. Kuchenbuch died in 1902 of the long-term effects of an injury.

Kuchenbuch was the father of the actor Eugen Herbert Kuchenbuch (1890–1985), who was born in Aussig during his time.

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The magnificent ship "Habsburg" during the imperial visit of Franz Josef I in 1901

His life's work was the establishment of the “Saxon-Bohemian Steamship Company” which was crowned by the visit of the emperor and his official recognition of his services. Ernst Kuchenbuch ensured a modern structure for the shipping company, partly based on the American model, built new shipyard production units, increased the number of landing stations, some of which were provided with steamship hotels, and continued the technical expansion of the Elbe fairway. He continued the unbridled shipbuilding begun by his predecessor Oscar Ludwig Menzel. Under his direction, 10 modern ships with a passenger capacity of 7,350 people were built over the next 5 years. The number of ships increased from 28 to 36 and the passenger capacity from 17,000 to 23,000 people. Society had reached its peak. The result was a drastic decline in the capacity utilization of the ships and a high level of debt for the company. The dividend payments had to be suspended for several years. You have to be critical of your achievements. The contemporary obituaries naturally speak a different language, as in the following example: “ It is not in the least due to the active behavior of the deceased that, for example, the number of people in the company increased to around 3½ million passengers a year, and as a result of the many amenities created is still further in progress. Kuchenbuch, who had a rich and extensive experience in all areas of inland waterway traffic, did not neglect to put this at the service of the cause. One only thinks of the new institutions of the last few years, so one will be all the less able to withdraw from the knowledge that one has unfortunately lost a great deal of strength in falling asleep. The introduction of salon trips , express trips , concert trips for the extensive parcel and freight traffic is only thanks to his initiative. The public paid particular attention to the institution of the kilometer subscription , which was set up on the American model and offered passengers a host of valuable amenities in every direction. The company was aware of how much it owed his enthusiasm for work and intelligence, and so, after the conversion of their company into a stock corporation in 1900 , they put Director Kuchenbuch at the head of the board, thereby giving him the best opportunity to give his initiative the greatest possible leeway can ... "

As can be seen from the quoted and other obituaries, the transformation and expansion of the Elbe steamship company into a modern passenger and transport fleet at the turn of the century was essentially the work of Ernst Kuchenbuch. The visit of Emperor Franz Joseph to Aussig in 1901 and the reception on the “Habsburg” ship, which was specially equipped for this purpose, was considered a diplomatic-political event at the time, as was the awarding of the medal to Ernst Kuchenbuch. Franz Joseph I had thus, among other things, expressed his interest in keeping Austria's waterways to the north open. The shipping company still lives today, after various national, social and economic transformations, under the name " Saxon Steamship ". Apart from his merits for the navigability of the Elbe and many other, also tourist facilities, it is worth mentioning that many ships from the time in office of Ernst Kuchenbuch, the supposedly “oldest and largest paddle steamer fleet in the world”, still sail the Elbe today.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Address book of Dresden with suburbs (1901), p. 395.
2. ^ Dresdner Rundschau, Volume 11, No. 14, Saturday April 5, 1902, p. 1.

literature

• Wolfgang Quinger, Wolfgang Zimmermann: The oldest and largest paddle steamer fleet in the world. Publishing house Die Fähre, Dresden 2002.
• Frank Müller, Wolfgang Quinger: The Dresden paddle steamer fleet. Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2007.