Seriously to the compass

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Bijou from 1856 in front
Bijou from 1856 behind

Ernst zum Compaß was the name of a Masonic lodge in Gotha that existed from 1806 to 1934 .

prehistory

The Freemasons' movement had existed in the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg since the 1740s and initially culminated in the foundation of the "Aux trois Boussoles" ("To the three compasses") lodge in 1750 . On July 25, 1774, on the initiative of the court actor Conrad Ekhof and the theater principal Abel Seyler as well as representatives of the Gotha bourgeoisie, the Johannisloge "Cosmopolit" was founded and Ekhof was elected her first " master of the chair ". After the accession of Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and his brother Prince August , the lodge took on the name "Zum Rautenkranz" on September 23, 1774 , developed into the center of the spiritual and cultural life of the city and contributed to its spread of the ideas of the Enlightenment and philanthropism . In the social field, the members founded an “Institute for the promotion of leaf inoculation” in 1776 and later founded a loan and aid fund to support impoverished traders. When the lodge got into differences with the " Great State Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany in Berlin ", it separated from it and joined the "Eclectic League" on December 10, 1784 under the name "Zum Kompass" . In 1790 she left this too. For political reasons, at the request of Ernst II (Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg), she stopped her work entirely on December 11, 1793 and formally dissolved completely on May 29, 1801.

The "Ernst zum Compaß" box

Lodge house Gotha before the destruction

On January 30, 1806, the Gotha Masonic Lodge was re-established as the "Ernst zum Compaß" lodge , now as the daughter of the Great National Mother Lodge "To the Three Worlds" in Berlin. It was of great importance in the social life of the city. On May 16, 1856, the 50th anniversary of the lodge was celebrated.

The 75th anniversary was celebrated on January 30, 1881 in Gotha Castle under the chairmanship of Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . With his support, a new box house in the oriental style was built on what was then Karolinenplatz in the same year and was inaugurated on September 3, 1882.

In 1934 the lodge was closed by the National Socialists and the lodge building was demolished in 1937. A movie theater was built on it, which was converted into a cultural center after the Gotha Theater was destroyed in 1945 at the beginning of the 1950s.

Known members

Web links

literature

  • Freemason Newspaper: Manuscript for Brothers. Gotha, May 8, 1849
  • Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg a. Gotha: Celebration of the inauguration of the newly built box house and the 75th anniversary "Ernst zum Compaß" in Gotha. Vollrath-Verlag Gotha, September 3, 1882
  • Karl Heinz Francke, Ernst-Günther Geppert: The Freemason lodges in Germany and their grand lodges 1737–1985; Register and register . Edition Quatuor Coronati, Bayreuth 1988, ISBN 3-925749-05-5 , p. 117 f