Franz Berger (politician, 1860)

Franz Berger (born April 7, 1860 in Pattigham , Austria ob der Enns , † March 11, 1929 in Salzburg ) was an Austrian banker , politician and mayor of the city of Salzburg.

Biography and political work

The former cattle dealer Franz Berger was awarded in 1885 in Salzburg a "Concession for exchange transactions and commission goods" which later became the bank Berger & Comp. emerged. As a recognized banker, he was elected to the Salzburg municipal council in 1894 and deputy mayor in 1899. From 1900 he held the position of mayor of the emerging city of Salzburg for twelve years.

His special merits lay in the consolidation of the financial situation and the implementation of important building projects for the modern development of the city. The parceling of the grounds in Lehen and Froschheim enabled the further expansion of the previously sparsely populated district of Lehen, as well as the urban development of the then largely villa-like and partly still rural suburb of Froschheim. On the occasion of the "Kaiserfesttage" in 1901, after permission was granted by Emperor Franz Joseph and on the initiative of Mayor Berger and the landowner Sylvester Oberberger , the changing rural suburb of Froschheim was renamed to the urban district of Elisabeth-Vorstadt . He also approved the construction of the Ludwig Viktor Bridge to connect the districts of Lehen and Froschheim as well as the Makart and Mozart footbridges from Neustadt to Mülln and to the old town (opening ceremony on March 29, 1903).

During his tenure as mayor, the expansion and new construction of the St. Andrä School and the Nonntaler School as well as the construction of the racetrack at Ignaz-Rieder-Kai and the acquisition and expansion of the gas works (both in 1904) and the sewerage of the Riedenburg district also fell (1905), the elaboration of a regulatory plan for the old town, the construction of the electric light rail (opened in 1909) and the expansion of the Salzburg Museum by purchasing the house at Grießgasse 10.

honors and awards

On September 10, 1906, Berger was named an honorary citizen of the city of Salzburg "... in grateful appreciation of the many and particularly outstanding services to the development and prosperity of the city community ..." (extract from the award diploma) . Since 1908 he was holder of the Commander's Cross of the Franz-Joseph-Order and since 1933 the namesake of Franz-Berger-Straße in the Salzburg district of Riedenburg. After his death he was buried in the city's grave of honor at the Salzburg municipal cemetery.

See also

• List of honorary citizens of Salzburg

Literature and Sources

• Ludwig Netsch: The Salzburg mayors from 1847 . Salzburg Magistrate. Documentation about what is happening in the city: Salzburg 1980
• Josef Gassner: The honorary citizens of the state capital Salzburg . Catalog for the 10th special exhibition. Self-published by the Carolino Augusteum Museum : Salzburg 1954
• Friederike Zaisberger , Reinhard R. Heinisch : Life beyond death ... Celebrities in the Salzburg municipal cemetery . Announcements from the Society for Regional Studies in Salzburg . 23. Supplementary volume. Self-published by the company. Salzburg 2006
• Josef Brettenthaler. Salzburg synchronicity. Alfred Winter publishing house. Salzburg 2005. ISBN 3-85380-055-6
• Gerhard Plasser: The city expansion in Froschheim and Lehen. Using the example of the parcelling of private property. In: Salzburg Archive 22. Salzburg 1996

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Rectory Pattigham, christenings - duplicates 1860 PfmF576 - 00943 Taufbucheintrag no. 5: Franz Xav. Berger of Joh. Berger and Katharina, born. Herbs; Retrieved from Matricula - online November 7, 2017
2. ↑ Netsch gives (incorrectly; see above baptismal register entry) April 16, 1860 as the date of birth and the Pattigham neighboring community of Eberschwang as the place of birth .

predecessor	Office	successor
Eligius Scheibl	Mayor of Salzburg 1900 - 1912	Max Ott