Franz Floerke

Franz Floerke

Friedrich Franz Leopold Floerke , sometimes wrong: Friedrich Franz Floerke (born January 6, 1811 in Ludwigslust , † August 13, 1889 in Grabow ) was a German lawyer and mayor of the city of Grabow.

Life

Franz Floerke was born as the son of Albrecht Floerke (1777–1848), the theologian and later superintendent of the Parchim church district , and his wife Katharina Henriette Margarethe, née. Marquart (1789–1840), doctor's daughter from Grabow. His father was then assistant preacher in Ludwigslust and librarian to Grand Duke Friedrich Franz I , from whom Floerke is said to have received his first two baptismal names.

Floerke spent his childhood and youth in Ludwigslust, from 1812 in Hagenow and from 1824 in Parchim , where his father worked in various church offices. From 1827 to 1831 Floerke attended the Friedrich-Franz-Gymnasium (Parchim) . With his school friend Fritz Reuter he passed the Abitur at Michaelis (September 29) 1831. Then they parted ways. Floerke went to the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen as a law student , and temporarily also to the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin . He was awarded a Dr. iur. PhD.

Then he came to Grabow and worked here as a trainee lawyer and lawyer. In this activity Floerke gained the trust and sympathy of the residents of Grabow. On July 1, 1839, he was elected Mayor of Grabow with an absolute majority. He was to be committed to the city in this activity for 50 years.

Floerke was married and had at least eight children (born in 1843/1861), including at least six sons. On July 12, 1851, he had his daughter Benedicte Dorothea Caroline enrolled in the Dobbertin monastery under No. 49 of the municipal monastery offices. She was accepted as a civil daughter in the local aristocratic women's monastery in 1899 and was still in Dobbertin in 1916.

In May 1888 the Ludwigsluster Wochenblatt reported: We hear from Grabow that the mayor Geh. Hofrat Floerke intends to retire soon. The same has been mayor of Grabow since 1839, so he would be able to celebrate his 50th anniversary next year if age and weakness did not force him to break off his duties beforehand.

Already suffering from a serious leg problem, he retired on January 1, 1889. Shortly afterwards, on August 13, 1889, he died in Grabow. When Floerke was buried in August, the funeral procession started from the house where he died. The next of kin and relatives followed the yellow coffin. Then the council servants came. The new mayor, Calsow, wore the deceased's medals and decorations on a black silk pillow. Then the members of the magistrate and the citizens' committee joined. A larger representation of the knighthood from a wide area then followed the coffin. Then the mayors of several neighboring cities came. The members of the Masonic Lodge and other representatives of the city's institutions and associations insisted on paying their last respects to the deceased. The burial took place in a family grave in the old churchyard in Grabow. This grave site no longer exists in the Grabow cemetery.

In Grabow, a street named after him reminds of Floerke.

Creation and awards

During his time as mayor, Floerke was heavily involved in the city of Grabow and in the state parliaments. He convinced wealthy citizens to use part of their wealth for foundations for general purposes. Floerke shaped the urban character of Grabow by taking care of the layout and construction of bridges, roads, rail links and industrial facilities. In a special way he campaigned for the Berlin-Hamburg railway line to run through Mecklenburg territory. Among other things, he was one of the chairmen of the board of directors of the savings institution in Grabow, which under his leadership developed into one of the largest such institutes in the country. As a co-founder of the Mecklenburgische Hypotheken- und Wechselbank zu Schwerin, as well as a member of the supervisory board, he enjoyed a great reputation.

In honor of Dr. For his 25th anniversary as mayor, Floekes had an oak planted in the Bürgergarten, which got his name.

Floerke received numerous awards for his services. The Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I awarded him the Order of the Iron Crown III in 1852 . Great for his service as march commissioner from Mecklenburg-Schwerin . On October 18, 1859, he was appointed court counselor by the sovereign . In his further career he was made a knight of the House Order of the Wendish Crown on February 15, 1866 . In 1872 Floerke received the war memorial from King of Prussia Wilhelm I for the campaigns of 1870–71 . On December 15, 1885, he received the patent of a Privy Councilor . He also repeatedly received awards and honors from the citizens of Grabow.

Relationship with Fritz Reuter

Memorial plaque on the town hall in Grabow

Floerke and Fritz Reuter met at a young age. They both attended high school in Parchim and became close friends during that time. After graduating from high school in 1831, they parted ways for a few years. During Reuter's imprisonment in the fortress, the old friends met again for the first time in a long time at Grabower Town Hall . In his book Fortress Tid (Chapter 25), Reuter tells of the meeting of the friends. Their meeting a year later, after Reuter's release from prison, is also taken up in chapter 26 of the book. His efforts for the release of Fritz Reuter from Prussian custody were also successful. The friendship between the two was continued through an exchange of letters.

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City archive Grabow:

• File unit 625: Secret Councilor Dr. jur. Friedrich Franz Floerke
• File unit 479: Mayor of the city of Grabow

Web links

• Literature about Franz Floerke in the state bibliography MV

Individual evidence

1. ↑ LHAS 3.2-3 / 1 Landeskloster / Klosteramt Dobbertin. No. 381 Inscriptions from municipal monastery sites 1737–1921.
2. ↑ Hans Kenzler: When Grabow got urban character. SVZ, Mecklenburg-Magazin July 18, 2011. p. 26.
3. ↑ Court and State Manual of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy for the year 1857 , p. 73
4. ↑ Only two letters from Reuter to Floerke of March 28, 1861 and December 10, 1862 are known (letters II, 349 and 416)