Franz Hilarius Ascher

Franz Hilarius Ascher 1927

Family tomb Graz Central Cemetery

Franz Hilarius Ascher (born May 25, 1852 in Pitten ; † December 30, 1929 in Graz ) was an Austrian land and mine owner , mining consultant, general director , owner and editor-in-chief of the Montan-Zeitung, co-trades and director of the "Montara" company. , Honorary member and president of the association of techn.-adm. Mining and smelter officials of the former Austrian monarchy, chairman of the supervisory board of the Montan-Spar- und Kredit-Anstalt.

Life

Even his ancestors, Wuerttembergians, had been active in mining and metallurgy since 1485. After completing secondary school in Wiener Neustadt, he began his mining career as a sponsor at the mining and steel works in Pitten. In 1869 he became mining site manager at the Strasshof mining company, and later manager at the Schrambach coal mine. Finally he entered the service of Heinrich R. v. Drasche in Grünbach.

At the end of 1872, Ascher came to Wies as a mountain administrator (trade manager) , where he managed the mining operations in Tombach, Steyeregg and Schönegg until October 1873. As a result, he became a senior mountain manager at the Thomasberg coal mine near Aspang .

In 1880 Ascher moved to Graz . Now he developed his activity as a mining director and operations manager of the coal mine in Limburg near Schwanberg and built the mine there.

In 1882 Ascher left Styria and devoted himself fully to studying Carpathian geology and the oil deposits of western Galicia to the Kronstadt Jura, where he worked with his friends. In recognition of his achievements in the field of geology , he was appointed a corresponding member of the Geological Reichsanstalt in Vienna (today the Federal Geological Institute) in 1878 and a full member of the Hungarian Geological Society in 1884.

When Colonel Favier was developing safety explosives, Ascher was so interested in them that he traveled to France, Belgium and England to do the most in-depth studies of this new explosive. Director Ascher, the Franco-Belgian Favier company, managed to win over his plans. He was eventually appointed its general manager. After a hard fight, an agreement was reached with the stock company Dynamit-Nobel, according to which the safety explosives were manufactured by Nobel. In 1894 the Franco-Belgian company went into liquidation .

In 1894 Ascher founded the Montan-Zeitung in Graz, which he ran as editor-in-chief and owner until his death in December 1929. From 1930 the Montan-Zeitung was combined with the Montanistische Rundschau .

In 1899 he took over the management of the Bella-Möttniger coal union in Krain as plant director and operations manager , which he held until 1905.

During the First World War, General Director Ascher took over the development of the old pebble mine in Großstübing for Leykam-Josefstahl-AG and achieved such successes that the operation of the paper mills could be maintained with their own pebble ( pyrite ). The establishment of the Ennstaler coal union, which did great service during the war, as well as the establishment of the Styrian nickel, copper, zinc, silver and lead union, near Schladming as well as the Austrian magnesite industry and coal union Öblarn are his work.

In the last years of his life, Franz H. Ascher dealt intensively with the opening up of the magnesite mining of the Austrian Magnesite Industry and Coal Union, namely magnesite deposits in Sankt Martin am Grimming on the Enns, as well as with generous financing plans and the relevant preparatory work with regard to the creation of one on these magnesite deposits based large and modern magnesite industry.

Ascher recognized with great foresight the importance of this industry as an export industry for Austria and researched and recognized these mighty and extraordinarily conveniently located deposits, which are suitable to form the most solid basis for such an industry .

His efforts in this regard did not fail and a large, important company will soon emerge from it. In 1912 the Pichl lignite mining with the Barbara-Grubenfeld von Ascher was spun off from the Schladming lignite mining and in 1921 it was incorporated into the newly founded Austrian magnesite industry and coal union.

Franz H. Ascher enjoyed great popularity due to his selflessness and rare conscientiousness and because of his versatile and extensive experience and knowledge in the mining area and was a well-known, respected personality in all mining circles as well as in his hometown Graz .

Ascher was buried in the family crypt at the Graz central cemetery in the arcades. The grave site of the Ascher family resembles a mountain tunnel mouth with a closed tunnel gate, in front of which the life-size sculpture of the dead Franz Ascher in miner's uniform stands guard in front of the gate. A beautiful Art Nouveau grave designed by the sculptor Hans Brandstetter .

Web links

• History of mining (PDF; 684 kB) Mining in the 20th century, Museum - Joanneum