Franz Josef Scherf

Franz Josef Scherf (born October 5, 1865 , Volkmarsen ; † July 4, 1929 in Orb ) was a doctor and spa director in Bad Orb (1905–1929), member of the provincial council in Kassel (1926–1929), communicator and sponsor of the Orb spa .

Memorial to Dr. FJ Scherf, Bad Orb spa gardens

Life, family

Franz Josef Scherf was born as the sixth child of the farmer Heinrich August Scherf and Maria Theresia Fecke (from Welda) in Volkmarsen. There he also attended elementary school; At the same time, the Catholic clergyman gave the gifted boy Latin lessons. At the age of 12 he was able to switch to the Catholic high school Marianum in Warburg , which he graduated from high school. The traditional Warburg high school emerged from a Dominican monastery from the 13th century.

He then began studying forestry in Marburg , which he gave up in 1885 in favor of medicine on the advice of the responsible state forester . He later continued his medical studies in Halle (Saale) . During his studies he was in the student associations Rhenania (Catholic, in Marburg) and Silesia (in Halle).

In 1895 he married Elisabeth (Elise) Wiegen from Bochum ; the Scherf couple had nine children (1 girl and 8 boys).

Professional and public work

Established medical

After completing his medical degree, Scherf applied to his two study locations, Halle and Marburg. However, he was denied employment in both cases because of his Catholic faith. A short episode as a doctor in Neuhof followed . In 1893, at the age of 28, Scherf came to Orb and became a resident doctor. He set up his first practice in Hauptstrasse in 1897. As early as 1907 he bought the prestigious Villa Hubertus from the Orber hunters. It became his home and doctor's office at the same time. In 1917 Scherf was appointed to the medical council. It is a title that was awarded to non-civil servant doctors in Prussia after 20 years of activity.

Further medical activities

Scherf also worked as a hospital doctor at the local Orb Hospital. Here he improved the interior and set up an operating room. At his suggestion, the Kurhaus St. Elisabeth was built next to the hospital. The surplus from its operation should go to the hospital.

The establishment of the Küppelsmühle sanatorium by the Freund family is also thanks to his initiative. In order to put this facility on a broad and secure basis from the outset, discussions with Eduard Graef , the chairman of the local health insurance fund in Frankfurt, had preceded. Scherf became the chief doctor of the Küppelsmühle and remained so for 32 years.

The activist, organizer, communicator and politician Scherf

Scherf set a first milestone for the development of the Orb spa with the establishment of the Bad Orb operating company, which succeeded the Bad Orb company and took care of the needs of the spa. He became their first and very successful managing director. In 1905 he was elected spa director to succeed Jean Berlit; he also retained this office until his death. His choice was the starting signal for expanding the pool. Outside of Orbs he was also the general secretary of the German swimming pool association.

But his life's work is his commitment to Orb as a seaside resort. Here he is a successor to Franz Leopold Koch , the founder of the Orb spa. Advertising for the city and the beloved Spessart at medical congresses, good relations with the press and targeted information transfer to the press as well as many of his own publications, these were the means that Franz Josef Scherf used. A key objective good 70 years after the establishment of the first "bathhouse" by Franz Leopold Koch with the award of was in 1909, predicate Bad achieved. The number of spa guests rose steadily. During this time, supported and promoted by Scherf, the establishment and development of the Bad Orb Children's Hospital was carried out by Dr. Wilhelm Hufnagel .

Even in the difficult years during the First World War , he consistently worked on expanding the spa park. Then, in 1919, Scherf negotiated again with Eduard Gräf, who not only represented social security, but, now as mayor, also the city of Frankfurt. Bad Orb received cheap loans, which enabled a modest new beginning, but which was already built on a broad base of coffers on the one hand and small pensions on the other, because "... the former privileged class of nobility, industry, and wholesalers ... no longer came to Bad Orb ”. New buildings were necessary: ​​the Kaiser-Friedrich-Bad, Brunnen - facilities redesigned to avoid the loss of carbon dioxide. The Martinus spring, the youngest of the three Orber brine springs, was captured and led into the spa gardens. The bathhouse was rebuilt and an inhalatorium was added.

The active citizen Scherf was also politically active and became a city ​​councilor , then city councilor-chief. He was also (1926–1929) a member of the provincial parliament in Kassel. He always unselfishly pursued the common good. The Vogelsbergbahn, an important part of the local infrastructure, was owed to its operation and use. He also participated intensively in the planning of the Wächtersbach-Orb-Joßgrund-Partenstein-Lohr railway line, a project that was ultimately only implemented in a first section.

aftermath

The spa administration of Bad Orb placed a memorial at the entrance of the spa park in memory of its long-term chairman. It contains a relief by Franz Josef Scherf with the inscription: “1905 - 1929, Sanitätsrat Dr. Scherf, the restless promoter of Orbs ” .

By a resolution of the city council on October 23, 1963, the main path of the Bad Orber spa park, in its entire length from the Scherf monument at the entrance to the Rotahornallee at the upper end, was named the Dr.-Franz-Josef-Scherf-Promenade .

One of the Bad Orbs mountain huts is also called the “Scherf Hut”. It is located on the Bad Orber Haberstal circuit, circular route 11.

literature

• Anton Henkel: Medical Councilor Dr. Scherf, the restless promoter of Orbs. In: “Der Spessart” magazine. February 1953, Orbensien Verlag, 2011.
• Georg Henkel: Great sponsor of the Orb spa. In: Gelnhauser Tageblatt. March 31, 2015.
• W. Theilmann: Pictures of the Orber past. Bad Orber Anzeiger, December 5, 1980.
• Bad Orb: Anniversary publication 950 years Bad Orb, 1059–2009. 2009.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Bad Orb: "Anniversary publication 950 years Bad Orb", 2009, p. 140.
2. ↑ Anton Henkel: "Medical Councilor Dr. Scherf, the restless patron of Orbs ”, in the magazine“ Der Spessart ”, February 1953, Orbensien publishing house, 2011.
3. ↑ "Spessart", Illustrated monthly, July 1929, No. 7 page 2
4. ^ W. Theilmann: "Pictures of the Orber Past", Bad Orber Anzeiger, December 5, 1980.
5. ↑ Anton Henkel: "Medical Councilor Dr. Scherf, the restless patron of Orbs ”, in the magazine“ Der Spessart ”, February 1953, Orbensien publishing house, 2011.
6. ↑ Josef Engel: Publication 1984.

Web links

• Scherf, Franz Josef. Hessian biography. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
• Local family book Bad Orb, Franz Josef Scherf