Friedrich-Ludwig Urban
Friedrich Ludwig Urban (born October 2, 1806 in Silkerode ; died December 5, 1879 in Berlin ) was a veterinarian , free religious , co-founder of the early Christian union and barricade fighter .
Life
Childhood, youth and career (1806-1840)
Born on October 2nd, 1806 in Silkerode in the area of patrimonial Bockelnhagen as the son of a farrier , he followed in his father's footsteps. He could not take over the father's workshop. His alternative was conscription , and so Urban followed the path according to the Prussian regulations. He became a blacksmith in the cavalry . Since Urban had a standard of guard and a very good understanding of service, he came to Berlin in 1827 for the Garde du Corps . Soon afterwards he benefited from his high school education for career advancement. In 1829 he was posted to the Royal Veterinary School in Berlin. The school was up to date and Urban received a profound education. His studies were also influenced by great scientists like Michael Faraday , who paved the way to modern electrical engineering with the discovery of induction , or Alexander von Humboldt , who concretized the worldview. The contemporaries Hegel and Goethe died in the 1930s . Rudolf Virchow and Urban knew each other. When Urban passed his exam in 1832 and he became a veterinarian for the troops, the Democrats gathered at the Hambach Festival . In 1838 Friedrich Ludwig Urban was transferred to Berlin and was given the right of residence here . In the same year he opened a veterinary practice, but was still in the service of the military. As a result of the disability due to a horse kick, however, he was discharged from military service. In addition to the small state pension , he was dependent on the monthly income from his practice. It became clear to him that additional studies to become a first class veterinarian would be necessary. In 1840 Friedrich Ludwig Urban received his license to practice medicine .
Pre-Revolution (until 1848)
Urban's efforts to organize his independence as well as possible fell into the end of the pre-March period , which became increasingly turbulent. The March Revolution of 1848 still aroused resentment. The monarchy's constitutional promise was demanded more and more impatiently. The social grievances were so grave that Bettina von Arnim published a book entitled "This book belongs to the king", which described the misery in the kingdom in drastic reports. Urban also read this book. He was baptized as a Protestant and began to question his religious worldview. From 1839 he lived on Alexanderstrasse opposite the workhouse. Here he encountered a form of social misery that stood in harsh contradiction to Christian ethics . Urban gradually started to publish his thoughts in the Vossische Zeitung , trying to circumvent the censor . In 1844 he saw the public reaction to the weaver revolt . The exhibition of the so-called Holy Skirt in Trier in 1844 and the public letter from chaplain Johannes Ronge also kept the veterinarian busy. He observed the establishment of the German Catholic parishes , especially that in Leipzig by Robert Blum . Friedrich Ludwig Urban tried to found an "Association for the Knowledge of the Inner - Spiritual Man". With the application, however, Urban only achieved observation by the police . While the German Catholic community was consolidated under the leadership of Robert Brauner in 1845 , Urban took the side of the Protestant Friends of Light , who also advocated freedom of conscience and freedom of teaching. Because his association was rejected again and again, he put his previous documents in two booklets, “The Word or Christ in Man” and “World and Spirit or the Relationship of the External to the Internal Man”. Even then, the idea of founding an early Christian church came to him . In 1847 he married Mathilde Christine Mix. He could have been satisfied. But neither his interior nor the nature of society were calm and in order. It was seething all over Europe . From January 1848 riots broke out in various European cities. In February, events escalated into street and barricade fighting . King Louis Philippe in France had to abdicate and go into exile .
The revolution of 1848
In Europe the signs were pointing to a storm. In Berlin, too, the people were no longer willing to simply accept the regime's whim, and the military and police were extremely nervous between March 15 and 18. There were bloody attacks, which further increased the anger of the masses. People began to arm themselves. On March 18, around 3 p.m. on the corner of Königstrasse and Burgstrasse, Urban happened to witness the expulsion of 8,000 people who had gathered on Schlossplatz by the Prussian military . Shots could be heard. Thousands rushed across the bridge to meet him and shouted "Treason, we're being shot at". This was the impetus, and Friedrich Ludwig Urban left the dispute with the censorship authorities far behind. He recognized the danger of military intrusion into the residential areas and spontaneously shouted "Barricades!" This call was repeated and obeyed a thousand times. In the barricade fight that followed , Urban was in command among the civilian fighters . The famous barricade on Neue Königsstrasse in the direction of Alexanderplatz , which could not be conquered by troops, had been built in an extraordinarily massive manner under his direction and cooperation. After twelve hours of fighting, Urban negotiated with the Commander-in-Chief to cease fire and proclaimed peace . But men carried him through the streets on their shoulders. The vet Urban was now well known in the city. He also discovered his political talent. So he appeared in the March days as an avid popular speaker in clubs, popular associations and meetings. One of the gatherings he organized with friends took place on March 26th in front of the Schönhauser Tor and had almost 20,000 participants. The people had the impression that they had wrested very important concessions from the King of Prussia . Friedrich Ludwig Urban puts all his energy into securing the fruits of the revolution . He was there wherever things were developing in the city. He even had an audience with the king. Everything seemed to be going well. Some things have changed. The first parliamentary elections took place. Although Urban had committed himself to the fight on the barricade against the military and for black-red-gold with skill and success, he was soon concerned with religious matters again. They provided him with the ethical framework for his democratic spirit. In doing so, he came to early Christianity.
From Original Christian to Free Religious (1848–1855)
After the official approval, the founding meeting of the Free Berlin Congregation of the Original Christian Union took place in November 1849. Urban was elected to the board and became a patriarch and lay preacher . The Berlin original Christians, who wanted to spread the unadulterated teaching of Christ , had their own parish order, their own creed , seal and banner . Biblical and natural history lectures were given in the morning in large restaurants at four locations. In the afternoon, Urban held meetings as one of four lay preachers. Soon the community had 210 members . The efforts of police surveillance were hostile to this success . Soon the pressure of this authority became too great for a free and orderly church work. The last meeting of the early Christian community took place on April 28, 1850. Urban was sentenced to imprisonment several times for his sermons . Under such conditions, religious practice was no longer possible. Since Urban's religious and humanistic attitudes were in line with the principles of the Berlin German Catholic community, he became a member here. The community stood by him even after the death of his first wife in 1853. She was buried in the community cemetery in Poplar avenue . After the official mourning period, he married Charlotte Bredow. He decided to evade the pressure of the authorities against Democrats, bought a farm in Friedersdorf and moved there with his family in 1855.
Politics with Christian ethics, death (1861–1879)
In 1858 King Friedrich Wilhelm IV handed over the reign to his brother Wilhelm . That promised a "new era" and some relaxation in police supervision. Urban moved back to Berlin and was given the right to practice again. Under the leadership of King Wilhelm I , the pressure actually eased somewhat. On May 2, 1861, Urban veterinarian founded the party Der Deutschen Volksverein in Villa Colonna on Alexanderplatz. After just a few weeks there was a dispute over the direction of religion in the party. On June 9th of the same year, the Progress Party , which Urban was a member, was founded. During this time, democratic parties were founded throughout Germany . Sometimes they called themselves Christian , sometimes liberal . One has to see this as an important legacy of the revolution that is effective up to our day. Again - now as a member of the Progressive Party - Urban published his thoughts: "To the German people". "Waldeck and Democracy - Jesuit Revelations", 1862; "Memorandum on the attempt to reach an agreement between the Prussian parliament and the state government", 1863; “Our conditions four years ago. A memorandum to the German people to avert the threat of attacks by the clergy ”, 1865; “Open letter to the Jesuits of the Ecumenical Council for the hands of the Pope in Rome”, 1870.
Friedrich Ludwig Urban died on December 5, 1879 as a member of the Free Religious Community in Berlin and was buried in the community cemetery next to his first wife. It was the 660th burial after the cemetery was first occupied in 1847. The periodical publications about him show that the popular , yet loyal to the king , early Christian , courageous revolutionary with democratic and national visions is still unforgettable today.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Free religious community Berlin: Biographical series ( German ) Free religious community Berlin. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e Dorothea Minkels : 1848 a barricade hero . Ed .: Self-published. extended new edition edition. Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-00-002784-X , p. 290 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Urban, Friedrich-Ludwig |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Urban, Friedrich Ludwig |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German veterinarian, free religious, original Christian and barricade fighter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 2, 1806 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Silkerode |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 5, 1879 |
| Place of death | Berlin |