Georg von Bleichröder

Georg von Bleichröder

Georg von Bleichröder ( October 27, 1857 in Berlin - June 11, 1902 at the Lechenich castle ) was a German banker of the Jewish faith.

Life

Georg von Bleichröder was the son of Gerson von Bleichröder (1822-1893), who was raised to hereditary nobility in 1872 . Bleichröder had studied law and completed his studies in Berlin with a doctorate. In 1885 he became a partner in his father's bank , Bankhaus S. Bleichröder , as had his older brother Hans von Bleichröder since 1881 . He also had a seat on the supervisory board of the German Colonial Society for South West Africa , in which the bank was involved with 200,000 marks. He was also one of the directors of Norddeutscher Lloyd and a member of the supervisory board of the mining company Hibernia AG, which is financed by the Bleichröder bank . When Gerson von Bleichröder died, the sons inherited around 15 million marks at their own disposal. His share enabled Georg von Bleichröder to mainly pursue his own interests, even if he was nominally a member of the management of the bank.

Bankhaus S. Bleichröder , Unter den Linden in Berlin

Through contacts with the banker Simon Simon, who was born in Lechenich, he found out about the upcoming sale of the Lechenich castle , which he acquired in 1894 with all associated property for 100,000 marks.

Under Bleichröder, the northern part of the western wing of the outer bailey was converted into a mansion according to plans by the French architect Henri Grandpierre and the interior was designed in the neo-baroque style for residential and representative purposes . The outside baroque outer bailey was preserved, only the main portal was given a glass canopy. In order to get a clear view of the castle ruins surrounded by moats from the inner courtyard, Bleichröder had the wall between the residential tower and the outer bailey laid down. A cast-iron bridge spanning the moat led from the inner courtyard to the adjacent park , which Bleichröder had enlarged and redesigned.

Bleichröder belonged to the Lechenich Jewish community , but showed little interest in community life. In his will, however, he bequeathed 1,500 marks to the community, which the headmaster administered. In addition, the community received from the fund of 18,000 marks he had donated for the poor in the community of Lechenich, the annual interest of 3000 marks paid out.

On the return journey by train from Paris to Düren, the passionate driver had an accident in 1902 when he was driving his automobile back from Düren to Lechenich and collided with a horse-drawn vehicle on the Herriger tree . He died of his injuries in his apartment. He was buried in the New Jewish Cemetery in Lechenich. In 1913 his bones were buried in the newly built family mausoleum in the Friedrichsfelde central cemetery in Berlin and the tombstone was removed in Lechenich.

Römerhof stud

→ Main article : Römerhof stud

At the end of 1894, Georg von Bleichröder acquired the "Römerhof" estate, located about two kilometers from Lechenich on Römerstrasse , in order to establish a racing stable and then a thoroughbred stud there. He transferred the previous name to his stud , which was named v. Bleichrödersche Gestüts Direction Römerhof near Lechenich Rheinpreußen .

At his stud, Bleichröder implemented the latest standards that he had got to know on a tour of leading English and French studs. At that time, a first-class and well-run system with stables was created, the boxes of which could be illuminated by an in-house power system. The stall for the stallions was next to the stud manager's apartment. The facility also included the houses for the employees. A telephone connection had existed between the castle and the stud farm since 1896, which Bleichröder had set up at his own expense after obtaining approval from the Oberpostverwaltung in Cologne . Each stable received a telephone connection to the groom's apartment, so that the head of the stud could be notified immediately if necessary. The outdoor area was divided into nine paddocks, each about two hectares in size, separated by paths. A galloping track ran along the outside. The facility had a covered riding arena, illuminated by a skylight, for the yearlings and the wintering racehorses. Since 1902, the stud has also had a connection to the municipal water supply, which supplied stables and apartments, but also moved the paddocks and the racecourse. From her, water was fed into the drinking troughs in the paddocks. It also served to irrigate the racetrack, for which a pumping station was available in connection with the electrical system.

In 1896 Bleichröder started breeding horses with breeding animals mainly from England, which brought him great success after just two years. After Georg von Bleichröder's death in 1902, the stud passed into the hands of his brother James von Bleichröder . In 1905 it was sold to the state and became the Graditz branch . Graditz horses were hired at the Römerhof. After the First World War , Leo Lewin leased the stud established by Georg von Bleichröder in 1925.

literature

• Salomon Wininger : Great Jewish National Biography . Kraus Reprint, Nendeln 1979, ISBN 3-262-01204-1 (reprint of the Czernowitz edition 1925).
• Heidi and Cornelius Bormann : home on the Erft. The rural Jews in the synagogue communities Gymnich, Friesheim and Lechenich . Erftstadt 1993, ISBN 3-9802650-3-X .
• Frank Bartsch (ed.): Continuity and change in the country. The Rhine Prussian mayor of Lechenich in the 19th and early 20th centuries (1815-1914). Landpresse, Weilerswist 2012, ISBN 978-3-941037-91-5 . (History in the Euskirchen district, vol. 26)

Web links

• Website of the Römerhof stud farm in Erftstadt
• Bleichröder family grave at the Friedrichsfelde central cemetery in Berlin

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Heidi and Cornelius Bormann: Home on the Erft. The rural Jews in the synagogue communities Gymnich, Friesheim and Lechenich. 1993, pp. 279-290.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Frank Bartsch: Continuity and change in the country. The Rhenish Prussian mayor of Lechenich in the 19th and early 20th centuries (1815 - 1914). 2012, pp. 654-663.