Gustav Selve memorial
The Gustav Selve Memorial is a listed facility in memory of the industrialist Gustav Selve (1842–1909). It is in Altena , a town in the Märkisches Kreis ( North Rhine-Westphalia ).
history
The monument was built in honor of the entrepreneur Gustav Selve, who was born in Lüdenscheid and worked in Altena. Selve's father Hermann Dietrich Selve (* 1813; † 1881) founded the metal rolling mill and wire drawing shop Basse & Selve in 1861 together with Carl Basse (* 1802; † 1873) from Lüdenscheid in Bärenstein near Werdohl . Since the narrow Versetal did not offer enough space for a factory expansion that would soon become necessary due to the economic success, the company acquired a closed factory on Schwarzenstein in Altena , where the company headquarters were relocated in 1869. After the death of his father and the departure of the Basse family in 1882, Gustav Selve became the sole owner of the company, which he expanded into a successful large corporation. At the time of his death in 1909, Basse & Selve had a total of 3500 employees, of which around 2400 worked in Altena in the various plants in Linscheid, am Schwarzenstein and Lennestein.
Gustav Selve showed an outstanding social commitment for the employees he worked for during his time. So he got involved in founding the Altena construction company and had cheap workers' apartments built himself. In addition to schools, he also founded a consumer institution as well as support funds and a factory savings bank for the employees of his plants.
In his will, he also gave his employees generous consideration. Graded according to marital status and length of service, a total of 1,500,000 marks was paid out.
Out of gratitude, the employees donated the Gustav Selve memorial. It must be mentioned that this foundation was not entirely voluntary. The funds actually came from the employees, but were automatically deducted from the gifts made by Selve in their will.
The monument was inaugurated in 1911 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Basse & Selve, two years after Gustav Selve's death.
description
The monument was erected on a rock outcrop high above the Lenne .
In the area of the monument there are smaller terraced squares that follow the contour of the slope and can be reached via a straight staircase. The terracing of the slope is made up of roughly waist-high quarry stone walls, each of which ends with a bulging saddle made of ashlar. The individual levels are connected to one another by short, straight open stairs .
To the left of the first flight of steps leading into the actual monument complex is a cubic pavilion, the roof and pillars of which, however, are now lost. A staircase leads down from the central terrace to the lower round terrace, on which a memorial oak stands in a hexagonal enclosure made of lattice pillars.
The center of the complex is the idealized bronze statue of Gustav Selve standing in an exedra on a pedestal . This is about 4 meters high. On the plinth there is the inscription bronze cast by B. Förster, Düsseldorf and CL Buscher, Ddf. 1911. This refers to the Düsseldorf arts and crafts workshops Bernhard Förster and the Düsseldorf sculptor Clemens Buscher (* 1855, † 1916) as the originators of the sculpture.
The sculpture shows Gustav Selve as an energetic entrepreneur, the right foot stepping halfway over the plinth. Head and gaze are slightly raised. In his left hand he holds a roll in front of his chest with his arm bent. The sitter is dressed in an open frock coat, over which he wears an open professional coat.
The statue stands on an approximately 1.5 meter high, once offset square column as a stone base. On the front it bears the inscription Gustav Selve / 1842–1909 , on the back is in small capital letters Gustav Selve's motto Treue um Treue as well as the signature:
- Dedicated in gratitude
- by the workers, foremen and officials
- of Selve's works.
Behind the statue is a semicircular colonnade with wing pieces made of polished and pointed, lighter colored granite. The end of the exedra and wing is formed by a slightly conical, profiled pillar on both sides, each of which carries a block-shaped lidded vase on a block-like capital. There is a winged lion in front of the two head pillars. Art Nouveau influences can be seen in the sculptural design of the vases, pillars and lions.
The monument is popularly known as The Silent Gustav . The Gustav-Selve-Weg leads in a wide area around the monument.
See also
literature
- Ursula Quednau (arr.): Dehio-Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, North Rhine-Westphalia. Volume II: Westphalia. Deutscher Kunstverlag , Berlin / Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-422-03114-2 , p. 12.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Ralf Stremmel: Selve, Gustav. In: New German Biography. 24 (2010), pp. 231-232.
- ↑ a b Ralf Stremmel: Gustav Selve - a large industrialist in the German Empire. In: The Reidemeister. - History sheets for Lüdenscheid city and country. No. 180, November 3, 2009, pp. 1481-1486.
- ^ Anniversary edition 125 years of Altena construction company. P. 11.
- ↑ Gustav Selve - From the committed industrialist to "Stillen Gustav"
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Ulrich Barth: A memorial for the industrialist Gustav Selve (1842–1909) in Altena. In: Preservation of monuments in Westphalia-Lippe. Issue 1/2007, pp. 24-27.
- ↑ Ursula Quednau (arrangement): Dehio-Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, North Rhine-Westphalia. Volume II: Westphalia. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin / Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-422-03114-2 , p. 12.
Coordinates: 51 ° 17 ′ 15.6 " N , 7 ° 40 ′ 35.8" E