Hans Zacharias West Lion

Hans Zacharias West Löwe (baptized July 14, 1776 in Marslev ; † October 27, 1832 in Schleswig ) was a postmaster who tried to improve passenger and freight traffic throughout the Danish state .

Live and act

Hans Zacharias West Löwe was a son of the postmaster Andreas Löwe (baptized July 15, 1749 in St. Knud's Church in Odense ; † April 3, 1800) and his first wife Maren Danchel West (* October 18, 1747; † 15. January 1778). His parents had married on January 17, 1776 in Odense.

How Leo grew up and what training he received is not documented. On March 23, 1796 he was appointed administrator of the post office in Rendsburg , which belonged to his father, who later left office. Löwe was then appointed postmaster on November 3, 1797 and appointed to the chancellery in 1810. On September 23, 1811 he was appointed postmaster of Schleswig, where he worked until the end of his life. As a post office, he owned the Tychenhof am Lollfuß. In 1820 he was appointed to the judiciary.

When Löwe took over the office in Schleswig, he received such high salaries that his post office could employ seven people. Löwe endeavored to optimize the wagons required for postal travel. He commissioned lockable wagons that only carried mail and travel goods. There were also cars for travelers. who carried mail and travel goods at the same time. The wagons used to transport people were fitted with steel springs that were supposed to soften the bumps caused by the poor roads. They received a closed body and large windows made of mirror glass.

Löwe reorganized two stagecoach routes that led from Schleswig to Kiel and from Schleswig to Eckernförde . Both existed from September 1, 1820 to the end of March 1824 and ended due to economic problems. Leo had maintained most of the stagecoaches himself. The Prussian General Post Office acquired these carriages and used them in the transport of people, mail and travel goods.

There were later allegations against institutions of the postal service. Löwe publicly contradicted this and said that Denmark's postal system was in no way worse than that of other countries and that everything would be done that would benefit the customer. He explained why only letters addressed to foreign recipients were stamped and emphasized that problems with the transport of passengers arose due to the poor condition of the country roads and led to the shifting of connections for stagecoaches. In 1830, the Kiel Correspondenz Blatt published numerous allegations against the Post. Leo responded to this with a script that was enclosed with the friend of the truth . In it he described his professional reasons and campaigned for the rights of his employees.

Löwe was one of the most important personalities in the Danish postal system who tried out and introduced new vehicles at the time.

family

Leo married Friederica Catharina, nee Köper, widowed Selck, widowed Nebelung. His wife brought a daughter into the marriage. The couple had their son Peter Gerhard (born October 7, 1803 in Rendsburg; † November 25, 1886). From October 1, 1833, he worked as a postmaster in Plön, was appointed judicial councilor in 1862 and changed to Prussian service in 1864.

After the death of his first wife, Löwe married her sister Magdalena Maria Henricka Köper (born November 30, 1765 in Sipsdorf ; † January 12, 1845 in Plön ) in October 1812 . This marriage remained childless.

Löwe's wives were daughters of Peter Christian Köper († February 10, 1780 in Grube ) and his third wife Margaretha, née Danielsen († September 12, 1780 in Grube). Her father first worked as a bailiff in Sipsdorf, then in Grube.

literature

• Erich Katzschke: Lion, Hans Zacharias West . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 6 - 1982. ISBN 3-529-02646-8 , pages 165-166.