Heinrich Julius Ueckermann

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The German Heinrich Julius Friedrich Ernst Ueckermann (* July 20, 1827 ; † July 24, 1883 ) founded the South African city ​​of Heidelberg (Gauteng) in the province of Gauteng , 45 km south of Johannesburg , as a trading post in 1866 . Ueckermann named the place after his German alma mater , the University of Heidelberg . There is another Heidelberg in South Africa, but it was named after the Heidelberg Catechism .

live in Germany

There are two different versions of Ueckermann's place of birth or place of origin: Mecklenburg is indicated on a plaque in Heidelberg (Gauteng) , and Abterode in Kurhessen is listed in the register at Heidelberg University . However, it would also be possible that Mecklenburg was the place of birth and Abterode as the place of origin the place of birth of the parents.

The 21-year-old Friedrich Ueckermann was enrolled on April 30, 1849 only for the summer semester 1849 at the University of Heidelberg in the subject of jurisprudence . His place of origin is in the university archive of the University of Heidelberg with Abterode in Kurhessen (not Mecklenburg as on the memorial plaque), the father's occupation is given as a judicial officer in Großenlüder ( Hesse ) and the last university visited was Marburg .

Ueckermann matriculated for the summer semester in Heidelberg on April 30, 1849, but could hardly have studied properly. He obviously joined the Baden Revolution and had to flee soon after his matriculation, because in May 1849 the Prussian troops marched into Heidelberg. This assumption is very likely, also since Ueckermann disappears completely from German files. There are also no further entries in the Heidelberg City Archives, neither a place of residence during the semester, nor a place where he could have lived later. There is no Ueckermann named in the Heidelberg prison archive either.

Life in South Africa

In 1849 the prevented lawyer Heinrich Julius (H. J.) Ueckermann emigrated to South Africa . Here he preferred to use his first or both first names instead of "Friedrich" as he did when enrolling. He immediately opened a shop in Pietermaritzburg . In 1851 he married Elizabeth Hughes Mason († 1910), who bore him 13 children (9 sons and 4 daughters). He traveled adventurously through the country with the family, but eventually returned to Pietermaritzburg. But in 1862 Ueckermann moved north again and bought part of the Langlaierter farm for 7 pounds at the point where the main roads crossed. At this strategically important point he opened a flourishing trading office, but also worked as a consultant and architect and became a respected member of the regional parliament.

In 1865 he commissioned the Irish surveyor T. W. Fannin, who died shortly afterwards of malaria and was the first to be buried at Kloofkerkhof, with the planning of a city that was elevated to the status of "Town" in 1866 under the name Heidelberg . Ueckermann saw how the small, Victorian-looking town served as the capital of the "South African Republic" from 1880 to 1883 under the triumvirate of Paul Kruger , Petrus Jacobus Joubert and Marthinus Wessel Pretorius . On the other hand, he did not experience the gold rush that also hit Heidelberg on the edge of the gold belt from 1885.

His son Robert later said that his father had hoped the city would one day become an educational stronghold. In fact, a well-known educational institute, a teachers' seminar, was established here later.

Immediately to the right of the entrance to the town hall of Heidelberg is a large bust of the founder in the wall; also the main street of the city is named after him. In the church's cemetery, the "Kloofkerkhof", there is a plaque for his nine sons:

"Sacred to the memory of Heinrich Julius Friedrich Ueckermann, born in Mecklenburg-Germany, 20th July 1827, died 24th July 1883. Erected to the loving memory of the founder of Heidelberg. By his sons. ” (In German:“ Erected in memory of Heinrich Julius Friedrich Ueckermann, born in Mecklenburg, Germany, on July 20, 1827, died on July 24, 1883. Erected in the loving memory of the founder of Heidelberg by his sons. ")