Heinrich Ludwig Kayser

First edition of the latest news dated December 1, 1877

Kayser's grave in Strasbourg

Heinrich Ludwig Kayser (born March 20, 1833 in Bruchmachtersen ; † December 11, 1904 ) was a German printer and publisher . In 1877 he founded the Strasbourg Latest News , which is now the leading Alsatian newspaper under the name Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace .

Kayser came from a wealthy family of musicians in Bruchmachtersen (today a district of Salzgitter ). The family's ancestral home was the so-called Kayserhof (Ass 11, today: Söhlekamp 31). He learned the typesetting trade in Wolfenbüttel . After a long wandering he settled in Strasbourg, where his younger brother, the musician and theater director, Christoph Kayser, had lived since 1872. He initially worked for the Berger-Levrault printing company , and later for the Strasbourg newspaper printing company . The yearbook of the city of Strasbourg from 1874 lists him as managing director of the Wolf printing company . Shortly thereafter, Kayser set up his own print shop at Pargamentgasse 1 (today: Rue du Parchemin) .

The printing company lived mainly from official orders, it printed the district gazette for the city and district of Strasbourg and the gazette for the district of Lower Alsace . A private customer of the printing company, the Strasbourg messenger , suggested Kayser to found his own daily newspaper.

The new sheet should be affordable and interesting for all customer groups. In 1877 the company was able to move into the new company premises at Finkweiler Badgasse 7 (Rue du Bain Finkwiller) - the Wolf printing works, where Kayser initially worked, was previously located here. Kayser was initially an editor , publisher and printer all rolled into one. The first edition of the latest news appeared on December 1, 1877 , after a free zero number was distributed on November 17 .

The company was very successful. On December 8th, the latest news had 1,000 subscribers. On July 13, 1889, the newspaper moved into its current business premises at Blauwolkengasse 17-21 (Rue de la Nuée-Bleue) . In the same year, Kayser converted his company into a stock corporation . He acquired a large fortune and had a large villa built in the Ruprechtsau (La Robertsau) district at Kastnerstrasse 1 (Allée Kastner) . Kayser was the founder of the Heinrich Ludwig Foundation for the benefit of poor old people in Strasbourg and supported widows and elderly people in need of care in his home village of Bruchmachtersen with annual donations until his death. To continue this commitment, he left his home parish a will of 10,000 marks.

literature

• Dominique Wirtz-Habermeyer: L'Histoire des Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace . Editions de la Nuée Bleue, Strasbourg 1987. (excerpt)
• Chronicle of the church community Bruchmachtersen, pp. 65–66