Heinrich Spoerry

Heinrich Spoerry-Jacob, 1869–1907

Heinrich Spoerry ( Heinrich Spoerry-Jacob ; born September 11, 1869 in Flums , † August 16, 1907 on the Matterhorn ) was a Swiss industrialist and mountaineer .

Life

Heinrich Spoerry was born to Katharina Streiff (1844–1905) and Johannes Spoerry (1828–1905). Together with his parents, his brother Peter Spoerry and his sister Ida Spoerry , he spent a carefree youth and also completed the first two school years in his birthplace. He later attended the Breidenstein boys' institute in Grenchen , where he never really felt comfortable. That is why he and his siblings were tutored at home by private tutors. At the Industrial School in Zurich he graduated from the Matura and was studying toward his desire chemistry, in the family business for a merchant trained. Soon he was in charge of the company's accounting and correspondence .

Over time, Heinrich Spoerry 's wanderlust took hold and he traveled to St. Louis (Missouri) and Alexandria (Egypt), where he worked in a cotton factory. On April 14, 1896, he married Doris Jacob from St. Gallen . The two children Heinrich Spoerry jun. Come from this connection. and Doris Spoerry. In 1898, Heinrich Spoerry founded a calcium carbide factory in Flums in addition to the existing cotton factory .

Heinrich Spoerry was promoted to captain of the artillery in 1898 and should have been promoted to colonel on August 18, 1907. He would then have become Department Commander of Artillery Regiment Nine (Art Reg IX).

At the age of twenty Heinrich Spoerry climbed the Popocatepetl in Mexico . In 1905 he joined the Academic Alpine Club Zurich and in 1903 he showed his comrades from the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) section Pizol a pair of skis. In 1903 he had the Spitzmeilenhütte in Flumserberg built within three months. He then sold these to the SAC. To avoid the ridicule of his fellow citizens, he and his friends only went skiing in remote places on moonlit nights. Nevertheless, he can be considered the founder of skiing in the Flumser Mountains. He often took his photo equipment with him on his mountain tours and hikes; many shots of the natural and mountain world testify to his talent.

death

On August 13, 1907, Heinrich Spoerry climbed the Pollux near Zermatt together with Karl Imfeld and his best friend Robert Helbling in order to train for the ascent of the Matterhorn. Two days later, on August 15, 1907, the three of them set out at six o'clock in the morning to conquer this mountain. When the three climbers were about half an hour from the summit of the Matterhorn, a violent thunderstorm with hail and snow broke out. They crouched down and waited for the weather to improve. Each of them was hit by several lightning strikes. Heinrich Spoerry was hurt the most and lost consciousness. Although the weather calmed down around midnight, Robert Helbling could only determine his death.

Robert Helbling was the only one to survive this accident without major injuries; Karl Imfeld's foot was mutilated. In 1910, three years after Heinrich Spoerry's death , Robert Helbling married his widow Doris and became a father to their children.

Social responsibility

Heinrich Spoerry was one of the richest men in the Sarganserland in his day . Nevertheless, he had a great sense of responsibility towards his workers. As early as 1890 he introduced a pension and benefit fund in his factories, and in 1912 health insurance was launched. Between 1890 and 1903, the Spoerry company built a workers' settlement in Flums Neudorf and set up a dining room and a bathing establishment in the carbide factory. At the beginning of the Second World War, the company decided to pay full wages to all employees who were called up for military and auxiliary service.