Hermann Schmalenbach

This article describes the contractor. On the philosopher see Herman Schmalenbach .

Hermann Schmalenbach (born June 29, 1847 in Branscheid near Eckenhagen , † 1927 in Weilerswist ) was a Rhenish building contractor who made special contributions in the late phase of railway construction . His bridges and tunnels as well as the logistical organization of the construction sites were considered particularly exemplary. Schmalenbach was originally supposed to build the Hamburg Elbe Tunnel , but declined for personal reasons.

Coming from the poorest of backgrounds, he completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer in Elberfeld at the age of 15 . The brilliant autodidact also received his master's certificate shortly afterwards. He came across the new Eifel route Düren - Jünkerath via Euskirchen early on . Since he obviously did not (yet) have his own capital and thus no company, he initially carried out this work for various companies. His hard work and organizational talent quickly became apparent. The Rheinische Eisenbahngesellschaft commissioned him to take over the construction of the train station in Euskirchen as well as various river and stream crossings and tunnels on the entire route and the continuation towards Trier .

The Eifelbahn , which is extremely important due to its strategic position for campaigns in France, was then to be connected directly from Euskirchen via Kalscheuren to Cologne . The Rheinische Eisenbahngesellschaft commissioned various entrepreneurs here. Schmalenbach was originally only supposed to build the section from Euskirchen via Büllesheim to Gut Ottenheim (Derkum station) and various stations ( Kierberg , Weilerswist ). However, after construction delays occurred and the scheduled completion was in jeopardy, especially due to problems in the section between Liblar and Weilerswist, the Prussian state government intervened and in 1875 transferred responsibility for the entire route to Schmalenbach. He succeeded in completing the Kalscheuren – Euskirchen line in record time that same year. The Prussian state government then urged Schmalenbach to be commissioned to build strategically important routes towards France (see also “ Strategic Embankment ”). On behalf of the Prussian State Railways, he was also responsible for the construction of the line in today's Mayen district and the renovation of the Andernach station . At the request of his wife, he declined the task of building the Elbe tunnel in Hamburg . The native Rhinelander did not want to leave her home country. Instead, he set up the headquarters of his company, which, in addition to building construction work, also traded in building materials, in Weilerswist opposite the current municipal administration. The company, which was continued by his son Ferdinand, was closed by the National Socialists in 1936 . He had previously refused to have National Socialist propaganda printed in his company and to quit the church. Up until the turn of the millennium, the core building of the old company headquarters was still used as a residence by the Schmalenbach family .

It has not yet been clarified whether there is a relationship to the Cologne business economist Eugen Schmalenbach .

Web links

• www.eifelbahn.de
• www.wisoveg.de