Jürgen Paul Prahl

Jürgen Paul Prahl (born September 25, 1772 in Lübeck , † July 7, 1813 there ) was a Lübeck master bone mason and victim of the French occupation .

The Prahl monument in Lübeck

The back of the monument

Incident in the market

On the morning of July 5, 1813, soldiers of the French occupying forces were mustered at the Lübeck market ; the event was followed by numerous spectators. The civilians present, including Prahl, made mocking remarks about the troops who had appeared and aroused the displeasure of the commanding officer Abadie. This asked the closest people to step back. When his instructions were not obeyed, he tried to push the audience away with blows in front of the chest. One of the victims, the gardener Green, protested against this treatment and was therefore arrested on the officer's orders.

The nearby brag then gave Abadie a scornful laugh. The officer turned to Prahl, angrily asked why he was laughing, and raised his sword at the butcher. Prahl grabbed Abadie's arm, although it is not clear whether he just wanted to hold onto the sword or take it. The officer also had Prahl arrested and taken away for this.

Trial and Execution

On the morning of July 7th, a military tribunal was held in the town hall , presided over by Major Staglieno of the 111th Line Regiment . The prosecution was represented by Captain-Adjutant-Major Riston of the same unit. At Prahl's own request, Johann Friedrich Hach took over his defense. Prahl was accused of inciting riot and resistance to French military violence.

After hearing the defendants and after the defense and prosecution submitted their motions, the court deliberated on the verdict behind closed doors. Prahl was found to have violated an imperial decree of January 26, 1813, punishing any incitement to French rule with the death penalty . The verdict was read publicly and 300 copies were printed and posted in the city at the convict's expense.

Requests for clemency by the Prahls family, the provisional mayor Friedrich Adolph von Heintze and the sub-prefect to the military governor General Paul Thiébault were in vain, since the general was not entitled to a pardon in such cases and the judgments of the military courts according to the law of the 17th messidor of the year 12 were immediately granted enforce and were therefore practically indisputable.

At noon on July 7th, Prahl was executed by a French firing squad on the ramparts at the Mühlentor .

As an exception, Prahl's widow was granted the privilege of having her husband's body, which had been buried at the place of execution , excavated and buried elsewhere . The fine of 915 francs imposed in addition to the death penalty was waived by the sub-prefect; however, she had to pay the legal costs of 12 francs from the estate of the executed man.

Prahl Monument

On July 7, 1820, a memorial to Jürgen Paul Prahl was inaugurated on the site of his execution. The three meter high obelisk designed by Joseph Christian Lillie bears on the front the inscriptions armed violence erkohr zum victim den peaceful citizens as well as Here JP Prahl sank on July 7th MDCCCXIII , and on the back, Heartfelt thanks to the Lord everyone who makes freedom happy and the Innocence general respect. MDCCCXX established by united offices.

Since this part of the Lübeck ramparts was removed during the construction of the Elbe-Lübeck Canal in 1898 , the monument was moved around 50 meters to the top of a remaining rampart, where it is still located today.

literature

• Description of the festivities at the unveiling of the memorial dedicated to Jürgen Paul Prahl on the Walle des Mühlenthor in Lübeck, July 7th 1820 , Schmidt, Lübeck 1820
• Karl Klug : History of Lübeck during the unification with the French Empire 1811-1813 . Publishing house HG Nahthgens, Lübeck 1856
• Friedrich Bruns , Hugo Rahtgens, Lutz Wilde : The architectural and art monuments of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. Volume I, Part 2: City Hall and public buildings of the city. Max Schmidt-Römhild, Lübeck 1974, pp. 411-413 ISBN 9783795000349
• Antjekathrin Graßmann : Lübeckische Geschichte . Schmidt-Römhild publishing house, Lübeck 1988
• Office for the Preservation of Monuments of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (ed.): The architectural and art monuments of the Hanseatic City of Lübeck , Volume I.2. Verlag Schmidt-Römhild, Lübeck 1974
• Ilsabe von Bülow: Joseph Christian Lillie (1760-1827). Berlin 2008, pp. 190–192. ISBN 9783422066106
• Bremer Sonntagsblatt: Organ des Künstlerverein, Volume 13, 1865, S.388ff