Johann Christoph Winters

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Image of Johann Christoph Winters (memorial on the Melaten cemetery)
Cologne Hänneschen Theater on Eisenmarkt, Cologne
Memorial (from 2002) on the Melaten cemetery in Cologne
Inscription memorial on the Melaten cemetery
Commemorative plaque (from 1954) for the founder of the Hänneschen-Theater am Eisenmarkt, Cologne

Johann Christoph Winters (born November 23, 1772 in Bonn , † August 5, 1862 in Cologne ) was a tailor from Bonn and the founder of the Hänneschen Theater in Cologne.

Life

Johann Christoph Winters learned the tailoring trade in Bonn and received his journeyman's certificate on July 24, 1798 . His years of traveling as a tailor's apprentice took him to Antwerp , where he got to know Flemish puppetry . At the turn of the century he came to Cologne. There he married Elisabeth Thierry (called "Lisette") on June 22, 1800, the daughter of a Cologne merchant. Having settled in Cologne, Johann Christoph Winters financed his livelihood in the summer months by painting and decorating . In the winter months, Winters tried puppet shows for small children.

In 1803, Johann Christoph Winters applied to the Cologne Maire ( Lord Mayor ) Johann Jakob von Wittgenstein for permission to “set up a nativity scene for small children”. He hoped "because of the loss of other earnings with this to earn his bread in an honest way" and referred to a previous year's approval. As a result, the Hänneschen Theater was founded in 1802. Since the concession was only granted for one winter, Winters submitted an application for a license to play again every winter.

"... I have a beautifully furnished bobsled game that everyone likes, because I don't offend anyone with my game in any seductive way, because I'm worried about naughty dignitaries, because my playhouse is well equipped with light and also two observant men who maintain good subordination. This game is a good invention for me, because in the sad winter I can feed my wife and the three children poorly. There is nothing left of it, since the entrance is just a Stüber . "

- Johann Christoph Winters : From a letter of application

He moved into the first permanent house as a venue for his stick puppet theater in 1804 in Mauthgasse in Cologne's old town . In the following years the venues changed frequently, mainly between horse stables and storage rooms, but always remained in the area of ​​Cologne's old town and never became a traveling stage .

Despite frequently changing venues, Winters was successful from the start. In the 1820s, plays such as The Election or the New Mayor , The Art of Making Old Women Young , The Rülbs or the Drunk Farmer , The Siege of Marienburg or The Jew in the Wine Barrel were performed. With his game, Johann Christoph Winters took up the current events with parodying mockery according to the motto: "Wat morgens passeet kütt ovends op et tapeet".

As the theater grew in popularity, so did its acceptance among Cologne's educated bourgeoisie; The art collector Matthias Joseph de Noël and the university director Ferdinand Franz Wallraf have also written plays for the theater.

Johann Christoph Winters created numerous characters for his stories, whereby Tünnes and Schäl are today among the Kölsch originals . While the figure of Tünnes has been part of the theater ensemble since 1803 , the figure of Schäl has only been part of the Hänneschen Theater since the 1850s . The figure of Schäl was probably created as a parody of the inner-city puppet theater competitor by Schäl Sick Franz Andreas Millewitsch , who also opened a puppet theater in Deutz in 1843 . Despite the different spelling, this is a direct ancestor of the well-known folk actor Willy Millowitsch . The Hänneschen , which initially only appeared as an intermezzo figure in the nativity plays, is now considered the protagonist and identification figure of the theater. Johann Christoph Winters and his wife Lisette played the characters of grandparents Besteva and Bestemo itself. Winters praised even that popular in Cologne's population Volkstheater as Kölsches Nationatheater on.

Since the first Cologne Rosenmontagszug 1823 the ensemble is Hänneschen Theater the Carnival closely linked, both in the carnival itself and in the annual meeting dolls, a satire on the session carnival .

Although the Hänneschen Theater enjoyed great popularity among the Cologne population, Johann Christoph Winters and his wife lived in poor conditions and took part in the annual feedings of the citizens' committee . Johann Christoph Winters died on August 5, 1862, was in a pauper's grave at the Cologne Melaten Cemetery buried.

After Winter's death, the stone carver Peter Josef Klotz (* 1830 in Mainz), who had been married to Winter's granddaughter since September 19, 1849, continued the theater. When Peter Josef Klotz died in the same year, his widow continued playing at different venues. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Hänneschen Theater was an integral part of Cologne's cultural life; numerous industrialists, such as Max von Guilleaume , generously supported the puppet theater with financial donations. Under the patronage of the Mayor of Cologne Max Wallraf and with the support of the historical associations Heimatverein Alt-Köln and the Cologne History Association, a committee was founded in 1912 to promote the Hänneschen Theater. In October 1913, the support of the Committee and the clubs could two pieces of using Wilhelm Räderscheidt - Et Gespens the Mählwurms Pitter and Hännesje on d'r Duud are listed. After the death of the last family member in 1919, the theater was closed.

In 1925, at the endeavors of Konrad Adenauer and Carl Niessen , a commission to revive the Cologne puppet shows was founded , thanks to which the theater was reopened on October 9, 1926, under the sponsorship of the city as a puppet show of the city of Cologne, in the Rubens House at 10 Sternengasse . The painter Peter Paul Rubens spent his childhood in this house and the French ex-Queen Maria de Medici died there in 1642 . The Hänneschen Theater has been located on the Eisenmarkt in Cologne's old town since July 29, 1938 , with a few interruptions during the war and post-war period .

In October 1991, the Cologne school for children and young people with somatic and mental illnesses was given the name " Johann Christoph Winters School " in the presence of Mayor Norbert Burger . On the initiative of Wolfgang Oelsner, the director at the time , the sculptor Stefan Kaiser (* 1956) created a memorial to Johann Christoph Winters in Cologne's Melaten cemetery on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Hänneschen Theater in 2002 .

literature

  • Ulrich S. Soénius , Jürgen Wilhelm (Ed.): Kölner Personen Lexikon . Greven Verlag, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-7743-0400-0 , p. 583-584 .
  • Werner Jung : Modern Cologne . 2nd Edition. JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 2009, ISBN 978-3-7616-1590-4 , p. 225-228 .
  • Max-Leo Schwering: Craft in Cologne . 1st edition. (Ed.) District Craftsmen Association Cologne, Cologne 1984, p. 312 .
  • Max-Leo Schwering: The Cologne “Hänneschen” theater: history and Interpretation . 1st edition. JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 1982, ISBN 3-7616-0642-7 , p. 167 .

Web links

Commons : Johann Christoph Winters  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Johann Christoph Winters. epoche-napoleon.net; accessed on August 24, 2015.
  2. ↑ Ulrich S. Soénius , Jürgen Wilhelm (Ed.): Kölner Personen Lexikon . Greven Verlag, Cologne 2008, ISBN 978-3-7743-0400-0 , p. 583-584 .
  3. ↑ a b c Werner Jung : The modern Cologne . 2nd Edition. JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 2009, ISBN 978-3-7616-1590-4 , p. 225-228 .
  4. ↑ a b Johann Christoph Winters School (Lindenburger Allee) - namesake , accessed on August 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ Frauke Kemmerling, Monika Salchert: Mieh Hätz like wood: new knowledge, old tradition - perpetual longing: 200 years - Kölsch Hännesche . 1st edition. Emons, Cologne 2002, ISBN 978-3-89705-237-6 , pp. 107 .
  6. ^ Gérard Schmidt: Cologne Stars . Wienand, Cologne 1992, ISBN 3-87909-286-9 , pp. 19th f .
  7. ^ Richard Weber: Niessen, Carl. In: New German Biography. 19 (1999), pp. 241-243. (Online version) , accessed on August 26, 2015.
  8. ^ Carl Dietmar, Werner Jung : Cologne. The great city history . 1st edition. Klartext, Essen 2015, ISBN 978-3-8375-1487-2 , p. 412 .
personal data
SURNAME Winters, Johann Christoph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Founder of the Hänneschen Theater in Cologne
DATE OF BIRTH November 23, 1772
PLACE OF BIRTH Bonn
DATE OF DEATH August 5, 1862
Place of death Cologne