Johann Ehrenfried Freund

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grave monument for a friend in the honor grove of Gotha main cemetery

Johann Ehrenfried Freund (born July 18, 1834 in Erfurt , † August 22, 1903 in Gotha ) was a senator and patron of the city of Gotha.

Freund came to Gotha as a farmer in 1860 and settled down as a landowner at Breite Gasse 13. As a reindeer and bachelor, he devoted himself to the communal common good . As a volunteer Senator, Freund campaigned above all for the development and reforestation of the Galberg ("dog's back") and the Krahnberg , Gotha's local mountain, as a recreational area, thus increasing the urban forest ownership many times over. The "Aquarium" recreation area in the south of Gotha was significantly promoted by him: Germany's first outdoor holiday park was built in 1882 on an old tube pond, which was once used to water tree trunks for the manufacture of wooden tubes, in the Mittelhäuser Flur, west of today's industrial area Gotha-Süd. Before one could celebrate his 25th anniversary of service, the humble friend gave up his honorary service because he did not want to be celebrated. Freund donated 15,000 marks from his fortune for the new building of the public swimming pool in Bohnstedtstrasse, which was built from 1905 to 1908. In addition, he bequeathed the city 52,000 marks and a further 6,000 marks for the construction of a massive observation tower on the Trügleber Höhe on Eisenacher Strasse at kilometer 3.3. However, he did not see it being built.

Honors

  • While Freund was still alive, the section of Moltkestrasse (renamed Bachstrasse in 1946) that went up from Goldbacher Strasse to the reforested Galberg received his name.
  • The lookout tower on the Trügleber Höhe, architecturally reminiscent of a watchtower in the Roman Limes, was built in 1914 and called the "Freundwarte".
  • In the honor grove of the main cemetery in Gotha , Freund was erected a grave memorial with the inscription "To Senator Joh. Ehrenfried Freund [...] the grateful city of Gotha".
  • The highest point of the dog's back on the Galberg was named "Freunds Ruhe". A bench in front of a semicircular tuff wall invites you to linger there to this day.

swell

personal data
SURNAME Friend, Johann Ehrenfried
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Senator in the Duchy of Gotha, benefactor of the city of Gotha
DATE OF BIRTH July 18, 1834
PLACE OF BIRTH Erfurt
DATE OF DEATH August 22, 1903
Place of death Gotha