Johann Peter Wältgens

Johann Peter Wältgens (born July 1, 1738 in Rath near Düsseldorf ; † October 20, 1787 in Eschweiler ) was a farmer , mayor of Kinzweiler and around 1780 court master and leaseholder of the Barons von Tripps at Kinzweiler Castle , later a mining entrepreneur in the Aachen coal field .

The Eschweiler Kohlberg was sometimes exploited by the dukes of Jülich-Kleve-Berg on their own account, sometimes pledged, but mostly given as a fief . In 1784, the electoral government in Düsseldorf decided to enfeoff the mayor of Wältgens with some valuable seams, which was done as compensation for injustice suffered: around 1780 he was mayor and leaseholder of Kinzweiler Castle . In 1784 he was surprised by the sale of his lease property to the Counts of Hatzfeld , who demanded that the castle be vacated immediately, even though Wältgens' contract ran for 18 years. As compensation, he received a leasehold on the yield of the Eschweiler coal seams "Fornegel", "Großkohl" and "Krebs" in the mining district "Hundend" in the southern wing of the Inderevier and became a mining entrepreneur.

As early as 1785 he acquired further hard coal concessions , including "Birkengang" and "Centrum" at Pump-Stich, as well as half of the concessions for "Kleinkohl", "Padtkohl" and "Rapp", and persisted in obtaining more until 1787 Owned half of all shares in Eschweiler Kohlberg. His efforts were continued by his children Ferdinand, Katharina, Walburga and especially Christine and expanded into a large family estate.

He also acquired the "Kirschenhof" in Eschweiler's old town and made it the living and business seat of the Wältgens-Englerth family .

In 2000, the "Wältgensstraße", a side street of the "Mühlenweg" in Eschweiler-Kinzweiler, was named after Wältgens.