Johannes Friese (collector)

Johannes Wilhelm Paul Christoph Friese (born April 20, 1839 in Rendsburg , † March 1, 1916 in Hanover ) was a German post office worker and antiquities collector.

Live and act

Johannes Friese was the son of the master saddler and government pedel Georg Albert Friese and his wife Christine Henriette Flora, née Benthien. Only a one-year visit to the tertia of the high school in Ratzeburg is documented about his education . From 1855 he worked in Ratzeburg for the Danish postal service. In 1859 he was appointed representative of the Stege post office . In 1864 he worked for half a year as a mail expedition on the steam ships that operated between Korsør and Nyborg .

At the beginning of 1865 Friese went back to Ratzeburg. At the beginning of October he got a job as a surplus laborer at the post office of the Prussian Post. On October 1, 1868, he married Luise Catharina Hennings (* January 20, 1841, † February 11, 1873), whose father was a Hamburg chief post commissioner. The couple had a son.

Friese was then repeatedly promoted and transferred. From 1866 to 1868 he worked in Lauenburg . In October 1875 he moved to the Benfeld post office . In early 1876 he was promoted to postmaster there. In October 1833 he went to Lauenburg again. In November 1902 he retired due to health problems. He was appointed to the Board of Accounts.

Collecting

Since his stay in Stege, Friese collected prehistoric finds, especially weapons and tools made of stone. This is said to have been inspired by his friend Carl Aldenhoven . From his time in Lauenburg he collected more extensively in the city and in the Duchy of Lauenburg. He kept all things that could be of historical or antiquarian importance. These included the few remains of the Ascanians who died out in 1689 , regional pottery, utensils, guild dishes, jewelry, costumes, valuable furniture and glasses. There were also old Lauenburg town books, precious Bibles and hymn books, portrait engravings and an important coin collection.

Friese initially deposited his finds in the post office, then in the Elbzollhaus. A Danish journalist reported in 1912 that it was one of the largest private collections in Northern Europe. After Friese's death, the city bought the finds in 1917. This “Friese Collection” formed the basis for a local museum that was opened in 1927 and later continued as the Elbe Shipping Museum .

Friese visited libraries and archives at home and abroad. He created numerous excerpts from sources and literature on the history of Lauenburg. These documents of varying value were archived together with his collection.

During his time in Alsace, Friese collected particularly Roman coins and excavation finds. His collection had numerous visitors during his lifetime, including Otto von Bismarck . Because of his collecting activities, he got to know Heinrich Schliemann . According to family stories, Friese is said to have traveled to the Orient in autumn 1886 and met Schliemann, who was working on the excavations of Troy .

In 1899, Friese received the Order of the Red Eagle, 4th class, for his efforts .

literature

• Erich Kuhlmann: Friese, Johannes . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 9, Wachholtz, Neumünster 1991, ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pp. 113-115.