Julius Christoph Neuner

Grave site of the Neuner family in Annabichl

Julius Christoph Neuner (born July 24, 1838 in Klagenfurt ; † December 27, 1910 there ) was an Austrian industrialist , politician and mayor of the state capital Klagenfurt.

He was born the son of Christof Neuner the Younger, town councilor and owner of a leather goods factory and tannery . His grandfather emigrated as a journeyman from Upper Franconia to Carinthia in 1792 to take on a Riemermeister job in downtown Klagenfurt . The company expanded rapidly, and in 1853 the new factory was opened on St. Veiter Strasse.

The family was very frugal and maintained strict work discipline, which they also required of the employees. Julius Christoph Neuner's father initiated a company savings bank as early as 1861 . Under the management of the son, the Neuner leather goods factory became one of the largest suppliers to the Imperial and Royal Army.

However, Julius Christoph Neuner earned his greatest merit in politics. From 1882 he was represented on the Klagenfurt municipal council, and in 1892 he was deputy mayor. From April 1896 to May 1909 he was - with an interruption of one year - mayor of the state capital. Many of the advances in the flourishing city are attributed to him: the construction of barracks and schools, the electrification of the city and the establishment of the volunteer fire brigade . During his tenure, Thomas Bohrer built the first automobile in the Austrian Alpine countries in Klagenfurt, the Annabichl central cemetery was opened in 1901 (but not inaugurated until 1906 due to various differences), the monarchy's first business development institute was established in 1904, and Arnold Riese was the first social democrat to move into it Klagenfurt Landtag. The Karawankenbahn opens in 1906, and in the same year the Kingdom of Italy becomes the first foreign nation to set up a diplomatic mission in Klagenfurt. Construction of a new city theater began in 1908, and the city's first cinema opened that same year. As a sponsor of various cultural institutions, Neuner also played a major role in public life. From 1903 to 1908 he was also a member of the Carinthian state parliament .

Until his death in 1910 he was able to receive various honors: Appointment to the Imperial Council, officer of the Franz Joseph Order and honorary citizen of the city of Klagenfurt.

After his death, the leather factory continued to be successfully owned by the family. Already in the last year of the First World War, the company was converted to shoe production, as the demand for saddlery and harnesses fell sharply due to the rise of cars. In 1922 a new factory with an area of ​​120,000 m² was built next to the former cloth factory "An der Walk". Further locations were opened from 1950 onwards, at that time over 500 employees produced more than 300,000 pairs of shoes per year. In the early 1960s, a new factory in the south of Klagenfurt even managed to achieve an annual production of 800,000 pairs of shoes, but production then fell drastically. Today there is almost nothing left of the Neuner leather dynasty apart from a shoe store. The charming factory building from the 19th century, which long shaped the townscape on St. Veiter Ring and was known until the end as "Neuner-Haus", was demolished in 2005 for the construction of the controversial "City-Arkaden" shopping center .

Neuner died in Klagenfurt in 1910 and was buried in the central cemetery Annabichl in Wall Crypt 36.

predecessor	Office	successor
Friedrich Posch	Mayor of Klagenfurt 1896 - 1905	Johann Franz Suppan

predecessor	Office	successor
Johann Franz Suppan	Mayor of Klagenfurt 1906 - 1909	Gustav von Metnitz