Julius Gmelin

Julius Gmelin (born April 28, 1859 in Ludwigsburg , † August 29, 1919 in Großgartach ) was a Protestant pastor in Waldenburg , Großaltdorf and Großgartach. He has written various writings of theological nature and on local history and was the curator of the Württemberg Commission for State History.

Life

He attended the seminars in Maulbronn and Blaubeuren and studied theology in Tübingen . Then he was vicar in Plattenhardt and Rohrdorf . During his time as vicariate in Plattenhardt, he married the pastor's daughter Elise Kriech. In 1884 he became second pastor in Waldenburg, in 1888 pastor in Großaltdorf. In Großaltdorf his journalistic activity began with a theological work on evangelical freedom . At the suggestion of Professor Bernhard Kugler , he then wrote a polemic against the work of Hans Putz on the trials against the Templar Order. In 1890 he graduated as Dr. phil. Early on, he was critical of the content of the church and the organization and management of the Protestant regional church. In 1902 he was punished by the regional church consistory for having preached a sermon in which he questioned the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ . In 1904 he was appointed to the Württemberg Commission for State History as a nurse . In 1905 he came to Großgartach as a pastor. There he built a new parish hall with a kindergarten and 1912–1913 the new Lorenz Church . During his time in Großgartach, he also devoted himself to the history of the imperial city of Schwäbisch Hall , about which he wrote a historical work focusing on the Middle Ages and the Reformation period . He also founded the community newspaper Heuchelberger Warte and dealt critically with events within the Evangelical Church in articles in the Neckar newspaper . His critical stance led to several disciplinary proceedings aimed at by the regional church, which resulted in fines. In 1911 he was one of the founders of the Friends of Evangelical Freedom Association in Württemberg . He also wrote critical articles on the practice of censorship , the genocide of the Armenians and the excesses of militarism .

His marriage to Elise Kriech had eleven children, including four sons. However, all sons died before their father did. The son Max emigrated to Brazil, where he succumbed to malaria a few days later . Son Wilhelm studied veterinary medicine and passed away through suicide. The other two sons fell in the First World War . Gmelin himself died of a nocturnal heart attack at the age of 60.

Streets in Schwäbisch Hall and Großgartach were named in his honor.

literature

• Andreas Butz: Julius Gmelin. In: Maria Magdalena Rückert (Ed.): Württembergische biographies including Hohenzollern personalities. Volume II. On behalf of the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-17-021530-6 , pp. 74-75.

Web links

Wikisource: Julius Gmelin  - Sources and full texts

• Publications by Julius Gmelin in the Opac der Regesta Imperii
• Andreas Butz: Gmelin, Julius on Württemberg Church History Online