Karl Lanz

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Karl Lanz (born May 18, 1873 in Mannheim ; † August 18, 1921 there ; full name: Karl Wilhelm Konstantin Philipp Lanz ) was a German mechanical engineer , entrepreneur and promoter of technical innovations.

Life

After studying mechanical engineering at the Technical University (Berlin-) Charlottenburg , Karl Lanz joined his father Heinrich Lanz's company in 1897 . Lanz & Co. was the most important manufacturer of agricultural machines on the European mainland and the largest company in Baden . After the death of his father, Karl Lanz took over the management in 1905. He continued his father's business policy, completed the move of the production facilities to Mannheim-Lindenhof and expanded the company through acquisitions.

Following his father's example, Karl Lanz saw himself as a promoter of new ideas and technical innovations. To promote motorboat construction , he organized races such as the Rhine Weeks in 1907 and 1908 and the Lake Constance Weeks from 1908 to 1910, and he donated prizes for the winners. He felt particularly indebted to efforts in the field of aviation. Lanz was a member of the Berlin Association for Airship Travel and President of the German Air Fleet Association in Mannheim. On April 15, 1908, he donated 50,000 marks to the Luftschifffahrt Verein für Luftschifffahrt  , of which 10,000 marks were used to support the attempts of German flight technicians , but 40,000 marks were awarded as the Lanz Prize of the Skies . Only German pilots whose machines had been designed and built in Germany could apply. On October 30, 1909, the Magdeburg aviation pioneer Hans Grade fulfilled the conditions at the Johannisthal airfield in the presence of the founder and was paid the sum. Lanz then donated four additional prizes.

On April 22, 1909, Lanz founded the company Luftschiffbau Lanz & Schütte GmbH in Mannheim-Rheinau together with Johann Schütte . In the years to come, it manufactured 22 rigid airships and, during the First World War , also aircraft for the military , especially at the Zeesen site . Lanz's role was limited to that of investor. He had no influence on the technical developments.

Shortly before his untimely death at the age of 48 years he brought the legendary tractor Lanz Bulldog of the designer Fritz Huber out.

Residences

The Lanz couple had a villa built between 1907 and 1913 by the French architect Eugène Saint-Ange in Mannheim's Oststadt , which is still the largest private house in Mannheim today. The four-storey palace today has been preserved in large parts, only in the roof area and on the rear major renovations took place.

In 1919, Karl Lanz gave Marbach Castle on the Untersee to his wife for her birthday.

Honors

Street sign in Berlin with a signpost to the Lilienthal monument

The Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg awarded Karl Lanz an honorary doctorate . He was an honorary member of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences , which was newly founded on July 3, 1909 through a donation from the Lanz family. The city of Friedrichshafen granted him honorary citizenship in 1910 .

There are Schütte-Lanz streets in Berlin , Bremen , Brühl , Oldenburg , Wildeshausen and Königs Wusterhausen ( Zeesen district ).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Leo-bw : Lanz, Karl Wilhelm Konstantin Philipp , accessed on June 19, 2013
  2. ↑ J. Bleibler: Rigid airship projects in Germany 1908 to 1914 . In: W. Meighörner (Ed.): Airships that were never built. Friedrichshafen 2002, p. 31.
  3. ↑ Tobias Möllmer: French architecture import. Palais Lanz and Villa Bohn. In: Mannheim villas . Werner, Worms 2009, ISBN 978-3-88462-289-6 , pp. 347 ff . ( limited preview on Google Books )
  4. ↑ Palais should have a big time again on morgenweb.de, accessed on June 19, 2013
  5. ^ Villa Karl and Gisella Lanz in Mannheim-Oststadt on rhein-neckar-industriekultur.de, accessed on June 19, 2013
  6. ↑ Marbach Castle Conference and Seminar Center - Much Past , accessed on June 19, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Lanz, Karl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lanz, Karl Wilhelm Konstantin Philipp (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German mechanical engineer and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH May 18, 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH Mannheim
DATE OF DEATH August 18, 1921
Place of death Mannheim