Leo Fürbringer

Leo Fürbringer (born September 21, 1843 in Gera ; † September 29, 1923 in Emden ) was Lord Mayor of the seaport city of Emden in East Frisia from 1875 to 1913 . Inextricably linked with his name is the expansion of the Emden port , which he drove together with the Emden deputy in the Prussian state parliament , Carl Schweckendieck .

Life

Plaque at the Emder Fürbringer fountain

Leo Fürbringer came from an old Gera family that had already provided some of the town's mayors (Karl Gottlob Fürbringer from 1762 to 1782; Johann Christian Karl Fürbringer from 1795 to 1824). His father Robert Fürbringer was also mayor of the city of Gera from 1849 to 1865 (with the title of mayor from 1852).

Fürbringer studied law in Leipzig from April 17, 1863 (date of matriculation). Since November 3, 1863, he was a member of the Leipzig fraternity of Dresden . 1866 Passed the legal exams. He then became city clerk in Greiz , then an independent lawyer and notary in Weimar, and then in 1874 mayor of the city. In 1875, at the age of 31, he was elected mayor (from 1877 mayor) of the city of Emden. In 1908 Fürbringer was appointed a secret councilor.

Services

After the German Wars of Unification , Emden was gradually expanded into a modern port city . The empire's striving for self-sufficiency led to the port being expanded into the seaport of the Ruhr area - this was largely thanks to Fürbringer and Schweckendieck, who presented the advantages of the seaport city to the responsible authorities in Berlin. Emden was the closest North Sea port to the Ruhr area - apart from the ports at the mouth of the Rhine, which were located abroad, namely in the Netherlands.

Already since 1856 there was a connection to the south with the Hannoversche Westbahn in the direction of Münster . By building several canals, especially the Dortmund-Ems Canal , the connection between Emden and the Rhenish-Westphalian industrial area was improved. The port area was considerably expanded by polders , thus creating sufficient space for industrial settlements.

Domestically , the term of office of the conservative Lord Mayor Fürbringer was - as in many other cities - often overshadowed by the conflict between the (organized) workers and employers.

Parliamentary offices

Fürbringer was a member of the Prussian House of Representatives from 1903 to 1917 .

Awards

The city of Emden has named a street in the administrative district after Fürbringer , and the Fürbringerbrunnen (created by the sculptor Georg Küsthardt ) stands opposite the town hall for the long-time mayor of the seaport city.

In 1908, Fürbringer was the godfather of the later famous small cruiser SMS Emden , which was a special honor at the time.

Leo Fürbinger was made an honorary citizen of the city of Emden in 1913.

Freemasons

Leo Fürbringer was a member of the Emden Freemason Lodge for the East Frisian Union .

Publications

• The city of Emden in the present and the past , 1892 Gleisberg

literature

• Helge Dvorak: Biographical Lexicon of the German Burschenschaft. Volume I: Politicians. Sub-Volume 2: F-H. Winter, Heidelberg 1999, ISBN 3-8253-0809-X , pp. 87-88.

Individual evidence

1. ^ The grave of Leo Fürbringer on the website www.grabsteine-ostfriesland.de; accessed on January 11, 2014