Maria Friederike Rösler

Maria Friederike Rösler (née Märklin, born September 6, 1819 in Balingen , † September 28, 1880 in Stuttgart ) was the founder of the Rösler Foundation .

Life

Maria Friederike Rösler was born on September 6, 1819 as the daughter of the Balingen pharmacist Gottlieb Friedrich Märklin. She married the poor doctor Friedrich Rösler from Brackenheim who, like Friederike's cousin Georg Herwegh, was one of the revolutionaries of 1848 and was imprisoned on the Hohenasperg in 1851 because of his democratic convictions . During a penal leave, he probably managed to escape with the help of Endinger's pastor and member of the state parliament, Franz Hopf . He emigrated to the United States with his wife. In New York the couple rose to prominence and wealth. After Rösler's death, Friederike returned to Stuttgart, where she led a modest life. She died on September 28, 1880 and endowed the foundation named after her in her will. In 1882, out of gratitude, the city erected the Rösler monument, a sandstone obelisk with decorations and inscriptions, on the cemetery in memory of the donor.

meaning

Rösler monument at the Balingen cemetery (1882)

In her will, Friederike Rösler endowed a foundation named after her for the education and training of confirmands with 140,000 gold marks. A few years later, the so-called Rösler'sche Frauenarbeitsschule emerged from it, which was so well received that its own building was completed and officially opened by 1898. The training included "female handicrafts", which should not only serve the needs of the family, but also the ability to work. In 1917/18 bookkeeping, essays and arithmetic were added as "scientific lessons". Despite structural changes, the women's labor school continued until 1971. Due to inflation and currency reform, the capital of the Rösler Foundation decreased, so that the local council decided to dissolve it in 1981.

literature

• Ursula-Heidrun Schüle: Rösler Foundation and women's work school. In: Stadtverwaltung Balingen (Ed.): 750 Years of the City of Balingen 1255–2005 (= Publications of the Balingen City Archives, Volume 7). 2005, pp. 106-115.