Martin Bätz

Johann Martin Bätz , different spelling of the surname: Baetz (born November 14, 1830 in Memmelsdorf in Lower Franconia , today part of the Untermerzbach municipality ; † November 22, 1885 in Ebern ) was a Franconian-Bavarian entrepreneur and state politician.

Life

Memmelsdorf i. Ufr. St. Bartholomew, baptismal font

Former residential and commercial building of Martin Bätz in Ebern after the original gable was removed (today pharmacy, as it was in 2007)

Former factory building of Martin Bätz's wick factory in Ebern

Martin Bätz was born as the son of master weaver Johann Adam Bätz and his wife Anna Katharina (née Müller) on November 14, 1830 in Memmelsdorf in Martergasse 84. He was baptized on November 21, 1830 in the Evangelical Lutheran parish church of St. Bartholomäus von Memmelsdorf by the Merzbach pastor Schmidt and named "Johann Martin" after his first godfather, a master weaver. A later born brother died at the age of six, a later born sister died after a month. Only one sister reached adulthood.

Martin Bätz attended school with the Memmelsdorf teacher Johann Georg Töpfer, who worked in Memmelsdorf from 1836 to 1869. In 1847 Bätz was in the church Memmelsdorfer confirmed . At the age of 20, Martin Bätz emigrated to North America in 1850, but returned to his Franconian homeland in 1856. Here he married Luise Wolpers (* July 7, 1838 in Bockenheim; † February 23, 1899 ) and moved into a house with her on Ebern's market square (house no. 51, currently market place 38). Two daughters were born to the couple: Friederika Therolia (born October 15, 1861 in Ebern,) and Jeanette (born August 10, 1867 in Ebern). In the family home, the wick and candle manufacturer Adam Höchstädter had already run a business that Martin Bätz took over and continued to run.

At the age of 39, Bätz became a candidate of the Bavarian Progressive Party in the constituency of Schweinfurt for the Second Chamber of the Bavarian State Representation and, after the successful election, took the oath in front of King Ludwig II and the representatives of the royal family on January 17, 1870 in the throne room of the Munich residence at the ceremonial opening of the state parliament as a member of parliament. A resignation from Bätz for health reasons on November 17, 1873 was granted. Nikolaus Holzapfel became parliamentary successor.

In the following election on July 15, 1875, Martin Bätz was confirmed as a member of the United Liberals in office. Bätz was a member of numerous committees during his membership.

From 1877 until his resignation, he was a member of the "Committee for Advising on the Building of Railways Petitions". In this committee, Bätz was involved in the construction of a branch line from Breitengüßbach to Königshofen with a connection to Bischofsheim - Gersfeld . This railway line had already been included in the list of the most urgent railway projects by the Chamber of Deputies in 1869. In 1873 discussions about the Bamberg - Rattelsdorf -Ebern-Königshofen railway line took place in Ebern . Bätz was a member of the state parliament until January 13, 1880 and then retired from political life for business and health reasons without having achieved his goal of a railway connection. His successor in office was Christian Sauerbrey.

Eyrichshof cemetery with the obelisk tomb by Martin Bätz to the right of the chapel before the tombs are cleared

Apparently, after leaving parliament, Bätz, as a private citizen, campaigned for his project to build a railway line to Ebern. Martin Bätz died of a heart condition in Ebern on November 22, 1885 and was buried in the Protestant cemetery of Eyrichshof , as Ebern only had a Catholic cemetery. His political project for a railway connection was initiated in 1888 by a local railway law. The construction of the railway was approved on April 1, 1892 and started on September 15, 1893. On October 25, 1895, the Bamberg-Ebern line was inaugurated, which led to a significant revitalization of the region's economy. The line developed into the second best local railway in the Kingdom of Bavaria . Martin Bätz's wick production was continued by his second daughter Jeanette and her husband Carl Marr from Graefenberg.

Awards

Memorial stone for Martin Bätz in Ebern

The Ebern Citizens' Association has been planning a memorial since 2010 to commemorate the construction of the railway according to Ebern and its initiator Martin Bätz. The construction committee of the city of Ebern decided in November 2014 to erect the former gravestone of Bätz with an additional inscription in 2015 at the stop of the branch line in Ebern. The stone was inaugurated on October 25, 2015.

Web links

Commons : Martin Bätz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• [1] on [2]

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Stadtarchiv Ebern, Sig. II / H / 4
2. ↑ married to Gustav Reinhold Schramm (born June 5, 1860) from Windberg bei Ebern, son of the landowner Johann Georg Schramm in Lützelebern; Gustav Reinhold Schramm has been an English citizen in London since 1885 , then moved to India ; Marginal entries by the Coburg registry office on his daughter Marie Schramm (married Schnabel), who was born in Coburg on May 31, 1892 and died on August 12, 1960 in Leipzig- Eutritzsch
3. ↑ http://www.hdbg.de/parlament/content/persDetail.php?id=79 ; accessed on December 26, 2014:
   • 24th state parliament: 1870-1871 (13th electoral period 1869-1875): constituency: Wb.Schweinfurt / Ufr
   • 25th state parliament: 1871-1872 (13th electoral period 1869-1875): constituency: Wb.Schweinfurt / Ufr
   • 26th state parliament: 1873-1875 (13th electoral period 1869-1875): constituency: Wb.Schweinfurt / Ufr
   • 27th state parliament: 1875-1876 (14th electoral period 1875-1881): constituency: Wb.Schweinfurt / Ufr
   • 28th Landtag: 1877-1881 (14th electoral period 1875-1881): constituency: Wb.Schweinfurt / Ufr
4. ↑ http://www.hdbg.de/parlament/content/persDetail.php?id=79 ; accessed on December 26, 2014:
   • Committee to advise on the draft law: "Amendments to the Tax and Stamp Laws" (October 8, 1875) Member 13th WP 1869-1875, 24th LT 1870-1871
   • Committee to advise on the draft law: "Amendments to the Tax and Stamp Laws" (October 8, 1875) Member 13th WP 1869-1875, 25th LT 1871-1872
   • Committee to advise on the draft law: "Amendments to the Tax and Stamp Laws" (October 8, 1875) Member 13th WP 1869-1875, 26th LT 1873-1875
   • Committee to advise on the building of railways on petitions (October 10, 1877) Member 14th WP 1875-1881, 27th LT 1875-1876
   • Committee to advise on the building of railways on petitions (October 10, 1877) Member 14th WP 1875-1881, 28th LT 1877-1881
   • Committee to consider the petitions that have been received so far in relation to railways (March 23, 1876) Member 14th WP 1875-1881, 27th LT 1875-1876
   • Committee to consider the petitions that have been received so far with regard to railways (March 23, 1876) Member 14th WP 1875-1881, 28th LT 1877-1881
5. ↑ StB vol. 386, p. 533.
6. ↑ Günter Lipp: Fighters for the local railway to Ebern, series: Heimatkunde aus den Hassberge, Neue Presse Coburg, May 31, 2014, p. 12.
7. ↑ http://www.hdbg.de/parlament/content/persDetail.php?id=79 , accessed on December 26, 2014.
8. ↑ Günter Lipp: Fighters for the local railway to Ebern, series: Heimatkunde aus den Hassberge, Neue Presse Coburg, May 31, 2014, p. 12.
9. ↑ Report from the district home guardian Günter Lipp / archived copy ( memento of the original from December 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 27, 2014 
10. ↑ Helmut Will: "He paved Ebern's way to the train.", In: Fränkischer Tag, edition of October 27, 2015, p. 11.
11. ↑ Helmut Will: "He helped Ebern to get a rail connection", in: Neue Presse Coburg, edition of October 27, 2015, p. 9.