Otto Borst

Otto Borst (* thirtieth July 1924 in Waldenburg , † 22. August 2001 in Esslingen ) was a German historian with a focus in the southwest German state and city history .

Life

Borst was shaped by its origins in a Protestant rectory. From the winter semester of 1945 he studied first Protestant theology , then German, history and ancient languages in Tübingen . He was a member of the Normannia Association . His doctorate in German studies in 1954 was on a topic of impact history (reception by Novalis ).

As a teacher in Esslingen from 1955 to 1977, he was part of the head of the city archive, which also keeps his estate . In 1971 he was appointed to the Esslingen University of Education , after which it closed in 1984, he was given a professorship for regional history at the University of Stuttgart , which he held until 1989. He was also awarded the Schubart Literature Prize in 1982 .

In 1974 Borst founded the working group Die alten Stadt e. V. (from September 2010: Forum Stadt - Network of Historic Cities eV ), whose eponymous magazine he was editor of. As a project consultant, he played a key role in the State History Museum of Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart, which was only opened after his death in 2002.

Awards

• 1989: Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• 1993: Merit Medal of the State of Baden-Württemberg
• 1994: Home Medal of the State of Baden-Württemberg

Otto Borst Prize

Since 2005, the working group Die alten Stadt eV (from September 2010: Forum Stadt. Netzwerk historic Stadt eV ) has been awarding the Otto Borst Prize, alternating annually, as a prize for urban renewal (preservation, renovation, conversion, expansion) and as Science award awarded. Otto Borst was the founder of the working group and long-time editor of the magazine Die alte Stadt . The Otto Borst Prize for Urban Renewal is intended to honor outstanding examples of renovation in old town ensembles. With the award of the Otto Borst Science Prize , the working group wants to promote young academics in the fields of urban history , urban sociology , monument preservation and urban planning and to honor significant achievements in these fields.

Award winners

• 2006: Radebeul for the activity library Radebeul Ost station
• 2016: Schwäbisch Gmünd for urban redevelopment

Works (selection)

• Stuttgart. The story of a city. , Theiss, Stuttgart, 1973, ISBN 3-8062-0114-5 .
• The secret rebels. Swabian heads from five centuries. , Theiss, Stuttgart, 1980, ISBN 3-8062-0247-8 .
• Everyday life in the Middle Ages , Frankfurt, 1983, ISBN 3-458-32213-2 (many editions)
• Small town in Württemberg. History in the case. , Stadler, Konstanz, 1986, ISBN 3-7977-0152-7 .
• as (Ed.): The Third Reich in Baden and Württemberg , Theiss, Stuttgart, 1988, ISBN 3-8062-0563-9 .
• History of Baden-Württemberg. A reader. Theiss, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8062-1730-0 .
• Old towns in Württemberg. Prestel Verlag , Munich 1968

literature

• Obituary by Rainer Jooss. In: Journal for Württemberg State History 64 (2005), pp. 455–459

Web links

• Literature by and about Otto Borst in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Otto Borst  in the German Digital Library
• His perhaps most important urban history essay on the cultural significance of the Upper German imperial city at the end of the Old Reich, 1964
• Obituary by Franz Quarthal