Otto Stromer von Reichenbach

Baron Karl Otto Stromer von Reichenbach (born August 7, 1831 in Grünsberg Castle near Altdorf ; † September 11, 1891 in Nuremberg ) was the “ First Mayor ” of Nuremberg from 1867 until his death .

origin

Karl Otto Stromer von Reichenbach belonged to a patrician family that was one of the most important patrician families in the free imperial city of Nuremberg in the Middle Ages . Some members of the Stromer family ( previously also Stromeir, Stromair and Stromeyer ) acted as the foremost slogan and mayor of Nuremberg. The family has been represented in the “Inner Council” of Nuremberg with interruptions since they immigrated to Nuremberg. His ancestor Ulman Stromer wrote the earliest work in Nuremberg history and founded and operated Germany's first paper mill . Another ancestor, Peter Stromer , invented the conifer seed. The Stromers' motto is: dum spiro, spero - in German: as long as I breathe, I hope .

Life

The Dolderles Brünnle near Grünsberg with an inscription to Otto and Amalie Stromer

Karl Otto Stromer von Reichenbach attended Melanchthon-Gymnasium in his youth and studied law at the universities in Munich and Berlin . After completing his studies, he worked as an intern at the Altdorf and Nuremberg courts. He was also an accessist at the court of appeal in Bamberg , from 1862 assessor at the Nuremberg city court and from January 2, 1867 at the royal district court in Nuremberg.

On July 19, 1867, he was unanimously elected "First Mayor" by the College of Municipal Authorities. He thus succeeded Maximilian von Wächter . With Karl Otto Stromer von Reichenbach, for the only time so far since the end of the imperial city period in 1806, there was again a representative from the former patriciate at the head of the city of Nuremberg. In Munich, however, Karl Otto Stromer von Reichenbach was classified as too liberal , small-German and pro-Prussian and initially had serious reservations about him, with the result that the election was only confirmed by King Ludwig on August 29, 1867.

During his twenty-four year term of office, he succeeded in establishing and expanding a workable service administration, which, in the course of the new municipal code of 1869, had to shape the much greater scope for local self-government . Furthermore, in the context of urbanization and industrialization, the urban infrastructure was improved or only created. These include important major projects such as: the municipalization of the gas works in 1871, the construction of the horse-drawn tram (the forerunner of the tram ) in 1881, participation in the founding of the Bavarian Industrial Museum in 1869, the establishment of the central cemetery (today's Westfriedhof ) in 1880, the expansion of the sewerage system and the water supply as well as the construction of the central cattle and slaughterhouse in Sündersbühl.

As the city of Nuremberg grew unpredictably and almost explosively, some of the projects soon turned out to be insufficiently dimensioned for Nuremberg's needs. Critics spoke of a "limited forward-looking" urban planning by Karl Otto Stromer von Reichenbach, and he also often took a "rather hesitant" position with regard to the introduction of new technologies.

Karl Otto Stromer von Reichenbach was President of the District Administrator for 20 years, the forerunner of today's District Assembly of Middle Franconia and a founding member of the Association for the History of the City of Nuremberg, which was founded in 1878. What is remarkable here is that, despite his historical interest, he campaigned for the extensive removal of the city walls . Like many of his contemporaries, he considered them to be an obstacle to traffic, an obstacle to the improvement of public health and economic development. In contrast to his successor Georg Ritter von Schuh , he declined to cooperate with the growing SPD .

Services

Karl Otto Stromer von Reichenbach personally initiated the founding of the building trade school that opened on November 1, 1870, the advanced training school for girls that opened on May 15, 1873 (today's business school in Nunnenbeckstrasse) and the municipal music school (today: Nuremberg University of Music ). He strongly advocated religious tolerance and the equality of denominations. This was clearly shown in the speech at the opening of the synagogue in 1874 and in the introduction of the community school in 1871.

societies

On November 23, 1866 he became member number 559 of the Pegnese Flower Order
On May 26, 1879, he founded the Nuremberg Fishing Association (the oldest fishing association in Middle Franconia)

Literature and Sources

Christoph von Imhoff (Hrsg.): Famous Nuremberg from nine centuries . Nuremberg: Hofmann, 1984, 425 pages, ISBN 3-87191-088-0 ; 2., erg. U. exp. Edition, 1989, 459 p .; New edition: Edelmann GmbH Buchhandlung, October 2000

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Stromer von Reichenbach, Otto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Stromer von Reichenbach, Karl Otto Freiherr
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Nuremberg Mayor
DATE OF BIRTH	August 7, 1831
PLACE OF BIRTH	Grünsberg Castle near Altdorf
DATE OF DEATH	September 11, 1891
Place of death	Nuremberg