Paul Leonhardt (businessman)

Paul Leonhardt

Paul Leonhardt (born August 8, 1852 in Wittenberg ; † October 4, 1927 there ) was a German retail merchant who was awarded honorary citizenship of the city because of his services as a city councilor of Wittenberg.

Live and act

Paul Leonhardt had a linen and cotton goods store at Coswiger Strasse 1, which he gave up in 1905. On January 1, 1892, he joined the council as a city councilor and was elected as a magistrate member on August 25, 1903 by the city council meeting on January 1, 1904 . On September 11, 1903, the royal government in Merseburg was confirmed and on January 12, 1904, the mayor Friedrich Schirmer introduced him to his office. He was entrusted with the management of the Promenade Commission, including the orphan care department, the management of the Kaiser Wilhelm Augusta Hospital as a member of the board, representing the chairman of the Sparkasse Board of Trustees, as well as representing the chairman of the finance commission and temporary work arising from the Departments used conditionally.

As a member of the Promenade Commission, Leonhardt was able to gain a closer look at their work under the leadership of his former predecessor Fritz Eunike . Later he said about Eunike:

“This has been a pleasant stimulus for me to delve into his thoughts and feelings and to open my eyes to check and make comparisons. This gave me the best opportunity to listen to some of the secrets of beautiful Mother Nature and to use them there. "

Leonhardt continued Eunike's fundamental work. The parks of the Eunikepark, the castle park areas, the swan pond, i.e. the former area around the city wall, were given their current appearance as a city ​​park . During this work, Leonhardt had large quantities of trees, bushes and plants laid out, which made him the "father of flowers" in Wittenberg. He constantly struggled with the draining of the old fortress moats and with little financial means and thus with few workers he managed the most difficult problems.

As a result of the political changes, the honorary members of the magistrate resigned from the magistrate's college by ministerial decree on September 29, 1919; however, they could then run for election. Since Leonhardt had already held this honorary position for 16 years, he turned down a candidacy in order to make room for younger workers. However, he continued to lead the promenade administration as citizens' deputy until his death on October 4, 1927 in Wittenberg.

Honors

"In grateful recognition of the many years of voluntary work as a city councilor and as a member of the magistrate, especially with the exemplary management of the facilities he designed to decorate the city" , the city of Wittenberg awarded him honorary citizenship in 1919 with the honorary citizenship certificate. In addition, the city of Wittenberg erected a sandstone plaque in the grounds on the western bank of the Schwanenteich, which was inaugurated on August 21, 1921 by the mayor, Mrs. Arnold Wurm. Thanks to a donation from family members, this could be renewed and was replaced by a slab made of granite stone. Today's cemetery of honor on the Kasinoberg was once called the Paul Leonhardt Garden .

literature

• From the history of the Wittenberger Promenaden Commission. In: Leaves for home history. Supplement to the Wittenberger Zeitung from September 1928 - January 1929.
• Richard Erfurth : History of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Part 2.
• Leaves for home history Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Volume 11, No. 3, April 1933.
• Heinrich Kühne , Heinz Motel: Famous personalities and their connection to Wittenberg. Druckhaus Göttinger Tageblatt, ISBN 3-924781-17-6 .
• Wolfgang Böhmer : On the history of the Wittenberg health and social system. Part IV: The first half of the 20th century. (= Series of publications of the Wittenberg Museum of City History, Part 8.) Museum of City History Lutherstadt Wittenberg 1988.
• Rudi Lipinski : honorary citizen of Wittenberg. In: Mitteldeutsche Zeitung of September 4, 1993.