Richard Ottmar

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Richard Ottmar (born March 19, 1889 in Backnang ; † July 23, 1956 in Stuttgart ) was a German theologian and teacher who was also an expert on train timetables.

Life

Ottmar, also known as the “timetable pastor” during his lifetime, was born as the son of a teacher in Backnang. After finishing school in Backnang and at the Evangelical Seminars in Maulbronn and Blaubeuren , during which he developed an early interest in railways and their timetables, he studied Protestant theology at the Tübingen Abbey . After completing his studies, he worked as vicar in the service of the Württemberg regional church in Großaspach , Großgartach , Trossingen and Bartenbach from 1911 to 1918 . During the First World War he served as a non-commissioned officer in the medical service . In 1916 he married his wife Hedwig in Bartenbach, and both had two daughters and three sons. In 1918 Richard Ottmar switched to teaching as a teacher for Protestant religious instruction, initially at the Rosenberg Realschule in Stuttgart.

Even during his studies, train timetables and course books had become his hobby and Ottmar submitted various suggestions for improvements to rail traffic to the then Royal Württemberg State Railways . He was also committed to the further expansion of the railway network with lectures and publications, such as the construction of a " Hegaubahn " from Schwenningen via Tuttlingen to Schaffhausen , which was supposed to provide a faster connection from Stuttgart to the Gotthard Railway .

After the war, Richard Ottmar became an honorary timetable officer for the Württemberg-Hohenzollern regional tourism association in 1920. From 1927 he also represented the association in the timetable committee of the Reich Foreigners Transport Association . After the end of the Second World War , Ottmar was also active in the successor organizations. From 1948 he represented the then Tourism Association of Württemberg in the timetable committee of the Federation of German Transport Associations and became a member of the timetable committee of the German Industry and Trade Day (DIHT). In both committees he campaigned for the reorganization of national and international long-distance transport after the war. One of the main results was the introduction of the Tauern Express in 1951, the “father” of which was Ottmar. After the Orient-Express had lost a lot of demand due to its tour of the cities of Bratislava and Budapest, which are now behind the Iron Curtain , and the associated long border stays and insecure connections, the Tauern-Express was soon available for Belgium as well as the western and southern German region the central connection to the Balkans and as far as Turkey . Ottmar was also significantly involved in the introduction of the Austria Express from Hoek van Holland to Graz and Klagenfurt and Mozart from Strasbourg to Salzburg as the first step towards the later daily connection from Paris to Vienna .

In addition to his professional activity and his commitment to train timetables, Ottmar was also active in the musical field. For several years he was chairman of the Stuttgart Oratorio Choir and traveled with it on choral tours in Germany and abroad.

Ottmar retired in 1954, most recently as a senior teacher at the Johannes-Kepler-Gymnasium Bad Cannstatt . As a timetable expert recognized outside of Germany, he remained active. In March 1956 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit with ribbon for his voluntary work . Ottmar died four months later on July 23, 1956. He was buried in the forest cemetery in Stuttgart .

Publications (selection)

literature

  • Fritz Stöckl : European railway trains with illustrious names. Carl Röhrig Verlag, Darmstadt 1958.
  • Werner Sölch: Orient Express. The heyday and decline and rebirth of a luxury train. 4th edition. Alba-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1998, ISBN 3-87094-173-1 .
  • Peter Geiger: To the lasting memory of Richard Ottmar, senior teacher a. D. Steinkopf Publishing House, 1956

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Werner Sölch: Orient Express. The heyday and decline and rebirth of a luxury train. 4th edition. Alba-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1998, p. 111
  2. ↑ Exemplary: Lecture on October 18, 1912, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg
  3. ↑ a b Fritz Stöckl: European railway trains with sonorous names. Carl Röhrig Verlag, Darmstadt 1958, p. 194
  4. ^ Landesbibliographie Baden-Württemberg, personal database, entry on Richard Ottmar , accessed on August 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ a b Chronicle of the City of Stuttgart on books.google.de
personal data
SURNAME Ottmar, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German theologian, teacher and timetable expert
DATE OF BIRTH March 19, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Backnang
DATE OF DEATH July 23, 1956
Place of death Stuttgart