Robert Kolb (engineer)

Robert Kolb (born January 18, 1867 in Dortmund , † September 30, 1909 ) was a German engineer and creator of the main network of hiking trails through the Sauerland .

From 1901 to 1909, Robert Kolb was chairman of the Hagen department of the Sauerland Mountain Club , which was founded in 1891 and was the strongest department of the time with 1,700 members, and deputy chairman of the entire club.

In his function as chairman of the hiking association's trail commission ( main trailkeeper ), Robert Kolb worked out a network of hiking trails in Sauerland and a new system for the signposts of the previously existing trails. As a marking for these now so-called main hiking routes, he devised a white St. Andrew's cross and other simple, white geometries for the subordinate hiking trails , as they are mostly still used today in the association area (Sauerland, Bergisches Land , southern Ruhr area ) for marking hiking trails.

The white St. Andrew's Cross was adopted by numerous other hiking associations for their main hiking trails, including the European long-distance hiking trails . As early as 1907, 3,000 kilometers of main hiking trails and around 3,000 km of local hiking trails were marked according to his system.

Honors

• 1913: Construction of the Robert Kolb Tower on the Nordhelle in the Ebbegebirge .
• Renaming of the 190 km long main hiking trail X6 from Hagen to Bad Wildungen to Robert-Kolb-Weg .
• Memorial plaque on the Nordhelle
• 1929 Name of Kolbstrasse in Aplerbeck .
• Naming of a hiking trail in the Hagen city forest after Robert Kolb.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Walter Hostert : History of the Sauerland Mountain Association , Sauerland Mountain Association, Hagen / Arnsberg, 1966
2. ↑ 1100 years of Aplerbeck  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.