City fire of Balingen in 1809

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The city ​​fire of Balingen in 1809 destroyed almost the entire city of Balingen within the city ​​wall on June 30th and July 1st . After the city ​​fire , the place was rebuilt as a planned city until 1815 .

history

City fires have repeatedly ravaged Balingen and its residents for centuries. Large city fires are documented in 1546, 1607, 1672, 1724 and most recently in 1809. The damage was alleviated in 1809 by the Württemberg building fire insurance, which had existed since 1772.

Similarly severe city fires, in which cities were largely or almost completely destroyed, there were in Göppingen in 1782 , in Sulz in 1794 , in Tuttlingen in 1803 and in Triberg in 1826 . Larger city fires, in which no more than two thirds of the cities were destroyed, occurred in Wolfach in 1892 , in Nagold in 1893 and in Leonberg in 1895 .

course

The major fire started on June 30th at around 1 p.m. due to a lightning strike in the north-west of the city. The inhabitants were busy harvesting the hay. After ten minutes four buildings were burning and after an hour it was 30. Within a few hours the fire spread south to buildings in the northeast and southwest parts of the city. At midnight the northern half of the city burned and then spread to the southeastern part of the city. By noon on July 1, the fire zone migrated north. The big fire ended around noon after it couldn't find any more food and was stopped by demolishing a few buildings on the southern edge of the city.

Damage balance

The city fire destroyed a total of 335 of the city's 390 buildings. Very small houses in the area of ​​the Zwinger, the double ring of walls in the east and west of the city, were spared. Out of around 2,400 inhabitants, 1,900 were homeless who first had to spend the night outdoors.

The damage sums amounted to an insured damage to the building of 320,000 guilders and an uninsured property damage of an estimated 123,802 guilders.

Help and emergency measures

The neighboring town of Ebingen sent three wagons with bread that night. Further donations of food, grain, fabrics and clothing amounted to an estimated 3600 guilders . According to press reports, private donations of 17,239 guilders were received, which the king increased by 11,000 guilders. He gave 200 bushels of spelled , the Dowager Dowager another 40 bushels. A collection for the residents of the city of Balingen who had died in a fire by order of the state government yielded 5,228 guilders, citizens who did not own a home were also involved. In addition, there was a three-year exemption from the Accise on the city's markets and a two-year exemption from customs duties for imports and exports across national borders. The removal of the rubble was ordered by the Oberamt by labor . Since this was not enough, however, haulage work was outsourced to private entrepreneurs. This was financed by asking the other parishes in the country to donate. This resulted in a further collection of 7,570 guilders. The rubble was only cleared in December.

Soon after the fire, the homeless were housed in emergency shelters. A census in October 1809 showed: 932 people in 48 spared town houses and emergency quarters, 224 people in workshops, sheds and garden houses and 154 people in barracks. Around 1,100 people from Balingen lived in neighboring or more distant places. It accommodated Engstlatt 258, Endingen 186, Heselwangen 142, Ostdorf 136, Frommern 121, Weilheim 70, Dürrwangen 59, Erzingen 52 and Geislingen 34 fire victims.

literature

  • Balingen burns - 1809. Booklet for the exhibition July 8th – 8th. November 2009. Zehntscheuer Balingen . Balingen 2009.