Gille car factory

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The Wagenfabrik Gille was a large company in Braunschweig in the 18th and 19th centuries that produced carriages and wagons on a large scale even before the Industrial Revolution . In the middle of the 19th century the company had a dominant position in the city.

history

In 1758, the master saddler Redewald bought raw wagons in Braunschweig, fitted them with upholstery, took care of the painting and resold them. It was not until his son-in-law (Johann) Ernst Gille started manufacturing cars in his own company. His son (Johann) Christian acquired knowledge of car construction in Paris and London . In the Braunschweig address books in connection with the car factory from 1828 only Gille junior appears. This year he was named “Gille, Chr., Herzogl. Farm wagon manufacturer and master saddler, Steinweg 1934 “. According to Richard Bettgenhaeuser, he managed the company in Braunschweig until 1852. In the Braunschweig address books, however, he was mentioned for the last time in 1850. The Gille wagon factory then passed into the hands of Friedrich Müller and at times operated as the Hofwagenfabrik Fr. Müller. From 1873 the owner of the factory was Paul Kathe. It is still detectable at the turn of the 20th century.

The Gille era

Gille senior and junior benefited from the increased demand for cars that began at the turn of the 19th century. The company had succeeded in securing the orders for the new construction and maintenance of the mail cars on the Braunschweig – Hamburg , Braunschweig – Holzminden and Braunschweig – Helmstedt – Magdeburg routes. For this she received a fixed amount every year. Gille also supplied the military and the ducal house from around 1800. Carl Wilhelm Ferdinand von Braunschweig is said to have given Gille the wood for another factory building. At Gilles time around 20 to 30 vehicles were produced annually; a multitude of wheelwright , saddlers and blacksmiths worked in Gilles's operation.

In 1824 a touring car that had been built by Gille for the Duke of Braunschweig caused a sensation. It was described in Dingler's Polytechnisches Journal as "still beautiful even under beautiful state cars". The blue painted car was richly decorated and provided with coats of arms, but these apparently could be modified with little effort if the duke was traveling incognito . It was also equipped with a cylinder clock and a lighting system that could also be used for heating and boiling water. Through this system, contact could also be made with the servants outside the car interior. In the front part of the car there was a work station with a desk and bookcases, bottles, glasses and dinner services as well as various weapons were provided. The car also had a sleeping compartment with a bed "full length". In addition, a folding bed with curtains and canopy was brought along, which should be ready for use within five minutes. This bed was made by a master locksmith.

The Gille car factory was successful and at times was one of the most highly taxed entrepreneurs in Braunschweig. Between 1835 and 1850 Christian Gille was after Carl Friedrich Franquet , the owner of the chicory factory Ludwig Otto Bleibtreu , the second most important manufacturer in the city, at the same time he had considerable influence on the local workers' association with Brunswick politicians like Adolf Aronheim and Egmont Lucius . In 1845, about as many journeymen worked together at Gille as there were at all other wheelwright and blacksmiths in the city. In a complaint from that year, the competition described this situation as “deeply unnatural” and went on to write: “In no branch of industry will you find that a man who runs a factory business, like a car manufacturer, operates so many different trades side by side so many masters, for whom learning their profession has cost so much effort and money and who, after the final achievement of the goal set for themselves, intend to reap the fruits of their labor , may wrest the work on which they are dependent for their and theirs maintenance ! ". However, the complaint was rejected by the authorities.

The Gille company had a close relationship with city director Wilhelm Bode . In 1844, Bode and Johann Christian Gille were involved in the railway accident at Jerxheim , as evidenced by a painted tray that Bode received as a reminder of the danger they had overcome. It is located in the municipal museum of Halberstadt .

The Müller / Kathe era

In the 1870s and 1880s, the business took off, which resulted in the construction of a new factory. From 1885 steam engines were used. The company's properties were expanded several times in the last quarter of the 19th century. Between 1876 and 1898 the number of employed workers rose from about 45 to about 85. While 97 new vehicles were manufactured in 1876, in 1898 there were already 120; in addition there were around 500 vehicle repairs. Towards the end of the 19th century, numerous machines were used in vehicle construction and repair. While with the advent of bicycles and the tram as a means of transport and, above all, with the construction of the Harz narrow-gauge railways, the wage-carriage trade declined and a branch of income was lost for the wagon factory, on the other hand, the former Gillesche company was able to build luxury, business and advertising cars recorded an increase. The post office was also still an important customer.

Carriages from Kather's time can still be found in stores from time to time.

meaning

Gille and his successors Müller and Kathe were the largest company of its kind in Braunschweig.

literature

  • Richard Bettgenhaeuser: The industries of the Duchy of Braunschweig. I. Part. Braunschweig 1899, pp. 162–167 ( digitized PDF)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Gerhard Schildt : Crafts, Territory and Industrialization (1806–1914). In: Martin Kintzinger (Hrsg.): Craft in Braunschweig: Origin and development from the Middle Ages to the present. Braunschweig 2000, ISBN 3-930292-38-6 , p. 277.
  2. ↑ In the Braunschweig address book for the year 1805. p. 21 ( digitalisat PDF; 6 MB, urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-12013115531 ) both first names are mentioned, later the older Gille usually appears only as Ernst Gille . As early as 1805 he was based in Steinweg in 1934, at that time he still called himself a saddler.
  3. ↑ Braunschweigisches address book for the year 1828. P. 32 ( digitized PDF; 15 MB urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-12013116291 ).
  4. ^ Johannes Jacob Selenka : The German-Catholic community in Braunschweig. Selenka, Braunschweig 1847, p. 57; 123.
  5. ^ A b c d e Richard Bettgenhaeuser: The industries of the Duchy of Braunschweig. I. Part. Braunschweig 1899, pp. 162–167 ( digitized PDF)
  6. ↑ Braunschweigisches address book for the year 1850. P. 55 ( digitized PDF; 21 MB urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-12032710440 ).
  7. ↑ In the Braunschweigischen address book for the year 1855. p. 146 ( digitized PDF; 30 MB urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-12032207531 ) the factory is still listed under "Gille's successor (Müller)", ten years later as "Müller, court carriage manufacturer, Steinweg 36". See Braunschweigisches address book for the year 1865. P. 210 ( digitized PDF; 86 MB urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-11071414168 ). The same address was given later for the car manufacturer Kathe, cf. for example the Braunschweig address book for the year 1876. p. 59. At that time, however, the company was still registered as "Müller, Hof-Wagenfabr.", cf. ibid p. 268 ( digitized PDF; 83 MB urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-11030311368 ), also in 1900, cf. Braunschweig address book for the year 1900. P. 283 ( digitized PDF, urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-12061115158 ). In 1910 the entry read "Kathe, Paul, Hof-Wagenfabrikant, in company: Fr. Müller"; there was also an entry under “Fr. Müller ". See Braunschweigisches address book for the year 1910. p. 75 ( digitized PDF; 101 MB, urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-13091110376 ).
  8. ↑ Andreas Gautschi : Wilhelm II. And the woad. Nimrod, Hanstedt 2000, ISBN 3-927848-27-1 , p. 275.
  9. ↑ At that time Gille senior and junior were still known as “Gille, Ernst u. Sohn, Sattler und Wagenfabrikant, Steinweg 1934 “in the Braunschweig address book and one of five wagon factories on site, cf. Braunschweig address book for the year 1824. P. 28 and 163 ( digitized PDF; 11 MB), urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-12013116200 .
  10. ^ Johann Gottfried Dingler, Emil Maximilian Dingler: Dinglers polytechnisches journal . JG Cotta, 1824, p. 139 f . ( books.google.com ).
  11. ^ Gerhard Schildt : Tagelöhner, Gesellen, Arbeiter: Social history of pre-industrial and industrial workers in Braunschweig, 1830-1880 . Klett-Cotta, 1986, ISBN 978-3-608-91256-2 , pp. 184 ( books.google.com ).
  12. ^ Hans-Walter Schmuhl : The gentlemen of the city. Bourgeois elites and municipal self-government in Nuremberg and Braunschweig from the 18th century to 1918. Focus Verlag, Giessen 1998, ISBN 3-88349-468-2 , p. 396.
  13. ^ Hans-Walter Schmuhl: The gentlemen of the city. Bourgeois elites and municipal self-government in Nuremberg and Braunschweig from the 18th century to 1918. p. 430.
  14. ↑ History Association acquires picture tray for the Municipal Museum on halberstadt.de
  15. ↑ That year four car manufacturers were listed in the Braunschweig address book. As addresses of the “Gille, Joh. Chr., Herzogl. Hof-Sattlermeister und Hof-Wagenfabrikant “were given the house number 1934 on Steinweg and the promenade on Steinthore. See Braunschweigisches address book for the year 1844. Braunschweig 1844, pp. 38, 69 and 128 ( digitized PDF; 45 MB, urn : nbn: de: gbv: 084-10092212387 ).
  16. ↑ Jagdwagen from Kathes production on hansmeier-antikkutschen.de