Wilhelm Matt

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Grave site in the old town cemetery in Aschaffenburg

Wilhelm Matt (born July 16, 1872 in Speyer ; † January 23, 1936 in Aschaffenburg ) was a lawyer, "Royal Councilor" later "Privy Councilor" and from 1904 to 1933 Lord Mayor of the Lower Franconian city of Aschaffenburg in the Free State of Bavaria .

Live and act

Matt, son of the district school councilor Wendelin Matt and his wife Magdalena, nee Starck, first attended the seminary school (practice school of the Catholic teacher training institute), then a Latin school, the grammar school in Speyer . After graduating from high school on July 14, 1887, Matt studied law at the universities of Munich , Berlin and Heidelberg . During his studies he became a member of the KDStV Aenania Munich in 1891 in the CV . He passed his exam in Munich. Stations of his activity as Dr. jur. were the district court of Speyer, the district court of Frankenthal , Lindau and Bergzabern . In between he took a semester at the Agricultural University Weihenstephan (1899–1900). In 1902 he became a District Office Assessor in Obernburg . On February 9, 1904, he received the citizenship of the city of Aschaffenburg for a fee of 80 marks. On May 20, 1904, Matt was elected First Mayor of the city of Aschaffenburg to succeed Friedrich Ritter von Medicus (1877-1904).

Matt was given the title and rank of Royal Councilor on December 2, 1911 . In 1912 he received Prince Regent Luitpold , who thanked him in a personal letter and gift: “My dear Hofrat Dr. Frosted! I find myself moved to remember the beautiful and happy days that I recently spent in my dear Aschaffenburg to dedicate my relief portrait in bronze by Professor Hildebrand for the town hall of the city. With gracious attitudes, your sympathetic Luitpold "

In 1913 Matt received King Ludwig III. and in 1915 Queen Marie Therese of Bavaria. The monarch was so enthusiastic about the reception by the population and the mayor that shortly after her return she sent the Aschaffenburg magistrate an order of one thousand marks (to support the warrior families). King Ludwig III once again visited on May 2, 1917 Aschaffenburg.

After the end of the First World War , under the leadership of the "Lord Mayor" Matt, now a member of the Bavarian People's Party , a renewed industrial and social upswing of the city began under difficult conditions: roads were laid out or regulated, the connection to large shipping through the expansion of the port ( Begun in 1914, delayed by the First World War, inaugurated in 1921) completed, the power station in Leider (1907) built, secondary school and master school built. The construction of the St. Laurentius Church in the district of Leider (1923), the Sacred Heart Church in the east of the city (1929) and the St. Josefs Church in the district of Damm (1929) followed. New industrial companies also settled here (clothing and measuring tool factories, Güldner motor works (Kion), Heckmann's copper works (TRW), Seibert works (Stahlbau Lavis)). The Main was channeled to Aschaffenburg and a new Main Harbor was built in the district of Leider.

Apartments were built and renovated, the city lighting was expanded, and the horticultural maintenance of the green spaces was promoted. In the social sector, child welfare was in the foreground, mandatory school medical examinations and child feeding for the poorer population groups were introduced.

From 1921 to 1933 he was president of the district council of Lower Franconia.

Matt's 25th service anniversary was celebrated on November 16, 1929. The Bavarian State Newspaper wrote: “On May 15th, ds.Mts. 25 years have passed since Mayor Dr. Wilhelm Matt is at the head of the city of Aschaffenburg. Born in the Palatinate, son of the former district school councilor Matt and the youngest brother of the recently deceased, unforgettable Minister of Education, Dr. Matt, was Dr. Wilhelm Matt initially worked in the state administration service for a few years and was then elected first mayor of Aschaffenburg on November 16, 1904. Its effectiveness has brought rich blessings to the city of Aschaffenburg. He ran his city clearly and purposefully, without fear of human beings, with a heart full of love for his homeland. The city owes its ambitious development to his restless promotion of all branches of industry and classes. His foresight succeeded in winning the large transshipment port on the Main for Aschaffenburg and thus re-fertilizing the economic life of his city. The accommodation of the city administration in Aschaffenburg Castle is also due to him. Dr. But Matt has also been active far beyond the vicinity of his city through his effectiveness as president of the district council of Lower Franconia. He has held this office since 1920 and was unanimously re-elected in 1928 as a sign of the unreserved trust of all sections of the population. We wish the city of Aschaffenburg and the district of Lower Franconia that the labor of this rare man will remain with them for many years to come in unbroken freshness and vigor. "

The Matt era ended in March 1933: The Völkischer Beobachter wrote in its issue No. 84/85 that the “expulsion of Marxism in town and country” has begun. As Aschaffenburg's Lord Mayor, Privy Councilor and practicing Catholic, Matt had always kept his distance from National Socialism and did not want to be taken in by it. On March 23, 1933, he announced his resignation.

Three years after Adolf Hitler came to power, Matt died on January 23, 1936 at the age of 64. Würzburg Bishop Matthias Ehrenfried was also present at the burial in the Aschaffenburg old town cemetery . He expressed his respect for the deceased in a personal letter of condolence to the widow. The city of Aschaffenburg dedicated Mattstrasse to his memory .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Complete directory of the CV The honorary members, old men and students of the Cartell Association (CV) of the cath. German student associations. 1912, Strasbourg i. Els. 1912, p. 241.
  2. ^ Letter from Prince Regent Luitpold of April 11, 1912 to Dr. Wilhelm Matt
  3. ↑ Ulrich Wagner: Würzburg rulers, Bavarian minister-presidents, chairmen of the district council / district council presidents, regional presidents, bishops, lord mayors 1814–2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Volume 2, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1221-1224; here: p. 1221 f. ( Chairperson of the District Council / District Assembly President ).
  4. ↑ Bayerische Staatszeitung No. 263 of November 14, 1929
  5. ↑ Aschaffenburger Volksblatt , No. 122 of May 29, 1982

literature

  • Carsten Pollnick: Aschaffenburg mayor Würzburg: Volksblatt Verlagsgesellschaft mbH 1983, ISBN 3-429-00875-1

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Matt, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Lawyer and Lord Mayor of Aschaffenburg
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Speyer
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 1936
Place of death Aschaffenburg