Wilhelm Pfotenhauer

Friedrich Wilhelm Pfotenhauer (born November 30, 1812 in Hohenstein ; † April 2, 1877 in Dresden ) was Dresden's first mayor and member of the Saxon state parliament .

Live and act

Pfotenhauer attended the Kreuzschule in Dresden as a child . Pfotenhauer studied law in Leipzig and worked as a lawyer after completing his studies . He was elected mayor of Glauchau in 1842 . During this time he was accepted into the Glauchau Masonic Lodge for the sisterhood of humanity .

In 1848 he was elected in the 14th urban constituency as a left-wing member of the second chamber of the Saxon state parliament, where he was elected vice-president of his chamber. On August 23, 1848 he was elected the first city council by the Dresden council. On January 2, 1849, he was temporarily transferred to the office of mayor of Dresden because his predecessor had died. During the Dresden May uprising, Pfotenhauer and two city councilors refused to hand over the town hall to the rebels. Despite this behavior, he was charged with being a traitor because he was a member of the so-called security committee. Although the proceedings were later discontinued, King Friedrich August II initially held on to his suspicion of Pfotenhauer. Despite this, the city council officially elected Pfotenhauer as mayor on July 16, 1850, before the proceedings were concluded. King Friedrich August II accepted this choice. On November 3, 1853, he even appointed Pfotenhauer as the first Lord Mayor of Dresden. From 1850 until his death he was ex officio member of the first chamber of the Saxon state parliament, in which he also acted as vice-president from 1863.

During Pfotenhauer's tenure, Dresden's population exceeded the 100,000 mark. The industrialization progressed, companies such as Villeroy & Boch , Eschenbach and the brewery basement rocks were founded or settled here. In addition, Pfotenhauer pushed the railway construction in Dresden . During his tenure, the Silesian Railway Station was inaugurated; Dresden-Neustadt train station was later built at this location . The Marienbrücke was built. The Dresden Zoo was opened in 1861 .

Grave of Friedrich Wilhelm Pfotenhauer in the Johannisfriedhof in Dresden.

Pfotenhauer died of a stroke on April 2, 1877 . He was buried in the Trinity cemetery in Dresden . 40,000 Dresden residents gave him the last escort . In 1878 a new street was named after him in the Johannstadt district . In 1888, at the request of his family, his bones were transferred to the Johannisfriedhof in the Tolkewitz district .

His marriage to Louise Antonie (1815–1888), née Funkhänel, in Johanngeorgenstadt in 1840 resulted in four children, two sons and two daughters. A son and a daughter died shortly after birth. Son Paul Pfotenhauer (1842–1897) became an archivist and historian.

Awards

Royal Saxon Order of Merit Commander's Cross 2nd Class
Albrecht Order Commander's Cross 2nd Class
Royal Prussian Red Eagle Order 3rd Class
Imperial Austrian Franz Joseph Order Commander's Cross 1st Class
In 1863 the Grand Duke of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach awarded him the Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Order of Vigilance or of the White Falcon .
1874 honorary citizen of Johanngeorgenstadt , for his commitment to the approval of the Schwarzenberg-Johanngeorgenstadt railway line
1848 honorary citizen of Glauchau

literature

Stadtlexikon Dresden A – Z , Verlag der Kunst Dresden 1995, ISBN 3-364-00300-9
Article by Jens Jungmann in the Dresdner Morgenpost from January 23, 2007
Josef Matzerath : Aspects of Saxon State Parliament History - Presidents and Members of Parliament from 1833 to 1952. Dresden 2001, p. 48/119

Web links

Christel Hermann: Pfotenhauer, Friedrich Wilhelm . In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): Saxon Biography .

Individual evidence

^ Pfotenhauer was the first Lord Mayor of Dresden. In: Saxon newspaper . November 24, 2012, accessed May 10, 2020 .
↑ weekly for strange legal cases in actenmäßigen representations from the field of administration of justice and administration, first for the kingdom of Saxony . 1863 ( digitized in the Google book search).

predecessor	Office	successor
Robert Siegismund Schanz	Mayor of Dresden 1850 - 1853
	Lord Mayor of Dresden 1853 - 1877	Paul Alfred Stubel

personal data
SURNAME	Pfotenhauer, Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Pfotenhauer, Friedrich Wilhelm (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Lord Mayor of Dresden and member of the Saxon State Parliament
DATE OF BIRTH	November 30, 1812
PLACE OF BIRTH	Hohenstein (Hohenstein-Ernstthal)
DATE OF DEATH	April 2, 1877
Place of death	Dresden

[1] Pfotenhauer was the first Lord Mayor of Dresden. In: Saxon newspaper . November 24, 2012, accessed May 10, 2020 .

[2] weekly for strange legal cases in actenmäßigen representations from the field of administration of justice and administration, first for the kingdom of Saxony . 1863 ( digitized in the Google book search).