Wilhelm Voelkl

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Wilhelm Voelkl

Wilhelm Voelkl (also Völkl ; born August 9, 1862 in St. Pölten ; † September 10, 1912 there ) was an Austrian politician ( DnP ), 16th Mayor of St. Pölten and manufacturer.

Life

Wilhelm Voelkl was born on August 9, 1862 as the son of a wealthy citizen in St. Pölten. After he attended high school and the commercial academy in St. Pölten, he studied in Vienna and Prague , but without attaining a degree. However, he was successful as the owner of two replacement coffee factories .

In 1894 he was elected to the St. Pölten municipal council, in the first few years still under the banner of the economic party . In 1896 he and his parliamentary group carried out an internal study of the city budget under the leadership of Baron von Aichelburg . The result of this investigation did not show any irregularities, but it became clear that Mayor Ofner had to take care of the reorganization of the city's finances. Nevertheless, this was a welcome opportunity for the Christian Socialists to attack the old liberals in St. Pölten, and Voelkl supported them in this. In addition to a nationwide press campaign, interventions were made primarily in the state parliament, but also in the Reichsrat. Together the Christian Socialists and Voelkls Wirtschaftspartei decided in 1897 to have the city finances checked by a state committee. This check led to almost the same result, only the city was now monitored by a commissioner. As a direct result of this surveillance, Ofner and, shortly afterwards, his successor Freiherr von Aichelburg resigned and Franz Ertl became the new mayor. After he no longer ran for election in 1900, the Christian Social Party under Johann Wohlmeyer saw the mayor's post in their hands and supported Voelkl's election. This was also indirectly supported by the Social Democrats, who did not nominate a candidate. When the election was beaten and Voelkl was appointed mayor, he went on a course of confrontation with his former allies, he always proclaimed that he belonged to the progressive direction , that is to say to the liberals .

From 1901 Voelkl belonged to the Reichsrat and from 1902 to the Landtag of Lower Austria . After the break in 1900, Johann Wohlmeyer remained his bitterest political opponent in the municipal council as well as in the state parliament and Reichsrat . In 1903 he succeeded in abolishing the community committee and dismissing Voelkl, and a government commissioner carried out the official business. With a triumphant election victory Voelkl finally returned to the mayor's office in 1904. Due to a mental illness, he resigned as mayor on November 19, 1905 and moved to Vienna, but remained in the Reichsrat. In 1908 he left the state parliament.

Electric power was introduced during his tenure, considered one of the most important in the history of the city. The settlement of some large industrial companies with the help of Voelkl has proven to be sustainable for urban development. Among them were the Glanzstoff Austria , Voith and the central workshop of the Reichsbahnen .

He died on September 10, 1912 in his hometown and was buried in the main cemetery.

Honors

The grave of honor at the St. Pölten main cemetery
  • Voelklplatz in St. Pölten (since 1909)
  • Honorary citizenship and honorary grave in St. Pölten

literature

  • Siegfried Nasko , Willibald Rosner et al. (Hrsg.): St. Pölten in the 20th century. History of a city. Residenz-Verlag, St. Pölten et al. 2010, ISBN 978-3-7017-3155-8 , pp. 19–31: Chapter Die Ära Voelkl .
  • Thomas Karl (Ed.): 500 years of the St. Pölten Town Hall. Magistrate of the state capital St. Pölten, St. Pölten 2003, pp. 69–94: Chapter St. Pölten's Mayor from 1785 until today .

Web links

Commons : Pictures of the grave of Wilhelm Voelkl  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Manfred Wieninger : St. Pöltner tell street names . Löwenzahn, Innsbruck 2002, ISBN 3-7066-2208-4 , pp. 379-380: Entry on Voelklplatz .
  2. ^ Wilhelm Voelkl. In:  Neue Freie Presse , September 11, 1912, p. 7 (online at ANNO ).Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nfp
predecessor Office successor
Franz Ertl Mayor of St. Pölten
1900–1905 		Edmund Hill
personal data
SURNAME Voelkl, Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Völkl, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian politician (DnP), member of the state parliament
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1862
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Polten
DATE OF DEATH September 10, 1912
Place of death St. Polten