Wilhelm de Raet

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Wilhelm de Raet (born around 1537 in 's-Hertogenbosch in Brabant ; died in Tuscany in Italy in 1583 ) was a Dutch hydraulic engineer and builder in the Italian province of Lucca and Wolfenbüttel .

Life

In 1574, Duke Julius von Braunschweig-Lüneburg approached the hydraulic engineer Raet, who was probably living in Antwerp at the time, with the request that he be available as a consultant for his shipping projects. These included his wish to connect the Oker with the Elbe . Furthermore, the Duke wished Raets support in the expansion of the new Heinrichstadt in Wolfenbüttel. Raet had already carried out similar construction work in Spain and Italy, for example he was responsible for the drainage of a 1,600 hectare area on a lake near Massaciuccoli in the province of Lucca, for which he had designed a device specially.

When Raet came to Wolfenbüttel in the late summer of 1574, he began to expand the Oker. The duke tried in vain to win the state councils for the financing of his projects, so he concluded a contract with Raet in 1575, which appointed him "master builder on water and on land". In return, the engineer undertook to found a company to build and operate the planned shipping between the Harz and the North Sea. Julius was pursuing the plan according to which this measure was to divert land traffic to Wolfenbüttel in order to develop the city into a trading metropolis. Raet and his successor Hans Vredemann de Vries carried out extensive hydraulic engineering measures to regulate the Oker and make it navigable. Ultimately, however, the Duke's plans failed due to resistance from the city of Braunschweig and the Principality of Lüneburg , who were not satisfied with strengthening Wolfenbüttel through political power.

The city of Braunschweig complained because it felt disadvantaged by the hydraulic engineering plans drawn up in 1571. Initially, these planned to make the Oker navigable from the Harz via Wolfenbüttel to Braunschweig. In addition, the Nette , which rises in the Elm, should also be expanded. However, the plans were expanded to connect the Oker to the Elbe through the Great Break .

As a result, the council of the city of Braunschweig feared that a relocation of the trade with the products from the mining and steel industry to Magdeburg. Reat began to implement the Oker and Elbe plan, bypassing the city of Braunschweig, which was hostile to its sovereign. The planned new waterway should create a connection between Antwerp and Wolfenbüttel and allow a transport time of 18 to 20 days. In 1577 Raet wrote a little pamphlet in which he emphasized the advantages of Oker shipping and accused the Braunschweig Council of short-sightedness. The project was continued despite decrees to the contrary by the emperor, so that at least rafting via Oker and Nette was possible as far as Wolfenbüttel. The initially planned extension by the Braunschweiger Landwehr to the city limits was abandoned. Instead, the Oker should now be connected to the Aller via the Aue, the Erse and the Fuhse . However, Duke Wilhelm von Lüneburg opposed this request , so that it did not come to fruition.

Raet was also obliged to stay in Wolfenbüttel for three months a year. He was responsible for regulating the Oker and Innerste south of Wolfenbüttel towards the Harz Mountains, and is known for building the Julius dam with a 10 m high and 57 m wide dam. This made it possible to ensure rafting and shipping, especially for the transport of building materials, through a constant water level.

Raet also took part in the expansion of the defenses of the residence, which were modernized and expanded together with the builder Paul Francke . Italian elements such as brick construction were combined with the newer Dutch way of using excavated earth, which was a cost-effective variant.

Works (selection)

  • 1573: Construction of the small Julius dam in the Harz Mountains
  • 1574–1577: Regulation of Oker and Innerste, as well as extension of the fortifications of Wolfenbüttel
  • 1578: A wind turbine and a pedal bike at the “Silberne Schreibfeder” colliery ( Wildemann's treasure trove ) on the initiative of Duke Julius
  • after 1577: plans to regulate the Arno between Florence and the sea, contract with Francis I (initially at his own expense, payment after completion 60,000 Scudi )

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Horst-Rüdiger Jarck , Dieter Lent et al. (Ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon - 8th to 18th century . Appelhans Verlag, Braunschweig 2006, ISBN 3-937664-46-7 , p. 572-573 .
  2. ^ A b c Oskar de Smedt: Wilhelm de Raet, master builder and engineer (approx. 1537–1583). P. 147 ff.
  3. ↑ Werner Spieß : History of the city of Braunschweig in the post-Middle Ages . 1st half band. Orphanage printing and publishing house, Braunschweig 1966, pp. 124–125.
  4. ↑ Great Juliusstau im Okertal - Germany's largest dam in the 16th century. Retrieved April 13, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Ekkehard Henschke: State rule and mining industry. On the economic and administrative history of the Upper Harz mining area in the 16th and 17th centuries (= publications on economic and social history. 23). Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-43124-3 , p. 109.
personal data
SURNAME Raet, Wilhelm de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch hydraulic engineer and builder
DATE OF BIRTH around 1537
PLACE OF BIRTH 's-Hertogenbosch , Duchy of Brabant
DATE OF DEATH 1583
Place of death Tuscany , Italy