Wilhelm von Woyna (General, 1819)

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Wilhelm Friedrich von Woyna (born May 7, 1819 in Trier ; † December 29, 1896 in Bonn ) was a Prussian infantry general , after whom a street in Mainz Neustadt and Berlin-Reinickendorf are named.

Life

origin

Wilhelm was the son of Karl Daniel Michael von Woyna (1782-1838) and his wife Antonia Thekla, born von Birkhahn (1786-1825) from Lithuania . Since his father was transferred to the Prussian province of the Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine after the Napoleonic Wars , Wilhelm Woyna was born in Trier in May 1819.

Military career

At the request of her parents, Woyna attended the cadet schools in Potsdam and Berlin after elementary school . Subsequently, on August 5, 1837, he was transferred to the 17th Infantry Regiment of the Prussian Army as a second lieutenant . On March 31, 1846, he was transferred to the Guard Rifle Battalion . With this he took part in the campaign against Denmark in 1848 and was promoted to Prime Lieutenant in the 7th Jäger Battalion on November 12 of the same year . As a captain (since July 13, 1852) Woyna took over on April 23, 1853 as chief of a company in the 8th Jäger Battalion . In the same function he was active in the 2nd Jäger Battalion from August 13, 1856 to July 7, 1858 , before joining the 32nd Infantry Regiment as a major . Here Woyna acted from September 18, 1858 as commander of the fusilier battalion. After he had given up command on June 21, 1861, Woyna then took over the 8th Jäger Battalion and on October 18, 1861 became a lieutenant colonel . On April 18, 1865 Woyna was entrusted with the command of the Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment No. 39 and transferred to him two days before he was promoted to colonel on June 18, 1865 , the command. With this he took part in the battles near Hammelburg , Helmstadt and Roßbrunn during the German War .

On July 14, 1870 he was appointed commander of the 28th Infantry Brigade and on August 26, 1870 he was promoted to major general . In the war against France he fought with his brigade in conjunction with the 14th Division at Spichern , Colombey , Gravelotte and the siege of Paris . On March 3, 1871, Wilhelm I awarded him the highest award in Prussia, the order Pour le Mérite, for his services .

After the peace treaty, Woyna took over as commander of the 14th Infantry Brigade on June 3 of the same year . On October 11, 1873 he was commissioned to lead the 30th Division , Woyna was appointed commander on November 25, and finally promoted to lieutenant general on December 11, 1873 . From 1880 until the end of his career in 1886 he was governor of the Mainz fortress . The city of Mainz made Woyna an honorary citizen on January 23, 1883 because of his services . In August 1886 Woyna retired and moved back to Bonn . He died there at the age of 77. His grave is in the main cemetery in Mainz .

Mainz flood of 1882

On November 28, 1882, the Mainz gauge reached a high of 7.95 meters. The water streamed into the city's sewer system and the garden field in front of it, now Mainz-Neustadt , with tremendous speed . The Rheinstrasse and Holzstrasse, Löhrstrasse and Schlossergasse, Brand and Schlossplatz were under water. All ground floor residents were surprised by the floods and the entire household items were rendered unusable by water. The garden field, with the many workers' apartments, was even more affected because it was even lower.

The state of emergency broke out. The thresholds of the newly built railway lines drifted along the Rhine and the floodplains were completely flooded. After a brief decline in the floods, another deterioration followed in December and January. The Mainz garrison under General Woyna, especially pioneers under Captain Betzold, helped the civilian population in the city and the surrounding communities in their distress. Woyna was granted honorary citizenship for this.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rhine flood 1882/1883
personal data
SURNAME Woyna, Wilhelm von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Woyna, Wilhelm Friedrich von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian general of the infantry
DATE OF BIRTH May 7, 1819
PLACE OF BIRTH trier
DATE OF DEATH December 29, 1896
Place of death Bonn