Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt was the first regional weekly newspaper produced in the Wittgenstein district . It was published in Berleburg from 1852 and had to cease its publication in 1933 under political pressure.

Circle sheet for the Wittgenstein district from January 1, 1852 (first edition)

history

National publications

In the first half of the 19th century there was apparently hardly any need for a newspaper of their own within the Wittgenstein district. Few reports from the Wittgensteiner Land are known from 1813, which were published in the newspaper of the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt and in the Großherzoglich Hessische Zeitung in Darmstadt . The first newspaper for the Wittgenstein district was the Siegerland intelligence paper, published in Siegen and founded in 1823 , with few news items and a small number of advertisements from Wittgenstein. When the newspaper changed its name at the beginning of the 13th volume in 1835 to Intellektivenblatt for the Siegen and Wittgenstein districts , it was also more clearly noticed in the Wittgenstein region. The proportion of advertisements from Wittgenstein as well as the subscribers there increased. Nevertheless, the newspaper could not hold its ground in Wittgenstein at that time; in contrast to the present, when it is known as the Siegener Zeitung as the daily newspaper with the highest circulation in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district .

Publisher Heinrich Matthey

The book printer Heinrich Matthey (1825–1913) from Berleburg undertook the first foray into a newspaper exclusively for the Wittgenstein district in autumn 1851. Matthey had completed his apprenticeship at Stein'schen Druckerei in Arnsberg and was the first to have to take a printer's exam after the introduction of a press law in the Arnsberg administrative region . After passing the exam, Matthey received an examination certificate and a license to set up a printing press in Berleburg. In this royal seat was the last printing press where u. a. the Berleburg Bible had been printed a hundred years earlier. In this respect, the economic conditions did not seem favorable. Press censorship also had an inhibiting effect . Newspaper editors were forced to bail if they wanted to print political news. The amount of the deposit to be deposited with the government in Arnsberg depended on the population of the city in which the paper was to appear. In relation to Berleburg, Matthey had to raise and deposit 1080 Thaler . An additional newspaper stamp tax also limited the entrepreneur's economic leeway.

Nonetheless, Matthey quickly began his plan to create his own newspaper in the Wittgenstein district. On January 1, 1852, Matthey opened his printing works in Berleburg and published the Kreisblatt for the Wittgenstein district for the first time on the same day . The newspaper initially consisted of four pages and, in addition to some official announcements, a poem, a serial novel, and a real estate advertisement from Richstein, only contained the opening advertisement for the Matthey printing company. The newspaper was initially under the administration of the incumbent District Administrator Bruno von Schrötter , to whom all newspaper content had to be submitted before publication. The name of the newspaper was changed on January 1, 1856 to Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt .

Since the Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt did not find political news until mid-1857, Matthey's successor, Winckel, assumed that Heinrich Matthey was only able to raise the bail at this point in time.

The number of readers grew over the years, but it barely came out over 400 subscribers. This was due, among other things, to the special focus on the northern district around Berleburg, while in the southern district around Laasphe the Siegener Intellektivenblatt initially retained its readership. However, after the Ernst Schmidt printing company in Laasphe started publishing the Wittgensteiner Wochenblatt, later the Wittgensteiner Zeitung , in 1876, the intelligence paper's market shares dwindled in the southern district. With the rapid increase in circulation of the newspaper in Laasphe, it also became a serious competitor of the Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt in Berleburg.

When in 1868 the Agricultural District Association, one of the main customers with its subject area and the adverts placed, was canceled because it wanted to publish its own magazine, Matthey tried to give the political and entertaining part of the newspaper more space; however, it did not succeed in gaining significantly more readers. Matthey gave up his business in Berleburg and emigrated to North America with his family in 1873. He first moved to Milwaukee, then to Davenport in the US state of Iowa . Here he founded a new daily newspaper, the German newspaper Sternen Banner , in 1876 , which earned him a high reputation and a fortune.

Publisher Wilhelm Winckel

Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt dated December 9, 1925.

On September 9, 1873, Heinrich Matthey sold his printing works and the Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt publishing house to Wilhelm Winckel (1835–1902). Winckel, the son of the pastor and later superintendent Friedrich Wilhelm Winckel and his wife Wilhelmine Karoline geb. Bergmann, had already established himself as the owner of a bag factory in Berleburg on May 1, 1861. Like his predecessor, he initially refrained from publishing political news because he was short of more cash after purchasing the Matthey company. After he borrowed the capital from a businessman from Elsoff , he was able to provide the required bail to the government in Arnsberg and from January 1, 1874, he was also able to print political news again. The abolition of the newspaper stamp tax in October 1873 brought further relief for the distribution of the newspaper. Nevertheless, the newspaper was still under the supervision of the district administrator, at that time Wilhelm von Schroetter .

From January 1, 1873, the Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt appeared for some time in two different editions, with the larger edition being accompanied by an eight-page illustrated entertainment paper. However, this dichotomy did not prevail. Nevertheless, Winckel was able to increase the newspaper's circulation to 700 copies as early as 1875.

From January 1, 1883, the newspaper appeared twice a week with a weekly four-page, illustrated entertainment paper and the provincial correspondence as free supplements. On the 50th anniversary of the Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt in 1901, Winckel reported that the newspaper, which had been published twice a week for many years, was now being printed with a print run of 1,360 copies.

In the 1930s, the newspaper came under political pressure from the Nazi rulers. The Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt ceased its publication on July 31, 1933 in favor of the Wittgensteiner Nationalzeitung, which was loyal to the line .

Lore

The newspaper is largely fully archived. In addition, there are find lists on various regional historical topics that were taken up during the newspaper's sales period. Many editions and individual supplements of the Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt are now available online up to and including June 30, 1933. There is more evidence in Siegen and Dortmund in an inventory of Westphalian newspapers .

literature

Karl Hartnack : The Matthey family. In: The beautiful Wittgenstein, No. 7, Druckerei Ernst Schmidt, Laasphe 1939, p. 50.

Wilhelm Hartnack: Hundred years of printing by Ernst Schmidt in Laasphe 1861–1961 . In: Wittgenstein. Leaves of the Wittgensteiner Heimatverein eV, Vol. 49, Vol. 25, H. 1, Laasphe 1961, pp. 6-21.

Wilhelm Hartnack: Berleburg as the place of printing. Print of the Berleburger Bible (Konert, Haug, Nicolai, Regelein, Ickler, Knacke, Abresch, Matthey, Winckel). In: Wittgenstein, Blätter des Wittgensteiner Heimatverein eV, Vol. 44, Vol. 20, Issue 1/2, Laasphe 1956, pp. 73-79.

Heinz Schmidt-Bachem : From bags and plastic bags: Studies on the history of the paper, cardboard and plastics processing industry in Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries with special consideration of the paper and film processing industry for the production of bags, bags, carrier bags , diss. Univ. Hamburg 2000. pp. 65 f., 87 f. (to Wilhelm Winkel)

Kurt Koszyk (ed.): Directory and holdings of Westphalian newspapers [Publications of the Historical Commission for Westphalia, Series XXXIV: Historical works on opinion formation and on the means of communication in Westphalia.] Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Münster 1975.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The newspaper appeared from April 1, 1852 under the name Frankfurter Postzeitung .
  2. ^ Wilhelm Hartnack: Hundred Years of Printing Works Ernst Schmidt in Laasphe 1861–1961 . In: Wittgenstein. Leaves of the Wittgensteiner Heimatverein eV, Vol. 49, Vol. 25, H. 1, Laasphe 1961, p. 6.
  3. ^ Wilhelm Winckel: Article on the 50th anniversary of the newspaper. In: Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt 1/1902 of Wednesday, January 1, 1902.
  4. ↑ Heinrich Imhof: Hope for a better life. The emigration from Wittgenstein to America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Bad Berleburg 2018, p. 522.
  5. ^ Wilhelm Hartnack : Hundred years of printing works Ernst Schmidt in Laasphe 1861-1961 . In: Wittgenstein. Leaves of the Wittgensteiner Heimatverein eV, Vol. 49, Vol. 25, H. 1, Laasphe 1961, p. 20.
  6. ↑ Stars Banner (Davenport, Iowa) 1878-1880. Retrieved April 9, 2020 .
  7. ↑ National Endowment for the Humanities: Star Banner. ( loc.gov [accessed April 9, 2020]).
  8. ^ Farewell speech by Matthey and inaugural speech by Winckel. In: Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt, Volume 22, No. 37/1873 from Saturday, September 13, 1873.
  9. ^ Heinz Schmidt-Bachem: Bags, pouches, carrier bags . On the history of the paper, cardboard and foil processing industry in Germany. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 2001, p. 85.
  10. ^ Wilhelm Winckel: Article on the 50th anniversary of the newspaper. In: Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt 1/1902 of Wednesday, January 1, 1902.
  11. ^ City archive Bad Berleburg, City archive Bad Laasphe, archive of the Siegen-Wittgenstein district.
  12. ^ Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt-1913, - German Digital Library. Retrieved April 8, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Detail page - Archivportal-D. Retrieved April 8, 2020 .
  14. ↑ ZDB catalog - detailed information: Wittgensteiner Kreisblatt ... Accessed on April 8, 2020 .
  15. ↑ http://www.wittgensteiner-heimatverein.de/Findbuch%20-%20Wittgensteiner%20Kreisblatt.pdf
  16. ^ Archivar: zeit.punkt NRW: Newspapers from the old district of Wittgenstein online. In: siwiarchiv.de. March 18, 2020, accessed April 8, 2020 (German).
  17. ^ Historical prints (union catalog) / contributions to the history of Wittgenstein. Retrieved April 8, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Kurt Koszyk (ed.): Directory and holdings of Westphalian newspapers [Publications of the Historical Commission for Westphalia, Series XXXIV: Historical works on opinion formation and on the means of communication in Westphalia.] Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Münster 1975, p. 12.