Georg Zacharias Platner

Last updated
Georg Zacharias Platner
WP Georg Zacharias Platner.jpg
Georg Zacharias Platner
1781-1862
Born27 July 1781
Died8 July 1862
Occupation(s)Businessman-entrepreneur
Railway pioneer
SpouseMaria Katharina Elise Cramer
ChildrenGeorg
Albert
Parent(s)Anton Lorenz Platner
Anna Susanna Köhler

Georg Zacharias Platner (27 July 1781 - 8 July 1862) was a German manufacturer-entrepreneur and an astute businessman who later also became a politician. [1] [2]

Contents

His principal claim to fame arises on account of his role as instigator and founder of the Bavarian Ludwig Railway ("Bayerische Ludwigseisenbahn") which opened at the end of 1835. It connected Fürth with Nuremberg, a distance of 6 kilometers, by means of the first regular steam-hauled railway service in Germany. [3] [4] [5]

Life

Provenance and early years

Georg Zacharias Platner was born in Nuremberg. Despite being in Bavaria, Nuremberg was for historical reasons a predominantly Protestant city and the Platners were a Protestant family, [1] originally from Chemnitz. [4] Anton Lorenz Platner, his father, was a successful wholesaler-merchant. [2]

Business career

After receiving basic schooling he joined his father's colonial goods merchandising business as an apprentice. When he was 16 he was sent to work with "Rochet und Ryhiner", a trading business in Basel, between 1797 and 1799, and then between 1799 and 1801 he worked "Taner et Cie.", a French trading house operating out of Hamburg. [2] By 1801 he was well travelled and, through his experience, qualified to join the family business. When his father died in 1811, Georg Zacharias took control, in 1815 opening subsidiary businesses in Rotterdam and Hamburg. [4] During the first part of the century the economy had been adversely impacted by the so-called Continental System, part of a long-running trade war and leading to a mutual economic blockade between Britain and the European continent, and the Platner business which had hitherto conducted a highly profitable trade in indigo, [5] was obliged to diversify, with the focus switching to tobacco trading. His aunt's husband, Georg Zacharias Lotzbeck, died in 1829 and Platner incorporated his late uncle's tobacco processing factory into his business conglomerate, though he later transferred this asset to his sons-in-law. [4]

In 1846 he handed over his other business interests to his sons, Georg and Albert. [2]

Public career

As early as 1810 Georg Zacharias Platner played his part in public service. He represented the Nuremberg "Kaufmannschaft" (loosely: "chamber of commerce") to the king in Munich where, after Ludwig I came to the throne in 1825, Platner was valued as an advisor on trade and tariff policies. [6] He served as a deputy in the second chamber of the Bavarian parliament between 1831 and 1834. [1] In the parliament he was noted as a passionate backer of free trade. [6] He held various local government positions in Nuremberg, and during the middle 1820s, together with Johannes Scharrer, represented his city as a negotiator in the talks when led to the creation in 1828 of the South German Customs Union. [2]

Bavarian Ludwig Railway

Through his involvement in indigo and tobacco trading, Platner had close business links to England. He followed the developments of railways there with particular interest. He knew all about the success of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway which had opened in 1830, and kept himself briefed on the accompanying technical developments. Bavarian Parliament had identified the route from Fürth to Nuremberg as suitable for an equivalent Bavarian project, but there was an overwhelming determination that government money should not be provided for the investment. Platner, who was wealthy and had an extensive network of contacts in the business community, now took the initiative, on 14 May 1833 launching an invitation to investors to participate in the establishment of a company to build and operate the "Eagle Line" ("Adlerstrecke"). [5] Investor reaction was positive and the "Ludwigs-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft-Nürnberg" (railway company) was launched on 21 November 1833. [6] The largest shareholder, with a holding of 21,000 guilders (nominal "par" value), [7] was Platner, who was elected as the company's treasurer and director in chief at the November inaugural meeting, with Johannes Scharrer, the son of a small-scale artisan-brewer and a highly successful "self-made businessman", as his deputy. [6]

Platner prepared to attract his railway investors with a strategic approach which could be considered modern. Market research was undertaken whereby a local wood-worker was tasked with counting how many people and how much merchandise traveled between the end points of the proposed railway line. He then used the resulting data to prepare cash forecasts from which he could provide projected profitability figures. [8]

Although his first achievement involved securing the necessary finance, Platner also played a key role in the construction of the company's major assets. He personally ordered the rails from the Remy Brothers' Iron works in Neuwied, where the steel masters had prudently obtained technical information on rail manufacturing from England several years earlier. A steam locomotive was also needed. Various German and Belgian manufacturers were approached, but it became apparent that their offers were costly and in some cases based on untried technology, and in the end the company's first locomotive was purchased from George Stephenson in Newcastle, England. [6] The locomotive was shipped from Newcastle to Rotterdam and then by barge upriver as far as Cologne, after which a recent drop in water levels meant that plans for onward shipment to Offenbach am Main were aborted and the heavy locomotive had to be transported overland for final assembly onsite. By the time it was received in Nuremberg towards the end of October 1835, the price of the Stephenson locomotive had increased, but the directors had been able to use their contacts in Munich to negotiate an exemption from import tax on it. [9] Stephenson had resolutely refused to deviate from his preferred track gauge with the result that one side of the railway line, which had already been laid down, had to be relayed slightly more than half an inch further from the other rail than previously, in order to provide for compatibility with the "Adler" (locomotive).

On 13 July 1835 King Ludwig agreed to the company using the name "Ludwigseisenbahn" (Ludwig Railway). The line from Nürnberg to Fürth was opened on 7 December 1835. [2] [10]

As part of the deal with George Stephenson, the steam locomotive that the company purchased arrived accompanied by William Wilson who was an experienced locomotive driver-engineer. Wilson was able to observe the final assembly of the locomotive after the cart loads of sub assemblies and components had been delivered overland from the docks at Cologne; he then drove the train on its inaugural run. The original plan seems to have been for Wilson to return to England after a year or so, but became something of a local celebrity, and despite attempts by other companies to lure him away he renewed his contract several times and stayed with the company. He caught a bad chill in 1842 from which he never fully recovered, but nevertheless continued to work as a locomotive driver until forced to retire in 1859 by a further deterioration in his health. He lived in Nuremberg until he died there in 1862. Several sources note that in 1836, while Georg Zacharias Platner was serving as the company's principal director, the train driver William Wilson was earning an annual salary of 1,500 guilders while Platner earned only 1,200 guilders. Wilson's contract, dated 5 August 1836 also provided that his monthly salary of 125 guilders would be supplemented by a further payment of 240 guilders every time he successfully completed the training of an apprentice driver to the required standard. Wilson's salary was reduced to 1,200 guilders in 1850, but the differential with the salary of the best paid director remained, the director earning 900 guilders, reflecting the general economic downturn that followed 1848. [11] [12]

City parks

Georg Zacharias Platner became known for his contribution to the greening of Nuremberg. Between 1818 and 1921 he laid out what is today the "Bucher Straße" (literally "Books Street") in connection with improvement of his own private garden which was adjacent to it. He was also the owner of the land known as "Platnersanlage" ("Platner's Park"), landscaped as a garden accessible for the public. What is today known as "Colleggarten" ("College Garden") can be traced back to Platner's proviate garden, along with the green spaces of the Friedrich Ebert Platz. Platner also paid for the transformation of the "Judenbühl" into a fashionable "English-style" landscaped park-garden, which for many years, known as the Maxfeld, was used for exhibitions and celebrations, and which formed the basis for today's Stadtpark ("City Park"). Platner was also involved in the beautification of the "Dutzendteich-Park" ("Park of the twelve ponds").


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuremberg</span> City in Bavaria, Germany

Nuremberg is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and its 544,414 (2023) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fürth</span> City in Bavaria, Germany

Fürth is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (Regierungsbezirk) of Middle Franconia.

The history of rail transport in Germany can be traced back to the 16th century. The earliest form of railways, wagonways, were developed in Germany in the 16th century. Modern German rail history officially began with the opening of the steam-powered Bavarian Ludwig Railway between Nuremberg and Fürth on 7 December 1835. This had been preceded by the opening of the horse-drawn Prince William Railway on 20 September 1831. The first long-distance railway was the Leipzig-Dresden railway, completed on 7 April 1839.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuremberg S-Bahn</span> S-Bahn network

The Nuremberg S-Bahn is an S-Bahn network covering the region of Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen which started operations in 1987 and is now integrated into the Greater Nuremberg Transport Association. The full length of the five current lines is about 277.6 kilometres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bavarian Ludwig Railway</span> First steam-hauled railway in Germany (commenced service 1835)

The Bavarian Ludwig Railway was the first steam-hauled railway opened in Germany. The Königlich privilegierte Ludwigs-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft received a concession to build a railway from Nuremberg to Fürth (6 km) in the state of Bavaria on 19 February 1834.

The Royal Bavarian Eastern Railway Company or Bavarian Ostbahn was founded in 1856. Within just two decades it built an extensive railway network in the eastern Bavarian provinces of Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz) and Lower Bavaria (Niederbayern) that had previously been largely undisturbed by the railway. Much of this network is still important for local and long distance rail traffic operated by the Deutsche Bahn today.

<i>Adler</i> (locomotive)

The Adler was the first locomotive that was successfully used commercially for the rail transport of passengers and goods in Germany. The railway vehicle was designed and built in 1835 by the British railway pioneers George and Robert Stephenson in the English city of Newcastle. It was delivered to the Bavarian Ludwig Railway for service between Nuremberg and Fürth. It ran officially for the first time there on 7 December 1835. The Adler was a steam locomotive of the Patentee type with a wheel arrangement of 2-2-2 or 1A1. The Adler was equipped with a tender of type 2 T 2. It had a sister locomotive, the Pfeil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg Krauß</span> German industrialist (1826–1906)

Georg Krauß, from 1905 Ritter von Krauß was a German industrialist and the founder of the Krauss Locomotive Works in Munich, Germany and Linz, Upper Austria. The spelling of the company name was later changed from Krauß to Krauss, once the form of the name in capital letters on the company's emblems had become established.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuremberg Transport Museum</span> Transport history museum in Nuremberg, Germany

The Nuremberg Transport Museum in Nuremberg, Germany, consists of Deutsche Bahn's DB Museum and the Museum of Communications. It also has two satellite museums at Koblenz-Lützel and Halle. The Nuremberg Transport Museum is one of the oldest technical history museums in Europe and is a milestone on the European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH).

The Munich–Augsburg Railway Company, the second private railway company in Bavaria, built the Munich–Augsburg line between 1838 and 1840. It was nationalised in 1846 and became part of the Royal Bavarian State Railways, subsequently forming part of the Bavarian Maximilian’s Railway built between 1851 and 1854.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuremberg–Bamberg railway</span> German railway line

The Nuremberg-Bamberg line is a German railway connecting the Bavarian city of Nuremberg with Bamberg via Fürth, Erlangen, Forchheim. It is part of the northern section of the Ludwig South-North Railway. It runs along the Regnitz Valley and is one of the important German transport routes. Since 2010 line S1 of the Nuremberg S-Bahn uses the entirety of the line from Nuremberg to Bamberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuremberg–Würzburg railway</span> German trunk line railway

The Nuremberg–Würzburg Railway is a German trunk line railway in northern Bavaria, connecting the city of Nuremberg with Würzburg, the two largest cities in Franconia, and passing through Fürth, Neustadt an der Aisch and Kitzingen. In addition to hourly Regional-Express trains and numerous freight trains, it is served by Intercity-Express trains during the day at half-hourly intervals with some gaps.

The Treuchtlingen–Nuremberg railway is a 62 km long main line in the German state of Bavaria. Most of it follows two parts the historic Ludwig South-North Railway, one of the oldest lines in Germany. Today, even after the opening of the Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed railway, it is still used for long-distance services. It is also used as a detour during closures of the high speed line for maintenance. Between Nuremberg and Roth S-Bahn services run on the parallel Nuremberg–Roth line.

The Nuremberg–Schwandorf railway is a 93.7 km long railway from Nuremberg, running along the Pegnitz river, to Hersbruck and continuing via Neukirchen bei Sulzbach-Rosenberg and Amberg to Schwandorf in the German state of Bavaria. It runs parallel to the Nuremberg–Cheb line between Nuremberg and Pommelsbrunn and this section is known as the Left Pegnitz line. It was opened in 1859 and is one of the oldest railways in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schwandorf–Furth im Wald railway</span> Railway line in Germany

The Schwandorf–Furth im Wald railway is a 67 km long mainline railway in the German state of Bavaria. It runs from Schwandorf via Cham to Furth im Wald. It is part of a long-distance connection between Germany and the Czech Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Nuremberg</span> Overview of the tram system of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany

The Nuremberg tramway network is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Nuremberg, a city in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany. The system reached the neighboring city of Fürth from its opening year to almost a century later when construction of the U1 subway line led to the withdrawal of tram service to and within Fürth. During that era and referring to it historically in literature or nostalgic activities, the system was known as “Nürnberg-Fürther Straßenbahn“. For example, a local association dedicated to preserving the history and heritage of the tram network as well as old rolling stock calls itself “Freunde der Nürnberg-Fürther Straßenbahn“ The system is planned to cross the municipal boundaries of Nuremberg once more, if and when the extension to Erlangen and from there to Herzogenaurach dubbed "Stadtumlandbahn" opens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Wilson (engineer)</span>

William Wilson was an English mechanical engineer and first engine driver on the first German railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feucht–Altdorf railway</span> Railway line in Germany

The Feucht–Altdorf railway is a single-track main-line railway running through Middle Franconia in the German state of Bavaria. It is the extension of the Nuremberg–Feucht railway, which ends at Feucht station, and runs from there to the east through the Lorenzer Reichswald to Altdorf.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Nuremberg, Germany.

Nürnberger Versicherung is a German insurance company headquartered in Nuremberg. The group operates in the life, private health, property/casualty and auto insurance segments as well as in the financial services sector, primarily in Germany and Austria.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Platner, Georg Zacharias .... Mitgliedschaft im Bayer. Parlament". Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Bildung und Kultus, Wissenschaft und Kunst (Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte), Augsburg . Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ernst Mummenhoff (1888). "Platner, Georg Zacharias". Platner: Georg Zacharias P., geb. am 27. Juli 1779 zu Nürnberg ... Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. Vol. 26. Historische Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, München. pp. 260–261. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  3. Karl Bosl [in German]. "Platner, Georg Zacharias, Kaufmann". Bosls bayerische Biographie. Universitätsbibliothek, Regensburg. p. 592. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Matthias Weinrich. "Georg Zacharias Platner wurde am 27. Juli 1781 als Sohn von Anton Lorenz und Anna Susanna Platner in Nürnberg geboren". Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 "Visionär und Kaufmann: G. Z. Platner". Der Händler Georg Zacharias Platner war ein mutiger und überzeugender Vordenker und Pionier. Der Nürnberger war einer der Initiatoren der ersten deutschen Eisenbahnstrecke, die eine Revolution im Transportwesen einleitete. Bayerischer Rundfunk, München. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Rudolf Endres (1984). "Warum wurde die erste Eisenbahn zwischen Nürnberg und Fürth gebaut?". Fränkische Geographische Gesellschaft, Erlangen. pp. 481–502. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  7. "Georg Zacharias Platner". Unternehmer. Historica, Zirndorf. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  8. Scott Johnston (14 August 2016). "Der Mann, der den Bau der "Seku" vorantrieb". Mit der Erschließung des Erlanger und Forchheimer Oberlandes durch die Eisenbahn, die vor 130 Jahren begann, hat sich der Eschenauer Heimatforscher Fritz Fink bei seinen jüngsten Forschungen intensiv beschäftigt. Den Schwerpunkt legte er dabei auf die Personen, ohne die der Bau der Strecken nicht denkbar gewesen wäre. Nürnberger Nachrichten. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  9. Wolfgang Mück: Deutschlands erste Eisenbahn mit Dampfkraft. Die kgl. priv. Ludwigseisenbahn zwischen Nürnberg und Fürth. Fürth 1985, p. 115–126
  10. Rainer Gömmel (1 January 1996). "Nürnberger Wirtschaftsbürgertum im 19. Jahrhundert". In Karl Möckl (ed.). Wirtschaftsbürgertum in den deutschen Staaten im 19. und beginnenden 20. Jahrhundert: Büdinger Forschungen zur Sozialgeschichte 1987 und 1988. Harald Boldt Verlag im R. Oldenbourg Verlag, München. p. 308. ISBN   978-3-486-83024-8.
  11. Matthias Weinrich. "William Wilson – Lokomotivführer" . Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  12. Reinhard Kalb (10 April 2012). "Vor 150 Jahren starb "Adler"-Lokführer Wilson". Nürnberger Nachrichten. Retrieved 16 January 2018.