R

Priest at St George's, born around 1390 in Bocholt, died 7 September 1459.

As a young cleric, he sought a benefice at the papal court. There is documentary evidence that he was in the immediate vicinity of the popes:

1418 in Geneva as a cleric with lower orders,

1429/30 in Rome as a magister and "sacri palatii causarum notarius" dealing with legal transactions,

1432 at the Council of Basel, where he mediated on behalf of the town of Bocholt in the dispute over parish rights in Werth.

In 1433 he held a position as canon at St Martini in Münster.

In 1434 he stayed in Bocholt for a short time. Although a document only names him as parish priest at St George's in 1438, he had probably held the office since 1436.

In 1447, his connections with the papal curia and his knowledge of the law enabled him to settle the long-standing Werth parochial dispute.

He pushed ahead with the construction of St George's Church in the Gothic style, which began in 1415. During his tenure, wealthy citizens donated five new vicarages, as a result of which St George's Church was adorned with the corresponding altars. Rabbe personally built a sixth vicarage in St Martini. Wilhelm Rabbe did not live to see the completion of the Gothic St George's Church.

Literature: Friedrich Reigers, Geschichte der Stadt Bocholt, Volume I, Bocholt 1891, p. 632 ff and 713. Elisabeth Bröker, Die Martinsvikarie an der Georgskirche zu Bocholt und ihr Stifter Pfarrer Wilhelm Rabbe, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 28 (1977) H. 3, p. 31-36.

Ursula Rüter (29.06.09 17:21)

She came from a family that had lived in Bocholt and the surrounding area for centuries. Her father married in Holland, so Franziska was born in Amsterdam on 19 July 1878. Her father died when she was 5 years old. She returned to the family in Bocholt and grew up here with her sister.

After attending the then girls' school, she studied at the Sisters of Notre Dame in Tegelen. At the age of 18, she passed the teacher's examination for primary, secondary and higher schools. She initially taught as a private teacher. After an additional examination in French, Franziska Rademaker became a teacher at the Catholic Lyceum in Düren in 1900. For health reasons, she had to give up her profession at the age of 38. Since then, she devoted herself entirely to writing.

Her Kevelaer novel " Das Ave der Heimat" became a bestseller with a print run of 50,000 copies. The second work, "Monika Hagemann's Love" dealt with communism and Catholic social teaching. (Both books were published by Butzon und Berker, Kevelaer).

In the meantime, Franziska Rademaker moved to Cologne, where she lived until 1943. Here she published various major novellas in newspapers and magazines (Die sieben Betrübnisse von Kalkar, Unter den Flügeln des Seraphs, Giotto Novelle). In 1934, she published a cultural-historical novel set around the year 1000 on Mount Elten entitled "Luitgardis, die Frau von Hohenelten" (later titled "Berg der Schicksale.). Other books include: "The Great Sendling", her Boniface novel (1947), her folk book "St. Nikolaus" (1949) and "Das Mädchen Ka sucht Deutschland", in which she describes her youth in Bocholt.

After losing her home in Cologne as a result of the war, she moved to Olsberg in the Sauerland. She left Olsberg again in 1951 and found a home in "Regina Pacis" in Kevelaer. Here she lived on the site of her first novel, in the shadow of the Chapel of Grace. In addition to regularly contributing to the diocesan newspaper "Kirche und Leben", she wrote the novel "The Paradise" and published a volume of Lower Rhine novellas under the title "Am scheidenden Rhein." She worked for many years on a novel set in Trier around the year 1200, in which she describes the encounter between a Cathar and a devout embroiderer from the Abbey of St Matthias. Unfortunately, she was unable to complete this work.

After her 75th birthday, her strength slowly waned. Serious illnesses caused her an abundance of physical and mental complaints. She passed away on 3 February 1961 and rests in the cemetery in Kevelaer, just a few steps away from the Way of the Cross, along which the processions pass, the singing and praying of which she described in her book "Ave der Heimat".

P.M. Schulte, Lebensbilder westfälischer Frauen, in Unser Bocholt, 12.Jg. (1961), H. 3, p. 19-20.

Johann Telaar (01.12.08 17:28)

It is a little known fact among the population that there was already a cycling track in Spork (then a municipality in the Liedern-Werth district, now Bocholt) at the end of the 19th century.

The owner of Gut Heidefeld at the time, Clemens Dierkes, built a racecourse in 1898 together with a public limited company in a pasture of 16 acres. The architects of the track were Pries and Reichel. In the annals of the Bocholt cycling club, it is said that the track was the first far and wide with a cement oval. Many a world champion started here and completed their laps.

Considering that the first cycling track was built in Munich in 1880, the people of Spork can probably be described as pioneers of cycling. Bocholt was home to the "Staubwolke" cycling club, which also organised international race days at the Spork racecourse. At that time, stand-up races and so-called flyer races were very popular on such tracks in Germany. The riders' racing bikes had air-filled tyres. The racers did not yet wear special sports clothing, but rode in their everyday clothes. However, photos from this period show that crash helmets were already in common use.

The First World War (1914-1918) put an end to sporting activities at the Spork racecourse. On 21 June 1932, the foundation stone for St. Ludgerus Church was laid on the site of the racecourse. The concrete curves had to be demolished and the area of the former racecourse levelled. It was not until after the Second World War (1939-1945) that the city of Bocholt built a new velodrome on the Hünting, using bomb rubble from the city destroyed on 22 March 1945.

Lit.: N .N., "Heimatgeschichte der Kirchengemeinde Spork", Vol. 1-3, in the parish of Spork (from 11 July 2010 St.-Bernhard-Kirchengemeinde Lowick. Sundermann, Werner. "50 Jahre St. Ludgeruskirche" (Heimatgeschichte der Pfarrei St. Ludgerus Spork), Bocholt "Chronik der Kath. Kirchengemeinde St. Ludgerus Spork" (Festschrift zum 50-jährigen Pfarrjubiläum 2001/2002).

Helga and Werner Sundermann (05.07.10 16:14)

Raesfeldstraße was named after the mayor of the town of Bocholt (1817-1824), Bernhard von Raesfeld (1791-1868).

Literature: Gerhard Schmalstieg, Straßennamen in Bocholt nach nur hier bekannten Personen, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 55 (2004) H. 4, p. 53-72. Wilhelm Seggewiß, Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 39 (1988), H. 2, p. 55.

Born the son of a landowner on 1 July 1878 in Unterstromberg/Westphalia, died on 15 October 1964.

Graduated from Warendorf grammar school.

Studies: Latin, Greek, German.

After completing his training in 1906, senior teacher at Bocholt Municipal Grammar School.

1914 to the Reserve Infantry Regiment 130 in Metz. Twice seriously wounded. His military behaviour during the First World War as first lieutenant, battalion commander and later as commander at Verdun was considered exemplary. Decorations and promotions: Iron Cross II Class, 1916 Iron Cross I Class after participating in the Battle of Verdun, November 1916 Captain, 1917 Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern with Crown and Swords.

In November 1918, Raestrup refused to be appointed major by the left-wing workers' and soldiers' councils. Instead, he joined the "Stahlhelm-Bund der Frontsoldaten" and became its district leader. In Bocholt, the Stahlhelm was regarded as a rallying point for the Nazi opposition from the national spectrum. When the Steel Helmet was "harmonised" and dissolved in 1934 and its members were "taken over"into the SA, Raestrup refused: he remained a convinced and practising Catholic.

After the end of the war in 1918, Raestrup returned to teaching German, Latin and history as a grammar school professor at Bocholt Municipal Grammar School. In 1934, he became head of the grammar school and the Realgymnasium (renamed "Oberschule für Jungen" by the Nazis) as successor to " Oberstudiendirektor Sommer, who had been "removed by the Nazis, and for a time also the girls' grammar school. Appointed headmaster in 1936. After the "Heilkräuteraffäre" (1943) Raestrup was transferred to early retirement on 1 February 1944. In the opinion of his colleague Dr B. Harling, he was a "beloved" headmaster who, according to the obituary of another colleague, Dr Herdemann, was characterised by "honour and loyalty as the basic traits of his character".

Lit.: St-Georg-Gymnasium Bocholt, school year 1981/82, project week "The ranks firmly closed. Resistance in the Third Reich. Depicted using the regional historical example of the town of Bocholt - project group A 6", pp. 89-90. Eduard Westerhoff, Heilkräuteraffäre, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 44 (1993) H. 2, pp. 24-28. Othard Raestrup, Leben und Wirken von Prof. Hans Raestrup in: UNSER BOCHOLT Vol. 51 (2000) H. 1, pp. 36-37.

Christian Heiduk (25/06/10 10:44 am)

"Curia, qua elegantia superiorem, nedum parem habet patria, probat Magnificentiam" As early as 1747, the Vreden scholastic and historian Jodocus Hermann Nünning praised the building effusively in Latin. Today, his judgement - "this town hall, which has no equal in beauty in the fatherland, shows the generosity (of the town)" - which is certainly tinged with a dash of local patriotism, has to be qualified a little.

Nevertheless, the people of Bocholt can justifiably claim to have the most valuable building of its kind in Münsterland, alongside the magnificent Gothic town hall in Münster. Together with St. George's Church, the oldest important building in Bocholt, it forms the centre of the town.

Anyone entering the market square from the east and looking for St George's Church will be disappointed. In many other Westphalian and Low German towns, the town hall and town church form an impressive ensemble - not so in Bocholt: seen from the market square, the magnificent display wall of the town hall stands alone and obscures the eastern view of the church.

The history of the building:

Bocholt has two town halls today: in addition to the historic town hall, there is also a modern one, which was built between 1972 and 1977 together with a cultural centre on an artificial island on the River Aa. Of course, the now historically named town hall is not the first building that the people of Bocholt erected to house their city administration. A new town hall ("nova domus oppidi") is mentioned for the first time as early as 1350, and we know that it was located "by the markede" (1423).

It can be assumed that it stood on the same site, albeit much more modest in size and furnishings for the time. The city accounts of Bocholt reveal that this building was restored several times, most recently in 1595-97. In 1606, just as the city was beginning to recover from the years of hardship caused by the Spanish-Dutch War, the first plans for a new town hall were drawn up.

However, the builders of the new town hall could not have known that the Thirty Years' War would break out in 1618, the year in which the foundation stone was laid, and that it would once again bring disaster and great costs to Bocholt. Initially unaffected by the war, the exterior construction was completed in 1619. The interior work was also completed in 1622, and in 1624 the windows were made by the artistic "glassmaker" Jan van Lintelo from Bocholt, whose designs for cabinet panes are now counted among the great German Mannerist drawings.

The above quote from J.H. Nünning shows that even in the 18th century - despite the Baroque era - people were still aware of the value of this building, which impressively demonstrates the self-confidence of this town. In 1786, the debt burden was still so overwhelming that a collection had to be organised for the necessary "repair". In the 19th century, the decline of the town hall began, especially as public awareness of its importance "as a symbol of municipal sovereignty" declined. The entire interior was smashed and scattered to the four winds, especially after the building was rented out as a courthouse in 1827 and remodelled to suit the needs of a court. In 1911, when the district court moved out, the building was so dilapidated that a complete restoration was unavoidable. However, due to the First World War and a lack of funds, this was postponed until 1928 and could only be completed in 1933/34.

During the major air raid on Bocholt on 22 March 1945, the town hall was severely damaged and burnt down to the outer walls. Reconstruction took place in the years 1948 - 55 with the greatest possible consideration of the original condition with the sculptural work of Hermann (Manes) Schlatt from Bocholt.

Architectural style and form

As his name is not mentioned in the records, we know nothing about the master builder of the town hall. However, the building reveals that he must have been trained in the Netherlands, his work represents a Renaissance style of rare refinement, there is "no blurring of the boundaries between the Gothic and Baroque sides" (Dehio, 1949). The impressive effect of Bocholt's town hall results from its transverse position to the market; unlike other Westphalian town halls, it does not have a gable front to the front.

The façade is built up in three storeys that become lower towards the top, with eight axes. In keeping with this order, the ground floor on the market side is divided into an eight-bay arched hall - only the town hall in Soest has one more arch in Westphalia. The colonnade is based on pillars, which have pilasters with fittings at the sides and back, while the front is decorated with Ionic columns. The two following storeys are again divided by half-columns and pilasters, the roof base is concealed by a high balustrade resting on small consoles with animal and human figures.

The centre is accentuated by a three-tiered dwarf gable, which shows St. George, the patron saint of the city, fighting the dragon in the central field. In this completely symmetrical façade, the effect of which is emphasised by the choice of building materials - the wall surfaces are made of brick, the architectural and decorative elements of Baumberg sandstone - the only non-symmetrical element on the upper floor is an ornamental bay window in front of the second window from the south.

In the centre of its lavish frieze, it shows the coat of arms of the town of Bocholt between two knights as shield bearers. The windows of the bay window represent the four main virtues of the city: prudence, justice, temperance and valour. Above the beech tree of the coat of arms is the bar of the Münster collegiate coat of arms - a reference to the sovereignty of the prince-bishops of Münster. The entire façade is adorned with lavish sculptural decoration in sandstone, culminating in Justitia with sword and scales above the dwarf gable, while the weather vanes are held by two lions, symbolising power and strength. Two guardians on the balustrade represent the city's defence and vigilance.

On the ground floor behind the arbour there were originally separate entrances (from south to north, i.e. from left to right) to the courtroom, weighing house, meat hall and guardhouse, while on the far right behind the eighth bay was the actual main entrance with stairs to the upper floors. On the first floor was the small council chamber, above it the large council hall, which is used in its present form after the reconstruction of the house for festive council meetings and cultural events.

Since 1982, Lucy Vollbrecht-Büschlepp has been decorating the windows facing the front of the building with cabinet panes modelled on the original designs (Johann von Lintelo). Until the 18th century, the town hall had a chimney structure in the centre of the roof, the so-called stork tower. On the north side of the building, the inscription "Inferius quaere abdita" presumably refers to a secret passage that is said to have run underground to the north. Today, the town hall houses Bocholt's registry office on the first floor, the council chamber on the second floor, where the mayor's New Year's reception and cultural events are held every year, and a restaurant on the ground floor on the left-hand side of the building.

Wedding ceremonies in the town's most beautiful building are also possible on Saturdays by prior arrangement with our colleagues at the registry office.

Ludwig Burwitz, Dr Hans D. Oppel and Bruno Wansing (26.03.08 09:03)

This street commemorates the most successful German fighter pilot of the First World War, Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen (1892 - 1918), who was nicknamed "The Red Baron" after the war because he flew most of his missions in a red aircraft. He crashed his plane on 21 April 1918.

Lit:

Wilhelm Seggewiß, "Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte", in: Unser Bocholt, 39th vol. 1988, issue 3, p. 25.

Johann Telaar (26.07.10 14:11)

In many families, in addition to the usual dishes such as fried potatoes or buckwheat pancakes for dinner, there was and still is "Papp", milk soup, in various versions. Depending on your mood, taste and budget, you could have the simple "Määlpapp", the "Griesmäälpapp", the "Puddingpapp" or the "Oatmealpapp". The "Kernemelkspapp" (buttermilk soup) was particularly delicious when it was enriched with prunes.

The best of all variations, however, was "Riespapp" with cinnamon and sugar, the name behind which is rice pudding. And today, just like years ago, it's a special treat for children. Sadly, this festive meal was not served very often. For many families, rice was too expensive to import compared to conventional foodstuffs such as semolina flour or oatmeal. For a special treat, "Riespapp" was served as a dessert at weddings and on various occasions.

(Claims that are not to be taken entirely seriously say that later in heaven there will even be "Riespapp met golden Läpels". And even today, many Bocholters claim: "Riespapp is the most beautiful Papp of all Päppe!")

Johann Telaar (05/03/07 11:53 am)

Occupation: housewife. Born 1909 in Bocholt, died 2002 in Bocholt. Denomination: Roman Catholic. Married to Johann Hovestädt, who died in 1994. Two sons were born to the couple.

Rika Hovestädt, née Valk, grew up in a Bocholt working-class family, and therefore with the Low German language. She was spared the usual young girl's work in the textile industry due to her delicate constitution. Until her marriage, she worked as a housemaid in several business households.

Over the years, she discovered her talent for entertaining people with Low German lectures. As an autodidact, she acquired an unmistakable, stage-ready way of speaking, which she skilfully combined with her extraordinary acting talent. Most of the cheerful texts were written by her. She did not disdain good works by others. She gave her popular lectures at festivities organised by parishes, social welfare centres, sports and social clubs, municipal events and colourful evenings of her beloved "Plattdütsen Kring". In this body, she also contributed to Low German language works. She recited her texts by heart until the age of 93. Popular and well-known as the grand old lady of Bocholter Platt, she can be admired on numerous video recordings.

Egon Reiche (10.10.06 08:50)

5 Two-and-a-half-storey, free-standing brick building with extended, gabled crippled hipped roof. The gable zone is emphasised by a strong, circumferential stone profile. The basement is a cellar. Built in 1926 as a state health centre. Architect: Prussian Building Authority Münster. Destroyed in 1945. Rebuilt in 1946 as a health centre. Street façade with three centred window axes, the middle one on the upper floor emphasised by a semi-circular balcony with wrought-iron railings. The windows with simple stone frames, the centre one on the upper floor as a balcony door. North façade with five window axes. Central round-arched entrance with moulded stone wall, surmounted by a glass and steel construction. South façade with six window axes, covered by a garage extension with terrace. Today used as a residential building.

11 Two-storey, detached Art Nouveau villa with extended hipped roof and a three-strip hipped roof dormer to the south and east, as well as a single-strip dormer to the north. Built in 1925 for the engineer Fritz Isfort. Architect Carl Heidecke, Bocholt. Plaster façades with three to two window axes horizontally divided by narrow stucco mouldings under the window parapets. Street façade with different window shapes. The windows with plain plaster frames and muntin bars in the fanlights. On the ground floor to the right of the entrance twin windows with a discreet segmental arch above the lintel, on the left a segmental arch bay window with three windows. Central entrance under a portico with open staircase. Balcony above the portico. This and the staircase have wrought-iron railings. Two-storey extension with flat roof to the west. A fine example of the middle-class residential culture of the 1920s.

15 Two-storey, detached corner house with extended hipped roof. Two-window hipped roof dormers to the east and west. Built in 1926/27 by the Bocholter Bauverein e.V. as "refugee teachers' flats". Architect Dipl. Ing. Karl Tangerding, Bocholt. Brick façades with three symmetrical axes. Profiled main cornice under the roof base. The central window axis of the main façade on both floors flanked on the right and left by a narrow side window, divided on the ground floor by double pilaster strips and on the upper floor by a cornice above the lintels. The three window axes of the upper storey are summarised by a common, strongly profiled base sill cornice. In the roof zone, the centre axis is crowned by a profiled triangular gable with a mullioned window. All windows with simple frame profile and muntin bars. Central entrance via a flight of steps. The structure pattern of the main façade is repeated on the two-axis narrow sides to the west and east. Four narrow and one larger, symmetrically arranged window at the rear on both storeys.

Lit:

UNSER BOCHOLT 1981, issue 3, p. 39. 17

See house no. 15, but without dormers and mullioned windows. Some of the windows at the rear are blind windows.

20 See house no. 22, built for the engineer Wilhelm Cremer. The front windows with louvre shutters and glazing bars in the fanlights. The gable end of the hipped roof with triangular window in the roof apex. Cellar garage under the inner window axis and house entrance under a side extension with hipped roof designed as a loggia in the front section. The windows on the upper floor above the entrance are continuously barred.

22 Two-storey semi-detached villa in the Art Deco style with an extended, curved hipped roof and a shared dwarf house decorated with a lunette-shaped stucco ornament in the triangular gable. Built in 1924 for the trade union secretary Gustav Krüger. Architect Ludwig Beier, Bocholt. Plaster façade horizontally divided into two window axes by a surrounding narrow stucco cornice under the windows on the upper floor. The outer window axis on the ground floor is emphasised by a three-striped bay window with chamfered corners and a balcony above with a solid parapet, the inner windows on the ground floor by a round arch ornament. Roofed entrances to the house with side windows via open staircases to the north and south. Stucco ornament above the entrance to house no. 22 similar to that above the ground floor windows. Three small side windows on the upper floor.

24 Two-storey, detached villa with curved hipped roof in the Art Deco style. Built in 1925 for the manufacturer Bernhard Rensing (1872-1960). Architect Ludwig Beier. Symmetrical plaster façade on three main and two secondary axes with a segmental arched centre risalit, horizontally structured by a surrounding narrow stucco cornice under the windows of the upper floor. The two outer axes on each side are emphasised like risalits, with plaster framing on the upper floor. The centre risalit has three large windows spanning several storeys. Below this is the central main entrance with a smooth jamb above a semi-circular staircase, flanked by two small barred side windows. The entrance area, like the outer windows on the ground floor, is summarised by a stuccoed gable ornament. Delivery entrance to the north via an open staircase. Two windows on the south side on the upper floor. The garden façade is divided into seven window axes by pilaster strips and capitals reminiscent of a colossal order. The two outer axes, each with two windows, are designed as risalits with triangular gables, each with one window. The central axis on the ground floor is a round-arched bay window with five windows, the upper floor has a balcony with a solid parapet, behind which there are three windows and a large triangular dormer window in the attic. Front garden with wrought-iron lattice, originally with picket fence between wall pillars.

Lit:

UNSER BOCHOLT 1981, issue 3, p. 40; 2007, issue 4, p. 32; 2009, issue 1, p. 48 ff.

29 Two-storey semi-detached villa with extended hipped roof. Built in 1928/29 by the building contractor Dietrich Kempers, Bocholt. Plain brick façades with two window axes. The outer ones on the ground floor are emphasised by a three-strip segmental arch bay window with a balcony above and a wrought-iron balustrade. The inner ones on the ground floor form the entrances, which are slightly off-axis, with moulded brick walls and richly decorated original front doors. To the right and left of each door is a side window, with bars on house no. 31. The windows have ashlar surrounds and glazing bars as well as louvre shutters. Only one window each on the ground floor on the north and south sides. Porch extensions to the west with terrace above. Well-kept front gardens.

31 See house no. 29, but without louvre shutters.

Achim Wiedemann (15.03.10 19:03)

In the vernacular, it is not far from "Vatican" and "Pius" to "Rome". When Pius, the master of the "Vatican", set about building flats for his weavers on Werther Strasse, this settlement was jokingly referred to simply as "Rome".

The name of this settlement is still alive today in the street name "Rom".

Lit:

Werner Schneider, In drei Stunden nach England, Rom und Jericho, in: UNSER BOCHOLT, Jg. 9 (1958) H. 3, p. 8-15. Johann Telaar (31.08.10 09:27)

Another street in the Generals' Quarter is Roonstraße. Roon, (1803 - 1879) was a Prussian field marshal and politician who, among other things, was responsible for Bismarck's appointment as Prime Minister in 1862.

Lit:

Wilhelm Seggewiß "Bocholter Straßen erzählen Geschichte", in: Unser Bocholt, 39th vol. 1988, issue 3, p. 25.

Johann Telaar (23.02.10 16:20)

City architect Alois Rosenthal was born in Duisburg-Marxloh on 25 March 1902, the eldest of 10 children. He grew up in Walsum-Aldenrade. After his technical studies in Essen and several years of training in other cities as a young architect and civil engineer, he joined the city of Bocholt in 1925, where he was responsible for the building construction department until his retirement in 1965. "These years have... left their mark on the city of Bocholt", was said about him on the occasion of his 85th birthday in 1987.

Alois Rosenthal received his first major building contract in Bocholt in 1927, where he built St George's Grammar School, inaugurated in 1931, according to the plans of Dipl.-Ing. Hitzblech, Düsseldorf. This was spared from the air raid in 1945. Rosenthal supervised the first major restoration of the historic town hall from 1927-1934 and its reconstruction after the Second World War.

The Bocholt Housing Association, founded by the city of Bocholt in 1936, was responsible for the first social housing in Bocholt and Alois Rosenthal was its deputy managing director from 1939 to 1943. The cemetery building with mortuary on Blücherstraße, which is now a listed building, was also built by the city of Bocholt in 1937 under the supervision of master builder Rosenthal.

Throughout the Reich, including Bocholt, the SA began building temporary homes for people affected by bombing. The first model home built on a voluntary basis by the men of Sturmbann 1/8 on the Hünting was handed over on 19 December 1943. Master builder Rosenthal was in charge of all the work. By March 1945, around 150 temporary homes had been built on the Rosenberg, at the Walderholung and in the Moddenborg-Fichten.

During the war, the city administration also deployed Alois Rosenthal elsewhere, e.g. he temporarily took over the management of the municipal utilities, the depot and the fire brigade. He also had wartime duties with the Organisation Todt (OT). This was a construction group organised along military lines with the aim of "building for the state and the Wehrmacht", which was named after the Nazi Inspector General for Roads, Dr Fritz Todt, in 1938. On 10 August 1944, the last building construction officials (city master builder Rosenthal and building inspector Elster) were released by the Bocholt city building authority for entrenchment duty in the East.

In mid-1945, Alois Rosenthal resigned from the leadership of the Bocholt fire brigade due to work commitments. The reconstruction of a city 85% destroyed by bombs demanded his full commitment. In line with the motto of Chief Town Clerk Ludwig Kayser "A new school every year", 14 school buildings were built or rebuilt in Bocholt by the time Alois Rosenthal retired. In addition, there was housing construction, the construction of the Meckenem and outdoor swimming pools and much more. His successor in the building construction department of the city of Bocholt, Ernst Keller, described him as a " master builder of true grit".

Alois Rosenthal died in Bocholt on 8 May 1991 at the age of 89. He was married to Grete Riesnert from Bocholt. The civil wedding took place on 13 July 1929 in Bocholt, the church wedding followed two days later in Wesel. The couple had two daughters.

Lit:

Elisabeth Bröker et al, Kriegschronik der Stadt Bocholt 1939-1945, edited by G. Schmalstieg, in: Bocholter Quellen und Beiträge 7, published by the City of Bocholt, Stadtarchiv, Bocholt 1995, pp. 304,305,345 and 393.

Chronicle of the Bocholt Municipal Volunteer Fire Brigade 1907-2007, in: Unser Bocholt, 58th vol. (2007), p. 1, p. 14. City architect Rosenthal 60 years old, in: Bocholter Borkener Volksblatt of 24 March 1976 (Inv. no. of the Bocholt City Archive Z-SB XXVI no. 131).

Source:

Manuscript by Ernst Keller (former head of the Bocholt Building Department) on the 85th birthday of Alois Rosenthal in the estate of A. Rosenthal and oral information from Margret Rosenthal (daughter of A. Rosenthal), April 2008.

Annemarie Rotthues (10.11.08 14:33)

Until 1928, a " pub with a hall building" located on today's Benölkenplatz, which stood on the site of today's St. Georg Grammar School; it was a two-and-a-half-storey building in a north-south direction with a hall-like extension to the west. The Rotenburg was demolished between 1 December 1928 and 1 March 1929 by the construction company August Hülskamp sen.

Lit:

Klaus Dierkes, Zur Baugeschichte des St.-Georg-Gymnasiums, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg.29, H. 3, p. 23-26.

Gerlinde Lisson (16/06/09 10:52 am)

On 1 May 1874, Wilhelm Roth and Erhard Budenberg founded the above-mentioned company, initially in Bahnhofstrasse. In 1887, the weaving mill with 66 workers moved into the new building of the Koch & Sohn rental weaving mill, Mussumer Kirchweg / Frankenstraße. After W. Roth left the company, Erhard Budenberg was the sole owner. He had no heirs and therefore offered the succession to Emil Donders (1876 - 1940), who had been an authorised signatory since 1907. He brought Leo Kerstiens into the company for financial reasons. Both men were entered in the commercial register as the new owners in 1908. In 1916, the company was taken over by Walter Reygers Münsterstr. 127.

The 2nd World War was survived without bomb damage, but three of Emil Donders' four sons were killed in action, while the fourth had already become a Catholic priest during the war. His daughter Helma, a textile engineer, then took over the company. She married Reinhold Kuhn, who joined the company. He and Josef Kerstiens, son of Leo Kerstiens, became personally liable partners in 1956. In 1972, the business was sold to the neighbouring rival company Walter Reygers. This company no longer exists either. The company archive can be found in the Bocholt city archives.

Lit:

E. Westerhoff 1984 "The Bocholt textile industry", Bocholt, 1984, 2nd edition. S. 141-142

Margret Bongert (16/06/09 11:05 am)

Entry in the commercial register on 21 Oct 1897. One year later, the spinning mill with a sizing plant was built at Werther Str. 78. The company was shut down in 1916 and sold to Hammersen, Osnabrück, in 1918. At the beginning of the Second World War, 35,000 spindles and 360 looms were in operation, which were shut down in 1941. The first looms started up again in April 1946, with one weaver operating four looms at an hourly wage of 0.75 Reichsmark. In 1992, the company was taken over by Dierich-Holding AG, Augsburg, and finally closed with 75 employees in March 1993.

Lit:

From the history and reconstruction of the F.H.Hammersen company in Bocholt, in: Unser Bocholt,4th vol.(1953),H.6,p.191-204. Eduard Westerhoff, Die Bocholter Textilindustrie. Unternehmer und Unternehmen, 2nd revised edition, Verlag Temming Bocholt 1984, 255 pp.

Johann Telaar (27.09.10 09:33)

In March 1921, the company Rudolph Karstadt AG was entered in the Bocholt commercial register. The members of the Management Board were Sigismund Weyl, Paul Braunschweig, Siegfried Braunschweig, Ernst Braunschweig (who later went to the head office in Hamburg), Ernst Weyl, Karl Weyl and Hugo Weyl. This was preceded by the sale of the companies Gebr. Braunschweig and S.A. Weyl & Sohn to the department stores' group. The takeover was followed by lively building activity, which lasted from 1922 to 1926. The Braunschweig factory was remodelled, partly demolished and rebuilt. The large Weyl property (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Str., Frankenstr. Friesenstr. and Welfenstr.) was only remodelled and renovated. The construction of a machine and boiler house with coal bunker, the four-storey factory and warehouse building and the office building on Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse, built in 1923 (now Siemens AG) should be mentioned here in particular. There were still spinning and weaving mill buildings and a 22 metre high water tower, which was blown up in 1982. Blankets, ticking and barleycorn towels (terry towelling) were produced for the Karstadt department stores. In 1930, the company still had 1,521 workers. However, the global economic crisis forced the company to close in 1931 and 1,200 people were made redundant.

On 23 September 1933, it was entered in the commercial register that the company Rudolph Karstadt AG had ceased to exist. The buildings were sold to companies including A. Friedr. Flender AG, Siemens & Halske AG. Berlin, Felix Tetzner and Gebr. Ahlers.

The spinning mill buildings on Frankenstrasse, built in 1925, went to Westdeutsche Feinspinnweberei Kersten & Sohn.

Lit:

Eduard Westerhoff, The Bocholt textile industry. Unternehmer und Unternehmen, 2nd revised edition, Verlag Temming Bocholt 1984, pp. 112-115.

Margret Bongert (16.09.10 09:02)

(Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk)

supplied Bocholt and the surrounding area as far as the Lower Rhine from Wesel with electricity from 1911/12. In Bocholt, the municipal utilities purchased electricity from RWE and distributed it to households and businesses. Industry in Bocholt and the surrounding area were supplied directly by RWE. In 1929, RWE built a 110,000 volt (110 kV) open-air switchgear on Dingdener Str., which is still the main supply point for the Bocholt area today. RWE's "Betriebsabteilung Bocholt" with offices, vehicle fleet and workshops was also set up on the same site and housed the numerous assembly teams as well as the permanent fault clearance service. In September 1971, the municipal utility subsidiary BEW took over the medium-voltage grid (25 and 10 kV) from RWE and then also supplied the industrial companies (except Flender) in the old city area. In January 1979, a further 110 kV system was built as an indoor system on Schwarzstraße to increase the security of supply, with a 110 kV cable feed from Dingdener Str. From 1 January 1996, BEW took over the power supply from RWE in the entire area of the city of Bocholt, which had been enlarged as a result of the municipal area reform. As RWE no longer had any further supply tasks in Bocholt and the surrounding area, the operations department was dissolved and the staff, if not taken over by BEW, was distributed to neighbouring operations departments such as Wesel or Kalkar.

Lit:

Werner Brandt, Dietmar Wallisch, Geschichte der Bocholter Stromversorgung, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 25 (1974) H. 1, pp. 22-25.

Werner Brandt, 85 Jahre Strom in Bocholt, in: UNSER BOCHOLT Jg. 49 (1998) H. 3, p. 24-36, with photos and explanations of technical terms and abbreviations.

Werner Brandt, History and stories about the power supply. Memories of a contemporary witness from 30 years at RWE, unpublished manuscript.

Werner Brandt (31/08/10 10:20 am)