Reading: En route with Büssing and Spiegelberg
One of the most beautiful ways to spend a sunday afernoon is to listen to a reading. And this is exactly what I did this last day of the week. The public invitation came from the Café Spunk close to the western Ringgleis. Dr. Lutz Tantow delights the hearts of the audience with two exciting stories coming from the format “industrial heritage literarily”, namely the narrative “en route with Büssing and Spiegelberg”. I would have never guessed that industrial heritage can be that exciting, entertaining and relaxing at the same time.
Julius Spiegelberg the king of flax and jute
I admit frankly that I have not heard of Julius Spiegelberg until yesterday. Being an enthusiastic hiker I must say that I’d like the way how Tantow presents hier “industrial heroes”. He accompanies them on walks that are rather hikes following the traces of the corresponding persons. He tells his stories as imagined dialogues which are entertaining and exciting. Tantow calls it “literarily wanderings through the Braunschweiger land”.
We start with the story about the industrialist Julius Spiegelberg. Spiegelberg was born in 1833 in Peine. Because of his journeys abroad which he undertook in the name of his father he encountered the jute spinning mill pretty early in his life. This industry sector characterized him so substantially that he built two fatories in and around Braunschweig, for the first time in Germany. Around 1900 about 2.000 people worked for that industry.
How the Madamenweg got its name
In a lateral Tantow tells us an amusing anecdote. It is about the (in-)famous duke Rudolf August, the professional hunter among the German dukes and an out-and-out skirt chaser, Tantow resigns to us. His second wife called Rudolfine used to walk down a certain street within the western ring area that it was soon called Madamenweg in the vernacular.
Back to Spiegelberg: At the age of 24 he establishes his first company at Vechelde. In 1861 he founds his first spinning company, the first one in Germany. 1866 he rebrands his venture into a public limited company according to the English example, the British Continental Flach’s work is established. In 1887 he travels to India for stimulation. He hires the first immigrant workers from Galicia and Bohemia. He advocates improved working conditions. Dusty industry work is most of the time done by women. In 1890 he moves to Hamburg and later on to London. In 1926 his business in Vechelde is closed down, the Nazi will turn it into a concentration camp afterwards.
The Blacksmith’s son Büssing
Tantow’s second story is about Braunschweig’s famous son Heinrich Büssing who registered about 250 patents in his lifetime. At Wolfsburg’s doorstep, that is how Tantow starts his reading, nay at Nordsteimke the success story around the German inventor and entrepreneur has its origin. Together with Büssing Tantow sets out for Braunschweig. The travel the ancient water mill way at Heiligendorf. Büssing is a Blacksmith apprentice at that time and 17 years old. They continue through the Barnsdorfer forest towards the spring area of Wolfsburg. A path that is blocked nowadays from the palaces of the VW-fat cats on the one hand and the highway on the other hand. I am amazed as the distance between Nordsteimke and Braunschweig is about 30 kilometres. I cannot believe that Büssing used to walk this route every day?
Tantow finishes his reading on this day with a cliffhanger. He puts on a story on Werner Siemens who used to live at the Benther Berg. However the Siemens family had to leave this residence because the father opposed the former appetite for hunting of the well-off people. The clan moved to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. That’s all we can find out that sunday afternoon. But maybe he’ll be back, and come what may.
