Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen

Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen ( born March 30, 1818 in Hamm (Sieg), † March 11, 1888 in Heddesdorf, today Neuwied ) was a German social reformer and local officials. He is one of the founders of the cooperative movement in Germany and is the namesake of the Raiffeisen organization.

Life and work

Raiffeisen, son of Gottfried Friedrich Raiffeisen country mayor and his wife Amalie Lanzendörfer, received next to the elementary school lessons with his godfather, the Reformed pastor of Hamm, Georg Wilhelm Henrich Seippel. He then could the age of 17 to enter the officer's career in the Prussian army. In 1841 he joined the Bonner Wingolf. A year was Raiffeisen official acceptance for gun ammunition at the Sayner hut in Sayn. Early as 1843, he had to take because of an eye condition in his resignation from the army.

Raiffeisen was transferred to the Prussian local government as District Secretary to Mayen and was mayor from 1845 to 1848 Weyer Busch, 1848 Mayor of Flammersfeld over 33 villages, and finally from 1852 to 1865 in Heddesdorf ( now part of Neuwied ). On September 23, 1845 he married the daughter Emilie Storck pharmacist from Remagen.

The idea of co-operative self-help had already realized his Weyer Buscher time when he was baking bread in 1846 for the poor during the famine in 1847 and a bread club founded Raiffeisen. Shortly after taking office, he had here have a school built, two more schools in neighboring towns followed. In addition, he ran to enhanced accessibility of the region to build a road from Weyer Busch Flammersfeld, Rengsdorf and Heddesdorf to the Rhine, and later to Hamm (Sieg). This road, which is identical to part with today's B 256, was called on March 23, 1984 Historic Raiffeisen road. It combines his haunts from the birthplace to the Raiffeisen monument in Neuwied. He was responsible for the reforestation and the construction of the Westerwaldbahn.

His life's work, he continued during his tenure in Flammersfeld: Raiffeisen recognized the suffering of the rural population, who were by crop failures often rely on usurers. So he founded the Flammer fields Hülfsverein to support impecunious farmers, in which the farmers save their money, but could also borrow low for the purchase of livestock and equipment. So he helped agriculture and finally prevented the impoverishment of the rural population. In Heddesdorf Raiffeisen completed not only his road, but founded in 1864 the Heddesdorfer loan organization. This was example of many cooperative banks, of which there are now 330,000 around the world. In 1865, he was 47 years old, retired due to his eye condition, but devoted himself to further the development of its cooperative. 1881 founded Raiffeisen Raiffeisen Printing in Neuwied.

Raiffeisen was a staunch evangelical Christian. The motivation for his social governance was to be established in the Bible faith. He wrote: " We emphasize [ ... ] explicitly Christian charity, which is rooted in the love of God and in the Christian duty, it draws its nourishment and practiced the more, the stronger is the more lasting. "

Honors

According to Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, many streets were (eg the Raiffeisenring in Neuwied ), Raiffeisen bridge over the Rhine between Neuwied and Weissenthurm, schools ( Raiffeisen School in Neuwied, Weyerbusch and Hamm (Sieg ) and the cooperative school Raiffeisen campus in Wirges ), Raiffeisen pharmacy in Hamm (Sieg), the Raiffeisen tower at the Old churches and ultimately named the Raiffeisen banks. Moreover, in his hometown of Hamm (Sieg) exists the Raiffeisen Raiffeisen museum in the house.

The Federal Ministry of Finance announced in 1968 Raiffeisen's 150th birthday a 5 DM commemorative coin.

Philately

On October 1, 1958 Wohlfahrtsmarke to 7 3 Pfennig the German Federal Post published ( Michel catalog No. 297 ), which came motif equal by the Oberpostdirektion Saarland 6 4 France to issue was ( Michel catalog # 441 ).

This was followed on 18 February 1988, a special stamp by the German Federal Post Office for the 100th anniversary of his death ( Michel-Katalog-Nr. 1358 ).

Special machines and advertising stamp of the German Federal Post or Deutsche Post AG with FW Raiffeisen:

Year Location

1968 Bonn 150th birthday

1988 Bonn 100th anniversary

Hamm 1988 Place of birth

1988 Hamm Raiffeisenhaus

1977 Weyerbusch

1988 Neuwied

2012 Neuwied

Works

• Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, the Darlehnskassen clubs as a means to remedy the distress of the rural population, as well as the urban artisans and laborers, Neuwied, 1866