Friedrich Franz Leopold Floerke, (6 November 1811 – 13 August 1889) was a German

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and politician who served as the mayor of

Grabow Grabow () is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The town lies southeast of Ludwigslust, the next city, and has the river Elde passing through its old town which is characterized by 16th century tim ...

from 1839 to 1888, almost 50 years, which made him the longest-serving mayor of the town.

Biography

Franz Floerke was born in

Ludwigslust Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...

on 6 November 1811 as the son of the theologian and superintendent Albrecht Floerke (1777–1848) and his wife Katharina Henriette Margarethe Marquart (1789 -1840). In 1812 his family moved to Hagenow and in 1824 to Parchim, where he lived until leaving for

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

He attended the ''Friedrich-Franz- Gymnasium'' in

Parchim Parchim (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch: ''Parchen'') is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is the capital of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. It was the birthplace of Helmuth von Moltke the Elde ...

where he met

Fritz Reuter Fritz Reuter (7 November 1810 – 12 July 1874; born as ''Heinrich Ludwig Christian Friedrich Reuter'') was a novelist from Northern Germany who was a prominent contributor to Low German literature. Early life Fritz Reuter was born at Stavenhage ...

, who would later call Floerke a school friend, as well as completing his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'' on 29 September 1831. After graduating together, Floerke and Reuter would part ways as the Floerke started attending the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

as a student of law, from which he graduated in 1834. Later that year, Floerke settled in

where he became a renowned and trusted

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

. On 20 June 1839 Floerke reunited with Reuter while Reuter was still ''

Festungshaft (; ) was a privileged custodial sentence in Germany from the 16th century until 1970. It also existed in some neighbouring territories and states. Fortress confinement was a sentence which was generally seen as not conferring dishonour; it g ...

'', passing through Grabow in transit. Reuter again visited Floerke after being released while on the way to his home town of

Stavenhagen Stavenhagen (; ) is a municipality in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated 28 km northwest of Neubrandenburg. Subdivisions Stavenhagen is divided into following parts: History Th ...

On 1 July 1839, at the age of 28, Floerke was elected as the mayor of Grabow with an absolute majority in the city council. Arguably the biggest achievement of his tenure was his advocacy for the construction of the Berlin–Hamburg railway through Grabow and the town's inclusion as a stop on the line. His endeavour successful, the first train arrived at the Grabow station from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

by noon on 15 October 1846 under applause of the residents. Floerke also greatly contributed to the expansion of other infrastructure, such as bridges and roads, and the settlement of industry in the town. He retired on 1 January 1889 after serving a tenure of 50 years as the mayor of Grabow. Soon after, he became sick and eventually died on 13 August 1889. He was buried in the old Grabow cemetery. His grave no longer exists.

Personal life

Floerke was married and had at least eight children, thereof six sons. He lived at Steindamm 1 in

, a building that was demolished and replaced by a more modern building in the 1980s. He was a member of the Grabow ''

Schützenverein A Schützenverein (German for "marksmen's club") is a local voluntary association found in German-speaking countries revolving around shooting as a sport, often target shooting to Olympic rules or with historic weapons. Although originating as ...

''.

Legacy

There is a plaque commemorating him on the Grabow town hall. A sculpture by , unveiled on 1 April 2016 and standing between the town hall and St. Georges church, shows him meeting with

. A road in Grabow, the ''Floerkestraße'', is named after him.

References

External links

Biography Franz Floerke
on grabower-erinnerungen.de (archived, in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:Floerke, Franz People from Grabow People from Ludwigslust People from the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Mayors of places in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania University of Göttingen alumni 1811 births 1889 deaths