Paul Camille Von Denis
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Paul Camille Denis, later von Denis, (28 June 1796 – 3 September 1872) was an engineer, railway pioneer and participant in the
Hambach Festival The Hambacher Festival was a German national democratic festival celebrated from 27 May to 30 May 1832 at Hambach Castle, near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The event was disguised as a nonpolitical c ...
, the German political protest of 1832. Denis was born at Château des Salles in
Montier-en-Der Montier-en-Der () is a former commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune La Porte du Der.Département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
of
Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
city councillor, Peter Denis, and attended the
Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...
in Paris. In 1814 and 1815 he studied at the
École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...
in Paris. After the conclusion of his studies he returned to the Palatinate to his father who had since settled at Neustadt. Initially employed as a trainee by the Bavarian state - to which the Palatinate then belonged - from 3 March 1816 he worked as a construction overseer (''Baukondukteur'') in
Germersheim Germersheim () is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim (district), Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsru ...
. In 1822 he became an engineering inspector at
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...
and, in 1826, was promoted to engineer, first class, at
Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...
. Here he came into close contact with the democratic opposition organised by Friedrich Schüler, Johann Georg August Wirth, Joseph Savoye and Ferdinand Geib. In a report from the state police to the Bavarian king he was described - incorrectly - as their boyhood friend and fellow student. The German Press and Fatherland Union (''Deutscher Preß- und Vaterlandsverein'') of democrats was founded in 1832, in which the wealthy Paul Camille Denis was a major financial contributor. In his personal files for that year his wealth was stated at 300,000 Gulden. When in August 1832 the secretary of the ''Preß- und Vaterlandsverein'', Georg Eifler, was arrested, Paul Camille Denis put up 10,000 Gulden as bail. As a member of the Palatine state parliament he took part in the
Hambach Festival The Hambacher Festival was a German national democratic festival celebrated from 27 May to 30 May 1832 at Hambach Castle, near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The event was disguised as a nonpolitical c ...
. As a result, the Bavarian General Commissioner, Field Marshal
Carl Philipp von Wrede Karl (or Carl) Philipp Josef, Prince von Wrede (; 29 April 176712 December 1838) was a Bavarian field marshal. He was an ally of Napoleonic France until he negotiated the Treaty of Ried with Austria in 1813. Thereafter Bavaria joined the coalition ...
, transferred him to
Rosenheim Rosenheim () is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the Rosenheim (district), district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn ...
for exceeding his authority. On 1 August 1832 Paul Camille Denis signed the Kaiserslautern Protest against the Federal resolution of 28 June. This led to a charge of "denigration of the most high state authorities". Denis reacted to the charge and threatened transfer to the
Isar The Isar () is a river in Austria and in Bavaria, Germany. Its source is in the Karwendel mountain range of the Alps. The Isar river enters Germany near Mittenwald and flows through Krün, Wallgau, Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching ...
area by taking unpaid leave on 7 November 1832 for a "technical training trip" to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
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. On his return he built the first German railway line, the
Bavarian Ludwig Railway The Bavarian Ludwig Railway (''Bayerische Ludwigseisenbahn'' or ''Ludwigsbahn'') was the first steam-hauled railway opened in Germany. The ''Königlich privilegierte Ludwigs-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'' ("Royal Privileged Ludwig Railway Company ...
between
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
and
Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is the Franconia#Towns and cities, s ...
which opened in 1835. This was followed by the construction of the
Taunus Railway The Taunus Railway (German: ''Taunus-Eisenbahn'') is a double-track rail electrification, electrified railway line, which connects Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, Frankfurt and Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof, Wiesbaden, Germany. It is 41.2 km long ...
from
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
to
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
, opened in 1839-1840, and the
Palatine Ludwig Railway A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.
in 1844–1849. Recognised as an expert in railway building he later took responsibility for the construction of the
Palatine Maximilian Railway A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.
, the Homburg – Zweibrücken railway (1857), later part of the '' Schwarzbachtalbahn (Pfalz)'' and the '' Bliestalbahn'', as well as the
Bavarian Eastern Railway Company The Royal Bavarian Eastern Railway Company (''Königlich privilegirte Actiengesellschaft der bayerischen Ostbahnen'') or Bavarian Ostbahn was founded in 1856. Within just two decades it built an extensive railway network in the eastern Bavarian prov ...
from 1856 to 1861. Now highly respected, he received the Knight's Cross of Philip the Magnanimous in 1852 from Grand Duke Ludwig III of Hesse and Rhine. In the same year he was raised to the peerage by the Bavarian king, Maximilian II, becoming Paul Camille ''von'' Denis. In 1865 Paul Camille von Denis became the head of the planning commission for the Rhine bridge on the Mannheim–Ludwigshafen railway and shortly thereafter, in 1866, went into retirement of his own volition. He died in
Bad Dürkheim Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and the site of the discovery of the element caesium, in 1860. Geogra ...
and was buried in the family grave at the Helenen cemetery in
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
.


Sources

Wolfgang Kunz, ''Paul Camille von Denis - ein Lebensbild, in: Jahrbuch für Eisenbahngeschichte 21 (1989)'', S. 5 - 14.


External links

* There is an English-language railway forum a
Railways of Germany
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denis, Paul Camille von 19th-century French businesspeople German railway mechanical engineers 1796 births 1872 deaths German railway entrepreneurs French emigrants to Germany