Speech OB 03.09.2011

The spoken word counts!

Dear Guild Master Mr Prüfer,
Dear members of the Chemnitz Blacksmiths' Guild,
Dear Mr Tittmann
Mr President Mothes,
Dear Dr Karsten
Dear City Councillor Fritsche,
Dear Mr Winter
Dear guests,

When the New Town Hall was inaugurated 100 years ago, a goldsmith named Paul Christiansen was among the enthusiastic spectators.
The cheering people, the festive atmosphere and the imposing building fascinated the craftsman.
But he was most captivated by the old symbol of urban freedom: the Roland figure above the town hall entrance.
Without further ado, he picked up his tools, forged a seal, a kind of stamp for the large Chemnitz council seal, with the image of the young warrior and donated it to the city of Chemnitz as a gift of honour.
It can be seen with many other showpieces in the "Treasure of the Council and the Citizens" exhibition in the town hall.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The Blacksmiths' Guild and the Town Hall have every reason to celebrate this year.
Two anniversaries are coming up:
100 years of the New Town Hall and 600 years of the Chemnitz Blacksmiths' Guild.
I am proud that we are celebrating these anniversaries together.

The mayor of Chemnitz and polymath Agricola already knew:
"Without metals, man alone is not able to procure the things that serve for living and clothing."

In his first book "De re Metallica", Agricola describes in detail the advantages of this raw material, which was also so important for Chemnitz's development into an industrial city. He describes it like this:
"If it were not for metals, men would lead the most abominable and miserable life among wild animals; they would return to acorns and forest fruit, would pull out herbs and roots and eat them."If it were not for metals, men would lead the most abominable and miserable lives among wild beasts; they would return to acorns and forest fruit, would pull out and eat herbs and roots, would dig burrows with their nails to lie in at night, would roam the woods and fields by day according to the custom of wild animals." (end of quote)

With the successful mining industry in the region, the blacksmith's trade also grew. The Chemnitz document book from 1408 to 1415 mentions the blacksmith's guild for the first time.

From the very beginning, the blacksmith was more than just a craftsman. He was a respected authority.
This could be due to the fact that a village community could not manage without the blacksmith's work. Horses had to be shod and tools and weapons had to be forged.

Naturally, the women were also impressed when they saw the precious products, such as necklaces, brooches and other women's jewellery, created by the hands of the men.

Agricola praised (quote) "the pleasing, tasteful, skilfully crafted, useful objects of craftsmanship, which the goldsmiths and silversmiths, copper, tin and iron casters produce from metals in a variety of forms".
In addition to their craftsmanship, blacksmiths were often also known for their social responsibility, as mediators, arbitrators or initiators for the development of a place.
With their skilful and hard work, the blacksmiths found good company in Chemnitz.
Plucky, powerful, confident - that's what the growing city needed.

Without metal, the industrial boom would have been impossible.
Without a forged food ring, the large chimneys of the factories would not have lasted.
Without good blacksmith training, the successful entrepreneurs of our city would probably not have come up with their ingenious ideas.

Richard Hartmann was a young blacksmith when he came to Chemnitz in 1832. More than almost anyone else, he was instrumental in the initial progress of industry in Chemnitz.

August Horch, whose companies Horch and Audi became part of the four rings of the AutoUnion, came from a family of winegrowers and blacksmiths. He initially worked in his father's forge before setting off to study engineering.

His enthusiasm for rough, heavy materials and hard, precise manual labour was to be reflected in machines, factories and tools.

However, the history of your guild also includes numerous setbacks, such as the destruction of guild insignia in a fire at the guild master's house in 1945. And the dissolution of the guild between 1945 and 1989.

In the last 20 years in particular, since German reunification, the blacksmiths' guild has had to cope with many changes.
The political upheaval was also a new beginning for the blacksmith's trade.

In 1990, the blacksmiths' guild was re-established and joined the newly founded Saxony Metal Trade Association.
Together we are once again "forging plans".

The job description of a blacksmith has changed a lot over the years. The products are more varied than ever before. Gates, fences and grilles are skilfully forged.
Lamp suspensions in the town hall or fence elements in the Villa Esche bear witness to their great art.
We often overlook the wrought ironwork that characterises our surroundings: door fittings, window frames or stair grilles.

And we think even less of the traditional blacksmith when it comes to ultra-modern steel and glass buildings, emergency staircases or fire doors, steel and non-ferrous metal art on buildings or products for hospitals and the food industry.

Salutation,
You are doing the right thing when you draw people's attention to their great work.

On Jakobikirchplatz, the people of Chemnitz can marvel at your craftsmanship today. They can try out for themselves how difficult it is to give the metal the desired shape. And how much strength, skill and dexterity is needed to produce usable objects.
You have performed here with a fanfare band. Mountain singers from Geyer will perform together with the Convivium musicum in the Jakobikirche.
And of course you will be part of the big historical parade this afternoon.

Salutation,
Is everyone the architect of his own fortune?
Not exactly. Or in any case only partially.
Today, their guild has 43 companies and is characterised by a great sense of community.
For more than 30 years, the head of the guild, Bernhard Prüfer, has held the strings together. He is a good organiser and reliable contact person - whether for former master craftsmen, entrepreneurs or trainees.

They exchange ideas at specialist evenings and guild meetings. They forge with schoolchildren in the industrial museum and are able to inspire young people for their work.
That's why you were awarded third prize in the nationwide "Training Ace" competition in 2007.

A traditional school in Chemnitz, which, like the town hall, is over 100 years old, offers good training for your young people.
Its trainees often make it into the top three places in the state and national competitions.

Anyone who has such young talent should be proud. Not only can they pass on the skills and craftsmanship of the blacksmith to the next generation, but also the values of community spirit, justice and cohesion.

Our Roland is also a peace-loving contemporary. Although he carries a - probably well-forged - sword with him,
but it is lowered - as is the case with only a few Roland figures.
And a small boy figure is curled around the tip of the sword. As if to call out to us: Promote your development in a peaceful way.

Today, to mark the anniversary, you will receive a small Roland.
He is 11 centimetres tall, weighs 265 grams and is made of pewter.
He should bring you luck
and ensure many joint successes as well as a peaceful and cheerful atmosphere.
I would like to congratulate you on 600 years of the Chemnitz Blacksmiths' Guild!
and invite you to sign the city's Golden Book!