Explanation of street names

Albertstraße (M) – Ernst Heinrich Albert, first full-time municipal council chairman (= mayor) 1886-1918, Mitteldorf 506b, Nordstr. 37, * November 23, 1859 Berthelsdorf near Herrnhut, † November 7, 1918 Seifhennersdorf married December 2, 1889 Seifhennersdorf: Franze, Auguste Selma from Seifhennersdorf – (J)

Merchant Ernst Wilhelm Weiße, Weißeweg 5 (local number 395/566),
born December 1831 in Oberleutersdorf,
died February 7, 1908 in Seifhennersdorf,
married September 15, 1868 in Seifhennersdorf to
Amalie Auguste Röthig, born in Seifhennersdorf.

(formerly: wettinerstraße)

Arno Förster: Official for Agitation and Propaganda in the Communist Party of Germany (KPD),
Chairman of the parliamentary group in the Seifhennersdorf city council,
born 1889,
died March 10, 1933 in Limbach-Oberfrohna, murdered by the National Socialists.

Christian August Hoffmann, merchant, member of the municipal council, church board member, and justice of the peace.
In 1878, he donated a foundation of 3,000 marks for the establishment of a hospital and poorhouse in Seifhennersdorf.
It was inaugurated in 1891 and provided space for seven patients in three rooms.
He lived from 1848 at local number 64/101, Zoll Street 6.
Born June 18, 1802, in Jonsdorf;
died April 16, 1878, in Seifhennersdorf.

Johann Bräuer, tailor, local number 144/207, Bräuer Street 11,
bought the house in 1830,
born February 17, 1803, in Groß Däbschütz,
died July 22, 1870, in Seifhennersdorf,
married July 18, 1830, in Seifhennersdorf to
Johanna Rahel Krahl, born in Berthelsdorf.

(formerly: Rentsch Settlement)
Eduard Bruno Schmidt, metalworker at the Rentsch Company,
assigned by the company to help build the settlement in 1938/39,
later one of the residents of the original seven semi-detached houses (14 families).
Born December 26, 1898, in Seifhennersdorf (SF);
died 1945.
Married October 7, 1922, in Seifhennersdorf, to
Elsa Frieda Böhm, born in Seifhennersdorf.
The street was originally called “Rentsch Settlement” and was renamed in the 1950s.

Wilhelm Conrad Grunewald, founded a finishing plant (fabric and textile finishing) and a weaving mill in the upper village, local number –/272, Wilhelm-Stolle-Weg 29.
Born November 24, 1842, in Seifhennersdorf;
died January 15, 1926, in Seifhennersdorf.
Married November 7, 1864, in Seifhennersdorf, to
Johanna Louise Christiane Goldberg, born in Seifhennersdorf.

Adolf Wilhelm Ferdinand Damaschke,
born November 24, 1865, in Berlin,
died July 30, 1935, in Berlin,
teacher, land reformer.

He came from an artisan family. Early on, he turned to life-reform movements, such as the anti-alcoholism movement. Inspired by the writings of the American Henry George, he became enthusiastic about ideas concerning land reform.

From 1886 to 1895, he worked as a teacher at both private and public schools in working-class neighborhoods. In Berlin, he witnessed the social importance of the housing question firsthand. The poverty and housing misery in his surroundings led him to engage with social issues.

According to his ideas, land should not be expropriated, but rather subjected to a tax on the increase in land value, in order to counteract land speculation.

From 1895 onward, he worked as a freelance publicist, focusing primarily on land reform. He became a member of the German League for Land Ownership Reform in 1890 and its second chairman in 1891. In 1895, he founded the National-Social Association together with Friedrich Naumann. However, in 1903, he withdrew from active politics.

After the founding of the Federation of German Land Reformers in 1898, he served as its chairman until 1935. During World War I, he initiated the war veterans’ homestead movement.

He published “History of Economics” in 1913 and “The Land Reform” in 1920. In times of high land prices, he supported the allocation of affordable garden plots to workers.

There are over 60 Damaschke Streets in Germany. Many were named after his death in the 1930s, particularly in suburban areas with small gardens, as is also the case in Seifhennersdorf. For more details, see:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Damaschke

(formerly: Henking Settlement)
Rudolf Friedrichs,
born March 9, 1892, in Plauen (Vogtland),
died June 13, 1947, in Dresden.

Son of a merchant.
From 1926 to 1933, he served as a government assessor in the administrative district of Dresden.
In 1945, he became Mayor of Dresden, and from 1946 to 1947, he was Minister President of Saxony.

In 1947, Rudolf Friedrichs was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Jena.
In the same year, he received honorary citizenship from his birthplace, Plauen.

The Carola Bridge in Dresden was named after him from 1971 to 1991.

(formerly: Rentsch Street) (M)
Wilhelm Leopold Friedrich Külz,
born February 18, 1875, in Borna,
died April 10, 1948, in Berlin.

In 1907, he served as Reich Commissioner for Local Self-Government in German South West Africa;
in 1912, he became Mayor of Zittau;
in 1926, Reich Minister of the Interior;
from 1931 to 1933, Mayor of Dresden;
and from 1945 to 1948, Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Soviet occupation zone.

Initially, beginning in 1912, he was a member of the National Liberal Party (NLP), and from 1918 he ran as a candidate for the German Democratic Party (DDP).
From 1920 to 1933, he was the DDP state chairman in the Free State of Saxony.

In 1920, he became a member of the Weimar National Assembly as the replacement for Emil Nitzschke, and from 1920 to 1932, he served as a member of the German Reichstag.

As Reich Commissioner for the Pressa Exhibition in Cologne (1928) and the International Hygiene Exhibition in Dresden (1930), he held national coordination responsibilities.

After refusing to raise the swastika flag in 1933, he was dismissed from his post as Mayor of Dresden and worked from 1933 to 1945 as a lawyer in Berlin-Wilmersdorf.

In 1945, he was among the founding members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDP) in Berlin and became its chairman in November of that year.

Together with Otto Nuschke (CDU) and Wilhelm Pieck (SED), Külz assumed the chairmanship of the German People’s Council (Deutscher Volksrat) in 1948, a precursor to the later People’s Chamber (Volkskammer) of the GDR.

For more details, see:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_K%C3%BClz

Christian Friedrich Ernst Israel, later a merchant in Dresden.
He came from the house local number 470, Am Mittelwehr 6, and donated money for the “Ernst Israel Foundation,” which is now part of the nursing home.
Born August 29, 1848, in Seifhennersdorf;
died 1894, in Dresden;
unmarried.

Ernst Wilhelm Gärtner, founded a cotton printing and weaving mill in 1850 in the house local number 303/440, Nordstr. 61, later Conradstr. 2, then Rumburger Str. 106, and finally Gärtnerstr. 2.
He came from a family of organists and schoolmasters.
Married January 22, 1850, in Seifhennersdorf, to
Johanna Rahel Wilhelm, born in Seifhennersdorf.

Gottlieb Grunewald, local number 233/333, Grunewaldweg 5, dealer in agricultural equipment, the first Social Democrat in Seifhennersdorf, and member of the municipal council.
Born October 18, 1843, in Seifhennersdorf;
died August 16, 1913, in Seifhennersdorf.
Married February 12, 1865, to
Wilhelmine Walter, born in Seifhennersdorf.

Johann Gottlieb Hohlfeld was a prominent figure in public life in Seifhennersdorf. As a local judge and lay assessor, he played a key role in local administration and jurisprudence. His residence was a traditional farmstead (local number 364), now associated with Hohlfeldweg 6, reflecting his lasting importance to the community.

In addition to his official duties, Hohlfeld was deeply engaged in local history. He was part of a council-appointed commission tasked in 1889 with expanding the town chronicle. Together with figures such as Ernst Weiße, Friedrich Röthig, school director Seiler, cantor Neumann, and deacon Kindt, he worked on the Seifhennersdorf chronicle, which was published in 1892/93, making a significant contribution to preserving local identity.

Hohlfeld was also connected to notable family members: his brother Richard Hohlfeld was the father of a ship captain Hohlfeld, who saved lives during a harbor fire in New York and perished in 1942 in Danzig during the sinking of a hospital ship.

The Hohlfeld family was deeply rooted in Seifhennersdorf, owning several properties (local numbers 360, 362, 364, and 365). Johann Gottlieb Hohlfeld exemplifies a generation that combined governance, responsibility, and devotion to local heritage, actively shaping the history of the community.

Born April 14, 1847, in Seifhennersdorf;
died January 17, 1916, in Seifhennersdorf.
Married May 14, 1872, in Seifhennersdorf, to Johanna Auguste Ernestine Michel, born in Seifhennersdorf.

Christian Friedrich Jentsch, gardener and textile manufacturer in the middle village, local number 222/546, Südstr. 32.
From the 1840s, he began producing woven fabrics with handlooms. In 1871, he introduced the first 34 mechanical looms, and in 1883, he built the present Bechstein textile factory. The factory burned down in 1909, and from 1910 it was repurposed as a piano factory (today: Bechstein).
Born November 1, 1808, in Seifhennersdorf;
died July 4, 1881, in Seifhennersdorf.
Marriages:
(I) November 2, 1830, in Seifhennersdorf to Johanna Rahel Berndt
(II) September 20, 1853, in Seifhennersdorf to Ernestine Emilie Domschke

Friedrich Theodor Krusche, gardener, local number 519/749, Kruschegasse 7.
Born January 24, 1866, in Lichtenberg near Reichenau;
died November 6, 1950, in Seifhennersdorf.
Married to Selma Posselt.

Marxstraße (1950s–1990: Karl-Marx-Str.) (M) – Heinrich Robert Marx, textile manufacturer in Seifhennersdorf.
He was raised by the foster family Michel in Seifhennersdorf. He learned weaving from his foster father Michel, then dyeing at Herzog in Niederleutersdorf. In 1833, he began working as a dyer for C.C.F. Paul in Seifhennersdorf. From 1836, he was a market assistant for Johann Gottlieb Großer, and in 1838, a measurer and bookkeeper for Johann Traugott Jäkel.
From 1841, he operated an independent dyeing and trading business. In 1843, he married, and in 1845, his father-in-law Karl Gottlieb Walter purchased for him the dilapidated farmstead, local number 524/Nordstr. 44. In 1854, he received a license to operate a factory, and in 1858, he founded the factory on the farmstead property. In 1862/63, he installed the first 54 power looms. In June 1863, the then-King Johann visited the newly built factory.
He made numerous investments, including in 1883 constructing the present Silberteich (part of the public swimming pool) to supply water to the factory. According to Järschel (1955), the number of employees reached 700–800. He died in 1899, and the factory was liquidated by his successors in 1911. Between 1912 and 1939, the site was used as a cigarette factory, and later reopened as a textile factory under the name Henking (Berlin-Tempelhof), which continues today as Spekon.
Born May 2, 1816, in Stremmen, Kreis Beeskow (illegitimate);
died August 28, 1899, in Seifhennersdorf.
Married February 14, 1843, to Johanna Juliane Walter, born in Seifhennersdorf.

The Richter Family, for a long time (1652–1740) owners of the inn (Kretscham) and local judges at local number 1/1, Leutersdorfer Str. 2, serving as the namesake for the hill.

Ernst Ohmann, calico printer, local mayor 1870–1874, local number 152/219, Ohmannweg 15.
Born November 9, 1830, in Seifhennersdorf;
died January 21, 1874, in Seifhennersdorf.
Married January 24, 1854, in Seifhennersdorf, to Rosina Wilhelmine Louise Reinisch.

Carl August Oppelt, entrepreneur, local number 734b, son of the village shoemaker Carl Friedrich Oppelt.
In 1865, he founded a wooden shoe factory in Seiffen and in 1890 built the large factory buildings, local number 735, Spitzkunnersdorfer Str. 3. After his death and that of his son in 1914, the factory went into decline, marking the end of the business.

Born July 19, 1832, in Seifhennersdorf;
died April 15, 1906, in Seifhennersdorf.
Married May 9, 1854, in Seifhennersdorf, to Juliane Auguste Anders, born in Seifhennersdorf.

(formerly: Schlageterstr.)
Alfred Otto Simm, antifascist, deputy KPD parliamentary group chairman in the Seifhennersdorf city council, arrested in 1938.
Born May 24, 1883, in Oberoderwitz;
died February 25, 1940, murdered in Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

Heinrich Robert Schmidt, traveling salesman (textile merchant), local number 276/401, Schmidtgasse 1.
Born December 16, 1866, in Seifhennersdorf;
died 1953, in Seifhennersdorf.
Married January 4, 1891, in Seifhennersdorf, to Anna Maria Vieterich, born in Bisdorf.

Karl Friedrich Ernst Wilhelm Stolle, textile manufacturer, Oberdorf No. 297b, Wilhelm-Stolle-Weg 41, wealthy; donated, among other things, to the shooting club, and built several houses. As a commercial weaver, he sold textiles produced in Seifhennersdorf at fairs and markets domestically and abroad.

Born July 4, 1843, in Seifhennersdorf;
died May 30, 1898, in Seifhennersdorf.
Married to Emilie Auguste Hohlfeld, born in Seifhennersdorf.

District of Seifhennersdorf (formerly called Otterau).

With “Scheibe”, as in other places, the approximate center of the village was indicated.

Street to the former hospital and today’s nursing home.

Local number 325/474, Rumburger Str. 77, inn “Zur Krone” (closed).

Location of the “Viebigs,” where livestock was formerly driven to the pastures farther from the village.