Oldenburg around 1900.

Contributions to the economic, social and cultural situation of the Duchy of Oldenburg in the transition to the industrial age.

Ed. by the Oldenburg Chamber of Trade and others, Oldenburg 1975, pp. 173-188.

By Karl Steinhoff

In the 19th century, it was good style for larger companies to display a wreath of medals at the top of their letterheads and invoices, indicating successes at previous exhibitions. You can still see them here and there on bottle labels today. They show the economic and promotional importance that was attached to exhibitions at the time.

Trade exhibitions have been held in all European countries since around 1820. They developed from the medieval trade fairs that were held after church festivals. On the one hand, they were used for advertising, which was still in its infancy 150 years ago, and on the other hand - and this is why they were subsidised by the state - they were intended to give an insight into the economic life of a particular region and provide incentives for exemplary production. An exhibition had already been organised by the "Gewerbe- und Handelsverein" in Oldenburg in 1842, but only attracted a small number of participants. Further events (1847, 1854) were also not very favourable. In contrast, a trade exhibition in 1865 was described as a success: The Grand Duke had made the riding arena available for this purpose; 4800 visitors and 183 exhibitors were counted, and the subsidy was limited to just under 200 Thaler. Of greater importance was the exhibition from 10 to 24 September 1876, for which a special exhibition hall of l 600 m2 was erected at the "Neues Haus" on Pferdemarktplatz. It was attended by 315 exhibitors and had around 800 visitors a day. - The "Trade and Art Exhibition" from 15 August to 20 September 1885 was a real success in the wake of the German economic upswing. 4600 m2 of floor space was built for this exhibition, l]nd indeed on the Pferdemarktsplatz, including the so-called Exerzierhalle. Gardens had also been created, concerts were held and electric arc lamps were lit here for the first time. There were wine and beer bars, 14 "extra trains" ran,

There were 415 exhibitors and around 60,000 visitors. A surplus of 25523 marks was achieved. You can see that a certain style of exhibition had developed in the meantime, with numerous events for entertainment and educational purposes. This limited the financial risk considerably. In view of the great economic upswing that the state of Oldenburg had experienced since 1885, such considerations led to the suggestion almost 20 years later among local industrialists to organise a large trade and art exhibition for the Grand Duchy in the capital. It was fortunate that Oldenburg at that time had an industrial businessman of unusual energy and foresight in the person of the Privy Councillor of Commerce August Schultze, as well as an outstanding, extremely hard-working organiser, Prof. Dr. Dursthoff, the then Managing Director of the Chamber of Commerce. After a confidential meeting on 12 February 1904, the Chamber decided at its plenary meeting on 12 March 1904 to organise the exhibition if grants of 15,000 marks from the state and 10,000 marks from the city of Oldenburg were approved and a guarantee fund of 1,300,000 marks could be raised from the industrial and wholesale sectors. Both conditions were fulfilled in a short time, so that the "Grand Commission" elected by the Chamber could begin its work. It consisted of 84 people. Chair was A. Schultze, his deputies were the vice-consul Heinrich Thyen and the merchant Georg Mahlstedt. The managing director was Dr Dursthoff; two Chamber officials assisted him in the exhibition office. The Chamber of Commerce was represented on this commission by 33 of its members, who were joined by a further 20 representatives elected by the Chamber, plus 20 representatives from the Chamber of Crafts, 6 from the Chamber of Agriculture, 9 from the Arts and Crafts Association and 20 "from other circles". Amongst these were Baron von Bothmer, Lord of the Chamber, Court Marshal Baron von Rössing, Chief Government Councillor Driver, Councillor of Commerce Lahusen, Prof. Bernhard Winter and the bank directors Jasper and Bernhard Winter. Bernhard Winter and the bank directors Jaspers (the philosopher's father), Merkel and Schiff - Elsfleth, The commission would hardly have been able to function with this composition; however, there were rarely more than 20 members at the meetings, the first of which took place on 20 June 1904 in the exhibition hall of the then Landes-Gewerbemuseum (corner of Staustraße and Got-torpstraße).

Special committees were also formed: a business, finance, building, transport, art, arts and crafts, amusement, decoration, economic and press committee. In addition, a seven-member committee was elected for each of the principalities of Lübeck and Birkenfeld; the latter included two wine merchants and a diamond cutter. However, there was no significant participation in the exhibition from these parts of the country - probably due to the great distance.

A small administrative building was to be erected on the exhibition grounds for day-to-day operations.

The Grand Duke took over the protectorate of the exhibition. The company name was set as "Landes-Industrie-Gewerbeausstellung, verbunden mit einer nordwestdeutschen Kunstausstellung und einer Ausstellung kunstgewerblicher Altertümer". The managing director and his close colleagues were now faced with a wealth of tasks, especially as the exhibition was due to open in June of the following year. A suitable site had to be found; the exhibition buildings had to be ready by then, including a fully developed site plan; exhibitors had to be recruited, the press informed, promotional literature produced, transport connections established, facilities provided for the entertainment of visitors, etc. - The minutes of the committee meetings were attached to the files in Gabelsberger shorthand, but not transcribed in print. Otherwise, the correspondence of the

The correspondence of the Chamber (as well as that of the Oldenburg City Council) was already in typewritten form; otherwise, letters copied in neat handwriting still prevailed.

It proved to be particularly urgent to draw up an estimate. This closed at 302100 marks each in income and expenditure. The main items are listed here. Revenue:

Grants 25000 Marks

Exhibitor space rental 15000 Marks

Rent for catering and cafés 20,000 Marks Lottery 20000 Marks

Entrance fees 146850 Marks

Postcard sales 20000 Marks

Catalogues 13000 Marks

Expenditure:

Exhibition building 100000 Marks

grounds 10000 Marks

Paths and lawns 20000 Marks

Sewerage 6000 Marks

Insurance premiums 10000 Marks

Music and fireworks 24500 Marks

Lighting and power consumption 30000 Marks Office costs, salaries 17000 Marks

Travel expenses of the jury 10,000 Marks

Although representatives of the Chamber of Crafts and the Chamber of Agriculture were involved in the large exhibition commission that drew up the estimate, unfortunately the Chamber of Commerce did not achieve the co-operation of the friendly chambers it had hoped for, so that in the end the financial risk of the exhibition remained with the Chamber of Commerce. The economics councillors Funch-Loy and Oetken-Oldenburg were instrumental in the preliminary negotiations with the Chamber of Agriculture. The Association of Commercial Gardeners decided not to appear "in corpore", but made it possible for its members to participate in the exhibition. members to participate in the exhibition. The Landeskulturfonds wanted to showcase peatland cultivation, with which Oldenburg had led the way. Dairy products were also to be shown. However, the Chamber of Agriculture itself decided on 12 January 1905 to refrain from direct participation. On the other hand, numerous agricultural products and equipment were shown by various exhibitors, including drainage pipes and trickling meadow systems, broad threshers, chopping, grain cleaning and tobacco machines, as well as dust mills, oat crushers, saw frames and bean cutting machines. The allegedly largest ham in the world from Ammerland, weighing 63 pounds, caused quite a stir. Fruit and vegetables were also on display, as well as cereals and crops, eggs and feathers.

Negotiations regarding the involvement of the Chamber of Crafts were less than favourable. Around 50 craftsmen wanted to take part in the exhibition. However, the representatives of the chamber on the commission made difficult demands. Firstly, they demanded that all applications be read out at the committee meetings, which the Chamber of Commerce flatly rejected as too time-consuming. Secondly, they wanted the Chamber of Crafts to provide the second deputy chairman. The Chamber of Commerce did not believe that this should be granted either, in view of its weight and the distribution of risk. There was even a newspaper war over this point in the "Nachrichten für Stadt und Land". In the end, the exhibition was organised by the Chamber of Commerce alone. The first concern of the exhibition commission was to find a suitable site. It had to be conveniently located and about 10 hectares in size. This meant that the Horse Market (2 ha), which had been used for previous exhibitions, was far too small. On the other hand, the so-called Dammkoppel ("Torfplatz") between today's Amtsgericht and Schleusenstraße was initially an obvious choice, while the Dobbenwiesen, which was very low and would have required costly embankments, was initially rejected. The decision in favour of the peat field had already been made when it became known that an unspecified

consortium" had bought up the Dobbenwiesen - about 8 hectares - and made it available to the exhibition management for a small sum. According to initial estimates, up to 150,000 tonnes of earth and sand had to be piled up by January 1905 so that construction of the exhibition buildings could begin on time. This was only possible if the Grand Duke gave permission to lay railway tracks through the Eversten wood. This was granted with some reservations. Thus it says in the people's diary "Der Gesellschafter" (1906, p. 155): "Incessantly, the warning whistle of wheezing locomotives cut through the idyllic tranquillity of the Everstenholz, and behind the locomotives long trains of sand wagons rolled up, emptied their loads onto the marshy meadows and sped away again, only to return straight away with new filling material. Inch by inch the ground rose..." A total of 26,000 m3 of earth was moved and the Dobben meadows were raised by up to 50 cm in places.

The site plan, which could now be drawn up, shows the boundaries of the exhibition grounds in the east as the garden boundaries of the properties to the west on Lindenallee, namely from Everstenholz, a small part of which was included in the site, to the height of the two Dobben ponds, a straight line of about 250 metres. These ponds (Kaysers Teich and Wittschiebes Teich), connected by a narrow canal, formed the northern boundary, about 320 metres long. The western boundary (180 metres) was formed by the end of the Dobbenwiesen and the southern boundary by the edge of the Everstenholz (400 metres). The total area to be fenced in covered around 9 hectares. The main and only public entrance was in the course of Roonstraße (today Hindenburgstraße) at the level of house no. 26.

After the registration of 700 exhibitors, over half of whom had to be turned away, and the confirmation of entertainment companies, an overview of the number and size of the exhibition was obtained.

Site plan of the National Trade Exhibition 1905

After gaining an overview of the number and size of the buildings and facilities to be erected, a special committee finalised the site plan on 12 September 2004. All main paths were to be 12 metres wide, the side paths 8 metres wide, and the banks of the ponds were to be embellished with plantings. Court garden director Ohrt was commissioned to lay out the areas not occupied by buildings and paths as large lawns and to create garden areas and flower beds. This also included a flower clock, the clockwork of which was supplied by the Harms company. A site and traffic regulation set the visiting hours at 9 am to 2 pm, among other things. A proposal to extend the police hours for visitors to the exhibition could not be granted, but the city council indicated that it would not be petty in its handling of the after-hours regulations. It proved necessary to erect a total of 37 buildings with a floor area of 14,000 square metres. The backfilling of the site was completed on schedule by the end of January 1905. The buildings therefore had to be ready in just a few months; in particular, the large industrial hall had to be ready by 15 April for the extensive installation of the machines and their foundations. These extraordinarily short deadlines would have caused serious concerns even for today's entrepreneurs.

A further difficulty was that a kind of wage war emerged in the construction industry when the short construction times became known. Fears that "the journeymen could exploit the time pressure to demand higher wages" led the exhibition management to decide to outsource the construction work to external contractors. This decision finally led to an agreement between the masters and journeymen, so that Oldenburg construction companies were awarded the contracts. On 31 January, the construction of the large industrial hall was awarded; on 15 April, after two and a half months of wintry weather, it was finished! Almost all the buildings were erected as half-timbered structures - probably because of the unsafe subsoil - and the walls were finished with light-coloured plaster. The influence of Art Nouveau could not be denied: There is talk of "Nordic forms" and the administration building was "covered with bark". What is surprising, however, is that most of the buildings, with their simple, straight lines, were purely functional forms and therefore, apart from the half-timbering chosen for structural reasons, appeared thoroughly modern. This was the influence of the 36-year-old master builder Peter Behrens, appointed by Dr Dursthoff, who was then head of the School of Arts and Crafts in Düsseldorf and who pioneered a new objective approach to building, which designed the building solely from the task at hand. The buildings and pavilions were also largely painted according to his designs.

The insurance sum for the exhibition buildings was over 2 million marks, and the space rent charged by the exhibitors (l m2 in closed halls |2 marks, 5 m2 38, each additional 4 marks, l m2 outdoors J marks, each additional m2 l marks) was not even enough to pay the insurance premium. - A permanent fire station was set up and the municipal fire brigade received special instructions. Apart from a quickly extinguished evening fire in the Bremen linoleum factory building, the exhibition was fortunately spared a fire emergency.

The large main hall housed Food and beverages, textiles (spinning, dyeing, tailoring and shoemaking), furniture, woodturning, joinery, jewellery, book printing, basketry, pianos; plus a special exhibition by the Nordenham cable works. Special emphasis was placed on the furnishings of this main hall. The walls and ceilings were covered with jute fabric. In the "Fürstenzimmer" there was a stucco ceiling, a sandstone and tiled fireplace, leaded windows from the Koch art glassworks, which depicted a landscape near Halsbek, among other things, and period furniture from the Landsberg - Schüttingstraße company. - Agricultural machinery and objects from the peat industry and peat culture were exhibited in an open hall. The machine hall was particularly impressive. Here the company Robert Allmers - Varel (publisher of the "Gemeinnütziger") had exhibited a modern setting machine, which was demonstrated in operation; The company Wolff - Magdeburg showed a hot steam locomobile (120 HP) and the machine factory Luther - Braunschweig a suction gas engine system (80 HP) together with a dynamo and a 5 m2 large control panel; 60 large and 30 small arc lamps were fed from the power generation system, plus 120 "Nernst inten-sive lamps" and 1500 light bulbs. Electric cooking and heating appliances as well as ironing and flattening machines were also demonstrated. The companies S. J. Ballin & Co. - Oldenburg, Holthaus - Dinklage, Heinen - Varel (tobacco drying machines), S. Schwabe & Söhne - Varel (drive belts) etc. had their own stands in the machine hall.

The versatility of the trade exhibition becomes clear from the fact that a total of XXIII groups were formed, each with a responsible director; for example, the brickworks owner Dinklage was appointed for Group II "Stone, clay and glassware", Bornemann - Hude for III (chemical industry), Ivlavierfabnkant Hegeler for XVIII (musical instruments), and Moorkulturinspektor Glaß for XXI (agriculture, moor and heath culture). - The list of exhibitors shows numerous other names that are probably still familiar to Oldenburgers today, e.g. Strenge peat works; the glassworks in Oldenburg, which produced 24 million bottles a year at the time; four Oldenburg canning factories, including Siefken - Varel (crabs); Siems meat factory - Apen; the Hilbers and Hull-mann distilleries - Etzhorn; Eckhardt washing plant - Oldenburg; Clodius tobacco factory - Lohne (200 workers); jute spinning and weaving mill - Delmenhorst; Norddeutsche Wollkämmerei (2490 employees); warp spinning mill - Oldenburg; Tameling & Stöve weaving mill - Varel; cork and linoleum works - Delmenhorst; Beeck machine factory - Oldenburg; and Uhlhorn - Varel. The Adolf Allmers printing works in Varel alone occupied an area of 200 square metres. The Stalhng-Oldenburg company had over 100 employees and won the Grand Prix at the St. Louis World's Fair (l904). - Electrical engineering was still at the beginning of its development at that time, but already formed a special branch. Musical instruments were exhibited by the companies Kandel-hardt and Hegeler & Ehlers (piano factory). In view of the fact that car traffic was still in its infancy, it is remarkable that no fewer than 15 Oldenburg carriage manufacturers offered their products: Luxury, business, advertising, ambulance, hearse, lorry, farm and hunting carriages; half-chaises and cabriolets.

Numerous other companies that were important at the time no longer exist today, including the Ludewig soap factory in Varel, the Brumund brickworks in Varelerhafen and Schmidt & Müller in Zetel; a number of honey cake factories also belong here. - A curiosity worth mentioning is the invention of the master shoemaker and guild master Brummelhop - Oldenburg, who exhibited the "Lebensretter" pram. This was equipped with a protective railing to prevent the child from falling out, and the hood could be adjusted against the wind direction - D. R. P. registered... The city of Oldenburg advertised the modern use of gas and water in a special exhibition housed in a pavilion, and the "Nachrichten für Stadt und Land" devoted a separate article to this department, which was to prove extremely promising for the future (24 June 1905, 3rd supplement). In this context, reference should be made to the initiative taken by a leading municipal official with great foresight in favour of hygienic facilities. In previous years, Mayor Tappenbeck - Oldenburg had twice proposed to the city council that 6400 marks be granted for a shower bath at a girls' school; his proposal was twice rejected by the elected representatives. Now he made a new attempt on the occasion of the trade exhibition. On 28 April 1905, he wrote to the office of the German Society for Public Baths in Berlin: "My efforts to awaken understanding for the blessings of bathing in wider circles, especially to instil a need for bathing in young people, have had little success so far." He asked for details of installation companies that would be able to set up a model shower bath for the exhibition in a short space of time and received a corresponding list. - Unfortunately, this plan also failed. The exhibition commission rejected it, probably for financial reasons. (In this context it may be mentioned that a senior civil servant, the director of the seminary, Künoldt, had more success with his similar endeavours at the time. At his instigation, a shower bath was installed in the basement of the Senn-nar training school. It is also thanks to him that a meadow on the Haarenesch was purchased for sports purposes; it is still available for this purpose today). As a coastal state, Oldenburg could not resist organising a naval and fishing show as part of the trade exhibition. The negotiations with the naval office in Berlin responsible for the Imperial Shipyard in Wilhelmshaven were a little awkward (incidentally, they did not yet have a typewriter, but issued the letters in the painterly ornate handwriting of the copyists). Nevertheless, the shipyard was able to announce on 16 January 1905: "The request of the exhibition commission of 26 October 1904 has been transferred to the shipyard by the Secretary of State of the Imperial Navy Office with his compliments." In addition to the first proposal of the exhibition management (equipment of the ships, command bridge of a liner, etc.), a wall panel on the wall of the shipyard also contained a number of other exhibits.The following items were displayed on a wall area of 158 m2: fishing equipment, rescue equipment, signalling equipment, eating and baking utensils, bunk equipment, boats, anchoring and boatswain's equipment, instrument equipment, torpedoes and the like - The East Frisian Field Artillery Regiment No. 62 in Oldenburg kindly sent 10 strong men to help with the set-up and was also prepared to send more people to set up cannons and shells, but this did not happen. Although the navy, the Emperor's favourite weapon, liked to make itself known and popular with the population in this way, it did not agree to take part in a competition, but would have liked a diploma of honour. Seme Excellency Imperial State Secretary von Tirpitz was invited to the opening ceremony, but was unable to attend. As part of the naval exhibition, the Oldenburg-Portuguese Steamship Company exhibited a number of model ships; the shipyard of Lühring - Hammelwarden was also represented with illustrative material.

The participation of the agricultural sector has already been mentioned. The dairies of Augustfehn, Friesoythe, Rantzenbüttel and Wü-stmg exhibited as part of their department, with the Rastede dairy leading the way, which was already processing 20000 kg of milk a day at the time.

The city of Oldenburg had set up a special school pavilion, which displayed a collection of teaching aids for primary schools from the municipal school museum in four rooms (organised by the Oldenburg State Teachers' Association, which was a leader in educational reform at the time), as well as a collection for further education schools, a modernly equipped classroom and pupils' work from the municipal further education school.

The educational part of the exhibition also included the 350-person "Urania", also known as the Wempe Hall after the famous Oldenburg private scholar Wempe. He had made a name for himself for many years with popular scientific lectures in north-west Germany. He spoke not only in the city of Oldenburg, but also in the educational associations of smaller towns (e.g. in Varel at the Verein für Kunst und Wissenschaft). His apparatus, which he gradually acquired, is said to have been worth a six-figure sum. He produced liquid air, spoke about radium, "telegraphy without wire", high-voltage currents, Tesla light, X-rays, colour photography, the highest and lowest temperatures, astronomy, microscopic research, the chemistry of cooking, the workings and creations of the plant world, man in the struggle for existence, and so on. He also showed photographs and "cinematographic projections" of large-scale economic enterprises (linoleum, cable, chemical industries and shipyards). He gave two-hour lectures every day in the Wempe Hall, which were very popular as they introduced people to branches of knowledge that were still largely in their infancy at the time. The Wempe Hall was made available on loan for 4,000 marks on the basis of a contract between the exhibition management and a building contractor. Mr Wempe provided the interior fittings himself: biograph, ventilators and the like; two spotlights were requested from AEG, which also provided them. - A relief of the Battle of Mars-la-Tour was set up in the porch, allegedly showing around 100,000 soldiers in the colours of their regiments. Incidentally, the "Buderus" company also organised cinematographic screenings with lectures ("living, speaking, singing, colourful") in the Wempe Hall.

In addition to entertainment, the so-called "Panorama", which showed different pictures every day, was also intended to serve general public education. Example: Japan (on board the steamer, boys fishing, street scene from Tokyo, jugglers, Tempelhof and the like). The contract with the owner did not materialise at first, as he believed he would not be able to afford the 750 marks in rent for the space at an admission price of 30 Pf. for adults and 20 Pf. for children, but this point of contention was later settled.

Sport was taken into account at the exhibition to the extent that tennis courts were created and tennis tournaments were organised with good participation by the enterprising head of the Oldenburg tennis clubs (master watchmaker von Essen - Varel, who was still practising this sport as a SO). The swimming clubs also organised competitions, including diving from the 1 and 3 metre boards, and rowing boats were available for use on the ponds. It was also possible to go for a ride, and hardly any Oldenburg baked fish failed to entrust themselves to the sturdy Negro "Jim", who was not always very reliable but was admired for his woolly frizzy hair. - Gymnastic competitions were held; running, jumping and tug-of-war all had their day. On the other hand, a dumpling shooting competition could not be organised due to local restrictions. But there were football matches even back then.

In this context, mention should first be made of the water slide specially designed for the exhibition by civil engineer Schröder in Oldenburg and built for 9500 marks, whose boats rolled from an inclined plane into Wittschiebe's pond and caused the water to splash up high on both sides without the users getting soaked (Mrs Wittschiebe later received a letter of thanks from the exhibition management). A journeyman carpenter, Mr Harms, was recruited as manager, and his master vouched for his reliability. An operating regulation stipulated that no more than 8 people were allowed to sit in the boat; the participants had to sit "behind the ribs", brace their feet against the frames and hold on to the benches. A boatman travelled down with each boat and had to ensure that the occupants remained calm and, above all, did not stand up during the journey. The author of this report went on such an exciting trip with his father when he was twelve years old, but remembers that the young people of Oldenburg were by no means quiet. - A motorboat (2 hp, 6 metres long, for 6 people, with a shade tent) was also procured and could be hired.

In the centre of the exhibition site was a fountain (inlaid with Mexican and Brazilian onyx) with a high rising water fountain, which was illuminated in the evening; even then, the water was rotated by an electric pump system.

The attractions also included the "illusion palace", in which light effects were shown, and the Kremser circus ("horses, elephants, artists, seals"). However, the latter later caused trouble for the exhibition management. It turned out that he had already arrived in Oldenburg completely over-indebted and was therefore unable to pay the contractually agreed fees because the daily takings had been pledged in advance. At an "auction" on 18 July, which was probably more like a forced sale, the horses, some of which were quite valuable, had to be sold for more than 3000 marks. The show management did not suffer any loss, but the businessmen who were unable to collect their claims (e.g. the Stalling company) complained that the solvency of this company had not been better enquired about beforehand; they suggested that the injured parties should be compensated from a later surplus from the show budget. Of course, this did not materialise.

Ample provision was made for "food and drink". The large main restaurant was leased for 6,000 marks to the court caterer D. Meyer from the Oldenburg Schützenhof, who - as he wrote - had a wealth of experience with "large concerts, balls, dinners and garden parties". However, he was prepared to set up flying buffets if the concerts did not take place in front of the main restaurant, as well as for "fireworks", as his restaurant would otherwise be completely empty on such occasions; he would also like to set up chocolate vending machines and sell cigars (up to six on a plate) and cigarettes, all of which he was allowed to do. The beer prices were prescribed to him: 10 Pf. for a light beer (2/10 1), 15 Pf. for a Bavarian beer and a correspondingly higher price for real Pilsener. - In addition to the main restaurant, there was a café, a non-alcoholic restaurant and a milk bar set up by the Association Against the Abuse of Alcoholic Drinks. There were also cake stands. No wonder that the Oldenburg pubs, especially the summer pubs, later complained about a considerable loss of business.

There was also a Wemschänke, a modest building on the outside, but with verandas all round and an "alcove" with a view of the exhibition grounds. It contained a Kneipp room with stained glass windows, silk wallpaper and friezes by 'rot:- Winter; it was the meeting place for members of the "'-S.C. (Weinheim Seniors' Convention). - A Kneipp room of the K.S.C. (Kö-sener Seniorenconvent) was located in the Seeschlößchen of the Hoyer brewery on Kayser's pond.

The Koopmann fish goods factory had set up a bunting house for its products, as well as two wooden children's houses. - A few seals were kept in a small basin, about which there was a "Eingesandt" in the "Nachrichten für Stadt und Land": an Oldenburg fishmonger, who had to give them fresh water and food every day, neglected his duties. The various facilities and entertainment events were intended to encourage as wide an audience as possible to visit the exhibition. The exhibition management had written to impresarios and agents at home and abroad in good time and received a bewildering array of offers. Numerous variety artists seeking admission to the exhibition, as well as entrepreneurs of all kinds, had to be turned down, including the master driver Alfred Schneider, who wanted to ride down a steep slide on a burning bicycle; a company called "Flottenschauspiele"; a Ha-vermann school of predators. Mr Havermann, who wrote to the exhibition management from the Grand Hotel Paris ("My dear Mr Dursthoff..."), would also have liked to show a small special show "Tunis" or "Cairo" with dancers and camel riders, wanted to supply a guaranteed genuine Venetian gondola for the Dobbenteiche (for 1200 to 1500 marks) with an equally genuine gondolier, this one for 3.50 marks a day. - A Mr Schulze, Berlin, also tried in vain with his variety theatre, despite a requested personal introduction ("Arriving at the station ... I have a stocky figure, wear fur with an astracha collar ..."). Another variety agency offered, among other things, a captive balloon and another battle panorama. The Sarrasani circus and the Hatten-horst steam carousel had to be cancelled, as did an impresario of "living abnormalities and phenomena" from Altona, who wanted to lease the entire amusement district sight unseen. Finally, "Castan's Panoptikum", which only wanted to come if a brewery was prepared to lease the bar, was also cancelled. The exhibition management obviously owed it to the people of Oldenburg to offer only a solid form of entertainment and therefore rejected any hype.

A broad framework was created for good music. In the music pavilion in front of the main restaurant, military concerts were held daily from 4-6 pm and 8-2 pm, mostly by the highly respected band of the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment 91 and the drum corps. However, the regimental commander only granted his authorisation on the condition that "justified complaints from the civilian musicians about the competition they were facing were not to be feared". An Italian band also played occasionally; the Wagner evenings organised by Kapellmeister Eh-nch were very popular. Oldenburg choral societies provided variety, including the excellent teachers' choral society. A Hanoverian men's choral society and the Bremen "Vi-surgis" society would also have liked to give concerts, but unfortunately the exhibition management had to turn them down "out of consideration for the local societies". A musician A-Ieinhardt from Bant asked whether he would be allowed to play street music during the exhibition, but Dr Dursthoff wrote "No!" in the margin of the request without further ado; organ-players should probably be reserved for the Oldenburg Kramermarkt.

Efforts were made in good time to facilitate traffic to the exhibition grounds. In agreement with the city council, access for taximeter cabs, private and public service vehicles was routed between the railway station and the Dobbenwiesen via Bahnhofstrasse, Rosenstrasse, Osterstrasse, Staulinie, Heiligengeistwall, Ofener Strasse and Lindenallee; the return route was via (then Roonstrasse, now) Tirpitzstrasse, Hindenburgstrasse, Schüttingstrasse, Stau and Kaiserstrasse. Numerous special trains were organised with the Grand Ducal Oldenburg Railway, mainly on Sundays and Wednesdays, for example from Geestemünde and Osnabrück; a special train even came from Eutin. - A train from Groningen once brought 230 Dutch people. Reduced admission prices were promised to external associations, including the Typographical Club, the "Vorwärts" association, the Men's Choral Society and the Trade and Industrial Association, all from Bremen. The most important "attraction" of the exhibition was the "Abyssinian Village", which should have been called the Somali Village. Initially, negotiations were held with Ha-genbeck, who at the time was an agent for foreign peoples. Apart from an Oriental group and Russian dancers, he only had an Indian group of 30-35 people to offer (tightrope walkers, wrestlers, gold and silversmiths, 4-6 zebus, dwarf donkeys and the like). It was finally decided to accept the offer of a Bamberger company in London, whose representative was currently in Djibouti, to send a village community of 60-70 people from the Danakil tribe (Hamites related to the Gala). They came from the hinterland of Obok on the Red Sea (French: Somahland). The entrepreneurs were prepared to bear the risk of their ethnological exhibition themselves. The village community was accommodated in the north-eastern part of Everstenholz. The exhibition management had to take care of the fencing and the sanitary facilities; the group brought everything else with them, including the huts with the original roofing material. The group numbered 75 people, including 20 children and young girls, under a "chief" (sheikh) Essa. They were devout Mohammedans, tall and strong people with a dark brown skin colour. They wore long white robes made of cotton. The products of their craftsmanship (weaving, leather amulets, clay pots, wood carvings, mats, battle swords, spearheads) were displayed for sale in a bazaar. In the ädrigen they presented their daily lives without a care in the world. A prayer leader taught the children verses from the Koran. A mutton was roasted in the kitchen every day. A kind of lentil porridge was cooked over an open fire, from which the

Children, with their dark eyes and gentle noses, soon became the visitors' favourites, getting their share in small bowls made from coconut shells. Rice, flour, potatoes, milk and tea were also used in large quantities in the kitchen. At certain times of the day, the Somali performed sword and ceremonial dances and threw spears and lances at a target painted on a wooden plank, while removing their long robes.

One day, it was announced in the daily newspapers and in notices that an engagement and wedding was to take place in the Abyssinian village between 23-year-old Ebeni and 18-year-old Katika. The sheikh, who allegedly had four wives himself, would perform the religious ceremonies; wedding and sword dances by the warriors were to be performed and bridal gifts (silk scarves, bracelets and necklaces) presented. The visitors did not take these announcements very seriously. One letter to the editor asked whether this marriage was part of the village community's permanent repertoire. However, the event was very popular. A special post office on the exhibition grounds ensured that the postcards were delivered quickly. Numerous litter bins were set up to maintain good order. Water closets were something completely new for most exhibition visitors at the time - the first of their kind were installed in some new villas in Gartenstraße before the turn of the century, the faeces were channelled into brick and cemented pits and "handed over free of charge" to the Everster Abfuhrgesellschaft (apparently advantageous for both parties).

Finally, the entrance fees must be mentioned. A ticket cost 60 pfennigs; 50 pfennigs were charged for the art exhibition and 30 pfennigs for the antique artefacts. There were also season tickets, 12 marks for the first family member and 8 and 4 marks for the second and third. Family tickets (25 marks) and weekly tickets (3 marks) were also issued. After all the painstaking preparations, the exhibition was opened on time on 9 June 1905. The Royal Highnesses were invited along with the Hereditary Grand Duke, Duchess Sophie Charlotte and Duke Georg Ludwig. The Oberhofmarschall von Wedderkop and the Oberkammerherr Graf Wedel, the Oberhofmeisterin Gräfin von Bassewitz together with two ladies-in-waiting, the Oberhofmeister Freiherr von Frydag-Daren, Oberhausmarschall Freiherr von Rössing, the Kammerherren vom Dienst and the Flügeladjutant were present. In addition to the ministers (Willers, Ruhstrat I and II), invited guests included the Royal Prussian envoy Count Hen-kell von Donnersmarck, His Excellency von Arseniew (the Imperial Russian envoy in Hamburg responsible for Oldenburg), His Serene Highness Prince von Rati-bor (current government president in Aurich), the government presidents of Eutin (von Büttel) and Birkenfeld (Ahlhorn), Geh. Ministerialrat von Finckh, Mayor Dr Pauli, Bremen, a representative of the Admiralty, the Oldenburg governors, Lord Mayors and Mayors as well as the painter Fritz Mackensen, co-founder of the Worpswede artists' colony.

After the opening speeches and the round goose: ("the sky laughed down with special kindness on this day"), the banquet followed at 6 pm (cover 7 marks). Privy Councillor August Schnitze and Prof. Peter Behrens were awarded high medals, Dr Dursthoff and the painter Otto, Bremen, received the title of professor.

The Great Exhibition Commission had applied to the city magistrate in good time to cancel school lessons on the opening day. However, the conscientious Geheime Schulrat Menge had fundamental reservations, and it was only when it was pointed out that numerous teachers had to take part in the choral society, which performed choral songs, that the Protestant secondary school board was persuaded to allow school to be cancelled "insofar as the teachers take part or the children form a guard of honour". The exhibition organisers had spared no effort in promoting the trade show to the public many months in advance. An advertising leaflet had been published for this purpose and was distributed free of charge. In keeping with the idealistic spirit of the time around the turn of the century, the flowery language was strangely at odds with the sober, technical and commercial aims of the exhibition. It read, among other things: "Trains thunder incessantly into the station hall at Oldenburg in the summertime." Anyone who still knew the old Oldenburg railway station will remember that the trains did not "thunder" at all, but were forced to enter slowly (the speed of passenger trains on the open line was only 60 km/h at the GOb at that time anyway, because there were neither bridges nor subways) and the station porter had to ring a thick hand bell so that the pedestrian crossings on the tracks remained clear for the incoming train. It goes on to say: "The returning inhabitants joyfully welcome home, while some travellers regret not being able to interrupt their journey here to bathe their chests in the scent of the forest and flowers." Oldenburg is then praised as a city of roses and rhododendrons. The exhibition grounds, wrested from the swamp, "nestled on the edge of the Everstenholz", offered a picture like a beautiful dream.

By far the best publicity was provided by the daily press, especially the "Nachrichten für Stadt und Land". The Press Committee held its first meeting on 9 January 1905 under the Chairmanship of Mr Gramberg, Oldenburg. In addition to Messrs Schnitze, Dr Dursthoff, Consul Mahlstedt and Dr Kaersten, the following were present: Wilhelm von Busch, Dr Pvobert Allmers, Varel, and editor-in-chief Dinkela. Samples from all over Germany had been requested for the publication of a separate exhibition newspaper, which was to appear at irregular intervals, but this plan was abandoned in view of the willingness of the local press to make a strong commitment to advertising. For months before the opening of the exhibition, its management sent notes on the progress of the work to 17 editorial offices of daily newspapers in north-west Germany, notes which were largely written by the highly respected and intelligent editor-in-chief of the Oldenburger Nachrichten (W. von Busch); he was granted a special fee of 500 marks for this.

Although the press had been invited to the opening of the exhibition, it was said that they could not be thanked for their great support due to the attendance of the highest rulers. So two weeks later, on 24 June, an invitation was issued for a press day. A total of 27 newspapers were contacted, including the Oldenburg "Generalanzeiger", the Bremer Tageblatt, the Neuesten Nachrichten für Idar-Oberstem, the Ems-Leda-Zeitung, the Bramscher Nachrichten, the Allgemeine Anzeiger für Ostfriesland, the Gemeinnütziger in Varel, the Thedinghausener Zeitung, the Meiler Kreisblatt, etc. One editor from Münsterland took the precaution of asking whether, as a journalist, he would also receive a discount on railway fares on presentation of his season ticket. The press representatives received a special badge at the entrance gate. The day began for them at 11.30 a.m. with breakfast in the wine restaurant. At 3.30 pm, coffee was served in the main restaurant, followed by the actual banquet at 5 pm.

Another important piece of advertising was the exhibition catalogue, which listed everything worth knowing about the trade show on 150 partially illustrated pages and contained around 100 pages of advertisements from the exhibitors. After general information about the state of Oldenburg (318,000 inhabitants - types of soil - rivers - history) and the city (23,000 inhabitants including the military) with its sights (the state library with its 150,000 volumes - the palace ballroom - the Grand Duke's private library in the kitchen wing and a cabinet of engravings), it contained a list of the 320 exhibitors in specialised groups and outlined the educational and entertaining facilities and events in a "tour". The catalogue contains (apart from a coloured sketch map) the only reasonably coherent presentation of the exhibition.

The exhibition poster, which was widely distributed in good time for advertising purposes, was designed by the renowned graphic artist Müller-Kampf in Hamburg. It depicted an Oldenburg farmhouse with a thatched roof and horses' heads in a wooded landscape. It was criticised in a "Eingesandt" (submission) in the "Küstenzeitung", which was published in Varel at the time, which criticised the fact that such a rural motif was hardly appropriate for a trade show. However, the design described remained in place.

Towards the end of the exhibition, the painstaking work of the judges began. In addition to the usual medals, honourable mentions were awarded, including a diploma with a model drawing (120 x 80 cm) showing a female figure (genius) holding up a laurel branch surrounded by machines and all kinds of technical objects. In order to emphasise the neutrality of the panel of judges, experts from outside the city were appointed, e.g. the director of the Royal Weaving School in Krefeld, the coffee merchant Ronning, Bremen, and other gentlemen from Bremen, Hanover, Gee-sremünde, Quakenbrück, Braunschweig, Hamburg and Bonn. The men worked free of charge, but received a daily allowance of 15 marks.

Some of the gold medallists are listed here, some of which still exist today: Strenge - Elisabethfehn; Steinthal - Oldenburg; Hoyers Brauerei - Oldenburg; Hilbers - Etzhorn; Reinders & Janssen - Zetel; Meynen ~ Zetel; Tame-ling & Stöve - Varel; Oldenburger Dampfwaschanstalt; L. Fischbeck - Oldenburg; Schwabe & Söhne - Varel; Hallerstede - Oldenburg; Junkermann - Varel; Navigationsschule Elsfleth; Uhrmacher Adolf Harms - Oldenburg; AEG - Berlin; Mix & Genest - Berlin. A total of 80 protests were lodged against the judges' decision, of which only 30 remained. In many cases, gold medals were subsequently awarded; in other cases, the objections were settled by arbitration. Although the main results of the exhibition were already clear shortly after its conclusion, the final meeting of the Grand Commission could not take place until 20 September 1907 due to pending legal disputes. At this meeting, Prof Dr Dursthoff presented an extremely impressive final report. The number of visitors had been larger than expected: 621729 people from town and country, including many children; in addition there were 14510 schoolchildren in classes. The Kunsthalle alone counted 86502 visitors, the collection of antiquities 77860. The highest visitor numbers were recorded on 30 July (18030) and 27 August (16490), the lowest on 1 September (204R). These figures correspond to the consumption of beer (2094 hectolitres), Wem (17423 bottles), sparkling wine (1101 bottles) and Co-gnac (987 bottles). In addition, over 38,000 bottles of non-alcoholic drinks were consumed, 609 bottles of Berliner Weisse and 2,247 pounds of coffee and chocolate.

The settlement showed far higher sums than the estimate in all branches. The income from admission fees, for example, was around 50,000 marks above the original estimate at 5,570 marks. On the other hand, the additional expenditure for grounds, buildings, paths and wages totalled around 82,000 marks. Music and fireworks remained almost exactly within the planned budget at 25400 marks. The total income of 537737 Marks (estimate 302100) was offset by expenditure of 552000 Marks (estimate 302100), resulting in a deficit of 14262 Marks, which increased to almost 16000 Marks due to smaller items and was covered by the Chamber of Commerce. The guarantee sums subscribed by private individuals were not required. Nevertheless, Dr Kaersten and Mr Neubert wanted to convene the finance committee once again before the dissolution in order to examine the accounts, "if only to put an end to the recurring quibbles". This was rejected with all votes against the petitioners. In his closing speech, Prof. Dr Dursthoff openly stated that the Chamber of Commerce itself had received little thanks from the trade show, but much anger and ingratitude. He omitted to state, which is evident from the files, that the exhibition management had unfortunately not received the favour it could have expected from various people associated with the Chamber of Trade. These difficulties also hampered the organisation.

The officials of the Chamber of Commerce had had to carry out years of painstaking work. It had taken about a year and a half to prepare. They had had to work evening after evening until late into the night, missing out on Sunday rest and holidays. Dr Dursthoff very much regretted that, given the unfavourable cash flow, it had not been possible to pay the employees a salary commensurate with their self-sacrificing work. (From the files it emerges that the three main participants received amounts of only 1080, 480 and 405 marks). He himself had worked on a voluntary basis and had never considered compensation. It is clear from all the documents that he himself had to bear most of the burden. The exhibition is practically due to his and August Schultze's initiative. Dr Dursthoff worked and spoke with an almost unimaginable speed, and anyone who - like the author of this report - once heard him give a speech in the Oldenburg state parliament can imagine how skilfully and quickly he was able to clarify his thoughts and present them in perfect form. In his closing speech, Privy Councillor Schultze expressed his well-deserved thanks to him, as well as to the Senior Building Officer Böhlk, Professor Nar-ten, Baron von Bothmer, Consul Mahlstedt and Building Councillor Freese. The Oldenburg State Exhibition was finally closed in 1905 with a toast to the Grand Duke as Jen Protector. There are hardly any regional commercial exhibitions of this kind today. The increased need for advertising these days is satisfied by the mass media. As far as collections of samples and sales offers are concerned, trade fairs have taken the place of the earlier exhibitions. For the time, however, the importance of this exhibition cannot be overestimated. For the exhibitors themselves, the direct display of their products to an indeterminately large group of interested parties was a form of advertising which, given the limited advertising resources available at the time (newspaper advertising, mailing of catalogues, visits by travelling representatives), carried considerable weight. Many products and technologies that have reached the last household in our days were in the early stages of development. This applied, among other things, to food canning, which was demonstrated by several local factories; to chemical laundries and dye works; to optical devices of all kinds; to the linoleum industry; but above all to electrification, which was still in its infancy and which particularly affected street and indoor lighting, but also electric cooking and heating appliances for restaurants and households. Reference has already been made to the water closets, which were still mostly unknown to the general public. - In any case, most of the exhibitors expressly rated the economic success highly. For the visitors, the same was true in reverse. The diverse contributions to general education were also valuable for them, not to mention the events to promote sport. The insight into the life and activities of a completely foreign Hamitic tribe was particularly impressive. Although its members were initially regarded as "savages" - in the context of European colonial rule at the time - the people of Oldenburg showed increasing respect for the craftsmanship of the Abyssinians and the seriousness of their religious practice (as expressed in press reports). It wasn't long before the youth of Stadtoldenburg had copied the music of the "savages" and were singing loudly through the quiet streets on beautiful summer evenings. The foreign sounds, sometimes rhythmically accentuated, sometimes dreamily plaintive, may have shocked many a staid citizen. At the time, people in Europe had hardly realised that a few years earlier, jazz had been born in the southern states of the USA, with which the songs of the Sornali may have had a distant resemblance.

The city of Oldenburg benefited from the exhibition in no small way. Apart from the economic movement it brought with it, it subsequently benefited from the fact that the elevated Dobbenwie-sen provided an ideal building site close to the city centre. Over the next few years, streets were laid out here, including Ratsherr-Schultze-Straße, which used to end before the connection of the Dobbenteiche. This meant that the state parliament building and the ministry (now the administrative headquarters) could soon be built here. - Finally, it must be taken into account that the Oldenburg area caught up with the latest developments in German architectural style very early on thanks to the involvement of the master builder Peter Behrens. The idea of functional building with its objectification of all building elements was demonstrated to exhibitors and visitors alike. The results were soon evident in new large-scale buildings in the Oldenburg region (e.g. the main railway station, industrial buildings in Delmenhorst).

In the final meeting of the large commission, the Privy Chief Building Councillor Böhlk aptly expressed the significance of the exhibition: the initiative and zeal of the gentlemen from the Chamber of Commerce had borne fruit, which would now benefit industry, trade, art and the applied arts "on a large scale" in the same way.