Portrait of a largely unknown Chemnitz resident
Adult education centre: Lecture on Theodor Norbert Kellerbauer on 25 April, 7 p.m., event hall at TIETZ
On Monday, 25 April, from 7 to 8.30 p.m. in the TIETZ event hall, interested parties will be given an insight into the life of Theodor Norbert Kellerbauer. Stephan Luther, Head of the Chemnitz University Archive, and Dr Frank Tröger from the Chemnitz section of the German Alpine Club have spent a long time researching Kellerbauer and will be presenting their findings.
Admission is free of charge. Information and registration are available at www.vhs-chemnitz.de and by telephone on 0371 488 4343.
Theodor Norbert Kellerbauer, also known as the "Alpine Professor", was a versatile and committed personality. He was not only a professor and an innovative firefighting expert recognised throughout Europe, but was also a mountaineer, singer and city councillor in Chemnitz.
Born in 1839 in Ering, Bavaria, he received his school education in Munich and studied there and later in Freiberg and Karlsruhe. Kellerbauer worked for more than 45 years as a teacher of mechanical engineering subjects at the state technical colleges in Chemnitz. The subject of firefighting was added to the curriculum in 1877 on his initiative. In 1902 and 1909, he became an honorary member of the Austrian and Italian fire brigade associations.
Kellerbauer was also an active mountaineer and for many years from 1883 was chairman of the Chemnitz section of the German Alpine Club, which he played a key role in shaping. Kellerbauer was also politically active: in the Liberal Association, later in the liberal Volksverein and from 1910 in the Progressive People's Party. In addition to all his functions, he was also active as a city councillor in Chemnitz. After suffering severe personal strokes of fate, he died in a mental hospital in January 1918.