The figure in Groß-Gerau is reminiscent of the times before public electricity supply. Even back then, gas or oil costs played a role. While the lanterns were lit, the lamplighter made his rounds to make sure that the wind didn't blow out any lamps. The sculpture reminds us of this. (Photo: Samantha Pflug)
Without the lamplighter, who lit the gas lanterns night after night in all corners of the city, it would have been pitch black in Groß-Gerau until 1905: The bronze sculpture of the lamplighter on the corner of Darmstädter and Frankfurter Straße, installed under a street lamp, which of course served the purpose of the Lamp man no longer needs it, tells of the time when gas or oil lamps were lit one after the other under their soot-free and cleaned glass hoods.
In all seasons and in wind and weather, the lamplighter was out and about while others were sleeping. How long the street lamps should provide light was determined in the lighting calendar - from November to April, lighting could take place as early as 5 o'clock in the evening, in summer the church tower clock might have struck ten before the lamplighter provided night lighting: to save gas or oil costs, was already taken into account in the city coffers back then. While the lanterns were lit, the lamplighter made his rounds to make sure that the wind didn't blow out any lamps, that storms didn't cause them to fall, or that rogues didn't vandalize them. Like the night watchman, the lamplighter also had a great deal of responsibility.
Museum director Jürgen Volkmann talks about the beginnings of electricity supply: “Gross-Gerau got a public electricity supply shortly after 1900. Although the sugar factory, founded in 1883, had an electricity generator, electricity was only available for private households when a contract was signed with Michael Lämmermann on Frankfurter Strasse in 1905 and he supplied the city with electricity using a steam engine. Before that, they were also at night Night watchmen patrolled, but the need for security also required inner-city lighting. “It was carried out with gas: the lamplighter lit the light at nightfall and extinguished it when dawn broke.” Lampkeeper, lamplighter, lampman, lamp provider, lampman - all of these were common terms for a profession that had long since disappeared.
Source: Groß-Gerauer Echo September 17, 2022