Foto identification probably Frankenberg or Chemnitz

[MichaelaStrakošová]

Hi,
my great-grandmother Augusta Liddy Rothe was born in Frankenberg (*1882)(Sachsen) and in 1911 she lived in Chemnitz (https://digital.slub-dresden.de/werk...dlf/88262/647/). Her father Otto Richard Rothe was born in Erlau bei Mittweida and he worked as "bahnarbaiter" . He worked probably at

Chemnitz-Aue-Adorfer Eisenbahn linie Nr 116.

I found two fotos, where we can see some house probably near railway:

https://ibb.co/2ksbWmD

https://ibb.co/XxJ9kmg

Does anyone know where it should be? There is no description in the photos.


Thanks for tips.
Michaela Strakošová
Czech Republic

[Sebastian_N]

Hi Michaela,

not an answer, but an idea from where to go. Check out Google Maps for Erlau.

You may find a house similar to the one in the second picture alongside the railway. Unfortunately, there is not Google Street View available for that region at the moment.

In general, it might be difficult to find both houses today. A lot of time has passed since then.

Maybe, at first try to guess the time period when the pictures where taken from the genealogical information you have about the people (which I guess you know by name). This may guide further research.

Once done, you may try to find more pictures online or elsewhere for that region to narrow down the fate of the houses (broken down at some point in time, destroy, replaced etc?). There must be some kind of literature about the train at Erlau and the area somewhere!?

Hope this gave you some ideas for what to do next.

Best wishes

Seb

[MichaelaStrakošová]

Hi Sebastian,
thanks for your answer.... I think, that both pictures i sent are the same house - front side and left (or right?) side of the house....
I know, that there is my great-grandmother`s father Otto Rothe - the one in the uniform. He should be probably 40 years old - may be 50 years - so the photo was taken in 1895-1910 i quess.


Shame, that there is not Google Street View or other photos at Google Maps for Erlau. I´m not sure, that this is the same house. It looks like that a little. But as you write - a lot of time passed since then.


I hope that someone will well know that place somewhere between Erlau, Frankenberk and Chemnitz and he will write me .


Thanks once again.
Michaela

[tfndh]

Hi,

If Otto Richard Rothe lived in Frankenberg, since his daughter was born there, he surely worked at the railway line through Frankenberg.
If so, I think I have found it. It is a small former station at crossing near Gunnersdorf. https://www.google.de/maps/@50.90026.../data=!3m1!1e3
You don't need Street View here. There are videos of the train ride through Frankenberg. Watch this one around 24:20.

https://youtu.be/5gaSr_hSGDs?t=1460

And from the other direction at 23:40.

https://youtu.be/huczIqJWgS4?t=1422

The house probably belonged to the railway company. So there could be very similar ones in other places. But it really looks like in the photos.

Best wishes,
Thomas

[Bergkellner]

Dear Michaela,

I don't agree with tfndh, that house on the pictures showes not a little railway station. It looks to different.

You are right, both pictures show the same house. One from the railway and the other from the garden site.
This kind of houses where very special - there where the homes of the "Bahnwärter", that's why the called in german "Bahnwärterhaus".
Bahnwärter looked after the railway lines, paced them every day, looking for material fatigue in the rails, broken sleepers underneath etc. Every of them has "his" part of the railway line, that's why the lived next to "their" railway.

You wrote, the father of your great grand mother worked on the railway line between Chemnitz, Aue and Adorf.

The pictures show surely one of the Bahnwärter houses along this line.
Because of the little cutout from the landscape next to the house I think that house wasn't far from Chemnitz.

Unfortunately in wikipedia I found only informations in german about "Bahnwärterhaus" and the railway line between Chemnitz an Adorf.
But I'll give you the links and you can translate it for yourself.
- link1 - link2 -

Today most of this houses are wrecked or sold.

If you like, I will ask my brother in law, he is historian and railway fan in Chemnitz. Maybe beneath his friends he has someone who knows more about the tiny houses next to the railway among the rail from Chemnitz to Adorf.

BW, Claudia

[MichaelaStrakošová]

Hi,

If Otto Richard Rothe lived in Frankenberg, since his daughter was born there, he surely worked at the railway line through Frankenberg.
If so, I think I have found it. It is a small former station at crossing near Gunnersdorf. https://www.google.de/maps/@50.90026.../data=!3m1!1e3
You don't need Street View here. There are videos of the train ride through Frankenberg. Watch this one around 24:20.

https://youtu.be/5gaSr_hSGDs?t=1460

And from the other direction at 23:40.

https://youtu.be/huczIqJWgS4?t=1422

The house probably belonged to the railway company. So there could be very similar ones in other places. But it really looks like in the photos.

Best wishes,
Thomas

Hi Thomas (tfndh).
Thanks for your great idea of railway YouTube videos, it didn't occur to me. That house you find looks realy like on my photo, but there is not same ground (terrain) level of railway. They could build the railway line higher.. But its nearly 2-3m. I think its not the same house - only the same type of house, but another place...
Thx anyway...
Michaela

[MichaelaStrakošová]

Dear Michaela,

I don't agree with tfndh, that house on the pictures showes not a little railway station. It looks to different.

You are right, both pictures show the same house. One from the railway and the other from the garden site.
This kind of houses where very special - there where the homes of the "Bahnwärter", that's why the called in german "Bahnwärterhaus".
Bahnwärter looked after the railway lines, paced them every day, looking for material fatigue in the rails, broken sleepers underneath etc. Every of them has "his" part of the railway line, that's why the lived next to "their" railway.

You wrote, the father of your great grand mother worked on the railway line between Chemnitz, Aue and Adorf.

The pictures show surely one of the Bahnwärter houses along this line.
Because of the little cutout from the landscape next to the house I think that house wasn't far from Chemnitz.

Unfortunately in wikipedia I found only informations in german about "Bahnwärterhaus" and the railway line between Chemnitz an Adorf.
But I'll give you the links and you can translate it for yourself.
- link1 - link2 -

Today most of this houses are wrecked or sold.

If you like, I will ask my brother in law, he is historian and railway fan in Chemnitz. Maybe beneath his friends he has someone who knows more about the tiny houses next to the railway among the rail from Chemnitz to Adorf.

BW, Claudia

Hi Claudia,
thx for your writing about "Bahnwärterhaus" and for links, second one I already knew.
Please be so kind and try to ask your brother in law, i will be greatfull for any information.

Unfortunately I have no other photo where more landscape could be seen.


But I think the house must be somewhere near railway between Aue-Chemnitz or Chemnitz-Frankenberk or Chemnitz-Erlau (bei Mittweida).




Thx
Michaela




PS: I know I wrote he, but i ment he or she

[Sebastian_N]

Hey guys, hello Michaela,

now that I am thinking about it: you gave your answer away already in your entry post. Your great-great-grandfather, Otto Richard Rothe, lived in 1911 in Chemnitz, his house was at the address: "An der Aue-Adorfer Eisenbahn Linie" (Kat. Nr. 116 VIII Abt.), see page 759 of the 1911 Adress book of Chemnitz here.

This is the name of the street, hence, where his house was, most probably the one in the picture, as argued above.

The number behind the name of the street is not the number of the house, better, it is the official number of the cadastral map in Chemnitz, which enables you to find that same property even if the name of the street is changed.

However, you have (most likely the same house taken pictures of from two sides). One, clearly, from the railway (see the address above) and a side from a "normal" street.

Now, if you were to go to the subsection in the very same 1911 Chemnitz Adress book, the so-called "Brandversicherungs-Kataster-Nummer", looking for the Kat.-Nr. above, you will find the name of the actual street as "Lange Straße", see here.

What you would need to do at this point is to find the today's address, where this cadastre number may help you a great deal in doubtlessly identifying the correct property (as some street's name changes sometimes do not follow old addressing). Maybe the street has never changed name.

However, take in mind, as argued above, it could very well be that the house in question never belonged to your family, but to the railway company and was given to active employers while they curated "their" part of the railways.

For example, in 1928, your great-great-grandfather Otto R. Rothe lived in Gabelsbergerstraße 36a, 3rd floor, and was in pension, see here.

Hope this helps a little.

Best wishes

Seb

[Lock]

Hallo Michaela

I think this is it

https://kartenforum.slub-dresden.de/vkviewer?%3Fwelcomepage=off&z=10&c=12.9461%2C51.0302&oid=oai%3Ade%3Aslub-dresden%3Avk%3Aid-10007016%2C

See B.W. ("Bahnwärterhaus")

51° 1'51.16"N
12°56'42.84"E

I live in the area

v.g. Gerhardt

[Kasstor]

googlemaps satellite https://www.google.com/maps/dir//51....e3!4m2!4m1!3e0

[Zita]

Hi,

it might be the same building, but at different times:

+ the fence is different
+ the photo with the family shows a tree at the left side. This tree should be at the right corner of the smaller building on the other photo.
+ the electrical tower seems to be right beside the fence. So it should be seen in both pictures.

As written above it might only be the same type of building.

Zita

[AnGr]

Das ist die Suche nach der Nadel im Heuhaufen, zu dieser Zeit gab es unzählige Bahnwärterhäuser.



hier ein Haus der Sächsischen Staatsbahn, zufälliger Weise Chemnitz-Einsiedel. Leider passt die zweigleisige Strecke nicht zu dem gesuchten Posten.

https://www.heimatwerk-einsiedel.de/kurt-franke-strasse/schrankenwaerterposten-nr-9/

[Sebastian_N]

I suggest to keep with the document and check whether the address back then can be found today.

[wrdc47]

Hello Michaela
looking to the Chemnitz address book there is an address of Otto Richard Rothe, lived in 1911 in Chemnitz, his house was at the address: "An der Aue-Adorfer Eisenbahn Linie"(as Sebastian wrote). Looking at the Chemnitz city map from 1910 (http://www.deutschefotothek.de/documents/obj/70402329) there is an indication of "An der Aue-Adorfer Eisenbahn Linie" but no street is showing on the map. I guess there are only 2 possible buildings on the map in the described area. I've made an excerpt of the map. But looking on Google maps i'm in doubt if the houses are still exists.
Hope this helps.

[MichaelaStrakošová]

Thank you all, I have to go through that amount of information.