Wilhelm BODEKER

Wilhelm BODEKER

Male 1796 - 1850  (~ 54 years)

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  • Name Wilhelm BODEKER 
    Born pre-1796  Hamburg, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died pre-30 Jun 1850  Hamburg, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1512  Young Kent Ancestors
    Last Modified 19 Mar 2022 

    Children 
     1. Heinrich Wilhelm Michael BODEKER,   b. 1816, Hamburg, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 17 Aug 1864, 20 Alfred Place, Newington Causeway (Elephant & Castle), Southwark, Surrey, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 48 years)
    Last Modified 20 Mar 2022 
    Family ID F502  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • website for addressbooks in Hamburg
      https://agora.sub.uni-hamburg.de/subhh-adress/digbib/doasearch?sa1=fromDate&sv1=1780&sa2=toDate&sv2=1830&sa3=extension&sv3=Hamburg&sa4=part&sv4=DirectoryPersonsCompanies&sa5=alphabeticalSegment&sv5=bodeker&submit=Suchen

      https://agora.sub.uni-hamburg.de/subhh-adress/digbib/view?did=c1:147503&sdid=c1:147530&hit=96

      Hamburg address book for the year 1805 »Directory of persons and companies: Fourth section. B. [Scholars, merchants, manufacturers, shopkeepers,
      Bodeker, Heinrich Galanterie, Catharinenfirchhof den Laden wohnt in der Suitalerstrasse, no 44 P. 7


      https://agora.sub.uni-hamburg.de/subhh-adress/digbib/view?did=c1:147503&sdid=c1:147674&hit=97
      Hamburg address book for the year 1805, directory of persons and companies: Fifth section. Widows who do not engage in civil business., Alphabet part, Adamy, pp. 314-315 = no results


      1805, Hamburg address book for the year 1805, directory of persons and companies Addendum: Appendix. Addresses delivered too late, along with some changes that occurred while this book was being printed., Alphabeteil, Allwörden, pages 434-435 = no results


      1805, Hamburg address book for the year 1805, directory of persons and companies: Bergedorfer addresses., Alphabette part, Albertz, pages 440-441 = no results


      1805, Hamburg address book for the year 1805, directory of people and companies: Haarburger Addresses, freight forwarders, manufacturers, inns, Kramer officials and so on, part of the alphabet, Baade, pages 458-459 = no results


      _____________________________________________________________________________________________

      While it is still unknown who the parents or spouse were of this Wilhelm Bodeker, the following details come from a baptismal certificate that had been found in the pages of a church register in London, England and are included here as the area of Germany from where our Bodeker family is said to have its roots is very close to the area mentioned in this certificate:

      Certificate Issued by St. Nicholas Church, Hamburg, Germany

      Child: Catherina Christina, born 8 Feb 1818 and chr 21 Feb 1819 [there is note saying that she married during 1847 but no place is recorded]

      Father: Johann Wilhelm Bodeker, wodehandler, of Ottensen-by-Altonan, Hamburg
      Mother: Marie Marguerita Minezolet, of Hamburg
      Witnesses/Godparents: Catherina Bodeker and Christina Minezolet

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      St. Nicholas Church, Hamburg

      With the founding of the Nikolai settlement and a harbor on the Alster in the 11th century, a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, was erected. This wood building was the second church in Hamburg, after the Cathedral of Hamburg.

      In 1335, some years before the onslaught of the Black Death , construction on a new brick building began. The structure was to be a three-naved hall church in the typical North German Brick Gothic style. This building stood until the middle of the 19th century, undergoing changes, expansions, and withstanding several partial destructions. The tower, which was erected in 1517, burned down in 1589. The tower built to replace it collapsed in 1644. The last tower of the old Nikolai church was designed by Peter Marquardt . The Marquardt tower had a height of 122 meters and with its characteristic dome was a landmark of the city and jewel of its skyline.

      As the center of one of the four Hamburg parishes, Nikolai's church was heavily involved in all the theological debates that were fought out in the city, especially during the Reformation . After the minister Henning Kissenbrügge had resigned in 1524, the residents chose as minister Johannes Bugenhagen, a profiled Reformer and confidant to Martin Luther . The conservative city council was able to prevent his appointment by making Kissenbrügge stay. However, they could not stop the general wave of elected Lutheran ministers in Hamburg; in St. Nikolai, Johann Zegenhagen was appointed after Kissenbrügge's final departure. The Reformation was completed peacefully, and in 1528 Bugenhagen appeared in Hamburg and became the preacher at St. Nikolai. He is known for establshing a church order in Hamburg which regulated finances and other church affairs such as the school curriculum. This order continued for 200 years.

      The old Nikolaikirche was the first large public building to burn in the great fire of May 1842. The destruction of the Nikolaikirche is described by chroniclers as a particularly moving event for the citizens. It was the first large building to burn, and was an indication of how catastrophic the fire would become. On 5 May the noon service held by preacher Wendt, who stood in for the minister Carl Moenckeberg, had to be cut short and ended with an intercessory prayer for the saving of the church. One obviously did not count on the loss of the church as most art treasures were not saved.
      The spire was engulfed by the fire at about four o'clock in the afternoon. Despite desperate efforts, it was not possible to contain the fire due to the equipment of the day, which did not allow water to be carried in sufficient quantity to the heights of the tower. It finally collapsed, setting the nave on fire and burning it completely.

      Neo-gothic construction

      Shortly after the fire, the church was rebuilt again. In 1843, a so-called Shilling Collection was started, and in 1844 there was an architectural competition, won by the architect Gottfried Semper (a native of nearby Altona ) with the draft of a Roman domed structure. His design, however, was not realized, as it did not fit into Hamburg’s townscape and shortly before this time, the construction of the mediaeval Cologne cathedral in 1842 had led to a Gothic revival in Germany. Hamburg’s medieval cathedral had been demolished in 1805.

      The English architect George Gilbert Scott , who was an expert for the restoration of medieval churches and an advocate of the gothic architectural style, was commissioned to devise a new design. He designed an 86 meter-long nave , with a 28 meter-high vault. The architecture was strongly influenced by French and English gothic styles, though the pointed spire is typically German. The amount of sculptures made from sandstone in the interior and on the spire was unusual. The new church was built to the southeast, a short distance from the old location, where the Neue Burg (New Castle) had once stood. The construction started in 1846, and on 27 September 1863 the church was consecrated. The 147.3 meter-high spire was finished in 1874. At that time, the Nikolaikirche was the highest building in the world until the completion of the cathedral of Rouen in 1876. Second to the TV tower, the Nikolaiturm is still the second highest building in Hamburg.

      World War II
      The clearly visible spire of the Nikolaikirche served as a goal and orientation marker for the pilots of the Allied Air Forces during the extensive air raids on Hamburg. On 28 July the church was heavily damaged by aerial bombs. The roof collapsed and the interior of the nave suffered heavy damage. The walls began to show cracks, yet they as well as the spire, did not collapse.

      After World War II
      The basic structure of the gothic church remained intact to a large extent and reconstruction was a realistic option. Nevertheless, it was decided to demolish the nave while leaving the spire untouched. As the surrounding of the church was no longer a residential area, a new St. Nikolai was built in the district of Harvestehude . In 1951 the nave was finally demolished and the rubble was partially used for the reinforcement of the banks of the river Elbe.

      The loss of a valuable gothic revival architectural monument was regretted by many, but after the war there were other priorities as far as reconstruction was concerned. Contrary to the Michaeliskirche the Nikolaikirche was not regarded as one of Hamburg’s important landmarks.

      The spire and some remainders of the wall were preserved as a memorial against the war, but were not cared for for several decades and they consequently gradually decayed. This changed in 1987, when the Rettet die Nikolaikirche e.V. foundation began to restore the existing fabric of the building and erected a so-called "place of encounters" (a room for events and exhibitions) in the crypt. It attempts to salvage the pieces of rubble that were removed in 1951, and was, for example, able to reclaim some rubble from the destroyed nave from the river Elbe in November 2000. A reconstruction of the church, as it was done with the Frauenkirche in Dresden , is not intended. However, a 51-bell carillon was installed in 1993 as a memorial.

      Since 1 September an elevator has taken visitors to a 75.3 metre-high platform inside the spire to enjoy history panels and a panoramic view over Hamburg and in particular the nearby Speicherstadt (City of Warehouses).