Salomon Herz, the Jew who put Wittenberge on Germany's industrial map

Wittenberge, in the German state of Brandenburg, can be compared, at a different scale, of course, with UK's Manchester, as an example of the advantages of industrialization to a relatively anonymous town. Before the launch of the rail line Berlin-Hamburg, to which Wittenberge was part thereof, this little town was a sleepy place, without a noticeable local identity. However, the efforts of putting it on the big map of the industrialized 19th century Germany are also the merit of a Jew, Salomon Herz, in whose memory, the square in the front of the train station was given his name, since 2007.

Although Herz spent most of his life in Berlin, he saw Wittenberge as an interesting business opportunity. In 1823, he founded here Germany's first oil trading house, which was later inherited by his son. With his money, the modernization of Elbe's harbour in 1835 was possible.

Nowadays, the former oil mill is hosting a hotel complex, with a beach bar area and a climbing wall. The red bricked buildings, a typical material used for both institutional and industrial constructions in the area are a legacy of the past that maybe nowadays doesn't bring too much profit and guarantees jobs, but which represent the basis of what Wittenberge is nowadays.