Franz Gerhard Wegeler

One of Beethoven’s closest childhood friends was the committed physician Franz Gerhard Wegeler (1765–1848) who lived in Koblenz from 1807 and was able to significantly improve health care in the Rhineland. After studying medicine in Bonn and Vienna he returned to Bonn in 1789 and became professor of obstetrics and rector of the Electoral University. After the university was dissolved due to the conquest of Cologne by the French revolutionary troops he worked for several years as a general practitioner and finally moved to Koblenz. Here he successfully campaigned for the improvement of general medical care for the population. In order to counter the high infant mortality rate he introduced systematic training for midwives. He also made a valuable contribution in the battle against smallpox which had become the most dangerous infectious disease in Europe at the time. After having heard about Edward Jenner’s (1979–1823) success in producing a vaccine Wegeler arranged for doctors to be informed as widely as possible and for almost 10,000 children to be vaccinated in series. He was honored many times for his commitment and was also very popular among the population.
The two childhood friends Beethoven and Wegeler deepened their friendship during their years together in Vienna (1794–1796) and hardly a day went by when they wouldn’t see each other. In later years they maintained a close correspondence.
After Beethoven’s death Wegeler published the book „Biographical Notes on Ludwig van Beethoven“ together with Ferdinand Ries (1784–1838) with the Koblenz-based Karl Baedeker publishing house in 1838. In this book the two authors recorded their personal memories and published the letters the composer had written to them. This publication is still one of the most important sources on Beethoven’s life today. Like Franz Gerhard Wegeler himself his descendants also remained committed to the memory of Beethoven and ensured that the memorabilia in the family’s possession was preserved. Franz Gerhard Wegeler’s grandson, Privy Councillor Julius Wegeler (1836–1913), founded the Julius Wegeler Family Foundation to preserve the letters, music manuscripts and souvenirs that commemorate Beethoven as a complete collection. This collection has been in the House of Beethoven in Bonn since 1998. After joining the Deinhard & Jordan sparkling wine cellar in 1857 and marrying Emma Deinhard (1838–1904), the granddaughter of the company’s founder, Julius Wegeler laid the foundation for the success of Deinhard & Co. which became one of the most renowned wine and sparkling wine cellars in Germany.
The Wegeler-Deinhard family remained involved in the promotion of music and culture in Koblenz during the 20th century. On the occasion of the sparkling wine cellar’s 175th anniversary in 1969 they initiated the establishment of the Deinhard Foundation with the aim of restoring the birthplace of Mother Beethoven and turning it into a museum. After the company was sold to the Henkell & Co. sparkling wine cellar in 1997 the foundation also came under their umbrella where it still exists today and contributes to the preservation of the museum Mother Beethoven House.
(Image and text [slightly adapted] taken from: Kämpken, N. und Bettermann, S.: Franz Gerhard Wegeler and his family – music and cultural care in Koblenz. In: von der Bank, M. [Ed.][2020]: Museum Mother Beethoven House. Petersberg 2020)