Berges, Anton Johannes

Innkeeper, wine merchant

born: 27.08.1836 in Soest

died: 18.02.1918 in Wiesbaden

In 1863, Berges is first mentioned as an innkeeper in the Schierstein trade tax registers.

Mr. and Mrs. Berges played an important role for the Catholic diaspora community. The small, poor parish, which had around 500 members at the time, had been attached to the parish of Niederwalluf since 1820. The faithful had to go there for church services.

Berges was a member of the "Committee for the construction of a new Catholic church in Schierstein am Rhein" and not only stood up for the Catholic faithful, but also gave the General Board of the Bonifatiusverein 20,000 gold marks at interest for the construction of a church. The money was used to build a Catholic church, which was consecrated on August 4, 1891.

In addition, the couple donated a residential building to the Catholic parish of Schierstein, which had been independent since 1898, as a branch of the Dernbach Sisters, who cared for the sick and elderly locally. The church remained the center of the Catholic community of Schierstein until 1964.

A street in Schierstein was named after Berges in 1955.