Renkhoff, Otto

Archivist, Historian

Born: 28.12.1905 in Biskirchen

died: 31.03.1995 in Wiesbaden

Renkhoff grew up in Biskirchen an der Lahn, where his father worked as a pastor. After graduating from the Humanist Grammar School in Wetzlar, he studied history, German and ancient languages in Marburg and Munich. In 1930, he completed his doctorate in Marburg on the "Territorial History of the Principality of Nassau-Dillenburg". He completed his subsequent training at the Institute for Archival Sciences at the Prussian Secret State Archives in Berlin-Dahlem in March 1933 with the "Great Archive Examination". He then worked at the Prussian State Archives and later the Hessian Main State Archives in Wiesbaden until his retirement in 1970, which he headed as Archive Director from 1961.

From 1938-70, Renkhoff was secretary of the Association for Nassau Antiquities and Historical Research and at the same time editor of the Nassau Annals. At the same time, he edited the "Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte" from 1956-70. His close connection to regional history is also evidenced by his appointments to the Historical Commission for Hesse and Waldeck, the Hessian Historical Commission Darmstadt, the Historical Commission for Nassau, of which he was deputy chairman from 1947-75, and to the board of the Hessian Church History Association.

After handing over the editorial work to younger hands, he devoted himself to two major scholarly works of his own. In 1980, he published the monograph "Wiesbaden im Mittelalter" (Wiesbaden in the Middle Ages) as volume 2 of the seven-volume history of the city of Wiesbaden. This was followed in 1985 by the second edition of the "Nassauische Biographie", which has become a standard work and contains around 5,000 biographies of Nassau personalities or personalities who were prominent in the Nassau region.

In 1974 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class, in 1980 honorary membership of the Nassauischer Altertumsverein and in 1981 the Silver Citizens' Medal of the City of Wiesbaden.