Here stands the Louis Schwartzkopff Plaque a testament to a remarkable life. This unassuming plaque tells the story of Louis Victor Robert Schwartzkopff a German industrialist. He was born in Magdeburg on June 5 1825. He founded the Berliner Maschinenbau BMAG a giant in steam locomotive manufacturing.
Schwartzkopff’s journey began with schooling in Magdeburg. He studied mathematics alongside Carl Wilhelm Siemens under Werner von Siemens. He honed his skills at Borsig’s firm gaining practical experience. A six-month stint as an engine driver on the Berlin-Hamburg Railway followed. He then served as chief mechanical engineer for the Magdeburg-Wittenberge Railway.
With family support Schwartzkopff acquired land on Chausseestrasse 20. This was adjacent to Invalidenstrasse and the Berlin-Stettin Railway. The Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station now lies beneath that railway line. On October 3 1852 he and Nitsche established the Schwartzkopff and Nitsche Iron Foundry & Engineering Works. This evolved into the Berliner Maschinenbau AG vorm. L. Schwartzkopff in 1870.
A difference in vision led Schwartzkopff to buy out Nitsche in 1853. He ran the firm solo. Until 1888 he was its general manager. His company’s work for the military and railways earned him the title Kommerzienrat in the 1860s. In 1867 production of goods locomotives for the Lower Silesian-Markische Railway began. This spurred expansion to a new site on Ackerstrasse. The core business continued to thrive on Chausseestrasse 19 and 23. Schwartzkopff also acquired a site at Scheringstrasse 13-28.
In the late 1880s he joined the Prussian Government’s Council of State. He died of a stroke on March 7 1892. He was buried in Berlin’s Dorotheenstadt cemetery. Schwartzkopffstrasse in Berlin-Mitte was named in his honor. He was a curator of the Lazarus Hospital. This plaque near that hospital serves as a lasting tribute. The plaque reminds us of his contributions to industry and philanthropy. He held his mentor August Borsig in high regard throughout his life. A legacy of innovation and civic duty lives on. The Louis Schwartzkopff Plaque is a fitting memorial.