Melis, Julius

Julius Melis was born in Felen ( Westphalia ). His father was a treasurer in the service of Count Landberg-Felen . It is assumed that the family lived directly in the castle of Felen . High patronage opened the boy a successful career path. After graduating in 1888, Melis was appointed secretary to the administration of the city of Munster , then transferred as secretary to Allen , secretary of the city council in Emmerich and in 1892 returned to acting secretary in Munster.

A more significant period of career growth begins on April 1, 1898, when Melis becomes burgomaster of the city of Buren (Westphalia). Three years later, from June 2, 1902, he is already the burgomaster of the city of Bernkastel on the Moselle . From May 17, 1906 to September 30, 1926 he is the mayor of Benrath. In 1926 he was transferred to the administration of Dusseldorf. There is no further information about his life until 1948, when Julius Melis dies in Cologne and is also buried.

The years 1906-1926 are the most fruitful and successful in the life of the burgomaster Melis. Already in 1907, the Prussian imperial court decided to sell its palace in Benrath as unnecessary and high maintenance costs. Initially, information about this was kept secret. It was planned to sell a unique palace with magnificent parks in private ownership with the subsequent possibility of building a large residential complex on this site. Already in 1908, rumors about this began in Benrath and filled the hearts of the inhabitants with alarm. In the event of a sale, not only did they lose access to the park, but also for Düsseldorf residents coming for the weekend and leaving money in Benrath (hotels and commerce). Melis fully realized this and assembled a special meeting of members of the municipality on July 15, 1909.

The mayor's goal was to include Benrath in the purchase negotiations with additional financing from private sources. Melis secured the support of the city government of Dusseldorf. Nadezhda began to take on a visible shape when it became known that the Prussian crown ordered negotiations on the purchase of palace estates only with Benrath and withdrew other offers. On several occasions, the mayor of Benrath and members of the city council traveled to Berlin to negotiate. The first time this happened on October 12, 1909. There, they agreed with the emperor’s personal adviser, Minister Philip zu Eilenberg. The negotiations were incredibly difficult. And, as expected, everything ran into money. The purchase price in the subsequent negotiations played an important role and was the subject of controversy for several months. Representatives of Benrath offered 750,000 gold marks for the palace buildings themselves, and for the entire palace and park complex with outbuildings - 1 million 330 thousand marks.

The imperial crown demanded more than twice: 2 million 740 thousand gold marks. Melis all over again referred to negotiations on significant indirect costs. This was followed by numerous other discussions and statements, during which important administrative and political figures of Germany inclined to support Benrath's position and wishes.

In December 1910, the German government accepted Benrath's new proposal for an amount of 1.5 million gold marks, but provided that the Benrath community will commit itself to preserving the main building of the palace and its two front wing wings. But the negotiations did not end there. A more accurate purchase amount was required. Only after this issue was resolved, the local council of Benrath unanimously approved the purchase agreement and instructed Melis to conduct final negotiations. The contract of sale was signed and concluded on October 4, 1911. The net purchase price amounted to 1 million 465 thousand gold marks plus interest, which resulted in a total of 1 million 553 thousand 200 gold marks. Part of the funding came from nearby Düsseldorf, the land district, factory owner Fritz Henkel and Benrath entrepreneurs Otto Briede and Carl Dreckmann.

The official transfer of all land ownership and buildings to the Benrath community took place on November 30, 1911. The most important role in this matter was played by the burgomaster Melis. He saved not only a magnificent palace, but also one of the most important cultural monuments from demolition.

Other important aspects of Melis’s activity as the mayor of Benrath include the construction of a new town hall (currently an architectural monument of Düsseldorf), other buildings, architectural monuments around the Town Hall and surrounding streets, including schools, sewage and gas lighting.

• In honor of Melis is named one of the streets of Benrath (Melisalley / Meliesallee).
• In May 2012, a memorial stone to Julius Melis was erected in the park, opposite the Benrath Palace, on the hillside of Ulmenkopf. The initiative belongs to Benrath Archivist Wolfgang D. Sauer and professors from Urdenbach Christian von Ferber and Gert König ^[2] .

• Melies-Stein wird Freitag enthüllt
• Melies-Stein: Letzte Hürde Politik
• Ein Gedenkstein als Mahnung für den Erhalt
• Zeitreise - Schloß-Gymnasium Benrath

• Clemens von Looz-Corswarem, Benedikt Mauer (Hg): Das Grosse Düsseldorfer Lexikon. Greven Verlag Köln, 2012, S. 485-486
  

Clemens Earl von Lutz-Korsvarem, Benedict Mauer (publisher), Great Encyclopedia of Dusseldorf. Greven Publishing House, Cologne, 2012. p. 485-486.