Tallinn's first four new trams named after historical businessmen
A committee was formed to select appropriate names for the trams, with the task of choosing names that reflect Tallinn's history, culture and notable figures. The first four trams were named Rotermann, Luther, Krull and Lorup.
Tallinn will gradually take delivery of 23 new PESA trams, which will be named by the committee in the spirit of Tallinn's history and based on proposals from citizens.
The first category of names chosen was industrialists who played a key role in the development and prosperity of the city, making it important to preserve their legacy through the names of the trams. The trams were named Rotermann, Luther, Krull and Lorup.
Christian Bertold Rotermann was a 19th century metal and wood industry tycoon who built a steam sawmill, pasta and bread factory and a mill in the Rotermann Quarter. In 1921, the business expanded into automobiles, importing and selling cars, trucks and tires. Companies such as Opel, Oldsmobile, Essen, La Salle and Friedrich Krupp AG were represented. The Rotermann factories employed 200 people.
Martin Christian Luther became the owner of the mechanized wood processing plant A. M. Luther following his father's death in 1914. AS A. M. Luther was Estonia's largest wood processing company, producing plywood, office furniture, chair seats and backrests, much of which was exported. M. C. Luther founded several other major businesses and served as the chairman of the major industry section of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In 1865, Franz Krull founded a workshop producing distillery equipment, which quickly expanded and was moved from Narva to Tallinn in 1865. In addition to producing distillery equipment, the company began manufacturing machinery for starch factories and sawmills, as well as refrigeration equipment, steam engines, and boilers, and by the late 1930s, Franz Krull's factory had become the largest metal industry enterprise in Tallinn and all of Estonia, employing nearly 900 workers.
Johannes Lorup was a prominent businessman and the founder of Estonia's national glass industry who, in 1924, leased the Meleski glass factory, which had been idle since World War I, and resumed the production of jars and bottles there. In 1934, Lorup moved production to Tallinn, becoming the market leader in Estonia the next year. In 1937, when the crystal department began operations, Lorup's factory crystal products became one of the most popular new offerings. The factory produced a wide range of glass, semi-crystal, and crystal items, including decanters, vases, pitchers, glasses, milk bottles, bowls, salt and pepper shakers, beer mugs, ashtrays and more. The product list included over a thousand items, some of which were exported.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski