About Luise Lotz

Benefactor

And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make you a great name, and you shall be a blessing." Genesis 12:2.

Bible verse on the memorial plaque for Luise Lotz in the Protestant town church.

The Lotz family from Homburg

Luise Lotz was born into the Lotz family of merchants, pharmacists and mayors in Homburg in 1819. Her parents - Franziska Friederike Juliane Henriette, née Schimper, and Jakob Georg Lotz - had a younger son, Carl Christian, who was born in 1823, in addition to their daughter Luise.

Luise Lotz's father and brother were pharmacists, were involved in local politics and belonged to the liberal movement in Bavaria.[2] Jakob Lotz was an adjunct of the town of Homburg from 1830 to 1834. He then took up the office of mayor in 1835, which he held until 1848. Carl Lotz, who had taken over the family pharmacy when his father entered politics, also became an adjunct in 1863 and handed over the pharmacy in 1867. He then became mayor of Homburg from 1868 to 1875 and was also a member of the Bavarian state parliament for the Homburg-Kusel constituency from 1869. His tomb can still be found today in the old Homburg cemetery.

Commitment to the Protestant church

Before his death in 1875, Carl had already donated part of the family fortune to the Protestant parish of Homburg for the rebuilding of the town church, but was no longer able to attend the opening due to his illness[3].

After her brother's death, Luise Lotz managed the family's assets and was particularly active as a benefactor.[4] She established the Lotz Foundation with a capital of 7,000 marks on Martin Luther's 400th birthday in 1883 and instructed that the interest be used to buy clothes and school books for needy children and to support poor women who had recently given birth.[5] In her last will and testament, she increased the endowment to 30,000 marks. She also supported the construction of the new deaconess house with 5,000 marks and bequeathed a further 12,000 marks to the Deaconess Association and 10,000 marks to the Gustav Adolf Association in her will.[6]

To this day, money from the Lotz Foundation is used by the Protestant parish of Homburg in the areas of children and social welfare.[7] In the town church there is a memorial plaque in memory of Luise Lotz with the inscription "To the memory of the noble benefactress of the Protestant parish of Homburg and its associations, Miss Luise Lotz, born 24 Oct. 1819, died 12 Feb. 1903. Dedicated by the grateful parish in 1904. 1 Mos. 12, 2". (picture follows).

The parish also looks after Lotz's grave, which is located in Homburg's main cemetery. It is the first grave directly at the entrance and stands out due to its magnificent and artistic design.

Private life

Luise Lotz remained unmarried throughout her life and lived at Lagerstraße 8, on the site of today's deanery building. A plaque commemorating her foundation can be found here (picture follows).[8] She had a servant, Anna Schappert, who received a letter of honour for her 15 years of service to Luise Lotz in 1905.[9] Lotz's door was also open to Homburg residents outside of her charitable activities, to whom she offered understanding and (financial) help[10]. Luise Lotz died in 1903 at the age of 83.

Written by: Helen Tepper M.A., Project Coordination Women's Traces in the Saarpfalz District

_{Published: 03.09.2025; Last updated: 31.03.2026.}

Further reading / literature / sources

Bonkhoff, Bernhard H.: Karl Lotz (1823-1875). Pharmacist, mayor and spiritualist, in: Saarpfalz. Blätter für Geschichte und Volkskunde, 2015/1, pp. 51-58.

Neumann, Jürgen: Zwischen Himmel und Erde, in: Saarbrücker Zeitung, 29 October 2010, n.p., online at<https://www.saarbruecker-zeitung.de/saarland/zwischen-himmel-und-erde_aid-714777>[last accessed: 28 August 2025].

Stöhsel, Theodor: Circular No. 98 Royal District Office of Homburg. To the mayors of the district. Subject: Pfälzisches Dienstbotenstift, Homburg, 14.06.1905, digitised at<https://digital.sulb.uni-saarland.de/viewer/fullscreen/897216911_1905/228/>[last retrieval: 28.08.2025].