Lothar M. Loske s Equatorial sundial of Frankfurt am Main

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1 Lothar M. Loske s Equatorial sundial of Frankfurt am Main by Reinhold R. Kriegler, Bremen Why again Loske? Why again this sundial? All has been written and said about it: Loske himself has published several articles, his son Achim Loske has published an article in NASS Compendium, Martha A. Villegas has written an article about it in Nr. 16, December 2005 issue of Carpe Diem and finally Conxita Bou has published about it in La Busca de Paper Número 56, Octubre~Desembre del About no other sundial there have been published more articles in so many languages: In Spanish, in Catalan, in English, German, French and Russian language! Only recently some rich investors from Russia felt inspired by the Russian language article at the homepage of Aleksandr Boldyrev about the Loskesundial. They have written to me and have asked me for some support: They intend to put a copy of this Loske sundial in front of a big hotel-complex near Moscow. I encouraged them; however, I have my big doubts about their project!

2 What is so special about this sundial? First of all it is his creator! Lothar M. Loske! He must have been a man of an absolutely rare combination of gnomonical knowledge, of inspiration, of art, of the ability to persuade people to do things which they are in reality not able to do! The second reason is this Dipl.-Ing.-couple Hildegard and Kurt Langeloth! The sundial had been produced in a factory which was specialised in preformed metal-works which were delivered to other companies to be completed there. Hildegard Langeloth must have been a very exceptional woman and an excellent engineer! To get an engineer- job in such a big metal company, being the only woman among hundreds of men, we can hardly imagine what this has meant in that post-war era! 2

3 One day she was asked whether she would be able to build a sundial of about 3, 45 meters diameter and about one ton of weight at the factory. She asked to be allowed to tell her decision one day later. Hildegard Langeloth came home to her husband, pretty unsure of herself, whether she could manage this job as she had no gnomonical knowledge, which was essential to be able to understand all the different tasks of this sundial. However, Kurt Langeloth, who had been an amateur astronomer still from his gymnasium time, encouraged her very much and said: Together we will manage this big task! So she agreed next morning and the sundial was built. It was built by many talented workers of very different abilities. It was the post war era, where people were brave and tried out also the impossible. Many difficult situations had to be mastered. Not everything what Loske had thought and constructed was possible! Not everything was possible to be built in the factory! The supporting beam-ring had to be built in steel and to be galvanized in copper. It took almost two years from the beginning of the planning and it lasted 10 months until it was finished and needed about 6000 working hours. All together the factory calculated DM of costs for it and it was donated to the town and its citizens by Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke AG, Heddernheimer Kupferwerk in Frankfurt am Main. The sundial is now no longer situated at its previous place but was restored and re-erected 1, 4 km away from its old place where more sun is shining on it than at the previous place where the trees had become too high. This was also the reason, why I was involved into this story. Dr. Achim Loske had asked Martha Villegas where the sundial of his father had moved to after his brother did no longer find it during an occasional visit in Frankfurt in 2004 and Martha asked me. May I show some selected pictures to you now and after that the 15 photos of drawings by Lothar Loske which were presented to me by Dr. Achim Loske only recently? The inauguration of the equatorial sundial took place on April 26, 1951, birthday of Lothar M. Loske, who was born in 1920 in Deuben near Wurzen in Saxo- 3

4 Saxonia/ East Germany. He passed away on May 6 th in 1992 in Mexico. His last work had been a 4 metres high water-clock, which was previously exhibited in the children-museum El Papalote in Mexico City. 4

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