Wvs satz final indd

20

21

took over the command of the Friedrichsort fortress, located in 

front of Kiel. He was later assigned to defend Eckernförde Bay. 

He saw no combat, but stayed in the war for three months even 

though his young company was at a crucial phase of its life. 

Telegraph construction for the Prussian state

After his return, the Telegraphy Commission assigned Werner 

von Siemens to set up a telecommunications connection between 

Berlin and Frankfurt am Main, where the German National Assem-

bly had been meeting since May 1848. A second line was to be laid 

from Berlin to Aachen. The commission had already decided in 

advance that the Frankfurt line should be equipped with pointer 

telegraphs and cables insulated with gutta-percha, using a pro-

cess Siemens had developed. Werner’s London-based brother 

William had tipped him off about the special characteristics of 

gutta-percha – a rubber-like material from Southeast Asia. With 

gutta-percha, he was able to develop a process for covering copper 

telegraph wires with a seamless coating. For the times, his meth-

od proved to be the best technique for insulating underground 

communications cables. It gave Siemens a technical lead over his 

competitors; after all, both planned lines were to be laid largely 

underground. Werner von Siemens actually played three roles in 

installing the telegraph lines. As an offi cer working for the Teleg-

raphy Commission, he was in charge of construction. At the same 

time, he was a partner in the company that made the telegraph 

devices. And he was a contract partner for the cable supplier. 

In February 1849, the Frankfurt am Main line went into oper-

ation. Mere weeks later, it became evident why the telegraph 

would be of outstanding political importance. On March 28, 1849, 

the National Assembly, meeting in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, 

Looking through to the first workshop at 

Schöneberger Straße 19, undated photo

May 1848–May 1849   

The German National Assembly meets in the 

Paulskirche in Frankfurt on the Main. The members of this fi rst parliament 

representing all of Germany adopt a Reich Constitution in March , 

but the largest German states refuse to recognize it.

---

22

23

elected Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm 

IV

 as the German Kaiser. 

Thanks to new communications technology, the election – which 

the king declined, because adhering fi rmly to the idea of devine 

rights of kings he regarded the offering of the crown to him by 

the National Assembly as an arrogant insult – was known in Ber-

lin within an hour. Werner had entrusted the construction of 

the Aachen line to his friend and fellow brigade-member William 

Meyer. With the completion of this, the longest telegraph line 

in Europe at the time, the future of the telegraph workshop on 

Schöneberger Straße seemed secure. Werner von Siemens now 

resigned from the military, with the intention of dedicating him-

self to the company full-time. As was customary on such occa-

sions, he was simultaneously promoted to fi rst lieutenant. On 

June 12, 1849, after more than 14 years in the Prussian Artillery, he 

returned to being a civilian. 

In the meantime, control of the Prussian telegraph system had 

passed from the General Staff of the Army to the Ministry of Com-

merce. Now messages could also be telegraphed by companies, 

news agencies and private individuals. The Siemens and Halske 

workshop continued to land large contracts for the Prussian state 

telegraph system – the company had become the system’s mo-

nopoly supplier. But in spring 1851, malfunctions began accumu-

lating on the state’s lines, which were laid almost entirely under-

ground. In many cases, the gutta-percha insulation on the cables 

had become damaged. The technical director of the Prussian tele-

graph administration, Friedrich Nottebohm, blamed Werner von 

Siemens for the problems. When Siemens published a position 

paper denying that he was at fault, Nottebohm canceled all the 

state contracts

11

 – and the young company faced its fi rst crisis. 

Werner von Siemens was compelled to look for more orders from 

outside Germany – an effort at which he had not been successful 

so far. Looking ahead to the expansion he hoped for, he bought 

a house on a large lot at Markgrafenstraße 94 and emphasized 

that the company should now call itself “Telegraphen-Bauanstalt 

von Siemens & Halske” – the “Telegraph Construction Company 

of Siemens & Halske”.

12

Contemporary depiction of the two founders, 1855

1849  

Electrical telegraphy makes it possible to establish the fi rst German 

news agency, in Berlin. Two years later the Reuters agency is founded in 

London.

1852  

With the relocation from Schöneberger Straße to Markgrafenstraße, 

the workshop of Siemens & Halske becomes a factory. Today, both locations 

are in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district of the city. 

---

24

25

Werner von Siemens, private person

Since 1843, Werner von Siemens had gradually been bringing his 

brothers Carl, Friedrich and Walter, to come and live with him. 

Only a few years after their parents’ death, strong bonds had 

been reestablished among the children. As the eldest in the fami-

ly, Werner was the pivot point of this group, which was also the 

focus of his private life. Once the Telegraph Construction Compa-

ny had been founded, it seemed an obvious step for 21-year-old 

Friedrich and 18-year-old Carl to join the fi rm. Friedrich soon 

moved to London, where he worked with his elder brother Wil-

liam to win orders for Siemens pointer telegraphs. In 1850, in the 

British metropolis, William took charge of Siemens & Halske’s 

fi rst international agency. That same year, Carl too moved to Lon-

don to represent the electrical engineering company at the Great 

Exhibition, the fi rst world’s fair. Above and beyond these initial 

steps toward expansion, the rest of Siemens & Halske’s interna-

tional business also continued to be run by individual Siemens 

brothers. The close ties between family and business proved an 

advantage for all involved. Werner von Siemens could rely on his 

brothers’ loyalty. That was especially the case for Carl, who acted 

for Siemens & Halske fi rst in Berlin, and then in London, Paris 

and St. Petersburg. It is unlikely that an employee who was not a 

family member would have been willing to stand the stress.

13

 

Even at age 35, Werner von Siemens’ personal life was still 

dominated by his ties with his younger brothers. All the young 

men, including Werner, were unmarried. A “deep-rooted frater-

nal room-communism”, as Werner von Siemens once called this 

close connection, was consistent with the company founder’s life-

style – in the rear-courtyard building at Schöneberger Straße 19, 

he lived under the workshop.

14

 Other than his immediate family, 

his closest companions during that period included only his long-

standing friend William Meyer – Siemens & Halske’s first office 

head, starting in 1855 – and Johann Georg Halske, who likewise 

lived at Schöneberger Straße 19 with his family. 

Werner von Siemens was not an ascetic. He was often highly 

sociable. He enjoyed celebrating with his close friends and his 

siblings and was a passionate devotee of smoking cigars. His elder 

Werner von Siemens with his younger sister and 

brothers, 1851: left to right, Otto, William, Friedrich, 

Hans, Sophie and Walter

1851  

The fi rst world’s fair – the Great Exhibition – is held in London. 

As one of the world’s leading electrical companies, Siemens has been a regular 

presence at all the major technical and industrial shows ever since. 

1855  

William Meyer begins working as chief engineer and executive 

representative at the Berlin headquarters of Siemens & Halske. 

He establishes a certain degree of bureaucratic structure within the 

company for the fi rst time. 

---