The Barre and Mencke families

The Barre and Mencke Families

The Barre family of brewers maintains the largest family plot at the municipal cemetery.

Ernst Johann Barre, a native of Lübbecke, founded the private brewery Ernst Barre in 1842. Louis Barre succeeded his father as head of the company, introduced mechanical cooling to the brewery, and brought it up to the state of the art. Sales were also massively expanded under his leadership. For example, starting in 1885, the Bremen-based shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd purchased 300,000 bottles annually from Lübbecke. The following generations (Ernst Ludwig Barre I, Ernst Ludwig Barre II, and Ernst Ludwig Barre III) continued on the path of consistent modernization. At the same time, they paid close attention to ensuring the high quality of the beers they produced.

Ernst Ludwig I steered the brewery safely through World War I and the ensuing Great Depression. After his death, his son Ernst Ludwig II had to take over at the age of just 31. Under his leadership, the brewery successfully weathered World War II as well as the difficult period of reconstruction. Finally, Ernst Ludwig III confidently guided the company into the modern market economy. Since 1998, Christoph Barre has been leading the brewery as the sixth generation of the family.

Across from it stands the largest obelisk in the Lübbecke cemetery. It is the tomb of August Mencke and his family. In 1886, he founded the Mencke & Holle cigar factory, which was the second-largest tobacco factory in the city. The company ceased operations in 1956. His house in the middle of Lange Straße is easy to spot; the factory building behind it on Niedernstraße has since been torn down and replaced with a new building.

Lübbecke

The Barre and Mencke families