Leopold Sello

Leopold Sello (born 1785 in Potsdam, died 1874 in Saarbrücken) was the head of the Royal Prussian Mining Office in Saarbrücken between 1816 and 1857. The result of his many years of service as a Mining Office director was the rapid and successful development of coal mining. In addition to the introduction of technical innovations, he also played a huge part in the development of the social infrastructure from the insurance industry to the house building industry. He was the initiator of premium house construction. Over 1,000 loans were issued for constructing premium houses up until the end of his time in office. Sello's idea of funding the miners' homes offered major impetus for the currently high home ownership rate in Saarland.