Adolf von der Leyen

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Adolf von der Leyen (* 1624 / 1625 in Radevormwald , † 1698 ) was an entrepreneur from Radevormwald. He is considered to be the founder of the Krefeld silk industry and progenitor of the von der Leyen line in Krefeld and thus the dynasty of the so-called silk barons .

The parents and their origins

Adolf von der Leyen's parents came from Radevormwald, where the Leye district still exists today and where they worked as trimmings and trimmings. His father, who also had the first name Adolf, was born around 1590 to 1595 and died in 1624 or 1625. Shortly before that, he was known to be a ribbon dealer at a Frankfurt fair in 1623 and 1624 . His mother, "Entgen" (Anna), initially continued the business in Radevormwald after the death of her husband. In a Radevormwalder baptismal register in 1638 it was noted as “quite in debt”. It also said there that she inherited two houses and lands.

His life and offspring

He was married twice. His first marriage was with Sibilla Wienenberg († 1689), whose father was also a trimmings maker in Radevormwald. They had two sons together: Wilhelm von der Leyen (1650-1722) and Friedrich von der Leyen (1656-1724). The second marriage took place with Margaretha von Harting († 1698).

For the first time he was expelled along with his mother and other Mennonites in 1638. Peter Kriedte suspects in his book that shortly afterwards he returned to Radevormwald, which he had to leave for good in 1656.

In any case, he made trimmings in Radevormwald and ran a trade there. Due to his Mennonite belief, however, he was finally expelled in 1656 by Philipp Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg , the then Duke of Berg , by threatening all remaining members of this faith to confiscate a quarter of their property. He fled to Krefeld and received civil rights there in 1779. He continued his business in Krefeld. In the local Mennonite community he rose in reputation and later also took on a leadership role.

Later on, the descendants of the von der Leyen family achieved great prosperity, reputation and wealth in Krefeld. The grandchildren of Adolf von der Leyen, Friederich and his half-brother Johann, founded a company for the manufacture of silk ribbons and velvet goods in 1721 and also began dyeing silk goods in 1724. This company became independent of the previous silk dyers in Cologne and a national manufacturer and supplier of silk and velvet goods.

Friedrich Heinrich of Friedrich von der Leyen , a great-grandson of Adolf von der Leyen, has been in the French occupation in 1813, a Baron de l'Empire and finally in 1816 by the King of Prussia as Baron ( Baron ) into the nobility raised. At present the property and lands are administered by the Freiherr-von-der-Leyen'schen administration by Friedrich Freiherr von der Leyen in Neukirchen-Vluyn . In addition to Bloemersheim Castle, this also includes the leasing companies Schloss Dyck and Haus Meer .

literature

  • Peter Kriedte: From linen to silk ... , in: Krefeld. The history of the city, Volume 2, 2000, pp. 287–290.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Croon, Helmuth, "von der Leyen, Friedrich", in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 14 (1985), p. 432 f. [Online version]; URL: http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd136670741.html
  2. ↑ Croon, Helmuth, “von der Leyen, Friedrich Heinrich Freiherr von der Leyen zu Bloemersheim”, in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 14 (1985), p. 433 [online version]; URL: http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd136670946.html
personal data
SURNAME Leyen, Adolf von der
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German textile entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH 1624 or 1625
PLACE OF BIRTH Radevormwald
DATE OF DEATH 1698
Place of death Krefeld