Alexander von Schoeller

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Alexander Ritter von Schoeller, lithograph by Adolf Dauthage , 1861

Wilhelm Alexander Ritter von Schoeller (born June 12, 1805 in Düren in North Rhine-Westphalia; † November 11, 1886 Vienna ) was a German-Austrian industrialist and entrepreneur as well as a banker .

Live and act

The son of the cloth manufacturer Johann Paul Schoeller (1772–1845) and Elisabeth Henriette Wilhelmine Eickel completed a commercial training in their father's factory and from 1825 gained practical experience in the trade under the direction of his cousin Philipp Wilhelm von Schoeller (1797–1877) "Gebr. Schoeller kk Fine Cloth and Woolen Goods Factory ”in Brno . In 1831 the company management transferred the management of the Vienna branch to him. As early as 1833, however, Schoeller founded his own wholesaler " Schoeller & Co. " in Vienna, from which the trade in goods from the various family businesses as well as future industrial connections was centrally controlled and where he also owned his brother Johann Paul von, who was ennobled in 1867 Schoeller (1808–1882) participated. Alexander von Schoeller added a banking division to this trading house, from which the Schoellerbank eventually developed.

Berndorfer Metallwarenfabrik Alexander von Schoeller

Schoeller took advantage of the moment for further innovations and founded the Berndorfer Metallwarenfabrik for fine cutlery in 1843 together with Alfred Krupp as a silent partner . In 1862 he also took over with Alfred Krupp Ternitzer ironworks Reichenbach , he along with Alfred's brother in 1868 Hermann Krupp in the Ternitzer rolling mill and steel manufacturing Actien- company transformed from which then in 1924 by integrating it with Bleckmann steel mills in Mürzzuschlag the Schoeller-Bleckmann Stahlwerke AG was created. In order to secure access to raw material sources for his companies, he acquired stakes in the coal mines in Miesbach and Jaworzno, among others , and founded the hard coal union Mirošov u Rokycan together with Ernst von Herring and his nephew Gustav Adolph von Schoeller .

Schoeller's thirst for action seemed tireless and like his second brother Heinrich Eduard von Schoeller (1803–1879), who was also ennobled in 1867, in Edelény in Hungary, Alexander opened up another mainstay when he entered the food industry, especially the sugar industry. To this end, he acquired agricultural goods for sugar beet cultivation in Čakovice , Ctěnice, and Miškovice, all of which were located near Prague, and in some cases, together with his Brno cousin Philipp Wilhelm, stakes in several sugar factories in the above-mentioned locations, which he later transferred to the majority. In 1856 he founded the sugar factory in Vrdy . Likewise, on his initiative, together with his relatives by marriage from the Skene family, the sugar factory was founded in Leipnik in 1867 , which from 1921 merged into the Leipnik-Lundenburger -Zuckerfabrik AG near Vienna as a production company specializing in processing the sugar beet from its Moravian growing areas was intended. Until 1943, the Viennese wholesale and banking house Schoeller & Co. held the majority of shares in this company, in which until 1988, President Philipp von Schoeller, was a family member in the management.

Levice Castle
Coat of arms Alexander von Schoeller on the facade of St. Michael, Levice

In addition, Alexander founded a rolled barley factory in Ebenfurth near Vienna, which he built up into the largest milling company in the monarchy, as well as his participation in the Hütteldorfer brewery . Furthermore, he leased the rule of Levice in Hungary together with Carl Leidenfrost von Bars , which passed into the ownership of his Viennese trading house and which was later managed by his Brno nephew Gustav von Schoeller (1830-1912) and above all under his son Gustav Philipp (1866 –1950) became a model company for half-blood breeding and schnapps distillery . In addition, Alexander acquired the Levice Castle from the Esterházy family here in 1867 as a family seat, which remained in the family's possession until the expropriation in 1945 based on the Beneš decrees, as did the Levice estate.

Further investments, including in the Allgemeine Österreichische Baugesellschaft (today's PORR) , the family-owned Brno worsted spinning mill, the screw and nut factory in Neunkirchen in Lower Austria , the Hirschwanger grinding and cellulose factory and in several industrial banks document Schoeller's economic influence.

Due to his recognized competence, Schoeller was also appointed to several supervisory boards and executive boards, such as in the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Trade Court, the Lower Austrian Trade Association , the Industrial Club and the Lower Austrian Escompte Society . Furthermore, he advised and supported Anselm Salomon Freiherr von Rothschild when he founded the kk privileged Österreichische Credit-Anstalt for trade and commerce . From 1868, Schoeller was also a lifelong member of the manor of the Austrian Imperial Council .

In the last years of his life he spent the winter in Nice due to illness . Schoeller, who belonged to the Protestant church and was also the chairman of the Protestant community in Vienna, was buried in the Matzleinsdorf Evangelical Cemetery in Vienna.

For his services, Alexander von Schoeller was appointed Imperial Councilor , in 1863 he was ennobled to the hereditary Austrian nobility with the rank of knight and honored with the Order of the Iron Crown , 3rd class.

In 1909, the Schoellerhofgasse in Vienna- Leopoldstadt (2nd district) was named after the apartment complex “Schoellerhof” built by Alexander von Schoeller around 1840.

family

Ctěnice Castle, ancestral seat of Alexander von Schoeller

Alexander von Schoeller was married to Pauline Hoesch (1814–1881), the sister of Leopold Hoesch , whose mother Johanna was in turn a sister of Alexander's uncle Leopold Schoeller in Düren . After her death he married Pauline Hendeß from Cöslin (1837–1921) in Vienna . Since both marriages remained childless, Alexander's main business, the Vienna trading and banking house Schoeller & Co , after his death, as well as most of his branches of industry, passed into the possession of his three nephews Gustav Adolph von Schoeller (1826–1889), Philipp Wilhelm von Schoeller ( 1845–1916) and Sir Paul Eduard von Schoeller (1853–1920).

In 1848, Alexander von Schoeller acquired the Ctěnice Castle near Prague as a family seat , which remained in family ownership until it was expropriated in 1945 on the basis of the Beneš decrees.

literature

Web links

Commons : Schoeller Palace in Levice  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Ctěnice Castle  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Schoeller, Alexander von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilhelm Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Austrian banker, industrialist and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH June 12, 1805
PLACE OF BIRTH Düren
DATE OF DEATH November 11, 1886
Place of death Vienna