Benedict of Herman

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Benedict von Herman (* 1689 in Memmingen , † 1782 in Venice , Italy ; also Benedict von Herman ) was a long-distance merchant and the first millionaire in Swabia .

Life

Benedict was born in Memmingen in Upper Swabia in 1689 . At fourteen he began an apprenticeship as a commercial clerk in a German trading company in Venice . At a young age he took over the company in which he successfully completed his apprenticeship. He specialized the company in the trade in spices, buying and selling entire shiploads.

The Habsburgs borrowed money from him in order to be able to pay their Italian army. Since the crown could not guarantee the repayment, Benedict von Herman made an agreement with the Austrian rulers, according to which the proceeds of the Austrian mercury works flowed to him. In 1750, Emperor Franz I granted him imperial nobility. At that time, his Venetian branch was considered the richest German trading company in the lagoon . He himself is considered the first millionaire in Swabia. In 1757 Benedict donated 4,000 guilders to equip a scholarship and in 1760 6,000 guilders for the orphanage in the hospital.

Benedict had the Hermansbau built in Memmingen as a representative building for his relatives in 1766 . He himself lived under his booth in Venice. He is said to have given up any comfort available at the time. While still alive, Benedict von Herman organized his property for his heirs. When he died in Venice in 1782, he left his fortune to his three cousins. For example, he gave his cousin Johann Theobald the estate of Wain, which he had acquired for 500,000 guilders, the newly built country palace and a cash amount of 100,000 guilders. Furthermore, Johann Theobald's legacy included a sixth of the rule of Eisenburg , fields and meadows near Memmingen, which were worth 20,000 guilders, and the newly built Hermansbau. He also bought the nobility from the main heir. He bequeathed 100,000 guilders to his brother, Philipp Adolph Johann von Herman.

See also

literature

  • Sabine Rogg and Christoph Engelhard: Memmingen - key to the city . Maximilian Dietrich Verlag, Memmingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-87164-166-4 , p. 35 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peer Frieß: The history of the city of Memmingen - From the beginning to the end of the imperial city . Konrad Theiss Verlag , Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8062-1315-1 , p. 715, footnote 123 .
  2. ↑ Stadtarchiv Memmingen A revenue book 1770, fol. 3.
  3. ↑ Peer Frieß: The history of the city of Memmingen - From the beginnings to the end of the imperial city . Konrad Theiss Verlag , Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-8062-1315-1 , p. 835 .
personal data
SURNAME Herman, Benedict of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swabian long-distance trade merchant
DATE OF BIRTH 1689
PLACE OF BIRTH Memmingen , Duchy of Swabia
DATE OF DEATH 1782
Place of death Venice , Italy