Franz Meyer (banker)

Franz Simon Meyer (born December 3, 1799 in Rastatt ; † May 23, 1871 ibid) was a Baden merchant and banker . Between 1816 and 1871 he wrote a “Tag- und Familienbuch” (diary and family book), which comprises around 1,500 manuscript pages and thus left an important source for posterity on the cultural , everyday , regional and economic history of the 19th century .

Life

His family on his father's side came from the village of Eisental , which today belongs to Bühl near Baden-Baden . His grandfather, Franz S. Meyer, left the town to do a commercial apprenticeship in Steinbach and Achern . He then settled in Rastatt, married and opened a business. His eldest son - Joseph Meyer - married Margarethe Kapferer, who was born in Freiburg and is a merchant's daughter , in 1797 .

In December 1799, Franz Simon Meyer was born as the only surviving child of his parents. At first he was tutored at home by his mother and with the support of a private tutor, then he attended the municipal school "on the town hall" and the Lyceum in Rastatt. Franz Meyer began working in his father's business at an early age. At the age of 14, he and his father attended one of the most important trade fairs in Frankfurt am Main for the first time .

After Napoleon's flight from Elba and the worsening of the political situation, his father decided in 1815 to send his only son to a Swiss boarding school in Saint Blaise - located in the canton of Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel . There, Franz Meyer was supposed to learn the French language and deepen his commercial knowledge so that he could successfully follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. After his return in 1817 he worked in his father's business, which he later took over, expanded and diversified. In order to continue his education Meyer undertook an educational trip to Paris (1820/21), there he worked for Schlumberger et Javal frères. He then traveled to London and northern England .

Gravestone of the banker Franz Meyer

Around 1830/31 he founded the first bank in Baden-Baden , initially in a room of the luxury hotel Badischer Hof , from 1853 in his own house in a prime location. There he became one of the most important lenders - among others for Edouard Bénazet and the casino , and thus made a decisive contribution to the fact that Baden-Baden could become the important spa town to which it increasingly developed. Meyer documented the Baden Revolution and, above all, the siege of Rastatt in the years 1848/49 in his yearbooks with particularly great detail . In 1853 Meyer founded the "Meyer-Margarethen-Kinderheim" in Rastatt.

Diary and family book as a historical source

The book, which became a companion for almost his entire life, began by 16-year-old Franz Meyer with a report about his trip to Milan , which he undertook together with his classmates at the Swiss boarding school. After a four-year break, he continued his recordings during a year-long stay in Paris. First he summarized his return trip from Neuchâtel (Switzerland) to Rastatt as well as the most important events since then and then began his travel description to Paris. His notes on the trip to London and Northern England were made in 1821 while he was there. He also kept a detailed record of his expenses on the way, of the plays he saw in Paris and London, and of the inventory of his luggage.

Manuscript of the day and family book

After his return to Rastatt in 1822, he began to update the book every year. He dealt with the political events on an international, "national" and regional level, business and finally family events. Meyer interrupted this continuous writing rhythm only extremely rarely between 1822 and his death in 1871. In this way, Franz Meyer left an almost complete documentation of business, political, social, cultural and family processes over more than fifty years.

As a historical source, Meyer's yearbooks provide information on a variety of aspects of 19th century history , e. B. political history , economic and banking history , cultural-historical aspects - such as the history of mentality , history of the bourgeoisie , everyday history , history of communication , history of mobility and, last but not least, the history of illness .

Works

• Diary and family book. Baden-Baden City Archives, D9 / 1 and D9 / 2.
• The whole story of my indifferent life. Vol. 1 1816-1828. The youth of Franz Simon Meyer. Edited by Sebastian Diziol. Solivagus, Kiel 2016, ISBN 978-3-9817079-3-9 .
• The whole story of my indifferent life . Vol. 2, 1829-1849. Franz Simon Meyer in times of revolution. Edited by Sebastian Diziol. Solivagus, Kiel 2017, ISBN 978-3-9817079-6-0 .

literature

• Rainer Wollenschneider: The “Diaries” of Franz Simon Meyer (1799–1871) , in: Badische Heimat 80 (2000) H. 2, P. 180–181
• Margot Fuß: Jeanette Lom on the Amalienburg , in: Die Ortenau. Publications of the Historisches Verein für Mittelbaden 45 (1965), pp. 272–286.
• KurBadischer Hof- und StaatsCalendar for the year 1805 with the spa-spa most gracious privilege. Carlsruhe [1805], p. 146.
• Heinrich Schreiber: Baden-Baden the city, its healing springs and its surroundings. Paperback for foreigners and locals. Stuttgart 1840, p. 255.
• Partly published diary entries of Franz Simon Meyer (1799–1871) , in: Heimatbuch Landkreis Rastatt (1991), pp. 87–111; (1992) pp. 93–120 with a foreword by Wolfgang Reiss.
• Patricia Reister: Neglected and Endangered? Home education in the district and the city of Rastatt (contributions to city history, vol. 6), Rastatt 2017.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rainer Wollenschneider: The "diaries" of Franz Simon Meyer (1799–1871) , in: Badische Heimat 80 (2000) H. 2, pp. 180–181; Margot Fuß: Jeanette Lom on the Amalienburg , in: Die Ortenau. Publications of the Historisches Verein für Mittelbaden 45 (1965), pp. 272–286.
2. ↑ KurBadischer Hof- und StaatsCalendar for the year 1805 with the Spa-Baden most gracious privilege. Carlsruhe [1805], p. 146, last accessed on May 10, 2016.
3. ^ Heinrich Schreiber: Baden-Baden the city, its healing springs and its surroundings. Paperback for foreigners and locals. Stuttgart 1840, p. 255, last viewed on May 10, 2016.
4. ↑ See the diary entries of Franz Simon Meyer (1799–1871), excerpts published in: Heimatbuch Landkreis Rastatt (1991), pp. 87–111; (1992) pp. 93–120 with a foreword by Wolfgang Reiss.
5. ↑ Rainer Wollenschneider: "House Biber" founded as an orphanage ", on the website of the Rastatt Historical Society , viewed on May 10, 2016.
6. ↑ The yearbooks are made available to the public in a three-volume edition. The first volume appeared in 2016, the second volume in 2017. See Michael Maurer: Review of S. Diziol (Ed.): The whole story of my indifferent life , in: H-Soz-Kult from March 20, 2018; Ulrich Philipp: Lived history in a leather cover. 55 years from the point of view of a merchant's son , in: Badisches Tagblatt from May 7, 2016; Christiane Krause-Dimmock: Banker brings time to life , in: Badische Latest News from May 4, 2016; Sebastian Diziol - PhD historian on the trail of the Baden-Baden banker Franz Meyer ( Memento of the original from May 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in: Bürgerservice News from May 4, 2016; The exciting story of banker Franz Meyer from the city archive is published - 1,500 pages from the 19th century , in: goodnews 4 Baden-Baden from April 27, 2016.