Franz Mozart (master builder)

Memorial plaque to Franz Mozart in the Fuggerei .

Franz Mozart (baptized October 3, 1649 in Augsburg ; † 1693 or 1694 there ) was a master mason of the Baroque era and the grandfather of Leopold Mozart , thus also the great-grandfather of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart .

Origin and siblings

The master mason Franz Mozart was the son of the master builder David Mozart , who immigrated to Augsburg during the Thirty Years' War , the progenitor of the Mozart family of artists , who built some sacred buildings in the Augsburg area and also worked for the Fugger family . While his brother Hans Georg Mozart was able to achieve a reputation that continues to this day as a foreman at the Augsburg Cathedral Chapter, only a few documents that can be assigned by name have been preserved about Franz Mozart's construction activities. Another brother of Mozart, Daniel (1645–1683), the eldest, was also a bricklayer, nothing more is known about his work. Mozart's younger brother David (1653–1710) entered an order, his youngest brother Johann Michael (1655–1718) became a sculptor in Vienna. Franz Mozart also had four sisters.

Career

It is believed that Mozart, like his brother Hans Georg, spent his apprenticeship with his father David. During this time an incident occurred that could and might have had serious consequences for Mozart's further life. In 1677, Franz Mozart helped to bury the body of an executioner servant who was dishonorable in his time. This could have led to a loss of honesty and, as a result, to the lack of construction contracts. Some authors attribute a presumed impoverishment of Mozart to this incident.

In 1681 Mozart successfully passed the master craftsman's examination in masonry; in the same year he moved to the Fuggerei . As a foundation builder, he was responsible for building projects in this settlement until his death.

Impoverishment thesis

Some authors see the move to the Fuggerei, an early subsidized settlement for the poor, as an indication of Mozart's impoverishment and assume that the cause was a loss of civil honesty as a result of the illegitimate burial of the executioner during Mozart's apprenticeship. Against the assumption of impoverishment, however, speaks that his brother Hans Georg had also attended the burial in question, but later became very successful in his hometown; an initially imposed fine was waived on the two brothers. Another argument against the assumption of impoverishment is the fact that Franz Mozart passed the master's examination in October 1681, i.e. the year he moved into the Fuggerei, and already held the master's degree that entitles him to practice the craft. His father and brother Hans Georg were also still alive, both of whom were well-respected builders in the city. The Augsburg local historian Adolf Layer assumes that Mozart's position as a foundation builder led to a secure livelihood through well-paid commissions - none of which can be assigned to Franz Mozart by name today. The move took place according to Layer's assumption for the reason that the building master's position was associated with the right to live in the Fuggerei and thus a discounted accommodation option.

A memorial plaque at house number 14 in the “Mittleren Gasse” of the Fuggerei commemorates the stay of Franz Mozart , here the unsafe 1693 is given as the end of the stay.

Marriage and offspring

Franz Mozart was married to Anna Haerrer from Oberbuch bei Isen since February 1678 . The couple had two sons and a daughter. Franz Mozart's son Johann Georg (1679–1736) was under the tutelage of his uncle Hans Georg Mozart after the death of his father. He learned the bookbinding trade and became the father of Leopold Mozart and the grandfather of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His second son, also called Franz Mozart , became a sculptor; It is believed that after his father's death he was sent to Vienna to live with his uncle Johann Michael, perhaps his teacher as a sculptor.

Movie

• Immersed in eternity, Augsburg - the Bavarian city of Mozart, documentary film by Bernhard Graf , BR 2011, a search for traces of Franz Mozart and his relatives.
• Mozart - the true story by Bernhard Graf , BR 2012, a documentary play about Franz Mozart and his relatives.
• Mozart's secrets, documentary film by Bernhard Graf , BR 2019, a search for traces of Franz Mozart and his relatives.

literature

• Pere Forés Badia: Arbres genealògics de Mozart
• Bernhard Graf: Mozart's forgotten ancestors. An artist family from Augsburg and Swabia, Allitera Verlag, Munich 2019, ISBN 978-3-96233-132-0 .
• Ulrich Graf Fugger von Glött: The Fuggerei - The oldest social settlement in the world , Augsburg 2003
• Martin Kluger : WA Mozart and Augsburg. Ancestors, hometown and first love . context Medien und Verlag, Augsburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-939645-05-4 .
• Adolf Layer : The Augsburg artist family Mozart, Die Brigg publishing house, Augsburg without a year
• Gudila Freifrau von Pölnitz-Kehr (ed.): Die Fuggerei , 11th edition, Augsburg 2000

Individual evidence

1. ↑ z. B. Gudila Freifrau von Pölnitz-Kehr (ed.): The Fuggerei . 11th edition, Augsburg 2000, p. 21.
2. ^ Gabriele Krist-Krug: Hans Georg Mozart (1647–1719). Baroque master builder of a famous family from Augsburg: Life and Work , Wißner, Augsburg 2006, ISBN 3-89639-522-X