Franz Ringhoffer

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Franz Ringhoffer (* 11. July 1744 in Müllendorf in today's Burgenland; † 28. August 1827 in Prague ) was a coppersmith and inventor who laid the foundation for one of the leading industrial companies in the monarchy of Austria-Hungary put and one in the second half of the 19 Century founded the manufacturing dynasty raised to the nobility.

Life

He came from a Burgenland family in "Mühlendorf", Ödenburg County , Kgr. Hungary and was the son of Martin Ringhoffer and Magdalena Küchler. In 1759 he started an apprenticeship with the Viennese master coppersmith Franz Pauer, which he completed in 1763. In 1769 he was accepted into the Prague coppersmiths' guild.

After the master's examination, Franz Ringhoffer acquired the citizenship of the city of Prague in 1771 and opened a workshop in Prague's old town (Plattnergasse, near the Clementinum ), which specialized in the manufacture of brewery equipment and later also steam boilers. Ringhoffer designed what was then the largest brewing pan , the first of which was made for the brewery of the Strahov Premonstratensian monastery . The high income enabled the continuous expansion of production and the purchase of larger properties.

During the Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815) he enjoyed extensive orders from the Austrian army administration. In order to be able to cover the growing copper demand, he built a copper hammer and a rolling mill in Kamenitz near Eule in the south of Prague together with his only son Joseph Ringhoffer (* 1785 in Prague, † 1847 in Prague) and his nephew Martin Ringhoffer .

In 1791 Franz Ringhoffer became head of the Prague guild of the coppersmiths' guild and a member of the city committee of guild elders, in 1793 he was elected to the city council, shortly afterwards he moved into the city council.

When he retired in 1821, his flourishing business had produced 159 brewing pans.

After the death of his first wife Johanna, on March 14, 1782, he married Elisabeth Pakeny (Packeny, Packenj, Pacqueny) from a respected family of goldsmiths of Italian origin who had immigrated to Bohemia via Westphalia at the beginning of the 18th century. Elisabeth's father Johann Dominik Packenius was an influential councilor in Lesser Town in Prague and a confidante of the high clergy. Several precious monstrances and ciborias created by him belong to the treasure trove of the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

In 1789, Franz Ringhoffer donated a valuable monstrance to his home community of Müllendorf. He signed the deed of donation as a "civil copper publisher".

effect

After his death, his son Joseph Ringhoffer (1785–1847) took over the management of the copper works. In 1832 appointed kk court coppersmith master, in 1843 he received the privilege to produce all copper and brass goods. The company developed increasingly efficient processes and produced new types of equipment and work equipment for beer breweries, malt houses, spirits distilleries and sugar factories.

From the machine factory affiliated in 1848 and the wagon and tender factory founded in Smichow in 1852, Franz Ringhoffer's grandson Franz Freiherr von (since 1873) Ringhoffer (* 1817 in Prague, † 1873 in Prague-Smichov) and his son Franz Seraph Josef Freiherr von Ringhoffer (* 1844 in Prague, † 1909 in Bad Kissingen ) emerged a widespread corporation, which achieved world renown in the fields of wagon construction and automobile production ("Tatra").

Two grandson of Franz Ringhoffer - Franz Freiherr von Ringhoffer (1817-1873) and Emanuel Ritter von Ringhoffer (* 1823 in Prague, died 1903 in Vienna) - were by the Austrian Emperor I Franz Joseph ennobled.

→ Main article: Ringhoffer works

literature

personal data
SURNAME Ringhoffer, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian inventor and manufacturer
DATE OF BIRTH July 11, 1744
PLACE OF BIRTH Müllendorf
DATE OF DEATH August 28, 1827
Place of death Prague