Franz Xaver Beck

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Josef Franz Xaver Beck (born March 6, 1827 in Sursee ; † August 30, 1894 ibid) was a Swiss politician of the Catholic conservative faction (today's CVP ) as well as a large and so-called "gentleman farmer" on the Beckenhof in Sursee.

biography

Beck grew up on the Beckenhof as the son of the large Sursee farmer and district judge Franz Xaver Josef Beck-Egli. Both the mother and the twin brother both died in childbirth, so Beck was raised by his single aunts. He attended primary school in Sursee. He was then sent to the Jesuits for a preparatory course at high school and the first high school class at the St. Michael College in Freiburg in Üechtland . In autumn 1842 he came to the grammar school in Lucerne where he joined the Lucerne section of the Swiss Student Association (today: AV Semper Fidelis Lucerne ).

Beck then moved to the universities of Munich and Freiburg im Breisgau , where he attended lectures on philosophy, history and law. However, his studies remained without a degree. In order to take over the family goods in Sursee, he graduated from the Hohenheim Agricultural University near Stuttgart . From 1847 to 1849 Beck was a member of the central committee of the Swiss Student Union . During the Sonderbund War he served as a young sniper lieutenant in the Sonderbund Army. In this function he was involved in a skirmish near Geuensee with his military subordinates . Following the conquest of Sursee by the federal coalition troops, the Beckenhof was occupied by the troops.

After completing his apprenticeship in Hohenheim, Beck undertook a long trip through the neighboring countries of Germany, France and Italy with the aim of getting to know the people, the countries and, above all, agriculture. He then returned to Sursee in 1850 to take over the family goods. Although he would have had the necessary agricultural knowledge, he managed the Beckenhof as well as the goods that were bought later as a so-called "Herrenbauer".

In 1851 Beck married Marie Leu von Ebersol, the daughter of the conservative councilor Josef Leu von Ebersol, who was murdered in his sleep on July 20, 1845 . The marriage had eight children:

Public work

In 1859 Beck founded the Lucerne Farmers' Association (President 1860) with some like-minded people. From 1864 to 1867 he was the local citizen council of the city of Sursee . From 1868 to 1881 he was a district judge. From 1871 to 1891 Beck had a seat on the Grand Council of the Canton of Lucerne . His person remains inextricably linked with the conservative election victories in the canton of Lucerne in 1869 resp. 1871. At that time, the conservative forces of the canton rallied under Beck's leadership to oust the liberal government installed from outside after the Sonderbund War. The mansion at Beckenhof served as the seat of the conservative Central Committee. In the course of the conservative election victory , Beck moved into the National Council in 1869 , to which he belonged until his death (he died in office) in 1894.

In the National Council, Beck mainly dealt with agricultural issues. Among other things, he made a contribution to the debt relief of the farming community as well as subsidies for the improvement of alpine farming in Switzerland. He also worked as an appraisal expert in the agricultural sector. Beck himself had an extraordinary flair for business matters in private. In this way, he increased the family's fortune through wise acquisitions and sales of land. The ruins of Neu-Habsburg in Meggen , on which today's castle was later built, deserve special mention at this point. Beck died on August 30, 1894 of complications from typhoid fever , which he contracted during a stay with his family on the family's own Alp Kadhus.

perception

In the commemorative publication of the Lucerne CVP for its 150th anniversary, Beck is described as the ideal type of the Catholic-conservative politician of his time. He belonged to the Swiss Student Association and sat on its central committee at a young age, he belonged to the Piusverein and was a member of its central committee. He was also an influential member of his Catholic conservative faction. Beck was also considered to be a representative of the ultramontane trend and was indebted in nature and thinking to that of his father-in-law Josef Leu von Ebersol , so he remained unforgiving towards radicalism throughout his life . His experiences from the difficult times of the 1840s and from the Sonderbund War certainly played a role. However, it was not considered to be among the fanatics of the ultramontane direction. On the death of the Lucerne government, the Federal Council wrote in its letter of condolence: “ The canton of Lucerne is losing to the deceased one of its most trusted citizens, a man who has served him with loyal devotion over the course of his long years and who is essential to the fatherland in the field of agriculture Has rendered services. »

literature

personal data
SURNAME Beck, Franz Xaver
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beck, Josef Franz Xaver (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 6, 1827
PLACE OF BIRTH Sursee
DATE OF DEATH August 30, 1894
Place of death Sursee