Franz von Bernus
Franz Alfred Jakob Bernus (born October 14, 1808 in Frankfurt am Main ; † March 17, 1884 in Neuburg Abbey ), baron von Bernus since 1863 , was a wealthy businessman , politician , art collector, patron and senator of the Free City of Frankfurt with strong imperial strengths - Austrian ties.
ancestors
His family's ancestors were religious refugees who once moved from Italy via the Netherlands, first to the reformed Hanau and then - already wealthy - to the Lutheran Free Imperial City of Frankfurt am Main.
His parents were Friedrich Alexander Bernus (* 1778 Frankfurt; † 1867 ibid) and his first wife Therese Alexandrine Chamot. After his mother's death on May 12, 1815, his father married Rebekka "Becky" Maria Coleman MacGregor of Inneregny (* 1788 in Hamburg; † 1876 in Frankfurt) in 1818.
Life
He spent a large part of his youth abroad, especially in England and Italy, and later also in Russia. His stays in Italy broadened his understanding of art and literature, while his stays in the rapidly developing England sharpened his eye for economic issues, which were not yet common in the sluggishly developing Germany. For these skills he was elected to the Senate of the Free City of Frankfurt in 1853 , whose development into a major city he foresaw. He particularly urged the timely creation of cheap transport routes by means of the railroad, as well as adequate bridges. At that time the old Main Bridge was the only connection between the two banks. He also followed the coin problem with knowledgeable interest. The expanded water supply through the development of the sources of the Vogelsberg had a sustainable support in it.
On November 15, 1836, Bernus married Marie Cornelie Magdalene du Fay (* July 13, 1819 in Frankfurt am Main; † October 6, 1887), who came from a wealthy upper-class Frankfurt family with Calvinist ancestors from Valenciennes ( Hainaut ), related among others with Goethe's sister Cornelia .
The couple had four children.
In 1838 he had his wife portrayed by Philipp Veit . This portrait, only 97 × 129 cm in size, hangs in the Städel today . Veit - at that time art professor and director of the Städel - was a frequent guest in the Bernus house, as did Eduard von Steinle , Moritz von Schwind , Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and other artists.
In 1843, together with Alexander Bernus, Bernus donated the painting of Emperor Friedrich II , painted by Philipp Veit, for the decoration of the Roman Emperor's Hall .
The Bernus-du Fay family had a summer residence built in the style of an Italian villa in Soden im Taunus , Königsteiner Straße 83. In 1860 Leo Tolstoy spent a summer in this villa .
In 1863 Franz Alfred Jakob Bernus became the organizer of the Frankfurt Fürstentag . In recognition of the problem-free course of the ultimately unsuccessful Prince's Day, Bernus was elevated to the status of hereditary baron by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I.
As a loyal supporter of the Austrian imperial family, von Bernus was one of the Frankfurt spokesmen for the opposition to Bismarck's policies , which led to the German War in the early summer of 1866 . On July 16, 1866, Prussian troops of the Main Army under General Eduard Vogel von Falckenstein occupied the Free City of Frankfurt and declared the Senate to be deposed. Von Bernus was arrested on July 17th and arrested at the main station . The Senators von Bernus and Speltz were brought hostage to the Cologne Fortress , but were allowed to return to Frankfurt on July 19, in return for pledging their word of honor . The city lost its independence and was annexed by Prussia.
Deeply disappointed, von Bernus resigned all honorary posts in Frankfurt and retired into private life. From then on he went on long journeys with his family. In 1867 he bitterly applied for dismissal from the Frankfurt Citizens' Association for himself, his wife and two daughters.
He asked for membership in the citizenship of the municipality of Basel-Kleinhüningen in (Switzerland).
For a long time he lived with his wife Marie in the Neuburg Abbey near Heidelberg, which at the time belonged to Sophie Schlosser - a relative of his wife Marie - who bequeathed the monastery to the Bernus family.
children
- Friedrich Alexander Freiherr von Bernus (1838–1908) and his wife Helene were childless and adopted Alexander von Bernus (1880–1965), the son of his sister Johanna.
- Caroline Rebecka Marie Therese Freiin von Bernus (born July 6, 1843 Frankfurt am Main; † 1918 Ingelheim), married the lawyer and banker Wilhelm Hermann Carl von Erlanger (1835–1909) on October 10, 1859 .
- Johanna Konstanze Freiin von Bernus (born September 23, 1845 in Frankfurt am Main, † April 29, 1925 in Munich), married the royal Bavarian major August Grashey in 1878.
- Marie Sophie Nathalie Eugenie Freiin von Bernus (born August 16, 1859 in Soden; † 1925), married Münch.
Frankfurter Fürstentag 1863 theater
Frankfurter Fürstentag 1863 final photo
Frankfurt Fürstentag 1863 caricature
Neuburg Abbey entrance way by Wilhelm Trübner (1851–1917)
literature
- Otto Heuer: Bernus, Baron Franz Alfred Jacob von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 46, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1902, p. 436 f.
- Wolfgang Klötzer (Hrsg.): Frankfurter Biographie . Personal history lexicon . First volume. A – L (= publications of the Frankfurt Historical Commission . Volume XIX , no. 1 ). Waldemar Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-7829-0444-3 .
- Jochen Lengemann : MdL Hessen. 1808-1996. Biographical index (= political and parliamentary history of the state of Hesse. Vol. 14 = publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse. Vol. 48, 7). Elwert, Marburg 1996, ISBN 3-7708-1071-6 , p. 73.
Web links
- Engraving of the coat of arms of Bernus du Fay
- Daughter Caroline von Erlanger born by Bernus (1843–1918)
- Daughter Maria Münch b. by Bernus († 1925)
- Neuburg Abbey / Neuburg Abbey
- Donor reference to Bernus in the Kaisersaal des Römers in Frankfurt am Main
- Bernus, Franz Jacob Alfred Freiherr von. Hessian biography. (As of October 14, 2019). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Franz Jakob Alfred Freiherr von Bernus, on Stift Neuburg ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Entry in the family tree database of the German nobility. Online at Stammreihen.de.
- ^ Friedrich Alexander Bernus . Base data. Online at einegrossefamilie.de.
- ↑ Becky MacGregor was a descendant of John Francis Charles Coleman MacGregor von Inneregny (* 1751 in Hamburg) and Petrus Alexander MacGregor von Inneregny (* 1704 in Mar, Scotland). She came from a cosmopolitan, educated family. Sadolin Lineage - descendants of Petrus Alexander MacGregor of Inneregny . English. Online on the MacGregor Clan's home page, accessed September 15, 2013.
- ↑ Marie Kornelia Magdalena du Fay ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Entry in the family tree database of the German nobility. Online at Stammreihen.de.
- ↑ Emperor Friedrich II. (Excerpt) . Painting in the Roman. Online at artigo.org, accessed September 15, 2013.
- ↑ Erika Ullrich, Edith Vetter: Königsteiner Straße 83 . In: Where Soden's spa guests stayed . Books on Demand GmbH, 2005. Page 74. ISBN 978-3833422508 . Online at books.google.de, accessed September 15, 2013.
- ^ ISG Frankfurt am Main; Senate complications, sign. 899, volume 4, 1867.
- ^ Johanna Konstanze von Bernus . Entry in the family tree database of the German nobility. Online at Stammreihen.de.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bernus, Franz von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bernus, Franz Alfred Jakob Freiherr von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Merchant and patron |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 14, 1808 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Frankfurt am Main |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 17, 1884 |
| Place of death | Neuberg Abbey |