Franz von Ringhoffer

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Baron Franz Ringhoffer (1844–1909)

Franz Seraph Joseph Freiherr von Ringhoffer (born November 22, 1844 in Prague , Bohemia , †  July 23, 1909 in Bad Kissingen , Lower Franconia ) was an Austrian industrialist , landowner, banker, politician, art collector and philanthropist.

Life

He was the eldest son of the large industrialist and landowner of the same name, Franz Freiherr von Ringhoffer (1817–1873), whose ancestors came from Müllendorf in Burgenland, settled in Prague in the second half of the 18th century and built a wagon factory there and Josephine, née Josephine Schallowetz (1822-1896). In the year of his death on January 3, 1873, the father had been ennobled by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I "in recognition of his outstanding services in the field of industry and his humanitarian work" and raised to the hereditary Austrian baron status.

Franz Seraph Josef Freiherr von Ringhoffer was President of the Austrian Industrial Council, he founded the First Bohemian-Moravian Machine Factory in Prague and the automobile manufacturer Praga in 1906/07 . The wagon factory built by his father in Smíchov with iron foundries and various subsidiary companies was the largest in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and achieved world renown as Ringhoffer-Werke with its production program.

Franz Seraph Josef Freiherr von Ringhoffer was Baron Franz Seraph von Ringhoffer in 1876 as a wagon and machine manufacturer who, together with his two younger brothers Emanuel Josef Franz Freiherr von Ringhoffer (1848–1923) and Viktor Josef Freiherr von Ringhoffer (1854–1922), built one of the most important industrial groups in Central Europe –1882 member of the Bohemian state parliament , representative of the liberal constitutional party , from 1888 member of the Board of Directors of the Creditanstalt-Bankverein, 1897 member of the State Railway Council and from 1892 member of the manor of the Austrian Reichsrat for life. Multiple awards, u. a. with the Knight's Cross of the Franz Joseph Order and an honorary doctorate from Dr. techn. hc of the German Technical University in Prague, he carefully managed the family business after temporary difficulties in the 1870s. The family's farms in Bohemia and especially the Groß-Popowitz brewery in Velké Popovice were considered to be the most modern and best-run in the Habsburg monarchy at the beginning of the 20th century.

Ringhoffer, who, in addition to studying at the Polytechnic in Prague (later the Czech Technical University in Prague ) and the Genieakademie ( kuk Technical Military Academy in Klosterbruck ), was a lieutenant in military service from 1866 to 1868, and in 1878 a lieutenant colonel in the reserve, became a partner in the family business in 1872 October 1871 in Wiesenberg ( North Moravia ) Franziska Freiin Klein von Wisenberg (born August 29, 1853 in Planina in der Krain , † June 29, 1940 in Prague), daughter of Franz Freiherr Klein von Wisenberg (1825–1882) and Leopoldine, born Hauptmann (1829–1886).

The couple had four children:

  • Franz Freiherr von Ringhoffer (1874–1940), large industrialist in Czechoslovakia founded in 1918 , President of the Board of Directors of Ringhoffer-Tatra AG and Mährisch-Schlesische Fahrzeugwerke AG ( Stauding ), Honorary President of the Prague German Theater, pioneer of golf in Bohemia and founder of the Prague golf clubs
  • Leopoldine (Dinka) Freiin von Ringhoffer (1878–1945), married Baroness Nádherny von Borutín ,
  • Alfred Freiherr von Ringhoffer (1880–1938) and
  • Hans (Hanusch) Freiherr von Ringhoffer (* 1885 in Prague- Smichov , died on January 1, 1947 in special camp No. 1 Mühlberg ), lawyer and general director of the Ringhoffer-Werke (including Tatra, Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau) and governor of the Czechoslovak National Bank, Royal Norwegian Consul General, Dr. ing. hc

Franz Seraph Josef Freiherr von Ringhoffer died of kidney disease in 1909 while taking a spa stay in Bad Kissingen.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Ringhoffer, Franz von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ringhoffer, Franz Freiherr von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian industrialist and landowner
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1844
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH July 23, 1909
Place of death Bad Kissingen , Lower Franconia