Gutle Rothschild

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Gutle Rothschild ( Moritz Daniel Oppenheim , 1836)

Gutle Rothschild , also Gutele or Gudula , née Schnapper (born August 23, 1753 in Frankfurt am Main ; † May 7, 1849 there ) was the wife of the banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild , founder of the Rothschild banking house . She outlived her husband by more than 37 years and was one of Frankfurt's celebrities in the last third of her life, when the Rothschild house was one of the most influential European banking houses.

Life

Gutle Rothschild was born on August 23, 1753 in Frankfurt's Judengasse as the daughter of Wolf Salomon Schnapper, presumably in the "Haus zur Eule". Her father was a money dealer and court factor for the principality of Saxony-Meiningen . At the age of 17, on August 29, 1770, she married Mayer Amschel Rothschild, who had started his own business in 1763 and, together with his brother, ran a business in coins, medals and antiques. Gutle's dowry for the common household to be founded was 2,400 guilders - a respectable amount that roughly corresponded to her husband's annual income.

Headquarters of the Rothschilds in Frankfurt's Judengasse

Gutle gave birth to a total of 20 children, ten of whom, five girls and five boys, reached adulthood. The couple first lived in the Hinterpfan house, which they had to share with two of Mayer Amschel's brothers. In 1787 Gutle and her husband moved into the house at Grünes Schild in Judengasse 148, the future parent house of the Rothschild family. There she spent the rest of her life. Some of their children were also born in this house. In addition to the family, Gutle Rothschild was also responsible for the money exchange and exchange business. During her husband's numerous business trips, she also supervised the trade in goods and the credit business at the Rothschild house.

Grave in Frankfurt am Main

Gutle outlived her husband by 37 years and was thus able to witness how her sons led the Rothschild banking house to international renown. Meyer Amschel had ensured clear ownership structures while still alive. His stake in the bank passed to his sons after his death, while his wife Gutle and daughters inherited most of his private fortune.

Gutle also received lifelong ownership and usage rights to the house and its inventory. There she remained true to her simple lifestyle and refused to leave the Judengasse. She didn't like traveling either. Instead, she allowed her growing family, increasingly scattered across Europe, to come to her. Until her death there was no family celebration, be it engagement, marriage, or business agreements within the family that did not take place at her home in Frankfurt. As long as she lived, Gutle kept everyone aware of their humble origins.

Gutle had become a legend during his lifetime, about which numerous anecdotes were told. In the revolutionary year of 1830, after a family reunion, she is said to have reassured her worried neighbors in Frankfurt's Judengasse with the words: “There is no war, my sons will not give any money for it!” Her “House at the Green Shield” was one of the important sights Frankfurts became and remained so after Gutle Rothschild died at the age of almost 96 on May 7, 1849. After her death, the house was initially used for charitable purposes and later as a museum for the Rothschild family. It fell victim to bombing raids during World War II .

Gutle Rothschild's life was processed literarily several times, for example in the picture book without pictures (25th evening) by Hans Christian Andersen published in 1840 and in the comedy Die five Frankfurter by Carl Rössler, which premiered in 1911 . The role of Gutle was played by Mathilde Einzig , Sophie Cossaeus and Liesel Christ , among others .

Moritz Daniel Oppenheim portrayed Gutle Rothschild and her five sons in 1836. After her death, she was buried in the Schnapper family grave in the Old Jewish Cemetery on Rat-Beil-Strasse .

literature

  • Christian Wilhelm Berghoeffer: Meyer Amschel Rothschild . Salzwasser-Verlag, Paderborn 2012. ISBN 978-3-86383-088-5 . (Reprint of the original from 1924).
  • Edith Dörken: Famous Frankfurt women . Otto Lembeck Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2008. ISBN 978-3-87476-557-2 .
  • Amos Elon : The First Rothschild. Biography of a Frankfurt Jew . Reinbek 1999. ISBN 3-499-60889-8 .
  • Niall Ferguson The History of the Rothschilds. Prophets of Money , 2 volumes. From the English. DVA, Munich – Stuttgart 2002. ISBN 3-421-05354-5 .
  • Georg Heuberger (ed.): The Rothschilds. A European family . Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1995. ISBN 3-7995-1201-2 .
  • Georg Heuberger (ed.): The Rothschilds. Contributions to the history of a European family . Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Sigmaringen 1995. ISBN 3-7995-1202-0 .
  • Frederic Morton : The Rothschilds. A portrait of the dynasty . From the American by Hans Lamm and Paul Stein. Updated by Michael Freund. Franz Deuticke Verlag, Vienna 1992. ISBN 3-216-07896-5 .
  • Bernhard Schmidt: Article Rothschild . in: Frankreich-Lexikon, 2nd edition 2005, edited by Bernhard Schmidt, Jürgen Doll, Walther Fekl, Siegfried Loewe, Fritz Taubert. Verlag Erich Schmidt, Berlin 2005. ISBN 3-503-06184-3 . ( French literature.)

Web links

Commons : Gutle Rothschild  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christian Wilhelm Berghoeffer: Meyer Amschel Rothschild , Salzwasser-Verlag, Paderborn 2012, ISBN 978-3-86383-088-5 , pp. 23-24
  2. ↑ Christian Wilhelm Berghoeffer: Meyer Amschel Rothschild , salt water-Verlag, Paderborn 2012, ISBN 978-3-86383-088-5 , page 1
  3. ^ Dörken, p. 48
personal data
SURNAME Rothschild, Gutle
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rothschild, Gudula
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Wife of the banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild, founder of the Rothschild banking house
DATE OF BIRTH August 23, 1753
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH May 7, 1849
Place of death Frankfurt am Main