Hans Widmann (businessman)
Hans Widmann (* 1570 in Villach ; † 1634 , buried in Venice ) was one of the richest merchants in Venice.
Live and act
Hans Widmann from Villach regarded himself as the greatest merchant of his time.
The family was in the service of the Fuggers when they came to Carinthia from Augsburg around 1492 . Martin Widmann, a citizen of the Bamberg town of Villach , married a Maria Hofer who could only give birth to the family owner Hans in 1570 because she became a widow the following year.
After his training in Germany , the young man started an apprenticeship in 1586 with his maternal uncle, who ran an important commercial business in Venice . After the death of the businessman (1596) and his partner (1607), the Villacher took over the company at the age of 37, led it to an unimaginable level and accumulated millions in fortune in almost three decades.
Six times he held the dignity of consul of the German nation in Venice; it was only given to the richest merchants in town. At the turn of the century, Hans Widmann married the German merchant's daughter Maria Ott . The happy marriage was blessed with 16 children. Five sons died while the merchant was still alive.
Widmann avoided any wasteful way of life. His senses were only concerned with the wish to bequeath the fortune to future generations and to ensure their well-being for all time. He didn't even treat himself to his own house in Venice. The business premises, two chambers and three vaults in the Fondaco dei Tedeschi (today the main post office) were only rented.
A large part of his activities consisted in lucrative commission business in the field of iron and metal trading. Another focus of his activity was the trade in mercury and cinnabar . In 1634 the store in the vaults was 1,093 barrels of mercury and 90 barrels of cinnabar. Each container had a capacity of around 95 liters.
In his home country Carinthia, the merchant had his second economic mainstay. After he had granted the estates a low-interest loan of 30,000 guilders in 1629, they accepted him into their circle. The prerequisites for this were certainly given, because Widmann had had an imperial nobility letter since 1614 and had owned the Sommeregg estate from 1628. He had acquired the Protestant estate for 110,000 guilders.
The Freiherrschaft Paternion with its mining and ironworks was added to this property in 1629 . For this he paid Hans Khevenhüller , who emigrated as a Protestant , 185,000 guilders.
When the plague broke out in Venice in the summer of 1630, the man with the big ears, the pointy nose, the twisted mustache and the angularly trimmed goatee sat down and laid down his last will. When the local church asked him where the pious foundations were, he firmly waved him off. Even shortly before his death in 1634 he was not ready to bequeath anything to the church. His fortune at this time amounted to 1,300,000 guilders. In the will he expressly pointed out that there has not been a person in the German nation since time immemorial who has achieved as much as he has.
At his request, Hans Widmann was buried in the Capuchin habit in the Church of San Caciano in Venice. For the salvation of his soul, 100 masses had to be read and 200 poor people had to share a small amount. A simple plaque that his sons had put up reminds of him.
literature
- Günther Probszt , Die Widmann, in: Adler, 6. (XX. Volume), Vienna 1964.
- Therese Meyer, Geld und Adel, in: Traces of European History, 800 Years Spittal, Spittal an der Drau 1991.
- Anton Kreuzer : Carinthian biographical sketches - 16. – 20. Century. Kärntner Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Klagenfurt 1995, ISBN 3-85391-151-X .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Widmann, Hans |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Merchant in Venice |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1570 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Villach |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1634 |
| Place of death | Venice |