Heinrich Eduard Weber
Heinrich Eduard Weber (born January 11, 1843 in Basel , † September 24, 1935 in Kerepes , Hungary ) was a Swiss educator , winemaker and entrepreneur .
life and work
Weber was the son of the hussar officer Aladar and grew up as an eleven-year-old half-orphan in the Bächtelen reformatory in Wabern near Bern , where emphasis was placed on training in agriculture and gardening. He then studied at the teachers' seminar in Basel . In 1863 Weber received his teaching diploma and taught from 1863 to 1870 at the Bächtelen educational home.
On behalf of the Hungarian government, Weber was invited by József Eötvös in 1870 to spread Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi's pedagogy in Hungary. From 1870 to 1872 Weber worked as the head of a winemaking school at the newly founded orphanage in Balatonfüred . Weber also translated Hungarian folk songs and poems by Sándor Petőfi into German.
Weber was professor of the German language from 1873 and taught there at the state preparation facility for elementary school teachers, the predecessor institution of the Pedagogical University in Budapest . However, due to illness, he had to retire in 1883.
On the 124 hectare estate in Kerepes that his wife Laura, née Michelini inherited from her mother, Weber established himself as a successful winemaker in the following years and founded Helvécia AG in 1887 with financial support from Swiss investors.
Weber earned for his planned vineyard near Kecskemét 2,000 hectares of land and named the vineyard on the border of Kecskemét and the county Kiskunfélegyháza lay Helvécia .
As a result, 88 Hungarian and 17 German-speaking families, impoverished winemaking families from the Balaton Oberland due to the phylloxera plague , settled on the site . The newcomers received houses, tools and money to start over. The vines thrived in the sandy soil, as the phylloxera could not build any corridors in the soft ground.
The settlement later developed into an independent municipality and was named Helvécia at Weber's request (and in his honor).
Weber was also involved in establishing the local Kecskemét-Philippine railway line. In 1905 he had the architect Ödön Székely built a castle and a wine cellar with a wine cellar , modeled on the Miramare castle, near the Helvécia train station . This named Weber owl castle.
In 1905 Weber bought more land and a hard coal plant in Transylvania . These investments and the Triano contract, however, drove Weber to bankruptcy and he had to sell his winery in 1911. Weber's wife died in 1913. During the last years of his life, Weber lived withdrawn and impoverished in Kecskemét, where he also found his final resting place.
A bust in a park in Helvécia still reminds of his founding father. The primary school in Helvécia and a street in Kecskemét were also named after him. The municipality of Sirnach has had a partnership with Helvécia since 1998 . A similar association was founded in Helvécia and a lively exchange, also supported by the communities, was set in motion between the two villages.
literature
- Á. Z. Bernád: Wéber (Weber), Ede (Heinrich Eduard). In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 16, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1957–2013, p. 26.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ede Wéber. Retrieved May 3, 2020 .
- ↑ The Owl Castle in Kecskemét. Retrieved May 7, 2020 .
- ↑ Bust for Ede Wéber. Retrieved May 7, 2020 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Weber, Heinrich Eduard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss educator, winemaker and entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 11, 1843 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Basel |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 24, 1935 |
| Place of death | Kerepes , Hungary |