Heinrich Handschin

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Tomb in Gelterkinden

Heinrich Handschin (born February 1, 1830 in Rickenbach BL , † June 16, 1894 in Basel ), also known as " Moscow Handschin", was a Swiss entrepreneur.

career

Heinrich Handschin, who lost his father at the age of three, learned trimmings from various masters in Upper Basel and in a factory in Basel. From 1854 to 1856 he learned to weave velvet in St. Etienne ( France ) and then emigrated to Russia to work as a master weaver in Moscow.

Heinrich Handschin was able to buy an old textile factory from the Aargau industrialist Lerch and founded a hand-weaving mill in Moscow in 1859. He grew his company steadily and it grew into a thriving industrial company. Over a hundred mechanical looms were running in several factory buildings. Without exception, he obtained his looms from his homeland. Until the First World War, the Handschin & Wirz company was regarded as the largest ribbon manufacturer in Russia. In 1882 he moved back to Switzerland and handed over management to his compatriot Jakob Wirz from Gelterkinden . Heinrich Handschin lived in Basel until his death. His tomb is in the Gelterkinden cemetery, south of the church.

The Foundation

In his will, the bachelor Heinrich Handschin made the canton of Basel-Landschaft the universal heir of his property. This resulted in the Handschin Foundation, founded in 1894. Above all, it promotes the training of young people with above-average talent who live in modest financial circumstances.

literature

  • Publication of the Baselland government, Liestal 1894
  • Historical-Biographical Lexicon of Switzerland 4, 72. - Documents 3, 9–15
  • Hug Werner: Family Tables Handschin von Gelterkinden / Rickenbach, Muttenz 1986
  • Haener Ruth: Heinrich Handschin and his Foundation, Liestal 1994
  • Haener Ruth: Heinrich Handschin: A career in Moscow, Baselbieter Heimatbuch 20, 1995, 213–220
  • Pümpin Walter: 430 years of Pümpin von Gelterkinden, pages 195–196
  • Geography of Gelterkinden 1966, page 81

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Handschin, Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Handschin, Muscovites
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Emigrants, factory owners, manufacturers in Moscow
DATE OF BIRTH February 1, 1830
PLACE OF BIRTH Rickenbach BL
DATE OF DEATH June 16, 1894
Place of death Basel