Johann Franz von Hessler

Johann Franz Heßler , since 1749 Freiherr von Heßler (baptized September 13, 1693 in St. Joachimsthal ; † March 27, 1770 in Welchau ) was a Bohemian coal and steel entrepreneur , landowner and imperial councilor who was raised to the nobility .

Life

Johann Franz Heßler came from a respected Joachimsthal family and was the son of the town clerk and mountain master Johann Christoph Heßler and his wife Maria Sophia nee. Weyer. His paternal grandfather was the mayor Valentin Christoph Heßler, who in 1682 donated two tall wooden candlesticks and two Easter candles to the old parish church , on which the Hessler coat of arms was affixed. The items were lost in the town fire of 1873. His maternal grandfather was the local administrator and mayor Johann Christian Weyer († 1678) who was buried in the old parish church and whose coat of arms (leopard on a golden field) was attached to one of the church pillars.

Heßler held the office of town clerk in the mountain town of Platten (today Horní Blatná) since 1723 . He was also employed there by the emperor as a border customs collector.

A story tells that Heßler's father-in-law, the blue paint factory owner Joseph Putz , had unsuccessfully operated the local tin mine in St. Konrad for many years . Shortly before his death in 1729, Putz told his children not to give up the building. After he died and the heirs withdrew from the project, Hessler ran the mine alone. However, he soon lost all of his fortune, so that in 1739 he decided to emigrate to Saxony. On the night before he moved out, the call of Glückauf rang out in front of his house . It was miners who brought Hessler rich samples from his colliery. In 1740 the new Bergsegen Hessler brought in a yield of 200,000 florins and later even four times as much. He also ran the Gottholdstolln and Rosenhof silver mines no less successfully . Out of pious gratitude, he and his wife donated a sum of 6,000 florins in 1739 for the employment of a chaplain at the Kreuzkapelle von Platten.

In 1747 Heßler acquired the Welchau manor and instead of the old castle built a castle and brewery there. On October 17, 1749 he was awarded the nobility diploma by the emperor for his services in customs and his work as imperial councilor . In 1766, Emperor Joseph II is said to have stayed at the Heßler's house in Platten under the synonym of a Count von Burgau and there accepted requests from residents.

After a long illness, Heßler died on March 27, 1770 at the age of 78 at Welchau Castle. The requiem took place in the parish church of Welchau. The praise was held by Obergnaden Anton Dubsky Freiherr von Wittenau. On March 30th of that year his body was transferred to Platten. The funeral procession was followed by his two daughters and the pastor of Welchau. Heßler was buried next to his first wife in the Kreuzkapelle von Platten, whose benefit he founded. On March 31, 1770, another requiem was held for him there.

Family coat of arms

Description of the coat of arms: In the glaze-colored field on a black designed hub a white rabbit.

Portraits

Two 1740/45 re. Oil paintings on canvas by Elias Dollhopf show Franz Heßler, his wife Barbara and a clergyman. They are probably to be brought into connection with the foundation of the Benefiziats in Platten.

family

Johann Franz Heßler married Maria Barbara Putz in Platten in 1723 (* 1695 in Platten; † 1747 ibid). The following children were born from the marriage:

• Anna Regina Elisabetha Josepha (* 1731 in Platten; † 1797 in Welchau), inherits the Welchau estate
• Anna Maria Catharina (* 1733 in Platten) ∞ Adalbert Schönpflug Ritter von Gamsenberg
• Anna Augusta Maria (* 1735 in Platten; † 1737 ibid)

In his second marriage, Heßler married Anna Maria around 1748.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gregor Lindner: Memories from the history of the kk free mountain town Sankt Joachimsthal Ed .: St. Joachimsthal. Volume 2, 1913, p. 862.
2. ^ Gregor Lindner: Memories from the history of the kk free mountain town Sankt Joachimsthal Ed .: St. Joachimsthal. Volume 2, 1913, p. 839.
3. ↑ Johann Gottfried Sommer: The Kingdom of Bohemia: statistically-topographically represented , Volume 15, Elbogner Kreis, Verlag der Buchhandlung von Friedrich Ehrlich, Prague 1847, p. 85 digitized
4. ↑ Johann Gottfried Sommer: The Kingdom of Bohemia: represented statistically and topographically. Elbogner Kreis . Calve, January 1, 1847 ( google.de [accessed February 21, 2017]).
5. ^ Wenzel Hahn, Gemeindechronik , Platten, 1850–1878. P. 224
6. ^ Walter Kolb: Four hundred years of mining town plates 1532-1932, commemorative publication for the four hundredth anniversary of the mining town plates. Bergstadt Platten 1932.
7. ↑ Pfarramt Welchau : Church chronicle of the parish Welchau 1624-1954 , Welchau, p. 26
8. ↑ Josef František Jaroslav Schaller: Topography of the Kingdom of Bohemia: it describes all cities, towns, lordships, castles, country estates, noble residences, monasteries, villages, as well as dilapidated castles and cities under their former and current names, including their peculiarities. Elbow Circle. Second part . in the kk Normalbuchdruckerei, January 1, 1785 ( google.de [accessed on February 24, 2017]).
9. ↑ Portréty rodiny Hesslerů z Horní Blatné - Uo 908, Uo 909. Muzeum Karlovy Vary, accessed on March 8, 2020 (Czech). 
10. ↑ King Otto's source album at Gießhübl in Bohemia: souvenir and guide with several views and a tarpaulin . Franieck, January 1, 1857 ( google.de [accessed February 21, 2017]).
11. ↑ Josef František Jaroslav Schaller: Topography of the Kingdom of Bohemia: it describes all cities, towns, lordships, castles, country estates, noble residences, monasteries, villages, as well as dilapidated castles and cities under their former and current names, including their peculiarities. Elbow Circle. Second part . in the kk Normalbuchdruckerei, January 1, 1785 ( google.de [accessed on February 21, 2017]).
12. ↑ Johann Gottfried Sommer: The Kingdom of Bohemia: represented statistically and topographically. Elbogner Kreis . Calve, January 1, 1847 ( google.de [accessed February 21, 2017]).