Johann Tobias Kießling
Johann Tobias Kießling (born November 3, 1742 in Nuremberg ; † February 27, 1824 there ) was a merchant , pietist and promoter of the evangelical diaspora communities in Austria .
Career
As a merchant in Nuremberg, Kießling traded in drugs and spices. Awakened pietistically, he worked in the early revival movement in Franconia (as co-founder of the Nuremberg branch of the German Christianity Society in 1781 and the Nuremberg Bible Association in 1804). He was best known for his help for Austrian tolerance Protestantism: by disseminating Christian books (especially Bibles and edification books) and providing funds for the construction of churches and schools, which he donated to the young evangelical communities in Upper Austria, Carinthia and Styria on his trade trips and sent to West Hungary. He also placed pastors from Germany. In 1811 he lost a large part of his fortune due to the Austrian bankruptcy .
The "bishop in a merchant's robe", as he was called, is considered to be a forerunner of the Gustav Adolf Association.
literature
- Grete Mecenseffy : The Nuremberg merchant Johann Tobias Kießling and the Austrian tolerance communities. In: Yearbook of the Society for the History of Protestantism in Austria , Vol. 74 (1958), pp. 29-69.
- Werner Raupp : Kießling, Johann Tobias. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-035-2 , Sp. 1470-1473.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kießling, Johann Tobias |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German merchant and pietist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 3, 1742 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Nuremberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 27, 1824 |
| Place of death | Nuremberg |