Johann Traber

Johann Evangelist Traber (born March 24, 1854 in Homburg TG ; † October 29, 1930 in Zurich ) was a Swiss pastor and banking pioneer. In 1899 he founded Switzerland's first Raiffeisen bank in Bichelsee .

Life

Johann Traber was born in Homburg (TG) in 1854 as the son of a carpenter. In 1873 he began his studies at Einsiedeln grammar school and graduated in 1879. In the same year he went to the University of Würzburg and studied theology. He continued his theology studies in 1881 at the Catholic University in Leuven (Belgium) . In 1883 Traber returned to Switzerland and was ordained a priest in the Capuchin monastery in Wesemlin in Lucerne . In 1883 he became a chaplain in Sirnach , and in 1885 he was appointed pastor in Bichelsee.

Pastor Johann Traber dealt with the credit system . In order to stimulate the economy and prosperity in the community, he tried to found a Raiffeisenbank based on the model of the German Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen , with the concept of a cooperative bank for mutual help.

On December 21, 1899, a meeting took place in the Balterswil schoolhouse ( Bichelsee-Balterswil ) to establish the first Raiffeisenkasse in Switzerland. Pastor Traber became President of the Raiffeisenkasse. In 1902 he co-founded the Swiss Association of Raiffeisenkassen and was a member of the management from 1902 to 1912. From 1912 he was the editor of the "Schweizer Raiffeisenbote".

Web link

• Erich Trösch: Traber, Johann Evangelist. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .