Karl von der Heydt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Karl von der Heydt (born July 31, 1858 in Elberfeld (now part of Wuppertal ), † August 22, 1922 in Bad Godesberg ) was a German banker , promoter of colonialism , chairman of the Pan-German Association , writer and patron .

Life

He came from the von der Heydt banking family in Elberfeld . He was the son of Karl Friedrich von der Heydt and Maria Theresia (born von Hurter), a great-granddaughter of Baron Johann Heinrich von Hurter . He himself married Elisabeth Wülfing. With this he had two daughters.

After his father's early death, his grandfather Carl von der Heydt brought him up in a strictly Reformed manner. After graduating from high school in Elberfeld, he did his military service as a one-year-old volunteer with the 2nd Guard Uhlan Regiment in Berlin in 1876 . He then began to study philosophy in Bonn and Rome . He also made trips to America . At the family's request, he had to drop out of college.

He completed an apprenticeship in a bank and joined the family bank. In 1881 he became one of the partners in the Heydt-Kersten & Sons bank . He was often in Berlin and in 1891 bought the villa of his great-uncle August von der Heydt .

He initially managed a branch of the family's own bank in the capital, before setting up his own business with Heydt & Co. in 1895. He came into contact with Carl Peters and became a promoter of German colonial policy . He was a member of various relevant associations and institutions. He was chairman of the German-East African Society . As one of the few German bankers, he supported the colonial policy financially, journalistically and politically. He made it possible for Peters to pay for ten expeditions to sign contracts with local tribal leaders, thus expanding the colony's territory in East Africa. His estimated fortune in 1913 was 5.3 million marks. His annual income was 0.4 million. In 1919 he transferred his bank to the Delbrück, Schickler & Co bank .

Karl von der Heydt was politically free-conservative. For a time he was also chairman of the Pan-German Association and pleaded in vain for founding a national party of his own. However, at the time of his presidency between 1891 and 1893, the association was still more of an association of dignitaries, with no mass attachment.

He redesigned the von der Heydts villa in Berlin in the style of the time. Advised by Wilhelm von Bode , he collected old masters . He collected about 30 paintings by Rembrandt , van Dyck , Lucas Cranach and others. He also collected sculptures. These included works by Auguste Rodin . He was a member of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum Association . The National Gallery he founded in 1896 the painting View of Vetheuil by Claude Monet .

He was also very interested in literature and published reviews on contemporary literature and art. In Bad Godesberg, where he had a summer residence , he was in contact with Rainer Maria Rilke . With this he maintained an intensive and long-term letter contact. At Rilke's advice, too, von der Heydt began to write himself. In 1905 he published "Variations und Rhythmen." The book was expanded with additions in the second edition. Von der Heydt also wrote plays, novels and short stories. During the First World War he published "Thoughts on War," in which he foresaw the end of the upper-class world of the 19th century. During the November Revolution, his friendship with Rilke broke up, who at times showed sympathy for the Munich Soviet Republic.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Detlef Krause: The Commerz- und Disconto-Bank 1870-1920 / 23: Bank history as system history . Stuttgart 2004, p. 146.
  2. ↑ Otto Plant : Bismarck. The Chancellor . Beck, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-406-42726-X , p. 390.
  3. ^ Geoff Eley: Reshaping the German Right: Radical Nationalism and Political Change after Bismarck . Manchester 1998, p. 49.
  4. ↑ Sven Kuhrau: The art collector in the Empire: Art and representation in the Berlin private collector culture . Kiel 2005, p. 288.
  5. ↑ Angelika Wesenberg: Painting in the 19th century: the collection of the National Gallery . Vol. 2, L-Z, p. 628.

literature

  • Killy Literature Lexicon: Authors and works from the German-speaking cultural area. Volume 5. Berlin, New York 2009, p. 395.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Heydt, Karl von der
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heydt, Carl von der
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German banker
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Elberfeld
DATE OF DEATH August 22, 1922
Place of death bad Godesberg