Kaspar Stockalper
Kaspar Stockalper (born July 14, 1609 in Brig ; † April 29, 1691 ibid) was a Swiss entrepreneur and politician. Since the 19th century, the inauthentic middle name "Jodok" has often been added to the name.
Life
Ascent
Kaspar Stockalper comes from a respected family who once farmed the Stockalp on the Simplon Pass . After attending the Jesuit college in Venthône and Brig, he attended the Jesuit academy in Freiburg im Breisgau . At the age of almost 20 he returned to Brig, where he became a notary, councilor and commissioner of the plague guard. He spoke German, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin and Greek.
In 1633 he traveled to Burgundy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, making contacts with trading houses in Antwerp and Solothurn. Stockalper recognized the strategic importance that the Simplon Pass had as a quick connection between the great powers during the Thirty Years' War .
In autumn 1634 he led Marie de Bourbon Condé (1606–1692), the wife of the Prince of Savoy , with 200 helpers across the Simplon, along with four princes and a stately entourage. In addition to a generous remuneration, he gained notoriety at the European royal courts.
The high dowry that his fiancée Magdalena Zumbrunn brought into the marriage, he invested in the expansion of the Saumstrasse over the pass, today Via Stockalper . He also organized the movement of goods and people across the Simplon. He managed to keep the passport out of the chaos of war, he made himself useful on both sides and expanded his influence in the Valais. His second marriage - Magdalena Zumbrunn had died after three years - with Cäcilia von Riedmatten strengthened his position. In addition to the monopoly over larch resin, tinder sponges and snails, which were particularly popular in France , Stockalper secured the monopoly over the transport of goods over the Simplon and, as a coronation, the salt monopoly in 1648 . He increased his fortune through speculation and trade.
He made sure that his family married other influential Valais families, whom he helped to make a career and thereby created dependencies. Calculating, he distributed offices and money. At the French court he exchanged mercenaries and credits for trading privileges, acquired the assets of insolvent debtors and ran his own mines in which he dug iron, lead, copper and gold. Soon he owned extensive properties from Milan to Lyon. The backbone of its power was still the Simplon Pass with its bridges, customs stations, warehouses, inns and the Stockalper Canal , which, however, did not have long-term success. His trading empire stretched from the Adriatic to the English Channel and from southern Spain to northern Germany.
In 1670 Stockalper was elected governor and thus supreme head of the legislative , executive and judicial branches , who represented Valais at the Federal Diet and at the French court.
As a patron he brought Capuchins , Ursulines and Jesuits to Brig, built and supported monasteries, churches, hospitals, schools and homes. As the client, he was responsible for the construction of the Church of the Assumption in Glis , the canal from Vouvry to Collombey , the College of Spiritus Sanctus and the monastery of St. Ursula.
Pope Urban VIII appointed him Knight of the Golden Spur , Emperor Ferdinand III. elevated him to the nobility in 1653, Louis XIV granted him the dignity of the Order of St. Michael , and Duke Karl Emanuel of Savoy made him Baron von Duingt .
He displayed his wealth in his palace in the old town of Brig, the Stockalper Palace . It is considered to be one of the most distinctive secular baroque buildings in Switzerland. A first look reveals the relationship between the three towers of the baroque building of the Stockalper Castle in Brig and the medieval onion dome of St. Niklaus . Stockalper often used the saying Sospes lucra carpat (God's favorite should skim off the profits). He was convinced that earthly wealth and heavenly salvation were connected with each other, whoever used his abilities on earth would be rewarded for it in heaven. Sospes lucra carpat is an anagram for Casparus Stockalper.
case
In 1676 the previously rival Valais parties and families joined forces to break Stockalper's overwhelming superiority. Numerous public figures, the districts and the bishop were indebted to him, 89 of the 110 MPs could not repay their debts without losing their property. It was therefore believed that many would benefit from his fall.
When the salt monopoly was to be renewed in 1677, his opponents prepared an indictment against Stockalper, which they presented to the state parliament in May 1678. Stockalper was accused of 16 points, including abuse of the salt monopoly, illegal increases in tariffs, and he had defrauded mercenaries and stolen offices. Stockalper was forced to plead guilty under death threats. He had to hand over his belongings as well as arms and salt supplies and pay a large ransom.
In June 1678 Stockalper's Valais assets were recorded by commissioners: they came to 2,200,200 Valais pounds, which corresponds to the equivalent of 122,233 cows. This did not include Stockalper's castle in Brig and his properties and goods outside the Valais.
Stockalper's opponents tried to smash his empire with civil trials. His archenemy Adrian In-Albon , to whom Stockalper had once refused his daughter's hand, accused him of libel because Stockalper had once mentioned that his uncle Anton Stockalper had been innocently executed in 1627. Stockalper was warned and was able to flee to Domodossola in time, where he spent five years in exile.
The change in political conditions later allowed him to return to Brig. Stockalper had to apologize and spent the rest of his life at his castle, where he died on April 29, 1691 at the age of 81.
progeny
Many of Stockalper's 14 children died early, five of whom he survived. Joseph von Stockalper (1868–1955) was the last descendant to live in the Stockalper Castle. With Kaspar von Stockalper (1900–1975) the gender in the direct male line died out in Brig.
literature
- Marie-Claude Creator Pfaffen: Stockalper, Kaspar (vom Thurm). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Louis Carlen: Kaspar Jodok from Stockalper. Large entrepreneur in the 17th century . In: Augsburg University Speeches . tape 20 . University of Augsburg, 1991, ISSN 0939-7604 ( full text ).
- Louis Carlen, Gabriel Imboden (ed.): Kaspar Jodok von Stockalper and the Wallis. Contributions to the history of the 17th century . Rotten-Verlag, Brig 1991, ISBN 3-907816-08-0 .
- Louis Carlen, Gabriel Imboden (ed.): The trading and accounting books Kaspar Jodok von Stockalpers. Lectures of the Fifth International Symposium on the History of the Alpine Region . Rotten-Verlag, Brig 1999, ISBN 3-907816-98-6 .
- Gabriel Imboden: Kaspar Jodok von Stockalper 1609–1691. His environment and his castle . Research Institute for the History of the Alpine Region, Brig 1991.
- Stefan Loretan: The last church complex and the secret of Stockalper's grave. In: Rest in Peace. History of the early cemeteries in the area of the old parish of Glis. (= Pro Historia Glis series of publications, No. 17). Brig-Glis 2011, ISBN 978-3-9523795-0-9 .
- Helmut Stalder: The favorite. Kaspar Stockalper. A story of greed, power and deceit , Zurich: Orell Füssli Verlag October 2019, ISBN 978-3-280-05700-1 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Kaspar Stockalper in the catalog of the German National Library
- See also: History of the Monastery of St. Ursula
Individual evidence
- ↑ Klaus Anderegg, Loretan Hildegard, Franziska Witschi: Stockalperweg Brig-Simplonpass . Ed .: Ecomuseum Simplon, Klaus Anderegg.
- ↑ Kaspar Stockalper - the first European politician from Brig, NZZ October 30, 2019
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stockalper, Kaspar |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss entrepreneurs and politicians |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 14, 1609 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brig |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 29, 1691 |
| Place of death | Brig |