Konrad Groß

Table grave of Konrad Groß in the Heilig-Geist-Spital, Nuremberg

The very rich Konrad I. Groß (* ~ 1280 ; † May 10, 1356 in Bamberg ) is the best-known representative of the Nuremberg council family Groß . He became famous above all for his exorbitant lake device foundations , above all that of the Heilig-Geist-Spital in Nuremberg . He is the first Nuremberg citizen whose life we can reconstruct halfway closed from the sources.

Life and wealth

Konrad Groß was born in Nuremberg around 1280 as the son of Heinrich Groß (called Heinz der Reiche , approx. 1250-1314 / 17) from the Nuremberg council family Groß and Sophie von Vestenberg . He was one of the very rich entrepreneurs in the imperial city of Nuremberg in the first half of the 14th century. He was married to Agnes Zollner († 1342) from Bamberg and had four sons and three daughters. His younger half-brother was Philipp Groß (around 1290 – after 1355), the city architect of Nuremberg and the architect of the Gothic hall of the old town hall.

Groß had extensive estates in and around Nuremberg, such as the Plobenhof south of the Frauenkirche, which was later built, and the manors of Simonshofen and Dehnberg. Among other things, he served as the financier of the Bishop of Bamberg and Emperor Ludwig of Bavaria , with whom he maintained close relationships. From him he also acquired the Reichsschultheissenamt with customs and minting rights in 1339 , which raised him “above council and citizenship”.

Seelgerät foundation

Konrad Gross spent a large part of his fortune on Seelgerätstiftungen, which brought him into conflict with his sons, who, as his business partners, saw themselves as being deprived of their inheritance. The motive for the wealthy foundations may have been, among other things, the church's disapproval of the financial transactions he carried out. In addition to the Heilig-Geist-Spital, Konrad Groß was involved in the founding of the Cistercian monastery Himmelthron by Kunigunde von Orlamünde (1343), a hospital foundation of the Kitzingen Benedictine nuns (1344) and the Pillenreuth hermitage with Ludwig the Bavarian (1345).

The foundation of the Heilig-Geist-Spital

Holy Spirit Hospital

The foundation of the Heilig-Geist-Spital by Konrad Groß in 1331/1339 is one of the largest and most valuable sea equipment foundations of all. The Heilig-Geist-Spital initially offered space for 128 sick people and 72 beneficiaries (pensioners), but after Konrad Groß's death it was expanded several times through donations in the Middle Ages. The oversized foundation deed of January 13, 1339 provides information about the motives of the foundation: "How healing is the support of the poor who, while trying to help the neighbor in his current misery, deserves salvation from eternal misfortune" . So by no means is selfless charity the focus of the founder's will, but rather concern for the salvation of "his own soul, and that of his parents, friends and benefactors". This salvation of the soul should be guaranteed through the establishment of numerous perpetual masses in the hospital church .

The table grave of Konrad Groß

Konrad Groß died in Bamberg in 1356 and was buried in the church of the Heilig-Geist-Spital, which was also part of the foundation and was completely destroyed in the Second World War . His art-historically significant tomb was originally in the church choir, but is now placed next to the tomb of Herdegen Valzner in the hospital's crucifixion courtyard. The table grave is attributed to the workshop of the Lorenzer west facade and testifies to the enormous will to represent a Nuremberg citizen. Eight mourning figures (so-called pleurants) in contemporary, ultra-modern clothing crowd around the reclining figure of the deceased with the model of the donated church and at the same time wear the (renewed) cover plate made of precious red marble.

literature

Annamaria Böckel: Holy Spirit in Nuremberg. Hospital foundation & depository of imperial regalia . Böckel, Nürnberg 1990, ISBN 3-87191-146-1 ( Nürnberger Schriften 4).
Michael Diefenbacher , Rudolf Endres (Hrsg.): Stadtlexikon Nürnberg . 2nd, improved edition. W. Tümmels Verlag, Nuremberg 2000, ISBN 3-921590-69-8 ( online ).
Günther P. Fehring, Anton Ress: The city of Nuremberg . Brief inventory. 2nd edition edited by Wilhelm Schwemmer. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1977, ISBN 3-422-00550-1 ( Bayerische Kunstdenkmale 10).
Peter Fleischmann: Councilor and patriciate in Nuremberg. The rule of the councilors from the 13th to the 18th centuries . Volume 2: Councilors and Councilors . Association for the History of the City of Nuremberg, Nuremberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-87191-333-4 ( Nürnberger Forschungen 31, 2).
August Gemperlein: Konrad Groß. The founder of the Nuremberg Heiliggeist Hospital and his relationship with Emperor Ludwig . In: Mitteilungen des Verein für Geschichte der Stadt Nürnberg 39, 1944, ISSN 0083-5579 , pp. 83–126.
Georg Wolfgang Karl Lochner : Great, Konrad . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1879, pp. 744-748.
Georg Löhlein: The founding document of the Nuremberg Holy Spirit Hospital from 1339 . In: Communications from the Association for the History of the City of Nuremberg 52, 1963–1964, ISSN 0083-5579 , pp. 65–79.
Wolfgang von Stromer : Great, Konrad. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 7, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1966, ISBN 3-428-00188-5 , p. 143 ( digitized version ).
Robert Suckale : The court art of Ludwig of Bavaria . Hirmer, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-7774-5800-7 .

Web links

Commons : Konrad Groß - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Peter Fleischmann: Council and patriciate in Nuremberg. The rule of the councilors from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Volume 2: Councilors and councilors, p. 458. Association for the history of the city of Nuremberg , Nuremberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-87191-333-4 (Nürnberger Forschungen 31, 2).
^ Georg Löhlein: The founding document of the Nuremberg Holy Spirit Hospital from 1339 . In: Communications of the Association for the History of the City of Nuremberg 52, 1963–1964, ISSN 0083-5579 , p. 67.

personal data
SURNAME	Great, Konrad
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Groß, Konrad I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Representative of the Nuremberg council family Groß
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1280
DATE OF DEATH	May 10, 1356
Place of death	Bamberg

[1] Peter Fleischmann: Council and patriciate in Nuremberg. The rule of the councilors from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Volume 2: Councilors and councilors, p. 458. Association for the history of the city of Nuremberg , Nuremberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-87191-333-4 (Nürnberger Forschungen 31, 2).

[2] Georg Löhlein: The founding document of the Nuremberg Holy Spirit Hospital from 1339 . In: Communications of the Association for the History of the City of Nuremberg 52, 1963–1964, ISSN 0083-5579 , p. 67.