Lehmann Bernheimer

Lehmann Bernheimer (born December 27, 1841 in Buttenhausen , † May 29, 1918 in Munich ) was a merchant and patron .

Life

Bernheimer was born in Buttenhausen near Münsingen (Württemberg) in 1841 as the third child of Meier Bernheimer (1801–1870) and his wife Sarah, née Kahn (1803–1881). Since the Jewish protection letter of 1787 there has been a small Jewish rural community in Buttenhausen . His father was a cloth dealer and offered his goods on various markets in southern Germany, including the Auer Dult .

Lehmann first attended primary school in Buttenhausen. At the age of ten, Lehmann switched to secondary school in Stuttgart , which he left four years later with a degree.

Bernheimer founded his first clothing fabric and ready-to-wear shop in Munich on May 10, 1864 . At this point in time he took over an almost bankrupt textile business on Salvatorplatz in Munich . In 1870 he moved the business to Kaufingerstraße 17. The range was increasingly expanded to include carpets from the Orient and handicrafts . The art and auction house Bernheimer soon developed from the fabric trade. Bernheimer bought furniture, sculptures, faience etc. in the most important squares and thus became wealthy. From 1887 to 1889, Bernheimer had the Palais Bernheimer built at Lenbachplatz 3 based on a design by Friedrich von Thiersch , thereby underscoring his will for urban planning. The inauguration of the "largest art house in the world" took place on December 10, 1889 in the presence of Prince Regent Luitpold .

Lehmann Bernheimer had been with Fanny Bernheimer, geb. Haimann (1843–1911), married. The children Emma (1865–1950), Isidor (* before 1870), Max (1870–1933), Ernst (1875–1956) and Otto (1877–1960) emerged from the marriage.

In the 1890s, the sons Max Bernheimer , Ernst Bernheimer and Otto Bernheimer joined their father's business. At the age of twenty-one, each son received power of attorney and could make purchases independently. At the age of 25 they became equal partners. In 1897 the house was almost completely destroyed by fire.

In 1903 he founded a secondary school for Jews and Christians in his hometown of Buttenhausen. The school was named Bernheimersche Realschule .

From 1907 to 1910 the business was expanded with the purchase of the houses at Ottostraße 13 and 14, which were added to the Lenbachplatz 3 complex. The architects Friedrich von Thiersch and Martin Dülfer were commissioned with the execution . It was created u. a. an Italian court for the presentation of stone sculptures and other works of art. The showpiece of the new building was the tapestry hall. The use of modern technology made it possible to flexibly design individual rooms and furnish them according to the customer's taste.

Grave of Lehmann Bernheimer in the New Israelite Cemetery in Munich

The customers of the von Lehmann Bernheimer company included the entire European aristocracy, American and European industrialists, members of the upper class as well as princes of poets and painters.

Bernheimer also ran in-house workshops in which furniture and the like could be reproduced if the originals were not available. On the eve of the First World War, the company had 115 employees.

Bernheimer died in May 1918 at the age of 77 in Munich as a result of a stroke . He is buried in the New Israelite Cemetery in Munich.

Honors

• 1882: Appointment as supplier to the royal Bavarian court by King Ludwig II.
• 1884: Appointment to the first Royal Bavarian Council of Commerce.
• 1904: Honorary citizenship of Buttenhausen

literature

• Konrad O. Bernheimer, Narwhal Tooth and Old Masters: From the Life of an Art Dealer Dynasty , Hamburg 2013.
• Emily D. Bilski (ed.): The art and antiques company Bernheimer, exhibition in the Jewish Museum Munich , Munich, Edition Minerva 2007
• City of Münsingen (ed.), Jews and their homeland Buttenhausen , Münsingen 1988.
• City of Münsingen (ed.), Jews in Buttenhausen. Permanent exhibition in the Bernheimer Realschule , Münsingen 1994.

Web links

• Biography , p. 35