Louisa Catharina Harkort
Louisa Catharina Harkort , née Märker (born October 2, 1718 in Hattingen ; † March 15, 1795 at Haus Harkorten , Hagen ), was a German entrepreneur .
Life
Louisa Märker came from an upper-class family . Your father, Dr. Johannes Christopher Mercker, was a respected doctor; Most recently he was medical director, high-prince Essendrischer personal physician to the princess of Essen, her mother the daughter of judge Reinermann at Haus Schede in Herdecke . The origins of the paternal Märker family go back to the 15th century in Hattingen. Your paternal ancestors worked as Protestant pastors, mayors or judges in the Hattingen area. Louisa was educated at the court of the abbess of the Essen monastery , Franziska Christine von Pfalz-Sulzbach (1696–1776).
On July 23, 1748 she married the landowner Johann Caspar Harkort III on Harkort . (1716–1760), whom she tried to influence to wear appropriate clothing, decent representation and living. For this reason, it was she who, despite the Seven Years' War, succeeded in building the new manor house "Harkorten" (1756/1757) on her estate in Hagen , which met her need for representation. Louisa Harkort died at the age of 76 and was buried on March 19, 1795 at Harkort.
Entrepreneurial activity
During the war, she obtained a letter of protection for the "Chateau de Harikort" so that she could continue to operate the estate without hindrance. After the end of the war, she acquired the remaining shares in the Schede estate after her husband had previously acquired part of the estate. The growing competition made a change from a trading company to a manufacturing company necessary. In the period from 1775 to 1780, she built five hammer mills and five scythe hammers on her own estate and in the rural area . The factories produced 65 t of iron, 50 t of steel and 21,000 scythes a year. The trade was expanded to St. Petersburg .
After the river Ruhr was made navigable, it acquired a transport boat that transported pig iron upstream and iron goods downstream. As Wittib Harkort ( widow Harkort ), also respectfully called "the Märckerin" after her maiden name, she represented the family's business interests with great entrepreneurial success. She led the company for several decades and increased the family's property and assets. Through their work, it also survived the difficult time of the Seven Years' War . Her good relations with the abbess of Essen also helped her . It intensified export activities, built new hammer mills and expanded the product range. In addition, as a deputy, she was the spokeswoman for the Brandenburg economic citizens on several occasions.
Her grandson Friedrich (1793–1880) became one of the leading pioneers of industrialization in the Ruhr area .
literature
- Alexandra Bloch Pfister: Louisa Catharina Märcker. An upper class entrepreneur from the 18th century. In: Ellerbrock, Karl-Peter and Tanja Bessler-Worbs (eds.): Industrial pioneers, business citizens and managers. Historical entrepreneurs from the Märkisches Südwestfalen. In: Society for Westphalian Economic History: Small writings, issue 32. Dortmund 2007, pp. 57–61.
- Stefan Gorißen: From trading house to company. Social history of the Harkort company in the age of proto-industry (1720–1820). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2002 , ISBN 3-525-35686-2 .
- Christiane Maibach: Louisa Catharina Harkort (1718–1795). The living environment and scope of action of an entrepreneur in the late 18th century. unpublished master's thesis, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, undated
Web links
- The Märkerin, biography and family tree
- Industrial culture route: pioneers of industrialization, Louisa Harkort b. Märcker (1718–1795) ( Memento from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Information from Ullrich Märker, Hattingen
- ↑ Internet portal "Westphalian History": Harkort, Louisa Catharina , accessed on December 4, 2012
- ^ Salon "Frauenbilder" in the LWL-Industriemuseum Zeche Nachtigall An 18th century entrepreneur: Louisa Catharina Märcker
- ^ Wolfgang Köllmann : Harkort, Friedrich Wilhelm. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 7, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1966, ISBN 3-428-00188-5 , pp. 675-677 ( digitized version ). (with information on family networking)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Harkort, Louisa Catharina |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Märker, Louisa Catharina |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 2, 1718 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hattingen |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 15, 1795 |
| Place of death | House Harkorten , Hagen |