Martin Bachofen

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Martin Bachofen; Portrait of Joseph Esperlin (1707–1775), painted in 1768 from an original by Alexander Roslin (1718–1793). Roslin's template, which has been copied several times, was created during the couple's stay in Paris
Margaretha Heitz, his wife. The portrait was also created in the same way in 1768

Martin Bachofen (born March 23, 1727 in Basel , † February 10, 1814 ibid) was a Basel silk ribbon manufacturer and dealer, art collector and builder of the Rollerhof in Basel and Ebenrain Castle near Sissach .

life and work

After attending grammar school in Basel and commercial training in Geneva and abroad, Martin Bachofen joined the factory of his father Johann Jacob Bachofen (1701–1784) in Basel in 1748 as a partner. From 1758–1780 he ran the company alone and from 1780–1795 together with his son Johann Jacob. The textile industry, especially the manufacture of silk ribbons, was an important branch of the economy in the Basel area at that time. In 1752 Bachofen married Margaretha Heitz.

In 1758 he acquired the Rollerhof on Basel Münsterplatz , which had been the residence of a noble canon until the Reformation . He had it converted into his home and business premises by the Basel builder Johann Jacob Fechter (1717–1797) by 1770 . Today the restaurant of the Museum of Cultures is located on the ground floor of the building . Bachofen also bought other properties in the city, in 1767 the Schürhof (right next to the Rollerhof) and in 1782 the Reinacherhof.

1774–1776, Bachofen had the Ebenrain estate near Sissach, one of the most important late baroque estates in north-western Switzerland, built according to plans by the Basel baroque architect Samuel Werenfels (1720–1800). The location, which was unusually far from the city for the Basel patricians (at that time about four leagues), was chosen because there were large hunting grounds there. Bachofen hired the renowned Bernese architect Niklaus Sprüngli to design the associated baroque garden . Shortly before his death, he began to have the facilities redesigned in a landscape style . In 1817, three years after his death, his wife sold the country estate to another Basel dealer.

Bachofen was also an art lover. From 1756 he acquired an important collection of German masters of the 18th and Dutch old masters of the 17th century. Since 1791 he belonged to the Helvetic Society, at whose meetings he had attended as a guest since 1789.

literature

  • Rudolf Liechtenhan : Speech and prayer on the happy memorial day of the fifty-year marriage of Mr. Martin Bachofen and women Margaretha Heitz: celebrated with her family in Basel on the 7th Hornung 1802 , Basel: Wilh. Haas, 1802 (available in the Basel University Library )

See also

  • Bachofen , other members of the family
  • Basler Daig , the closed society of the Basel patrician families

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bachofen, Martin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bachofen-Heitz, Martin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Basel silk ribbon manufacturer and dealer, art collector
DATE OF BIRTH March 23, 1727
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 1814
Place of death Basel