Michael Lazar Biedermann
Michael Lazar Biedermann (born August 13, 1769 in Pressburg (now Bratislava , Slovakia ); † August 21, 1843 in Gutenbrunn near Baden (incorporated in Baden since 1850)) was an Imperial Austrian wholesaler , royal court jeweler , banker and manufacturer. He was a philanthropist and co-founder of the Jewish community in Vienna and co-initiator of the construction of the first Vienna synagogue " City Temple ".
Life
Michael Lazar Biedermann came to Vienna penniless at the age of 15 and did an apprenticeship as an engraver there . In 1787 he received an award for wax modeling and in 1789 he received another award for engraving. After receiving permission to work as a seal engraver in Vienna in 1792 , his professional breakthrough came when he was commissioned to engrave the imperial seal in 1798. In 1800 Biedermann opened a jewelry store, "ML Biedermann & Sohn". In 1830 he was appointed royal court jeweler.
In 1802 Biedermann began to build up a second economic mainstay when he entered the wool trade after a visit to the Leipzig trade fair and quickly made Vienna a center of the international wool trade. In 1808 he received the state license to operate as a wholesaler. In addition to the wool trade, Biedermann soon began to rely on wool products from his own production with factories in Vienna, Lower Austria and Telsch ( Moravia ). Following the example of the industrial revolution in Great Britain , he relied heavily on new technical innovations. So he built u. a. the first wool sorting factory in the Austrian Empire with almost 3,000 workers.
In order to be independent of foreign money when expanding his economic empire , he set up his own bank in 1808, "ML Biedermann & Comp.", One of the first in the Austrian Empire . When the imperial-Austrian state finances got into difficulties after the Napoleonic Wars , Biedermann supported the establishment of the first state bank in 1816 by subscribing a considerable part of the shares it issued . This “privileged Austrian National Bank” became the predecessor of today's Austrian National Bank .
Biedermann played a leading role in organizing the first Israelite religious community in Vienna and was very committed to Jewish emancipation . From 1806 until his death in 1843 he was their representative almost continuously. In 1812 he was instrumental in founding a Jewish school and in 1826 in the first synagogue in Vienna, the “ City Temple ”. In addition to numerous other charitable foundations, he founded a Jewish hospital. He also brought Rabbi Isaak Mannheimer to Vienna.
family
Michael Lazar Biedermann was born in Pressburg in 1769 as the son of the trader Hayum (Chaim) Löb (Löw) Freistadt (since 1787 Biedermann, 1737-1817) and his wife Rosalie Resel Trebitsch (1748-1799). He took the family name Biedermann instead of his father's name Freistadt in 1803 in Vienna. On May 14, 1799, he married Charlotte Goldstein (1784–1838), the eldest child of the Viennese jeweler Abraham Löwy (around 1740–1813) and his wife Charlotte Caroline Sinzheim (around 1766–1800). Biedermann had twelve children with her.
Michael Lazar Biedermann's son Simon Biedermann (since 1860 Simon Ritter Biedermann von Túrony , 1804–1864) continued to run his father's wholesale company and bank. Two other sons of Biedermann, Joseph Biedermann (1809–1867) and Anton (Albert) Biedermann (1814–1870), continued their father's jewelry business as royal court jewelers. Michael Lazar Biedermann's daughter Betty (Babette) Biedermann (1805–1855) was married to Raphael Mayer Kaulla (1803–1871), a grandson of court factor Karoline Kaulla (1739–1809). This Raphael Mayer Kaulla was also an authorized signatory and partner in his father-in-law's wholesale company .
At his death in 1843 Michael Lazar Biedermann left his descendants a fortune of 16 million guilders .
literature
- Peter Eigner / Helmut Falschlehner / Andreas Resch: History of Austrian Private Banks - From Rothschild to Spängler , Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-20124-1 ;
- Georg Gaugusch : Who once was - The Jewish upper middle class Vienna 1800 - 1938 - AK , Amalthea Signum Verlag, Vienna 2011, pp. 198-217, ISBN 978-3-85002-750-2 ;
- Roman Sandgruber : Dream time for millionaires - The 929 richest Viennese in 1910 , Styria Publishing Group, Vienna 2013, p. 315, ISBN 978-3-222-13405-0 .
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Biedermann, Michael Lazar . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 1st part. University book printer L. C. Zamarski (formerly JP Sollinger), Vienna 1856, pp. 56–386 ( digitized version ).
References and comments
- ↑ Peter Eigner / Helmut Falschlehner / Andreas Resch: History of Austrian Private Banks - From Rothschild to Spängler , Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, p. 52, ISBN 978-3-658-20124-1
- ^ Georg Gaugusch: Who once was , Volume AK, Amalthea Signum Verlag, Vienna 2011, p. 200, ISBN 978-3-85002-750-2
- ↑ Peter Eigner / Helmut Falschlehner / Andreas Resch: History of Austrian Private Banks - From Rothschild to Spängler , Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, p. 75, ISBN 978-3-658-20124-1
Web links
- Article about Michael Lazar Biedermann on www.davidkultur.at
- Entry on Michael Lazar Biedermann on www.deutsche-biographie.de
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Biedermann, Michael Lazar |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Freistadt, Michael Lazar |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Imperial Austrian wholesaler, royal court jeweler, banker and manufacturer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 13, 1769 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pressburg , Austrian Empire |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 21, 1843 |
| Place of death | Baden (Lower Austria) , Austrian Empire |