Moriz von Kuffner

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Moriz von Kuffner, around 1882

Moriz Kuffner (later also: Moritz; until 1919: Edler von; * January 30, 1854 in Ottakring near Vienna , today 16th district of Vienna; † March 5, 1939 in Zurich ) was a Viennese brewing entrepreneur , patron and mountaineer from the Austrian Jewish Entrepreneur family Kuffner . P. 30 He was the owner of the Ottakringer Brewery, which still exists today .

Life

Kuffner was born the son of Ignaz Kuffner , who bought a small, over-indebted brewery in Ottakring with his cousin Jakob in 1850 and developed the Ottakringer brewery that still exists today. In 1878 Ignaz Kuffner was elevated to the hereditary Austrian nobility as Edler von Kuffner, so that his descendants were also allowed to use this title until the nobility designations were abolished in 1919.

Entrepreneur

Kuffner studied chemistry at the kk Polytechnic Institute, the forerunner of the Vienna University of Technology . He then joined his father's brewery , took over management after his father's death in 1882 and continued to expand the company. 1902-1903 was Kuffner in Vienna's finest district Hietzing on so-called Hietzinger Platz (now Anna-Strauss-Platz) a very representative four-storey residential building (13, Hietzinger Hauptstraße 30-32) establish, in the ground floor of the decades Ottakringer Brau -called bourgeois restaurant run that is now run by Ewald Plachutta and his family. In 1905, Kuffner converted the Ottakringer brewery into a stock corporation.

The Palais Kuffner in Vienna 16., Ottakringer Straße 118–120. Opposite is the brewery.

In addition, Kuffner was a customer, later also a partner in the Viennese bank "Reitler & Co." as a limited partner .

Patron of science and culture

Memorial plaque for Moritz von Kuffner at the Kuffner observatory

In addition to the brewery's economic boom, Kuffner's social importance grew, supported by his favorite activities as a philosopher, art lover and enthusiastic amateur astronomer. The political and intellectual upper class of Vienna met at numerous receptions and events in Kuffner's palace across from the brewery.

The Kuffner observatory in Vienna 16., Johann-Staud-Straße 10, is open to the public today.

Moriz von Kuffner's enthusiasm for astronomy and the economic prosperity of his companies enabled him to become a great promoter of this science. From 1884–1886 he built the most important private observatory of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in Ottakring with his own resources (for details see Kuffner observatory ). He equipped them with the best instruments that could be made at that time and some of which are still rarities today, such as a 10 -inch refractor , an 8-inch heliometer (largest instrument of its kind ever built), a 5-inch meridian circle , vertical circle as well as precision clocks. He also financed the ongoing operation, the employment and activities of well-known professional astronomers as well as participation in major international projects.

Kuffner also dealt with philosophy, art, literature and economics . He had put together an important collection of Albrecht Dürer's works with cuts and engravings as well as documents (not letters) and autobiographical notes by Immanuel Kant , which he temporarily made available to the Prussian Academy.

In 1900 he was elected to the board of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde , of which he belonged until 1918.

Mountain sports

Moriz von Kuffner was an avid alpinist and was one of Austria's most important mountaineers in the 1880s and 1890s. He climbed most of the alpine 4,000-meter peaks and started new routes, some of which were later named after him, such as the Kuffnergrat on Mont Maudit and the Kuffnerpfeiler on Piz Palü . P. 35 The mountain guides Alexander Burgener , JM Biner (also Biener), J. Furrer, A. Kalbermatten, Cl. Perren, Christian Ranggetiner, E. Rubesoir, JP Ruppen and Martin Schocher.

Bernina group: left Piz Palü with Kuffner pillar (the first of the three) and right of the middle Piz Bernina and Biancograt

Selection of first ascents:

  • 1883 Piz Glüscheint in the Bernina group;
  • August 8, 1884 Teufelshorn in the northwest ridge of the Großglockner and Glocknerhorn with Christian Ranggetiner and E. Rubesoier (Teufelshorn)
  • 1885 Eiger in the Bernese Oberland, first descent over the northeast ridge (Mittellegigrat);
  • 1885 Laquinhorn (Lagginhorn) over the large spur on the east side;
  • 1887 Mont Blanc from the Géant glacier over the east side of Mont Maudit ;
  • 1887 Aiguille des Glaciers east-south-east ridge in the south-western Mont Blanc group
  • 1888 Mont Pelvoux over the western part of the northeast side in the Dauphiné
  • July 15, 1890 Portjengrat / Pizzo d'Andolla over the east ridge (Grenzgrat, East ridge) in the Weißmies group (eastern Valais Alps) with Alexander Burgener and JPRuppen
  • 1899 Eastern summit of Piz Palü in the Bernina group above the eastern north wall pillar (Kuffner pillar)
Wife Elsa von Kuffner
Moriz von Kuffner as an old man

Forced emigration and end of life

1938 turned out to be the unlucky year for the 84-year-old Moriz Kuffner's family. His wife Elsa died in January after 47 years of marriage, followed in February by the eldest son Ignaz, who was only 46 years old, and Moriz himself became seriously ill. In March Austria was "annexed" to the "Third Reich" . After that, the Jewish Kuffner family was exposed to all kinds of harassment and physical threats from the National Socialists.

With the help of an alpinist friend (the Moriz von Kuffner Foundation called Zsigmondy, not to be confused with Emil Zsigmondy , † 1885), Moriz Kuffner received the entry permit for Switzerland. Shortly afterwards, his sons Johann and Stephan brought him to Zurich via Czechoslovakia, where he died on March 5, 1939 in the Hirslandenklinik after a long illness . P. 35 and 36

The two sons first emigrated to Paris, Cuba and the USA and later settled in Switzerland. Stephan Kuffner founded the Moriz and Elsa von Kuffner Foundation in Zurich in 1960 . It supports students and needy families and individuals, needy nursing staff, Swiss social services of all kinds, mountain communities and institutions.

Topographic names

Before 1870, in the then Viennese suburb of Ottakring (since 1892: 16th district), the Kuffnergasse next to the brewery site was named after his father. Katharinenruhe was named after his sister, also in Ottakring, 1886–1944 and has been named the Katharinenruhe again since 2002 at the confluence of Erdbrustgasse and Gallitzinstraße .

literature

Web links

Commons : Moriz von Kuffner  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Ottakringer Brewery  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Kuffner Observatory  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b c see literature Katja Fischer: Jüdische Kunstsammlungen in Wien before 1938 using the example of the Kuffner family
  2. Helga Gibs: Hietzing. Between yesterday and tomorrow. Mohl-Verlag, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-900272-51-4 , p. 37.
  3. a b see web link Brewery Ottakringer: History
  4. Peter Eigner / Helmut Falschlehner / Andreas Resch: “History of Austrian Private Banks - From Rothschild to Spängler”, Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, pp. 129–130, ISBN 978-3-658-20124-1 .
  5. ^ Gudrun Wolfschmidt: Astronomical patronage in Europe. S. 9. Online at Google Books
  6. a b c see literature Ferrari D'Occhieppo – Hösch: Kuffner Moritz von
  7. see web link Werner Stark: Research on letters and manuscripts of Immanuel Kant
  8. Summit post [1]
  9. a b see web link Moriz and Elsa von Kuffner Foundation: History
  10. see web link Günter Mattern: The coat of arms of von Kuffner
  11. ^ Lehmanns Wiener Adressbuch, edition 1870, p. 12 of the section (= digital p. 28)