Salomon Marix

Salomon Marix (born May 26, 1805 in Zillisheim near Mulhouse , † March 27, 1872 in Wiesbaden ) was a Franco-German cloth merchant, marble manufacturer and brewery owner.

Origin and family

Salomon Marix was born on May 26, 1805 in Zillisheim near Mulhouse, France . His father was the wine merchant Jacob Marix, born in 1763, his mother was Pauline Herschel, born in 1773, sometimes also called Hirschel. The Jewish couple had a total of 13 children, eight of them girls and five boys. Salomon was the ninth child of the two. Between 1807 and 1811 the family moved to Besançon . Salomon Marix ran a cloth shop there. On June 18, 1831, he married Sara Picard in Besançon. The bride, born on May 20, 1815 in Metz , daughter of Michel and Merlé Picard, was not even 16 years old at the time of the marriage. The marriage produced five children, three boys and two girls. Son Jules, born on November 26, 1832, and daughter Marie Emma, ​​born on November 13, 1840, were born in Besançon. It was followed by the sons Paul and Joseph Edmond and the daughter Olga.

Life in Eltville

The Besançon family left during the 1840s . The Marix family temporarily lived in St. Petersburg and Moscow , later in Paris and Lyon . Around 1850 they moved to Eltville . There Salomon Marix acquired a total of 91 acres of land, various houses and finally the Königsklinger Aue , that island in the Rhine between Eltville and Heidesheim , on which he had a mansion built "in the style of the Crimean villas", which is therefore popularly known as "Krimschlösschen" was called. After Marix's daughter Olga married the Russian Grand Duke Serebriany, the couple lived in the manor house on the floodplain , which is why the island was called "Olga Island" by the inhabitants of Eltville. After Salomon Marix's death in 1872, the floodplain passed into the possession of his daughter Olga, who remained the owner of the island until 1888, but no longer lived there after separating from her husband. Both on the floodplain and in his Eltville villa, which also included a nearby guest house, Salomon Marix regularly entertained illustrious visitors from home and abroad, for whose entertainment he came up with some ideas. This included, for example, trips on the Rhine in specially equipped barges that looked like gondolas and were steered by costumed "sailors". There were also large, extravagant garden parties with illumination and gunshots, which once caused Marix trouble with the Eltville mayor. In the summer of 1853, he wanted to impose a fine of six guilders on Marix for disturbing the peace at night. But Marix refused to pay because the gunshots that the mayor complained about had not been fired in Eltville , but on the floodplain . According to Marix, it belongs to the area of ​​the municipality of Heidesheim , which is why the Eltville mayor has no right to prosecute him for the gunfire. That lies solely in the competence of his colleague in Heidesheim, who has, however, agreed to the action.

Garden, plant and rose lover

Marix was not only a clever businessman with good contacts to various representatives of German aristocratic houses, but also a great plant and a very special rose lover. In the park of his Eltville villa there are said to have been various greenhouses with lounges, as well as Chinese pavilions, an orangery , underground passages in which mushrooms were grown, a pond with water lilies and a ginkgo tree . Marix spared no expense when it came to purchasing or caring for rare or important flowers and plants. In 1873 a rose was even baptized in his daughter's name. The "Olga Marix" rose is described as "medium-sized, double, flesh-colored white".

Business engagement

In 1870 Salomon Marix bought a beer brewery in Wiesbaden . This was the Wiesbadener Aktien-Bierbrauerei, built in 1862 on the highway between Wiesbaden and Sonnenberg and commissioned in January 1863. But despite the increasing demand for beer in Wiesbaden at that time, the brewery did not succeed in establishing its product on the market. The company only really got going after Marix bought the company and brought it up to date with the latest technology. When Marix decided in 1870 to take over the Wiesbadener Aktien-Bierbrauerei, this also meant an expansion of its previous product portfolio. Since the 1860s, this has included the processing of Lahn marble , which is known and used worldwide . At the end of 1864, Marix acquired several plots of land near the local quarries in Villmar an der Lahn in order to set up the first company for marble processing operated with water power. At the end of 1865, however, he seemed to have lost interest in the processing and processing of marble , which is why he sold the newly founded "Nassau Marble Works" to his son-in-law, Joseph Jules Levy Luville, who was born in Vic-sur-Seille / Moselle in 1820 , who with Marix's daughter Marie Emma was married. In addition to marble , Salomon Marix was also interested in wine. In the Rheingau he was one of the main producers of Johannisberger Riesling wines. Among other things, he owned the vineyard around what is now Schloss Hansenberg , which he had laid out after he had acquired the house and property in 1861. Ten years later, in 1871, Marix's son Jules had the building, which had been built in 1824 by the Wiesbaden pedagogue Johannes de Laspée, expanded and converted in the French style. From then on the building was called Schloss Johannisburg. It was not until 1873, after the property was sold to the wine merchant Ludwig Bauer, that it was given the name Schloss Hansenberg .

Activities in Wiesbaden

Marix had business connections to Wiesbaden since the 1860s . At that time, the renovation and expansion of the city, which had already been planned in the mid-1850s, was on the agenda of the Nassau government. This also included the redesign of the Schützenhofplatz, which according to the ideas of the architect and Nassau building official Georg Christian Carl Boos and the “general plan for the building industry in the city of Wiesbaden” was to be redesigned into a market place. Building supervisor Richard Goerz rejected the idea, however, because this project did not generate enough profit for the state that owned the Schützenhof site. Instead, he suggested selling the site for the highest possible price. One of the first bidders was the banker and shareholder of the Wiesbadener Aktien-Bierbrauereigesellschaft, Marcus Berlé. However, the government believes that his offer was too low. In contrast, Marix's offer appeared much more interesting. He wanted to pay a total of 155,000 guilders for the Schützenhof area, 55,000 of which immediately. However, under the premise that the decision whether the government would accept or reject the offer was made within five days. Since there were no offers that exceeded the offer submitted by Marix, the Duke approved the sale on January 28, 1864. Marix then ordered the Schützenhof to be demolished in order to have “a completely new facility” built there between 1865 and 1869. This included the construction of a driveway in the direction of Michelsberg. Marix also made a name for itself in Wiesbaden as a "building contractor" in connection with other construction projects. He made part of the Schützenhof area available - namely the one on Michelsberg, at the corner of Schulberg - for the construction of a new synagogue on Michelsberg. Furthermore, in his capacity as the founder of the Wiesbaden construction company on shares, he presented plans to redesign the streets and houses around the market church , but these were not implemented because the local council spoke out against it in June 1863.

Marix Brewery

See also : Wiesbadener Kronen Brewery

Salomon Marix was therefore anything but a stranger to Wiesbaden when he acquired the brewery on Sonnenberger Strasse in 1870 and moved into the house at Sonnenberger Strasse 37 near the brewery in 1871. From then on, the brewery operated by him and his sons Paul and Jules, who were also located at Sonnenberger Straße 37 and led by director Andreas Urban, was simply called the Marix Brewery. "The 'substance' ', especially dark, brewed by Bavarian tradition of beer and light lager ," the then brought the Marix Brewery to discharge ", had been delicious, it said in a report on the company. Within a very short time, the brewery, in which the Marix family had invested heavily in order to be technically up to date, developed into the largest brewery in Wiesbaden. In 1872 it was even considered to be the most important brewery in South Nassau and "at the same time as the one where operations were most safely and practically managed". Despite the enormous success that the company was able to record within a few years, the Marix family sold the brewery the following year. Already in July 1872, a few months after Salomon Marix died on March 27, 1872 in his adopted home Wiesbaden, the bottled beer distribution seems to have been separated from the company and director Urban, who finally bought the brewery in 1873, was transferred. The Marix brewery was probably extinguished at the end of 1873 and was therefore deleted from the Wiesbaden commercial register on February 3, 1874, in accordance with a decree of January 31, 1874. Around this time Paul and Jules Marix also left the city of Wiesbaden, where their father had been involved in many ways over the years. Salomon Marix's body was to be transferred to Besançon at the request of the deceased or his family . Salomon Marix obviously did not want to be buried in Wiesbaden, although his son Joseph Edmond was already resting there - in the old Jewish cemetery at Schönen Aussicht - who, at the age of 18, was resting on the night of August 15th to 16th Had taken his life in 1868 by ingesting poison.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Wiesbaden (HHStAWi), Section 365 No. 912 (Jewish death register 1872), death certificate Salomon Marix. Birth certificate Salomon Marix; available at: http://www.archives.haut-rhin.fr/ [11.08.2017]. It says that Salomon Marix was born on the 6th day of the month of Prairial in the 13th year of the Republic. According to the conversion calendar for the French revolutionary calendar by Dieter Echterhoff, it was Sunday, May 26, 1805; see. http://www.lzkv.de/frk/bilder/frk1-14.pdf [05/28/2018].
2. ↑ For the family tree of the Jacob Marix family cf. https://gw.geneanet.org/ [05/22/2018].
3. ↑ L'indicateur de Besançon, ou Almanach Administratif, Industriel et Commerial contenant Les Noms et Les Adresses Des Autorités, Des Négociants, Manufacturiers et Commerçants en tout genre, qui resident en cette ville. Première Année. Besançon 1837, p. 147.
4. ↑ Archives Besancon, Tables décennales of naissances, mariages, décès 1823-1832; available at: http://memoirevive.besancon.fr/ark:/48565/a011290417937A7aVHl/1/539 [05/22/2018]. Archives Metz, 1815 Etat-civil: Naissances, mariages, décès; available at: https://archives.metz.fr/4DCGI/Web_RegistreChangePage/ILUMP920  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. [05/23/2018]. The name of Salomon Marix's wife is mentioned in his death certificate, cf. HHStAWi, Dept. 365 No. 912 (Jewish death register 1872), death certificate Salomon Marix, indicated with Sara Picard. In the Wiesbaden 1872/73 address book, p. 139, it is stated that Elisabeth Salomon is the widow of the pensioner Salomon Marix. This must be a mistake.  
5. ↑ See birth certificate Jules Marix (1832) and Marie Emma Marix; available at: http://memoirevive.besancon.fr/ [24.05.2018].
6. ↑ See Edith Kirmann: De Besançon à Moscou et Saint-Petersburg, Paris et Lyon / Descendances de Salomon Marix; in: GenAmi Review 60/2012, pp. 12-18; available at: http://www.genami.org/documents/bulletin/bulletin-60.pdf [05/24/2018].
7. ↑ The information on Marix's move to Eltville differ. Sometimes it is spoken of 1849, then again of 1851. 1849 see: http://www.alemannia-judaica.de/eltville_synagoge.htm [03/29/2017]. 1851 cf. Helga Simon: The Eltviller and Königsklinger Aue; in: Rheingau Forum. Magazine for wine, history, culture. 14th year, 2/2005, p. 20.
8. ↑ On the acquisition of the Aue and the “Krimschlösschen”: Königsklinger Aue [ March 29, 2017 ]. Also Simon, p. 21. On Marix's property in Eltville, cf. Villa am Park: http://www.vap-gmbh.de/geschichte-der-villa-am-park.html [03/29/2017].
9. ↑ Simon, p. 21.
10. ↑ On Marix as a plant friend cf. Villa on the park. About his acquaintance with aristocrats: http://www.alemannia-judaica.de/eltville_synagoge.htm [03/29/2017]. Simon, p. 21.
11. ^ Description of the rose in Wilhelm Hampel: Garden book for everyone. Berlin 1890, p. 277.
12. ^ Letter from the mayor of the ducal administrative office of Wiesbaden dated December 27, 1862; in: HHStAWi, Abt. 211 No. 8251. Kronenbrauerei, in: Historisch-Biographische Blätter. Industry, trade and commerce. The Wiesbaden administrative district. II. Delivery (probably 1913). [unpaginated]
13. ↑ Magrit Mirror: Wiesbaden company letterhead from the imperial period 1871-1914. Factory and hotel views on business letters and invoices. 50 examples with company profiles. Wiesbaden 2003, p. 102. Pierre Even: Brewing in the Nassauer Land; in: Sonnenberger Echo, issue 56/1994, p. 8.
14. ^ Lydia Aumüller: The Nassau marble factory in Villmar an der Lahn; available at: http://www.heimatforschung-villmar.de/spielbank.htm [22.05.2018].
15. ↑ JGA Wirth reports in his work on "The Wine Locations of the Rhineland", Mainz 1866, p. 52, that Marix was one of the main producers in Johannisberg. Simon, p. 21 and P. 29 (note 14).
16. ↑ See inventory description of the HHStAWi, Dept. 559 (Disaster Protection School / Hessian State Fire Brigade School - Branch Office Schloss Hansenberg). On Julius (Jules) Marix as the owner of Johannisburg Castle, cf. HHStAWi, Dept. 3011/1 No. 7850 H u. No. 7851 H (plans of a farm building for Jules Marix on Johannisburg near Johannisberg).
17. ^ Wolf-Heino Struck: Wiesbaden in the Biedermeier. Wiesbaden 1981, p. 167.
18. ↑ Struck: Biedermeier, p. 170. On Carl Boos cf. Gottfried Kiesow: Boos, Georg Christian Carl: https://www.wiesbaden.de/microsite/stadtlexikon/az/Boos__Georg_Christian_Karl.php [04.04.2017].
19. ↑ Struck: Biedermeier, p. 170.
20. ↑ Struck: Biedermeier, pp. 170–171.
21. ↑ Struck: Biedermeier, p. 75.
22. ↑ Struck: Biedermeier, p. 171.
23. ↑ On the Marix move in 1871, cf. Villa on the park. For the Wiesbaden address of Marix, cf. Wiesbaden address book 1871/72, p. 130.
24. ^ Entry address book Wiesbaden 1872/73, p. 139. Entry in the company register; in: HHStAWi, Abt. 469/33 No. 1091.
25. ^ Kronenbrauerei, Historisch-Biographische Blätter. Even, p. 8.
26. ↑ Even, p. 8.
27. ^ Kronenbrauerei, Historisch-Biographische Blätter. In the Wiesbaden 1872/73 address book there is the entry on p. 139: Marix, Emilie, widow of the pensioner Salomon Marix, residing at Sonnenberger Strasse 37. HHStAWi, Dept. 365 No. 915 (Jewish death register 1872), death certificate Salomon Marix.
28. ↑ Entry in the company register; in: HHStAWi, Abt. 469/33 No. 1091.
29. ^ No member of the Marix family is listed in the Wiesbaden 1874/75 address book.
30. ↑ HHStAWi, Dept. 365 No. 915 (Jewish death register 1872), death certificate Salomon Marix.
31. ↑ HHStAWi, Abt. 365 No. 915 (Jewish death register 1868), death certificate Edmond Marix.

Web links

Commons : Salomon Marix  - collection of images, videos and audio files