Theodor Kern (industrialist)

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Theodor Kern (* around 1858 in Iglau , Austria-Hungary ; † May 12, 1919 in Vienna , German-Austria ) was an Austrian industrialist and businessman .

Life

Theodor Kern (1915)

Kommerzialrat Theodor Kern was born into a large industrial family. He attended the Catholic Latin High School in Iglau and studied in Vídnike.

Kern mainly dealt with the textile and paper industry and was one of the most important wool and cloth suppliers of the Austro-Hungarian army .

The " Altenberger Military Cloth and Sheep Wool Goods Factory Enoch Kern Sons " in Altenberg near Iglau developed into one of the most important army suppliers at the end of the 19th century. Between 1870 and 1874 the company supplied a third of the military requirements of the Austro-Hungarian army .

Theodor Kern was married to the noblewoman Hedwig Koppen von Hessenwalde and had four children. His youngest daughter Erna is the wife of the Maria Theresa knight Wilhelm Cavallar von Grabensprung .

He died in the Viennese cottage sanatorium and was buried at the Döblinger Friedhof .

Industry

The " Altenberger Military Cloth and Sheep Wool Goods Factory Enoch Kern Sons " played a major role in the Iglau region in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Kernsche textile factory went through a brief crisis in the 1870s. But when it concentrated on the production of woolen fabrics and curtains for the public sector in 1883 , production got a new impetus and increased its production, so that in the 1990s one million meters of fabric were produced annually.

Military cloth and sheep wool factory near Altenberg in Iglau

At the beginning of the 20th century, the company sold its goods not only to countries of the Habsburg monarchy , but also to markets in Turkey, Greece, Egypt, America, Persia, Japan and China. The textile factory reached its peak during the 1st World War due to the increasing military orders for military clothing.

In 1927 the textile factory in Altenberg failed as a result of the economic crisis . The factory (but not the site) was bought in 1931 by the entrepreneur Ervin Lang , who resumed production.

During the 2nd World War, went out of respect for Iglaus textile industry permanently, as in 1940, the factory in a BMW - aircraft engines was converted -Reparaturwerk.

In May 1946, an internment camp for Austrians and Germans from Iglau and the surrounding area was set up in the area bombed by the war .

In 1948 the family was expropriated and driven out by the communists . Since then, the factory buildings have been used by international companies for the manufacture of injection devices, among other things.

Merits, awards and honors

  • Knight's Cross of the Franz Joseph Order .
  • On December 10, 1915 he received honorary citizenship in Iglau because of his meritorious work for the city of Iglau and the Iglauer Sprachinsel .
  • Long-time member of the trade and industry association in Iglau . Due to his merits, he was made an honorary member .
  • In 1897 he was appointed chairman (chairman) of the local government district court and the district council of Stecken .
  • Member of the management (executive member) of Iglauer Wirtschaftskreditbank.
  • Founder of the "Theodor Kernsche War Orphan Foundation " (1917).
  • In 1893 he made a financial contribution with a foundation to build the Iglaus cemetery chapel.
  • Since 1885 chairman of the iglau ice skating club.
  • Co-founder of the Altenberg fire brigade .

literature

  • The municipal administration of the royal city of Iglau in the years 1895–1899 , 1900–1904, Iglau 1900 a 1905.
  • Vlnařská centra Evropy : Brno - Jihlava: od počátku 20. století. Brno: Archives města Brna, 2008, p. 42, 46, 55.
  • Enoch Kern's son, military cloth and sheep wool factory, Altenberg near Iglau . In: The big industry of Austria, Volume IV, Vienna, 1898, s. 108-110.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Franz E. Czepl webmaster@czepl.de: Altenberg. Retrieved August 1, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b Community Iglauer Sprachinsel eV: From Iglau - from the language island - Community Iglauer Sprachinsel eV. Retrieved August 1, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b KERN, Theodor: Jihlava. Retrieved August 1, 2018 (Czech).
personal data
SURNAME Kern, Theodor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian industrialist and businessman
DATE OF BIRTH around 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Iglau , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 1919
Place of death Vienna , German Austria