Von der Heydt (family)

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The von der Heydts are a German family from Elberfeld . It produced politicians, bankers and patrons and was promoted to the rank of baron in 1863 .

History up to the middle of the 19th century

The family called themselves Heidt bei Barmen after the place where they lived . From there they moved to Elberfeld. Members of the name first appear in 1597. In the course of the following centuries it achieved a certain level of prosperity. Johannes von der Heydt (1730–1810) ran a bakery that specialized in making waffles.

The sons Daniel Heinrich (1767–1832) and Johann Abraham Wilhelm (1771–1850) received commercial training. Daniel Heinrich married Wilhelmine Kersten in 1794 and entered the banking business of his father-in-law Abraham Kersten . He soon became a partner in this. He was also mayor, commercial judge and was active in the Reformed community. The marriage resulted in nine children, some of whom died early. One of the daughters married the court preacher Friedrich Strauss .

The son August von der Heydt (1801–1874) was like his father a banker, active in the Reformed community and a local politician. As a representative of Rhenish liberalism , he was a member of the Prussian National Assembly and became Prussian Minister of Commerce and later Minister of Finance. He was raised to the hereditary baron status in 1863. One of the sons, Bernhard von der Heydt (1840–1907), was the district administrator of the Obertaunus district . Robert von der Heydt (1837–1877) was district administrator for the Eupen and Essen districts , as well as district president of Upper Alsace .

August's brother Daniel von der Heydt (1802–1874) was also active in the banking and trading business. He was also an opponent of the church union and, although politically conservative, stood up for the freedom of the church. He was instrumental in founding the free Dutch Reformed community in Elberfeld . He was also significantly involved in the introduction of the Elberfeld system of poor relief. The third brother Carl von der Heydt (1806–1881) also thought in terms of church politics like his brothers. He was a partner in his father's bank and also wrote some theological works.

The von der Heydt-Kersten & Söhne banking house , one of the first of its kind in Germany, became an important industrial financier in the first half of the 19th century and was involved in railway construction and similar projects.

Since the middle of the 19th century

In the second half of the 19th century, the family branched out into several branches. August von der Heydt (1851–1929) son of the father of the same name and grandson of the grandfather of the same name joined the family's bank and ran it together with his cousin Karl von der Heydt. From 1891 he managed the bank alone. Politically, he was free-conservative and was a city councilor in Elberfeld. As a patron he endeavored to beautify Elberfeld. He bought forests, which he later donated to the city, was a co-founder of the stock corporation Zoologischer Garten (today: Zoo Wuppertal) and chairman of the beautification association . He financed numerous monuments, wells and similar facilities. He also promoted the theater and the concert society. As an important art collector, he was the founder of the museum association in 1892, which later became the Von der Heydt Museum .

The cousin Karl von der Heydt (1858–1922) lived in the villa of the Minister von der Heydt in Berlin, where he initially ran a branch of the family bank, which later became completely independent. He was a supporter of the German colonial efforts. He has also supported authors such as Rainer Maria Rilke and emerged as a writer himself.

Eduard von der Heydt (1882–1964) was politically right after the First World War . In 1926 he bought the site of the former life reform and artist colony Monte Verità in Switzerland. He became a National Socialist and, after the Second World War, was charged with dodgy business, but not convicted. He donated parts of his collections to the city of Zurich , others went to the museum in Wuppertal. The von der Heydt bank became part of the Commerzbank .

In the course of 200 years, eight members of the Elberfeld city council or city council and five mayors emerged from the family.

Descendant table

Daniel Heinrich von der Heydt
 
Wilhelmine Kersten
1771–1854
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Wilhelmine von der Heydt
1795–1797
 
Juliana von der Heydt
1796–1804
 
Wilhelmine von der Heydt
1797–1872
 
Johannes Wichelhaus
1794–1874
 
Johanna von der Heydt
1799–1857
 
Friedrich Strauss
1786–1863
 
August Freiherr von der Heydt
1801–1874
 
Julie Blank
1804-1865
 
Daniel von der Heydt
1802–1874
 
Bertha Rosalia Wülfing
1806–1857
 
Friedrich von der Heydt
1804–1817
 
Carl von der Heydt
1806–1881
 
Julie von der Heydt
1810–1883
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
August Freiherr von der Heydt
1825–1867
 
Maria Helene Boeddinghaus
1828–1899
 
Eduard Freiherr von der Heydt
1828–1890
 
Alice Rosalie Schmidt
1830–1898
 
Robert Freiherr von der Heydt
1837–1877
 
Mathilde Anna Elisabeth Amalie von Balan
1847–1907
 
Bernhard Freiherr von der Heydt
1840–1907
 
Annie Luise Mathilde Loeschigk
1849–1922
 
Berta Johanna von der Heydt
1828–1902
 
Alwine von der Heydt
1831–?
 
Selma von der Heydt
1833–1885
 
Pauline von der Heydt
1836–?
 
Daniel Heinrich von der Heydt
1838–1861
 
Emilie von der Heydt
1843–1860
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
August Freiherr von der Heydt
1851–1929
 
Selma Haarhaus
1862–1944
 
Marie Mathilde Freiin von der Heydt
1850–1889
 
Emil Weyerbusch
1846–1909
 
Eduard Freiherr von der Heydt
1858–1862
 
Alice Freiin von der Heydt
1861–1864
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
August Freiherr von der Heydt
1881–1943
 
Eduard Freiherr von der Heydt
1882–1964
 
Vera von Schwabach
1899–1996
 
Robert Bernhard Freiherr von der Heydt
1889–1889
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

literature

Web links

Commons : Von der Heydt family  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files