Sigmund Zois from Edelstein

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Karl Sig [is] mund Zois [Zoys], Freiherr von Edelstein , also called Žiga Zois in Slovene (born November 23, 1747 Trieste ; † November 10, 1819 Laibach ), lived in the Duchy of Carniola , a country in the Austrian Empire , he was an entrepreneur , Scholar, writer and patron. As the owner of mines and iron works in Oberkrain and the Wochein and as a metallurgist, he worked intensively in the natural sciences (chemistry, geosciences, zoology, botany). He was also a leader among the Slovenian innovators (Slovenian Preroditelj) who fostered the language, culture, regional studies and self-confidence of the Slovenes . Zois is considered the richest Carniolan of his time.

Andreas Herrlein : Sigmund Zois von Edelstein, portrait

Life

Sigmund Zois was the son of Michael Angelo Zois (1694–1777), who was born in the Habsburg Lombardy and moved to Carniola, also part of the Habsburg monarchy, in the early 18th century , and his second wife Johanna Katharina Kappus von Pichelstein from a Krainer family. Baron Zois was considered the richest man in the duchy. He sent his son to the knight academy in Reggio in the Duchy of Modena, which was politically close to Austria at the time, for a proper education . Then Sigmund was sent on educational trips and did not return to Laibach until 1768 to help his father, who was now 74 years old, in the business. Here he was declared of age with the imperial approval as a 21-year-old (otherwise he reached the age of 24 when he reached the age of 24) and received 60,000 guilders in cash as well as various properties from his father's assets.

In 1777, Sigmund Zois, who, surprisingly for his father's employees, proved to be business-savvy and prudent, became his universal heir. Since he left the management of the inherited businesses to his cousin and partner Bernardino Zois, he was able to devote himself intensively to his wide-ranging interests from his headquarters in Laibach. Sigmund Zois remained unmarried.

Zois' round table

Zois' mansion in Laibach
Anton Tomaž Linhart (1785), permanent guest at Zois' round tables

From 1780 Zois received in the manor house on the Ljubljanica in Ljubljana ("on the Rain of the Ljubljana River"), which was built from six interconnected buildings; his personal apartment had 17 rooms. Regular guests were the priest Jurij Japel and Blaž Kumerdey, director of the Carniolan normal schools. The two published the New Testament in Slovene from 1784–1786 under the patronage of Prince Bishop Johann Karl von Herberstein : "Sveto pismu noviga testamenta, ie Biblia sacra in Slavo-Carniolicum idioma translata". In addition, the poet Anton Tomaž Linhart was regularly present at Zois' conversations, from 1793 and 1796 also the Franciscan and poet Valentin Vodnik , from 1803 onwards Jernej Kopitar , “who had eight years prior to his employment at the Imperial and Royal Court Library in Vienna Position of secretary, minerals cabinet and library supervisor at Zois ”. In a letter he called Zois “the center of culture in Carniola. He is not only a friend and promoter, but also a great expert on Slavic ”.

Guest at Sigmund Zois: Balthasar Hacquet, anatomist and Triglav climber

Others were less regular guests at Zois, including the anatomist Balthasar Hacquet , who had been teaching in Ljubljana for 15 years , to whom he gave Willomitzer, who is well-versed in the area, for the planned ascent of Triglav , the highest mountain in Carniola, and the architect Joseph Schemerl von Leythenbach (1752– 1844), kk Hofrat and Hofbauratdirektor, an expert in river and road construction. As a host, Zois knew how to stimulate the talents of every individual who could contribute to language, literature, regional studies and the collection of current knowledge.

A hundred years later it was noted that Zois ran a "real and genuine court of muses" and "here his rich natural history and technological collections, his rich mineralogical cabinet and his excellently selected library are always open to all friends of science, all those inquisitive and eager to learn" held. Furthermore, "his broad mind, his extensive education, his experiences and studies and his collecting diligence" were praised.

geology

Drawing on his geological knowledge, Zois intervened in the dispute between Neptunists and Vulcanists , who had disagreed over the mountain formation. On the basis of found fossils, he proved that the limestone from which the Triglav is built was formed from marine deposits. Sigmund Zois' mineral collection was the cornerstone of the Krainisches Landesmuseum in Ljubljana, which was founded in 1821 and officially opened in 1831; Today the collection can be seen in the Prirodoslovni muzej Slovenije (the Natural History Museum of Slovenia).

At the turn of the century, Zois sent two mineral seekers to the Saualpe in the neighboring Duchy of Carinthia ; From there, Simon Prešern brought to him in 1805 the previously unknown mineral that Zois Saualpit had named; later it was named Zoisite in honor of Zois . In addition, Preschern brought the “Karinthin” to him, which is also new to the professional world.

Promoters and Oppressors

Sigmund Zois, lithograph by Josef Lanzedelli d. Ä. around 1820

In Laibach, Zois initiated and promoted road construction, the construction of the botanical garden, the construction of a (German) theater (of which he became the main shareholder) and the expansion of the Lyceal library. On the other hand, in the seventies and eighties of the 18th century, he let his administrators take action with great severity against dissatisfied farmers who revolted on his Gut Egg in 1783. It was only under the impression of the French Revolution that Zois instructed his administrator to "give the greatest indulgence" to the peasants, as he feared for his property. From 1797 onwards, Zois, whose legs were paralyzed by Podagra , used a wheelchair.

Marshal Marmont was Zois' guest when France annexed the Illyrian provinces

When Carniola was annexed by France from 1809 to 1813 and part of the Illyrian Provinces , besides Zois' usual guests, “the French generals, headed by the Governor General Marshal Marmont Duke of Ragusa , officers of all degrees, scholars and Charles Nodier (librarian of the Laibacher public study library) “participated in the social life of the baron, whereby difficulties of the locals with the occupiers could be partially resolved. 4,400 volumes of scientific works in various languages ​​were purchased from Sigmund and Carl Zois' estates for the kk Lyceal library in Ljubljana.

family

Egg Castle near Krainburg / Brdo pri Kranju , acquired by Sigmund Zois' father and set up as a Fideikommiss (foundation for the family); Sigmund's brother Carl lived in the castle. Marshal Tito suffered a stroke here in 1980, which led to his imminent death.

The origin of the Zois family has remained unexplored to this day. It is proven that the ancestors of the Carniolan Zois lived in the Bergamasque village of Cacodelli, which belonged to the parish of Berbenno, in the 16th century . However, it is unclear where they got there from. There are different versions of this. Sigmund Zois reported that his family's country of origin was Switzerland. According to another version, the Zois had Greek roots and came to Bergamo via Spain. Sigmund's father Michelangelo left behind documents that the family came from the Netherlands and had moved to the Bergamo area for religious reasons.

Sigmund Zois' father Michael Angelo (Michelangelo) Zois (1694–1777) originally lived in Cacodelli near Berbenno, northwest of Bergamo , Lombardy. It is unclear why he moved from there to Krain. In Ljubljana, he entered the wholesale business of his compatriot Peter Anton von Codelli, and was later able to take over the business from his nephew Augustin Codelli von Fahnenfeld due to his commercial skills. Michael Angelo Zois made enormous fortunes in the iron trade and as a mine owner. In addition to properties in Ljubljana he owned several houses in Trieste (where Sigmund was born) and purchased Schloss Egg / Brdo at Kranj , which he called an entail certain family. 1739 he was by Emperor Karl VI. ennobled for his services to the economy and received the self-chosen title of knight of precious stone. In 1760, with a donation of 40,000 guilders to Empress Maria Theresa, who was in the Seven Years' War , he was promoted to baron.

Michael Angelo Zois was married to Maria Anna Josefa Perneker for the first time. Her firstborn August (1731–1808), Sigmund's half-brother, moved to Graz and founded the Styrian line of the family.

In his second marriage, Sigmund's father married the local Johanna Katharina Kappus von Pichelstein, with whom he had eight other children, including Sigmund's brother Joseph (1748-1817), who was the only one of the three brothers from this marriage who had children and thus the Carniolan line of the family reasoned. Joseph's son Carl (1775–1836) was married to Seraphine Countess Eichelburg; the large tomb of the two is in the Ljubljana cemetery Žale. A great-grandson of Carl was the lawyer, civil servant, writer and journalist Michelangelo von Zois (1874–1945).

Sigmund's second brother, Carl (1756–1799), like Sigmund unmarried and childless, lived mostly at Egg / Brdo Castle. The flowers Campanula zoysii and Viola zoysii , which he discovered in the Carniolan Alps, remember him .

Honors

Zois' exceptional scientific achievements prompted various relevant institutions to accept him as a member: the Society of Friends of Nature Research in Berlin (1782), the Societät der Bergbaukunde (1786), the Imperialis Leopoldina -Carolina Academia Culturae Curiosorum in Erlangen (1793), the Académie Celtique in Paris (1806) and the Jenaer ducal-mineralogical society (1807). In 1808 the K. k. Agricultural Society in Vienna under the patronage of Archduke Johann the membership certificate . In 1809, Emperor Franz I of Austria awarded him the Commander's Cross of the Leopold Order .

In Ljubljanica, on the western bank of the Ljubljanica at the St. Jakobs Bridge / Šentjakobski most, the eastern end of Zoisstrasse / Zoisova cesta, there is a pyramid built in 1927 in memory of Sigmund Zois by Josef / Jože Plečnik .

literature

Fiction

  • Tita Kovač : Najbogatejši kranjec (The richest Carniolan). Ljubljana 1979.

Web links

Commons : Sigmund Zois von Edelstein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ernest Faninger: Letters from Baron Sigmund Zois with mineralogical content from the years 1778-1783 , in: Geologija , 43rd year, issue 1, Laibach 2000, pp. 9-11 ( PDF on geologija-revija.si).
  2. ^ A b c Peter von Radics:  Zois von Edelstein, Siegmund . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 45, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1900, pp. 403-406.
  3. ↑ a b Joachim Hösler: From Carniola to Slovenia: the beginnings of the national differentiation processes in Carniola and Lower Styria from the Enlightenment to the Revolution 1768-1848 , Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-486-57885-0 , p. 95 f.
  4. ↑ Illyrisches Blatt zu Benefit and Pleasure , Laibach, May 18, 1821, p. 1.
  5. ↑ Ernest Faninger: Baron Sigmund Zois, Zoisit and Karin thin. (On the 250th anniversary of his birth) , in: Geologija , No. 42, 1999, Laibach 2000, pp. 5–18 ( PDF on geologija-revija.si).
  6. ↑ Ernest Faninger: gems and rocks in heraldry. In: Carinthia II. Hrsg. Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein für Kärnten, 186th / 106th year, Klagenfurt 1996, pp. 13–22 ( PDF (3 MB) on ZOBODAT , with color images of the Zois coat of arms).
personal data
SURNAME Zois von Edelstein, Sigmund
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zois Freiherr von Edelstein, Sigismund; Zois, Žiga (Slovenian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Entrepreneur, scholar, writer and patron
DATE OF BIRTH November 23, 1747
PLACE OF BIRTH Trieste
DATE OF DEATH November 10, 1819
Place of death Laibach