Ignaz Wechselmann (1828 in Nikolai,

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

– January 17, 1903 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

) was a Hungarian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. Educated in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Wechselmann moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he became the friend and assistant of the architect

Ludwig Förster Ludwig Christian Friedrich (von) Förster (8 October 1797 in Ansbach – 16 June 1863 in Bad Gleichenberg, Styria) was a German-born Austrian architect. While he was not Jewish, he is known for building Jewish synagogues and churches. Ludwig F ...

. In 1856 he moved to Budapest, where he, as Förster's representative, superintended the building of the Dohány Street Synagogue. Most of the monumental buildings erected in the Hungarian capital between 1870 and 1890 were designed by him, his work including palaces, mills, factories, churches, and the famous Burg-Bazar. In 1886, he received the

Order of the Iron Crown The Order of the Iron Crown ( it, link=no, Ordine della Corona Ferrea) was an order of merit that was established on 5 June 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy by Napoleon Bonaparte under his title of Napoleon I, King of Italy. The order took its name ...

of the third class, and shortly afterward Francis Joseph I. elevated him to the Hungarian nobility. Failing eyesight compelled Wechselmann to retire from active life in 1890, whereupon he devoted his time to philanthropic activity in Budapest. His greatest act of charity was embodied in two clauses in his will, by which he bequeathed one million kronen to the Institute for the Blind, and two millions for the support of meritorious teachers in the public schools. Half of these beneficiaries were to be Jews and the other half Christians; and the board of directors of the Jewish community was entrusted with the administration of the bequests.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wecheselmann Ignaz 1828 births 1903 deaths People from Mikołów Hungarian architects 19th-century Hungarian Jews People from the Province of Silesia Jewish architects