The Imhoff, Imhof or Im Hof family is a noble

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

family that belonged to the wealthy trading dynasties and ruling oligarchy in the

Free Imperial City of Nuremberg The Imperial City of Nuremberg (german: Reichsstadt Nürnberg) was a free imperial city — independent city-state — within the Holy Roman Empire. After Nuremberg gained piecemeal independence from the Burgraviate of Nuremberg in the High Mid ...

during its ''Golden Age'' in the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. The ''Imhoff Trading Company'' was one of the most important European traders between the 15th and 17th centuries. It maintained branches and trade connections throughout Europe and financed European courts with loans.

History

The family was originally from

Lauingen Lauingen ( Swabian: ''Lauinga'') is a town in the district of Dillingen in Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the left bank of the Danube, 5 km west of Dillingen, and 37 km northeast of Ulm. In June 1800, the armies of the French Fir ...

where they belonged to the

families. ''Hans im Hof'' (c. 1260-1341) is the first mentioned member and ''Sigmund Imhof'' was mayor of Lauingen in 1277. The city belonged to the hereditary Duchy of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

emperors. After the death of their last offspring,

Conradin Conrad III (25 March 1252 – 29 October 1268), called ''the Younger'' or ''the Boy'', but usually known by the diminutive Conradin (german: link=no, Konradin, it, Corradino), was the last direct heir of the House of Hohenstaufen. He was Duke ...

, in 1268, Lauingen fell to

Louis II, Duke of Bavaria Louis the Strict (german: Ludwig der Strenge) (13 April 1229 – 2 February 1294) was Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. He is known as Louis II or Louis VI following an alternative numbering. Born in Heidelberg, h ...

, following which a number of young patricians left the city, including Konrad and Hans II Imhoff, to settle in the free imperial city of Nuremberg. Hans II married Lucia Gross, a granddaughter of the famous Nuremberg patrician Konrad Gross, donator of the

Heilig-Geist-Spital The Heilig-Geist-Spital (English: Holy Spirit Hospital) in Nuremberg was the largest hospital in the former Free Imperial City of Nuremberg. It was used as a hospital and nursing home. Its chapel was also the depository of the Imperial Regalia, ...

, and was accepted as a citizen and incorporated into the ruling Nuremberg patriciate. They were listed in the

Dance Statute The Dance Statute established in 1521 a set of politically influential town hall balls that the magistrate of the Imperial City of Nuremberg held on certain days of the year, such as Sundays of the Lord's Carnival, or in honor of princes in the ...

as new lines. The Nuremberg Imhoff family belonged to the circle of families that had an exclusive access to the Inner Council of

Nürnberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...

, to which the family sent representatives between 1402 and 1806, with only short interruptions. The family was related to other protestant patrician families of Nuremberg like the Tucher or

Haller Haller is a surname of English and German origin. It is the last name of: * Albin Haller (1849–1925), French chemist * Albrecht von Haller (1708–1777), Swiss anatomist and physiologist, also notable for his contributions to botany * Albrecht v ...

. The Imhoffs became prosperous through long-distance trade by supplying the markets and trade fairs in Frankfurt, Cologne, Strasbourg, in the Upper Palatinate and in Bohemia from Lauingen. The Nuremberg ''"Imhoff Trading Company"'' was first mentioned in 1381 in trade between Venice, Nuremberg and Eastern Europe. They worked closely together with other Nuremberg traders such as the Gross, Mendel, Pfinzing, Stromer and Pirckheimer families. Their retail range was extensive and mainly included spices, colors, precious metals, silk, canvas and cloth, wine, tobacco, leather and skins, weapons and Nuremberg handicraft products, the latter mostly in exchange (raw materials for finished goods). The family was also invested in the mining industry in Saxony and Silesia. Hans IV Imhoff (d. 1499) founded a second trading company which, from the second half of the 15th century, concentrated on the trading centers of Western Europe. He had eight sons who not only maintained the older trading branches in Venice, Salzburg, Linz, Prague, Brno and Olomouc, but also founded new retail branches in Naples, Aquila, Messina, Lyon, Zaragoza, Lisbon, Antwerp and Amsterdam. In 1510 the Imhoffs founded a trading post in

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, Italy, to ship Indian

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...

via Venice to Germany. A brother of Hans V, Ludwig (1466–1533), went there and founded an Italian branch that remained in Bari until its extinction in 1719. In the saffron trade the Imhoffs became big competitors of the Tuchers. In 1505 three Imhoffs, as well as members of the Hirschvogel and

Welser Welser was a Germans, German banking and merchant family, originally a patrician (post-Roman Europe), patrician family based in Augsburg and Nuremberg, that rose to great prominence in international high finance in the 16th century as bankers t ...

families, took part in an expedition on the first trade trip of Upper German merchants to India. Hans V (1461-1522) also entered the banking business. He was a close friend of

Willibald Pirckheimer Willibald Pirckheimer (5 December 1470 – 22 December 1530) was a German Renaissance lawyer, author and Renaissance humanist, a wealthy and prominent figure in Nuremberg in the 16th century, imperial counsellor and a member of the governing City ...

, Lazarus Spengler,

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

Adam Kraft Adam Kraft (or Krafft) (c. 1460?January 1509) was a German stone sculptor and master builder of the late Gothic period, based in Nuremberg and with a documented career there from 1490. It is not known where Kraft was born and raised; his hand ...

and Eobanus Hessus, and supported them financially. His grandson Willibald Imhoff (1519–1580), also a grandson of Willibald Pirckheimer, became a famous art collector. He was portrayed by

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

, and after the death of Andreas Dürer (Albrecht's brother) Imhoff was able to acquire numerous works by Albrecht Dürer. The family also spread to Bavaria and Austria, as well as Saxony, Braunschweig, Hanover and the Netherlands. The

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

branch became quite influential, however, unlike their Lutheran Nuremberg cousins, they were catholic. They provided several mayors to the city and were related to the

Fugger The House of Fugger () is a German upper bourgeois family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and vent ...

family. The new

Augsburg Town Hall The Town Hall of Augsburg (German: ''Augsburger Rathaus'') is the administrative centre of Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany, and one of the most significant secular buildings of the Renaissance style north of the Alps. It was designed and built by Elias ...

was commissioned by mayor Hieronymus Imhoff (1575–1638) in 1609. He supported the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

and was therefore arrested by Swedish troops during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. The Imhoff family donated numerous works of art in Nuremberg and elsewhere. Imhof(f) is a common name in Germany, and not all persons named Imhoff belong to the patrician family. Several branches of the family still exist.

Family members

* Andreas I Imhoff (1491–1579), merchant, treasurer of Nuremberg, keeper of the

Imperial Regalia The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia (in German ''Reichskleinodien'', ''Reichsinsignien'' or ''Reichsschatz''), are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Crown, the Imperial orb, the Imperial sce ...

* Willibald Imhoff (1519–1580), patrician and art collector *

Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff Gustaaf Willem, Baron van Imhoff (8 August 1705 – 1 November 1750) was a Dutch colonial administrator for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He served as Governor of Ceylon from 1736 to 1740 and as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies fr ...

(1705–1750), governor of Ceylon and then the Dutch East Indies for the Dutch East India Company *

Amalia von Helvig Anna Amalia von Helvig (August 16, 1776 – September 17, 1831) was a German and Swedish artist, writer, translator, socialite, Salonist and culture personality. She is known as an inspiration for many artists. She was a member of the Royal Swed ...

, née von Imhoff (1776–1831), artist, writer, translator and socialite * Sigmund von Imhoff (1881–1967), Generalmajor in the German military during the Second World War Elsner Conrat Imhof 1486.jpg, Konrad Imhoff (1486, by Jakob Elsner) AndreasI.Imhoff.jpg, Andreas I Imhoff (1491–1579) (by

Nicolas Neufchâtel Nicolas Neufchatel or Neufchâtel (c. 1527 – c. 1590), known as Lucidel, was a Flemish painter and draughtsman. He worked in Germany and was noted as one of the leading portrait painters of the 1560s. Life The earliest likely reference to ...

, c. 1573) Schardt Büste Willibald Imhoff.jpg, Willibald Imhoff (1519–1580) Willibald Imhoff.jpeg, Willibald Imhoff (by

), before 1576

Works of Art donated by the Imhoffs

Altar - St. Lorenz church - Nuremberg, Germany - DSC01728.jpg, ''Imhoff Altar'',

St. Lorenz, Nuremberg St. Lorenz (St. Lawrence) is a medieval church of the former free imperial city of Nuremberg in southern Germany. It is dedicated to Saint Lawrence. The church was badly damaged during the Second World War and later restored. It is one of the m ...

(c. 1418) Imhoff Madonna Nürnberg.JPG, ''Imhoff Madonna'', St. Lorenz (1450) Wolgemut Imhoff Triptych.jpg, ''Imhoff Triptych'' by Valentin Wolgemut (c. 1455) for St. Elizabeth's Church, Wrocław Altar - St. Lorenz church - Nuremberg, Germany - DSC01648.jpg, ''Rochus Altar'', St. Lorenz (1483) Nürnberg, St. Lorenz, Sakrementshaus von Adam Kraft 20170616 006.jpg, Sacrament house, St. Lorenz (1493) Nürnberg, Johannisstraße 57, Friedhofskirche St. Johannis 20170821 011.jpg, Altar at St John, Nuremberg (1517) Johannesaltar St. Lorenz Nuernberg-1.jpg, St John Altar at St Lorenz church (1520) Rochus-Friedhof Nürnberg 017.JPG, ''Rochus Chapel'' on Rochus cemertary, Nuremberg (1521) St Sebald - Nürnberg 001.JPG, ''Last judgment'',

St. Sebaldus Church, Nuremberg St. Sebaldus Church (''St. Sebald'', ''Sebalduskirche'') is a Medieval era, medieval church (building), church in Nuremberg, Germany. Along with Frauenkirche, Nuremberg, Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church) and St. Lorenz, Nuremberg, St. Lorenz, it i ...

St Sebald - Nürnberg 024.JPG, ''Holy Mary'', St. Sebaldus (15th c.)

History

Family members

Works of Art donated by the Imhoffs

See also