Jacob Muschong ( hu, Muschong Jakab, ro, Iacob Muschong, born 1868,

Nagykikinda Kikinda ( sr-Cyrl, Кикинда, ; hu, Nagykikinda) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Banat District in Serbia . The city urban area has 38,069 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

- died 13 December 1923, Lugoj,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

) was a

Banat German The Banat Swabians are an ethnic German population in the former Kingdom of Hungary in Central- Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians. They emigrated in the 18th century to what was then the Austrian Empire's Banat of Temeswar province, ...

industrialist, business magnate, philanthropist and investor who made a fortune producing bricks.József Kádár - Az óbudai Viktória
/ref> He is also known as the ''Brick King''. He revived the Spa of Busiasch.

Life

Early years

He was born in

(Serbian: ''Velika Kikinda, ''now ''Kikinda'',

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

), a town in the

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

, in a

Banat Swabian The Banat Swabians are an ethnic German population in the former Kingdom of Hungary in Central-Southeast Europe, part of the Danube Swabians. They emigrated in the 18th century to what was then the Austrian Empire's Banat of Temeswar province, la ...

family with a long tradition in the production of bricks, however he had Banat French origin. His surname was written as ''Mougeon'' before it got Germanized. His grandparents and great-grandparents produced bricks in workshops located at the edge of Lugoj.

Dampfziegelwerke AG

At the age of 20 years he married Margaret Bohn the daughter of a famous

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

industrialist specialized in the production of tiles and bricks that built the brick factory at Zsombolya (now Jimbolia, Romania) and Gyertyámos (Cărpiniş) and had other several factories in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. At the age of 20, Muschong and his wife founded the ''M. Bohn & Comp.'' which in 1888 built a brick factory in Lugoj. After several years he built a new plant in Lugoj and bought several factories from his competitors. In 1908 the company changed its name to ''J. Muschong & Comp.'' Muschong brick and tile products were of high quality and were sold throughout the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and then in

Greater Romania The term Greater Romania ( ro, România Mare) usually refers to the borders of the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period, achieved after the Great Union. It also refers to a pan-nationalist idea. As a concept, its main goal is the creation ...

. Muschong built more factories in

but he also built one at the outskirts of

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 ...

. In 1910 his company had 357 employees which made it the 23rd biggest employer in the

and the biggest in Lugoj.

Bad Busiasch

He was also the founder of the Buziaş Spa (''german: Bad Busiasch'', '' hu, Buziásfürdő''). He bought the bath and the 100 ha forest around it in 1906 from the family of the Hungarian tire manufacturer, Ernő Schottola. He built a bottling hall to produce bottled mineral water under the names ''Phönix'' and ''Muschong''. He also built a carbon acid factory in 1907 for 2 million

krones Krones AG is a German packaging and bottling machine manufacturer. It produces lines for filling beverages in plastic and glass bottles or beverage cans. The company manufactures stretch Blow molding, blow-moulding machines for producing polyethy ...

. The main export market for the mineral waters was the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

region. The plant had 700 m^2 area where the 700 HP steam engine and 60 HP electric engines provided the driving force. The plant had 36 employees. He carried out probing drills, which were successful: the water came from 103 meters deep and it became medically proven that the water was good for

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

gastric lavage Gastric lavage, also commonly called stomach pumping or gastric irrigation, is the process of cleaning out the contents of the stomach. Since its first recorded use in early 19th century, it has become one of the most routine means of eliminating ...

. He also laid the beautiful spa gardens with valuable plants, built a 500-meter-long covered walkway, 22 villas for spa guests, a zoo and sports fields. He also raised a hotel in 1922-1923 which he named ''Muschong Hotel'' (now ''Felix Hotel'') after himself. In the same year he built a 2.9 km long railway with a normal gauge (1435 mm) between Buziaş railway station and the spa. According to the 1958 timetable, the journey took 7 minutes between the two stations. (On 10 October 1973 the railway line was dismantled.) Until 1948 the spa, the hotels and the bottling plant stayed in the Muschong family's ownership. Then it was nationalized.

Budapest

According to the ''Cégfelszámoló'' (''Company Directory'') he was named as liquidator of the ''Egyesült magyar kénsavgyárak értékesítő szövetkezete'' (''United Sulfuric Acid Manufacturers Cooperative'', est. 1909, 11 Ipar utca, District IX,

), shareholder of ''Kőbányai Gőztéglagyár'' (''Steam Brick Factory of Kőbánya'', est. 1876, 1 Erzsébet-körút, District VII,

) and shareholder of the ''Közönséges tömörfaltéglákat árusító részvénytársaság'' (''Ordinary Solid Wallbrick Selling plc'', est. 1900, 27

Andrássy út Andrássy Avenue ( hu, Andrássy út) is a boulevard in Budapest, Hungary, dating back to 1872. It links Erzsébet Square with the City Park (Budapest), Városliget. Lined with spectacular Neo-renaissance mansions and townhouses featuring fine faca ...

, District VI).Cégmutató Budapest bejegyzett működő cégeiről 1921. (Budapest)
/ref> Hotel Timis Lugoj

One of the most emblematic buildings of Lugoj is the ''Timiș Hotel'' which was built in 1926 as the ''Muschong Palace'' and was owned by Jakob Muschong.

Later years

In 1913 he worked as the CEO of ''Ziegel- und Kalkbrennerei AG'' in

while his son, ''Jakab Muschong Jr'' was the manager of Bad Busiasch, co-leader of the ''Ziegel- und Kalkbrennerei AG'' and ''Hatzfelder Dampfziegelei AG'', Zsombolya. After the Great Union of 1918 the Romanian authorities began the persecution of Jacob Muschong, considering that he opposes Romanian capital development. He is teased and persecuted by a broad campaign of denigration by the media. Many financial controls from the authorities followed which discovered accounting irregularities alleged in the statements of income, considering the amounts invested by Muschong as profit and forcing him to pay tax on them.

Death

Soon after, Muschong died of a heart attack, on 13 December 1923 at his residence in Lugoj. After his death no one in the family could raise to the level of driving experience and ability that Jacob had. His wealth re-evaluated in today's money would probably amounts to over three billion dollars. All his factories were nationalized by the communists in 1948 and largely demolished. Instead of his largest brick factory located on Timişorii street in Lugoj the communists built the Tiles and Sanitary Equipment Factory ''Mondial'' which was later privatized in 1996 to German investors and still exists today.

Personal life

He was married to Margaret Bohn and had two daughters, Margit and Borbála and a son, Jakab. According to the ''Cégfelszámoló'' (''Company Directory'') his son, Jakab Muschong Jr. had a grenade patron company in 6203 Külső Bécsi út,

, District III.

Literature

* Ioan Sebastian Jucu : Selective issues on BUZIAŞ touristic resort of Romania between tourism economies and post-communist derelictionhttp://gtg.webhost.uoradea.ro/PDF/GTG-2-2016/203_Jucu.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muschong, Jacob Romanian businesspeople 1868 births 1923 deaths German people of French descent Danube-Swabian people Hungarian people of French descent Hungarian businesspeople 19th-century Hungarian people Hungarian investors Hungarian industrialists Hungarian chief executives