Johann Münzberg (3 August 1799 – 1 September 1878) was an industrialist in Austrian-era

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. His textile factories, Textilwerke Johann Münzberg & Co., were at the time leading companies in Bohemia. He was also influential in the building of the

Empress Elisabeth Bridge The Empress Elisabeth Bridge (german: Kaiserin-Elisabeth-Brücke) was a chain bridge that spanned the Elbe between Tetschen (now Děčín) on the east bank with Bodenbach in northern Bohemia. It was opened in 1855, named after Empress Elisabeth ...

across the Elbe at Tetschen, a railway, a brewery on his estate in Libotschan, schools and a savings bank.

Life

Münzberg was born on 3 August 1799 in Schönlinde, Bohemia, the son of Johann Gottfried Lorenz Münzberg (1758–1824) who had founded a textile factory for calico print, twine and linen in 1786. Münzberg trained as a weaver and first worked in his father's factory. He gained experience as a journeyman and merchant in

Rumburg Rumburk (; german: Rumburg) is a town in Děčín District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. It lies on the border with Germany. Administrative parts Rumburk is made up of town parts of Rumburk ...

and Georgswalde. In 1828 he and his brother Josef Münzberg (1794–1867) founded a cotton spinning mill, Theresienau, in Altstadt near Tetschen. It developed into an important group of companies. After further foundations and takeovers, the factories, under the name Textilwerke Johann Münzberg & Co., had more than 60,000 spindles in 1876 and were thus the most important company in the industry in Bohemia. Münzberg was called the Spinner King (''Spinnerkönig''). Schloss Tetschen 1855

Münzberg also founded a brewery on his estate in Libotschan and participated in the establishment of a sugar factory in

Saaz Saaz may refer to: *Saaz, the former German name of Žatec, a town in the Czech Republic ** Saaz hops, a hop variety used in production of pilsener style beer **DSV Saaz, a former football club in Žatec * ''Saaz'' (film), a 1998 Indian film * Saa ...

. He supported the construction of a new bridge across the Elbe in Tetschen. The chain bridge was opened in 1855 as the

and connected Tetschen to the railway from Dresden to Prague. Münzberg supported the construction of the railway as well as the establishment of schools and a savings bank in Tetschen. In 1848 and 1849 he was entitled to print emergency money ('' Notgeld''). Münzberg's descendants continued to run the textile businesses, but many factories became unprofitable and were therefore shut down or taken over by Czech entrepreneurs. The factory in

Bensen The Bensen Aircraft Corporation was established by Dr. Igor Bensen at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina in 1952 to develop and market a variety of helicopters and autogyros of Bensen's own design. History The most successf ...

-Eleonorenhain remained family-owned until 1945. Münzberg was awarded the Order of Franz Joseph. He died at the Libotschan estate on 1 September 1878.

References

External links

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Heimatfreunde Tetschen-Bodenbach
(in German) Heimatfreunde Tetschen {{DEFAULTSORT:Munzberg, Johann 1799 births 1878 deaths German Bohemian people German industrialists Textile industry Businesspeople in textiles People from Krásná Lípa Textile industry in the Czech Republic