János Thurzó ( hu, Thurzó János, german: Johann T(h)urzo, pl, Jan Turzo, sk, Ján T(h)urzo; 30 April 1437 in Levoča (Lewscen in 15th century) – 10 October 1508 in

Nagybánya Baia Mare ( , ; hu, Nagybánya; german: Frauenbach or Groß-Neustadt; la, Rivulus Dominarum) is a municipality along the Săsar River, in northwestern Romania; it is the capital of Maramureș County. The city lies in the region of Maramureș ...

) was a Hungarian entrepreneur and

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

. From 1477 until his death he was an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

(a member of the city council) of

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and became even its

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

for a while. By establishing "The Common Hungarian Trade" (german: Gemeine Ungarische Handel, also known as Fugger–Thurzo company), he developed a very profitable business relationship with Jakob Fugger, which held a de facto

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

over copper mining and trade in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

around 1500. Thurzo first married Ursula Boehm and the couple had three sons: György Thurzó who married Anna

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 ...

, later György Thurzó became the

mayor of Kraków In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

; another son of János, became the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Breslau (today Wroclaw); and their third son became the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Olomouc. His second marriage was Barbara Beck: their daughter Katharina married

Johann Jakob Fugger Johann Jakob Fugger or Hans Jakob Fugger (23 December 1516, Augsburg - 14 July 1575, Munich) was a German banker and patron of the arts and sciences from the ''von der Lilie'' (''of the Lily'') line of the noted Fugger banking family. Life He was ...

See also

References

Further reading