Johannes von der Mühll-Faesch (1754-1815)

Von der Mühll or Von der Mühl is a Swiss

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 ...

(see the Daig of Basel) and

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family. From the 18th century, with other patrician families in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

( Merian,

Burckhardt Burckhardt, or (de) Bourcard in French, is a family of the Basel patriciate, descended from Christoph (Stoffel) Burckhardt (1490–1578), a merchant in cloth and silk originally from Münstertal, Black Forest, who received Basel citizenship i ...

Faesch Faesch, also spelled Fesch, is a prominent Swiss, French, Belgian, Corsican and Italian noble family, originally a patrician family of Basel. Known since the early 15th century, the family received a confirmation of nobility from the Holy Roman E ...

Vischer Vischer is a surname, and my refer to: * Vischer family of Nuremberg, a family of sculptors active in Nuremberg between 1453 and 1549 **Hermann Vischer, the Elder (died 1487) **Peter Vischer the Elder (1455–1529) ** Hermann Vischer, the Younger ...

), the Von der Mühll family dominated the city of Basel's political, economic and social landscape. The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of the Von der Mühll family is a shield in or (gold), set with three fers-de-moline sable (three black mill-rinds). The crest is an eagle sable (black eagle) in flight, its beak and talons in gold.

History

The family probably originated from Moulins,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, in the 12th century. In the 15th century a branch emigrated to Delft, from where Johannes fled in the 16th century for confessional reasons. A religious refugee in Herborn (

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

n), he is mentioned there as a linen merchant and mayor in 1561. His son, Christoffel (Stoffel), was a banker and linen merchant in Herborn. Christoffel's son, Johannes, was the Hofmeister and

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

of the princes of the House of Orange-Nassau in

Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German- Dutch holiday road ...

. The family coat of arms still appears today on the frontispiece of the town hall in Herborn, and was restored in 2016. VdM Coat of Arms - Herborn Town Hall

Johannes' great-grandsons, Hans Georg (1648-1727) and Johann Valentin (1656-1732), came to Basel, Switzerland, in 1674 to work as saddlers and shoemakers, eventually becoming masters of their trade. The still existing Basel branch descends from Hans Georg, who became

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Bu ...

of Basel in 1680. He was admitted to the ''Zunft zum Himmel'', and sat on the Grand Council of Basel from 1703 until his death in 1727. His son, Johannes Von der Mühll-Burckhardt (1695-1774), was elected law lord (Gerichtsherr) and turned to the silk trade, the family company later becoming ''Von der Mühll & Söhne,'' then ''Von der Mühll & Cie''. In 1899, ''Von der Mühll & Cie'' merged with ''Kern Sohn & Cie.'' and ''F. U. Bally Söhne'' to form the ''Gesellschaft für Bandfabrikation.'' The new stock joint company produced ribbons, sewing threads and traded in silk until 1930, when it finally closed. Hans Georg Von der Mühll-Gemuseus (1725-1783), son of Johannes, was master of the ''Zunft des Hausgenossen'' from 1777 until his death in 1784 and was the first representative of the family to sit on the Small Council of Basel. Johannes Von der Mühll-

(1754-1815), son of Hans Georg, was elected president of the city of Basel under the

Swiss Confederation ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1805, a position he served until his death in 1815, and master of the ''Zunft zum Weinleuten'' from 1808 to 1814. Johann Georg Von der Mühll-Burckhardt (1789-1853), nephew of Johannes, was in 1814 one of the founders of the trading, shipping and banking company ''Burckhardt & Von der Mühll''. From 1816 to 1847, he was a member of the Grand Council of Basel, where he specifically campaigned for the introduction of progressive income tax on revenue. This so-called "Basel system", introduced in Basel in 1840, quickly became a model for other cantons. A self taught architect, he designed the Basel Sommercasino, built in 1824. From the 17th century onwards, the Von der Mühll family intermarried with the other leading families of the Basel patriciate (

, Hoffmann, Merian, Sarasin, Staehelin,

). In the 19th century, the family became patrons to various causes, and in particular hosted

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

on several of her visits to Switzerland and later the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who dedicated a poem to Theodora Von der Mühll-Burckhardt, sister of

Carl Jacob Burckhardt Carl Jacob Burckhardt (September 10, 1891 – March 3, 1974) was a Swiss diplomat and historian. His career alternated between periods of academic historical research and diplomatic postings; the most prominent of the latter were League of Nati ...

. Elisabeth Von der Mühll-Staehelin (1882–1970) married Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche in 1919, the founder of Hoffmann-La Roche.

Notable Members

Notable members of this family include: * Adolf Wagner von der Mühl *Friedrich von der Mühll (1883–1942), Swiss

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and professor *Hans von der Mühll-Burckhardt (1887–1953), Swiss architect, partner at ''Von der Mühll und Oberrauch'' * Henri-Robert von der Mühll (1898–1980), Swiss architect * Karl von der Mühll-His (1841–1912), Swiss physicist and mathematician,

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

*Paul von der Mühll-Passavant (1863–1924), Swiss

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

and doctor *Peter von der Mühll (1885–1970), Swiss classical philologist and university lecturer

References

{{surname, Von der Mühll