Christoph Merian (22 January 1800 – 22 August 1858) was a banker and businessman. He was the owner of a large estate, agriculturist and rentier. He was one of the richest Swiss men of that time. He was an honorary citizen of

Münchenstein Münchenstein (Swiss German: ''Minggestai'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland. Historical records Münchenstein is first mentioned in 1196 as ''Kekingen''. In 1270, it was mentio ...

(1854) and the canton of

Basel-Country Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...

(1855) and the founder of the Christoph Merian Stiftung.

Early life and education

Christoph Merian was born on the 22 January 1800 in the “House to the Green Ring“ 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 ...

as the son of Christoph Merian senior and Valeria Hoffmann. Christoph Merian was educated in Basel. At the age of five years, his education began. He attended the private boy school of Johann Heinrich Munzinger from 1805 until 1808, the year when he entered the Gymnasium "Zur Burg". In 1811 his father bought the estate in Brüglingen, Münchenstein where the family would spend the summertime. In 1815 the family settled in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

and by 1816 he began his apprenticeship as a merchant. In 1818, he began an education as an agronomist and visited the "Landwirtschaftliches Institut Hofwil" (agricultural institute of

Hofwil Hofwil is a village in the canton of Bern, Switzerland, part of the municipality of Münchenbuchsee. The village of Hofwil was originally part of the lands owned by the Münchenbuchsee Commandery, a medieval commandery of the Knights Hospitaller in ...

) of Phillipp Emanuel von FellenbergWanner, Gustav Adolf (1958) pp.134–136 near

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. Fellenberg was a well known principal and had several members if the European and Russian nobility among his alumni. Several young men from Basel also attended the agricultural institute. During the year he stayed in Hofwil, he attended classes on planting, preparation of the soil, fertilizer treatment, breeding, the mechanization of agriculture and veterinary medicine. In 1819 he enrolled into the "Landwirtschaftliche Akademie" (agricultural academy) in

Hohenheim Hohenheim () is one of 18 outer quarters of the city of Stuttgart in the borough of Plieningen that sits on the Filder in central Baden-Württemberg. It was founded in 1782. Geography Hohenheim sits on the Filder, a large and fertile plateau i ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

in 1818, where the cultivation of forests was a primary field of education. Hohenheim was a boarding school in which besides forestry also classes in mineralogy, chemistry and veterinary medicine were included in the curriculum and the students were free to attend the classes they wanted to. He stayed in Hohenheim until 1821 following which he accompanied Theodor von Speyr, a merchant in his fathers service on a journey over

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Professional career

He lived as a banker, businessman and agriculturist on the farming estate of Brüglingen in Münchenstein near Basel. He achieved large financial gains with his firm "Frères Merian" in by-passing the Napoleonic

Continental System The Continental Blockade (), or Continental System, was a large-scale embargo against British trade by Napoleon Bonaparte against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berlin ...

Legacy

Today, he is remembered mainly for founding the Christoph Merian Stiftung, a highly visible non-profit entity that continues to support social, cultural, ecological and economic projects to the benefit of the general population in the Basel region to this day. As of 2006, its worth was 289 million Swiss Francs, in addition to the 900 ha of land it owns. The institution was founded in Christoph Merian's Testament (dated 26.03.1857), in which he made an endowment/beneficence to the city of Basel. This came into legal effect when his widow Margaretha (1806-1886) died on 3 May 1886. He and his wife are buried in the Elisabethenkirche, whose construction he encouraged and also financed.

Family

He stemmed from the

Merian family Merian is a patrician family of Basel, Switzerland. It consists of two branches (an 'elder Basel line' and a 'younger' one) who were citizens of Basel from 1498 and from 1549/1553. The family were represented in the Grand Council of Basel-Stadt ...

, one of the most distinguished aristocrat families in Basel. In 1824 he married Margarethe Burckhardt, the daughter of an industrial. As a wedding present, they received the country estate in Brüglingen and the country house

Villa Merian The Villa Merian, with its English Garden, stands on the elevated plain above Brüglingen in Münchenstein, in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Geographical location The geographical area Brüglingen is a plane region that lies alo ...

. His father, Christoph Merian senior, was a merchant who started with handling raw cotton, later with shipping/transport, banking and various speculative businesses. Christoph Merian senior ended his venturous businesses in 1810 and subsequently invested in the industry and banking activities.

References

Literature

*Gustav Adolf Wanner: ''Christoph Merian'', Basel, 1958 *Rudolf Suter: ''Die Christoph Merian Stiftung'', Basel, 1986

External links

*Personenlexikon des Kantons Basel-Landschaft: Merian Christoph
available in archive.org
*Christoph Merian Stiftung: http://www.merianstiftung.ch *Merian Park Brüglingen: https://web.archive.org/web/20120714232526/http://www.bogabrueglingen.ch/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Merian, Christoph Münchenstein Businesspeople from Basel-Stadt 1800 births 1858 deaths Swiss bankers

Christoph Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenho ...

19th-century Swiss businesspeople