David Sprüngli (20 October 1776 – 14 February 1862) was a Swiss businessman,

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

and

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewh ...

. In 1836, he founded ''David Sprüngli & Son'', now known as

Confiserie Sprüngli The Confiserie Sprüngli (; English language, English: Sprüngli Confectionery) is a Swiss luxury confectionery manufacturer and retailer headquartered in Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. Founded in 1836 by David Sprüngli, it has been an inde ...

. He is the patriarch of the Zurich-based branch of the Sprüngli family.

Early life and education

Sprüngli was born 20 October 1776 in Andelfingen, Switzerland, a then rural village in the

Zürcher Oberland The Zürcher Oberland ("Zürich highlands") in Switzerland, is the hilly south-eastern part of the canton of Zürich, bordering on the Toggenburg, including the districts of Uster, Hinwil, Pfäffikon as well as the Töss Valley as far as the di ...

region, to Hans Heinrich Sprüngli, a financially destitute tailor, and Elisabetha Sprüngli (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Karrer). He was raised in a modest family and was orphaned by 1784 aged 8. He relocated to Zurich in 1797 aged 18, where he initially worked as a servant at the bakery of Hans Rudolf Koller until 1814 (also completing an apprenticeship as baker/confectioner).

Career

Between 1817–1834, Sprüngli worked for Hans Jakob Vogel, who specialized in sweet baking goods and confectionary. Upon his death, he acquired the business, from the widow and became self-employed. In 1836, Sprüngli purchased a commercial building, at Marktgasse. His business was now known as ''David Sprüngli & Son'', a collective partnership with his son Rudolf Sprüngli. In 1845, he began to commercially manufacture chocolate, and they built and operated a small factory in

Horgen Horgen () is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the mu ...

Lake Zurich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...

. In 1859, they moved in today's location of

Paradeplatz Paradeplatz () is a square on Bahnhofstrasse in downtown Zurich, Switzerland. It is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Switzerland and has become synonymous with wealth and the Swiss banks, being the location of the headquart ...

. In 1892, long after his death, the company was divided into two business units. The factory was allocated to Johann Rudolf Sprüngli, who successfully industrialized the company, and together with another chocolate manufacturing company in Berne, was merged to

Lindt & Sprüngli Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG, doing business as Lindt, is a Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets. It is based in Kilchberg, Zürich, K ...

i n 1899 for the amount of 1,5 million Swiss Francs (about 100 million in 2023). David Robert Sprüngli was allocated the confectionary business presently known as

Personal life

In 1804, Sprüngli married Regula Rosenberger, a daughter of Heinrich Rosenberger. The marriage did not result in any issue. In 1812, he remarried to Katharina Schwarz, a daughter of Hans Schwarz. They had two sons; * David Robert Sprüngli (born 1814) * Johann Rudolf Sprüngli, colloquially Rudolf Sprüngli (1816-1897); married to Elisabetha Ammann; two sons; Rudolf Sprüngli (1847-1926), David Robert Sprüngli (1851-1944). In 1838, Sprüngli took the municipal citizenship of Zurich, and became a member of the Zunft zur Schiffleuten (Guild) in 1839. Sprüngli died in Zurich in 1862, aged 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sprüngli, David 1776 births 1862 deaths Confectioners People from Andelfingen District Swiss businesspeople