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

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. 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 across the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

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 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. He supported the construction of a new bridge across the Elbe in Tetschen. The

chain bridge A chain bridge is a historic form of suspension bridge for which chains or eyebars were used instead of wire ropes to carry the bridge deck. A famous example is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest. Construction types are, as for other suspensi ...

was opened in 1855 as the Empress Elisabeth Bridge and connected Tetschen to the railway from

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

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 (German language, German for 'emergency money' or 'necessity money') is money issued by an institution in a time of economic or political crisis. The issuing institution is usually one without official sanction from the central government. This ...

''). 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-Eleonorenhain remained family-owned until 1945. Münzberg was awarded the

Order of Franz Joseph The Imperial Austrian Order of Franz Joseph () was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria on 2 December 1849, on the first anniversary of his accession to the imperial throne. Classes The order was originally awarded in three classes: ''G ...

. 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 Industrialists Businesspeople from the Austrian Empire Businesspeople from Austria-Hungary Businesspeople in textiles People from Krásná Lípa