Von der Mühll or Von der Mühl is a Swiss patrician (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 Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

(

Merian Merian may refer to People with the surname * Merian family, Swiss patrician family from Basel * Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593–1650), Swiss-German engraver and publisher * Matthäus Merian the Younger (1621–1687), Swiss painter * Maria Siby ...

Burckhardt The Burckhardt family alternatively also (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 rece ...

Faesch The Faesch family, 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 ...

Vischer Vischer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * 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) ** Herman ...

), 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 heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in the 12th century. In the 15th century a branch emigrated to

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

, from where Johannes fled in the 16th century for confessional reasons. A religious refugee in Herborn (

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

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 of the princes of the

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of Or ...

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 roa ...

. 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 Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. 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 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 Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

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,

Sarasin Sarasin is a surname, originating (unrelatedly) in Switzerland and Thailand. * Arsa Sarasin (born 1936), Thai diplomat and businessman * Edouard Sarasin (1843–1917), Swiss scientist * Fritz Sarasin (1859–1942), full name Karl Friedrich 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 music, Romantic era, she exerted her influence o ...

on several of her visits to Switzerland and later the poet

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

, 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 Natio ...

. Elisabeth Von der Mühll-Staehelin (1882–1970) married

Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche Fritz Hoffmann-La Roche, later Fritz Hoffmann-von der Mühll (24 October 1868 18 April 1920), was a Swiss businessman who founded the pharmaceutical company F. Hoffmann-LaRoche & Co. Early life Fritz Hoffmann was born in Basel, Switzerlan ...

in 1919, the founder of

Hoffmann-La Roche F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche (), is a Swiss multinational holding healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on ...

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 strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

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 of the

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

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

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

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

References

{{surname, Von der Mühll