Rothschild banking family of Austria

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Arms of the Rothschild family

The Rothschild banking family of Austria (

Austrian German: Rothschild Bankiersfamilie) was the Austrian branch of the Rothschild family. It was founded in 1820 by Salomon Mayer von Rothschild in Vienna, which was then part of the Austrian Empire
.

History

Rothschild family mausoleum at the Vienna Central Cemetery

Salomon Mayer had been sent to Austria from his home in Frankfurt by his father, Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812). Wanting his sons to succeed on their own and to expand the family business across Europe, Mayer Amschel Rothschild had his eldest son remain in Frankfurt, while his four other sons were sent to different European cities with the mission of establishing a financial institution to invest in business and provide banking services. Endogamy within the family was an essential part of the Rothschild strategy in order to ensure control of their wealth remained in family hands. Through their collaborative efforts, the Rothschilds rose to prominence in a variety of banking endeavours, including loans, government bonds and trading in bullion. Their financing afforded investment opportunities, and during the 19th century, they became major stakeholders in large-scale mining and rail transport ventures that were fundamental to the rapidly expanding industrial economies of Europe.

Salomon von Rothschild established

Nordbahn
rail network, Austria's first steam railway. As well, it financed various government undertakings where large amounts of capital had to be raised.

In 1822, the five Rothschild brothers at the head of the family's banks in various parts of Europe were each granted the hereditary title of

Francis I of Austria.[1]

In 1929, the family's Creditanstalt was affected by the banking collapse that brought in the Great Depression.[2]

The Rothschild business empire in Austria was passed down to ensuing generations until the March 13, 1938

Albertina, the Leopold Museum and other state museums after World War II
, were returned to the eldest surviving heir of two Vienna Rothschild brothers.

Further, in 2001, files involving more than 40,000 papers taken from the Rothschild family in Vienna by the Nazis, were voluntarily returned by the Russian government to them from the State Military Archive in Moscow. The Russian government inherited the papers from the Soviet Union which obtained the papers during the fall of Berlin during World War II. The documents are now part of the Rothschild Archive in London.[3]

With the 2012 death of Bettina Jemima Looram de Rothschild (1924–2012), the second child of Alphonse Mayer de Rothschild, the Austrian branch has become extinct in the male line, although there are numerous descendants through female lines.[4][5][6]

The historian Roman Sandgruber assessed in 2018: "The Austrian line of the family occupies a special position. It is the story of a fairytale rise .. to the largest bank of the Habsburg monarchy and a tragic decline in the economic turmoil of the interwar period and in the robbery of the National Socialists".[7]

Philanthropy

The Austrian Rothschilds and members of the other branches in Europe were all major contributors to causes in aid of the Jewish people. However, many of their philanthropic efforts extended far beyond Jewish ethnic or religious communities. They built hospitals and shelters for the needy, supported cultural institutions and were patrons of individual artists. Their donation of works of art to various galleries has been the largest of any family in history. At present, a research project is underway, by The Rothschild Archive in London, to document the family's philanthropic involvements.[8]

The business success of the Austrian Rothschilds allowed them to become great patrons of the arts and substantial contributors to philanthropic causes that include a major donation in 1844 to help build a polytechnic institution in

Nathaniel Anselm von Rothschild
.

Family members

For the family tree of the Rothschild family, see Genealogy of the Rothschild family.

Members of the Rothschild family of Austria include:

Rothschild properties

All branches of the Rothschild banking family are famous for their art collections and many for their palatial estates.

Ferdinand James von Rothschild moved permanently to England to build Waddesdon Manor
. In Austria-Hungary, the acquisition of property by branch founder Salomon Mayer Rothschild was especially significant because at the time Jews were barred from the purchase of real estate, except in designated areas. Among the Rothschild properties in Austria were:

See also

References

  1. ^ Constantin von Wurzbach (1874). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich (in German). Vienna: Zamarski. p. 120.
  2. ^ "The Rothschild History from 1914 to 1945". rothschild.com. Retrieved 2010-03-29. The crash of 1929 brought problems, not least in Austria where Louis von Rothschild struggled hard to shore up the Creditanstalt, Austria's largest bank, to prevent collapse.
  3. ^ "The Rothschild Archive". Rothschild Archive. Retrieved 2010-03-29. The papers of the Viennese Rothschilds were seized by the Nazis in 1938, and later taken by the Red Army to Moscow. They were handed to the Rothschild Archive in 2001.
  4. ^ "The Rothschild Archive :: Genealogy".
  5. ^ "Bettina Looram obituary". www.lootedart.com. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  6. ^ "Dr. Alphonse Meyer de Rothschild". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  7. ^ "Rothschild: Glanz und Untergang des Wiener Welthauses eBook : Sandgruber, Roman: Amazon.de: Kindle-Shop". Amazon Germany. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  8. ^ "The Rothschild Archive". Rothschild Archive. Retrieved 2010-03-29.

Further reading

External links
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