Henrik Haggenmacher

Henrik Haggenmacher (Winterthur, 6 November 1827 - Budapest, 5 June 1917) was a Hungarian industrialist of Swiss origin.

Childhood and youth

Born in Switzerland, his grandfather and father were millers. His father was David Emmanuel Haggenmacher (1795-1862), his mother was Anna Barbara Wiedmann (1800-1882). Heinrich Jacob started emigrating at the age of 19. In 1846, he went to Prague to live with his brother Kaspar Emmanuel Haggenmacher, and in 1850 he was employed in a mill in Reichenberg (now Liberec, Czech Republic). He then came to Hungary.

Mill construction in Hungary

He first worked in a ship mill on the Danube, then became the head miller at the Barber and Klusemann mill in Újlak, founded in 1853. In 1856, he took a lease on the Ördög mill on the banks of the Rákos stream in Teréz-suburb. At that time his younger brother also worked for him. He obtained the right to sell flour from the Pest City Council and, as a technical improvement, he switched to a steam mill. In 1858 it was already a steam mill with 36 workers. He used the capital he had accumulated to buy land and build a house and a mill on his own plot of land in the vicinity of the Vígszínház. The new mill started production in 1862. At that time, he sold the mill lease.

In 1865, he had a new mill built in Szemere Street, which was in production by 1866. In 1867 he sold his previous mill. In 1872, he bought a bankrupt mill, but these two mills (the one in Szemere Street had burnt down and had to be rebuilt) did not start production until 1874 and 1876 respectively. At that time, the Haggenmacher mill employed 200 workers and became the second largest mill in Budapest after the József Pesti Iron and Steel Mill. He introduced his son Géza into the mill business in 1886 and his son Árpád in 1890. He was a major shareholder in the First Budapest Steam Mill Joint Stock Company and one of the founders of Flora, First Hungarian Stearin, Candle and Soap Factory.

The Haggenmacher family

Henrik Haggenmacher married Maria Magdalena Liechti (1834-1889) in 1854, to whom he had 12 children:

• Ifj. Henrik (1855-1917)
• Géza Sándor (1857-1891)
• Walter (1859-1921)
• Sándor Vilmos (1861-1879)
• Róbert Gáspár (1863-1921)
• Lajos Ottó (1864-1865)
• Árpád (1865-1914)
• Maria Martha (1867-?)
• Melania Lujza Johanna (1869-?)
• Friderika Elisabeth Antonia (1871-1898)
• Oscar (1874-1942)
• Berta Lujza (Lili, 1878-?)

Beer production

In 1867, Henrik Haggenmacher bought the Kőbánya distillery founded by Barber and Klusemann in 1854 together with several other merchants and operated it under the name "First Hungarian Share Distillery". After leaving this business, he bought the Frohner family's brewery in Promontor in 1867, now a wealthy steam mill owner. By 1875, his brewery was second in productivity behind the brewery of Antal Dreher in Kőbánya.

In 1880 he handed over the brewery in Promontor to his son Henrik Haggenmacher Jr. (1855-1917). Family ties had been established since the end of the 19th century. From the early 1895 to the early 1895 the family family name was established in the family. Henrik Haggenmacher Jr. married Emma Aich (1866-1954) in 1884 and became the son-in-law of Ferenc Aich (1835-1903), the head of the Hungarian branch of the Dreher beer empire. Aich Jr. The couple lived in Brunszvik Castle in Martonvásar, which the Drehers bought from Archduke Joseph Charles Habsburg in 1897, together with their 7,500 hectare estate.

Due to the damage caused by the phylloxera mite in Hungary, the country's beer production doubled in the 1891-92 financial year. By 1905, only 90 breweries were still in operation, and four large factories accounted for 90% of production. Haggenmacher Henrik Brewery' increased its production by two and a half times, exceeding the national growth rate. In addition to Budapest, plants were also established in Székesfehérvár and Vác. In 1899, his youngest brother Oszkár joined the company as a manager and became an associate member in 1901.

Land transactions

In the 1880s, he increased his wealth by buying up land. He owned significant properties on Lipót (now Szent István) Boulevard, on the stretch of Andrássy Avenue between Nagymező and Jókai Streets, and on Szentkirályi Street.

Recognition

Henrik Haggenmacher also served as Swiss consul between 1872 and 1912.

Death of

Almost simultaneously, in 1917, Henrik Haggenmacher and his son, Jr. Haggenmacher Henrik. A few years later, in 1921, his brother Károly Haggemacher also died. According to their wills, the farms were to remain in the hands of the family.

The descendants

Between the two world wars, the brewery was managed by Oszkár Haggenmacher, and according to the will of his father (Henrik Haggenmacher Jr.), the youngest Henrik (1878-1972) became a member of the brewery's board of directors in 1921. From 1943 until the German occupation, he was president of the National Association of Industrialists (GYOSZ).

In 1933, the Haggenmacher and Dreher breweries merged: the "Dreher-Haggenmacher First Hungarian Share Brewery" was founded with Jenő Dreher as its president and Henrik Haggenmacher the youngest as its vice-president.

Interesting facts

During World War II, the Haggenmacher family was actively involved in the rescue of Jews in danger. Ottó Haggenmacher and his family made their villa in Bérc Street on Gellért Hill available to the Good Shepherd Mission to rescue persecuted children. Thirty children were hidden during the time of emergency, and for this, Otto Haggenmacher was posthumously awarded the Righteous of the World Medal by Yad Vashem in 2003.^[2]

The youngest, Henrik Haggenmacher, was Honorary Consul General of Belgium during the war, and was able to help Dutch officers who had escaped from German captivity to Hungary.

Notes

Sources

• Károly Halmos: Henrik and Charles Haggenmacher. In: Diverse capitalism. Edited by Marcell Sebők, Published by. HVG Publishing Ltd., Bp., 2004. pp. 74-83.
• Henrik Haggenmacher's family tomb
• Repertory of food companies before nationalisation. The Hungarian National Archives, 24. (2006).

Source: wikipedia