Konrad Bethmann or Conrad Bethmann (1652–1701) was a German mint keeper and entrepreneur serving secular and ecclesiastical authorities.

Life

He was born in

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

as the seventh child of the merchant ''Andreas Bethmann'', four years after the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

ended the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. Much of Germany then was a patchwork of small to medium-sized jurisdictions. While this factor impeded development towards a nation-state, it ensured plentiful opportunities for ambitious bureaucrats and entrepreneurs. After leaving his hometown, he first became Münzwardein in

Dömitz Dömitz () is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of C ...

(Mecklenburg), then was appointed in 1683

Münzmeister In medieval and early modern Germany, the (; Latin ) was the head or manager of a mint, a moneyer with responsibility for the minting of coins, or specie. His duties were defined differently at different times and places. Middle Ages The need f ...

to the Princess of Nassau-Holzappel in

Cramberg Cramberg is a municipality in the Nassau Nature Park in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany. It belongs to the association community of Diez. Geography Cramberg is situated at the foothills of the Taunus i ...

on the

Lahn The Lahn () is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the States of Germany, federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). ...

river, followed by his appointment in 1687 as ''Münzmeister'' (Master of the Mint) to the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in Friedberg, and in 1692 as ''Münzmeister'' for the Archbishopric/Electorate of Mainz in

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

. Among the oldest items pertaining to the Bethmann family in the (online) archives of the city of Frankfurt is the file of a criminal complaint brought by Konrad in 1685 while he was in the employ of the

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is the name of a European aristocratic dynasty. The name originated with a lordship associated with Nassau Castle, which is located in what is now Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With t ...

. Under the rubric "Jew ''v.'' Out-of-towner", the archive summarizes the case as follows:

Conrad Bethmann, master of the mint for the Princely House of Nassau-Schaumburg, ''versus'' Mencke and Abraham zum Hecht (father and son), for theft of Schaumburg
hellers Guy Hellers (; born 10 October 1964) is a Luxembourgish football manager and former player, who played as a midfielder. He was the head coach of the Luxembourg national team, having succeeded Dane Allan Simonsen in 2004. In 2010, Hellers res ...
in Schwalbach near Königstein and resale of stolen property. Defendants claim to have acquired the stolen coins in good faith. Arrest of Abraham, release on posting of 304
Reichsthaler The ''Reichsthaler'' (; modern spelling Reichstaler), or more specifically the ''Reichsthaler specie'', was a standard thaler silver coin introduced by the Holy Roman Empire in 1566 for use in all German states, minted in various versions for the ...
s bond. Out-of-court settlement of Abraham with bursars of Nassau-Schaumburg.
Contains: Medical opinion on state of health of arrestee Abraham zum Hecht; Legal opinion of the jurists.

He bequeathed a substantial fortune on his widow Anna Elisabeth (1654–1727). As a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, Anna Elisabeth and her children left the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

ric behind for Lutheran Frankfurt am Main; there she found it easier to comply with her religious obligations and benefited from the presence of relatives. Three of Konrad and Anna Elisabeth's daughters married citizens of Frankfurt. Their son Simon Moritz Bethmann (1687–1725) was appointed an ''

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff A bailiff is a ...

'' ("chief administrator") in Bergnassau on the river

. Another son lies buried in the St. Lazarus cemetery of

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

.Helbing, page 23. The inscription on his tombstone reads:

References

Bibliography

* Claus Helbing: ''Die Bethmanns. Aus der Geschichte eines alten Handelshauses zu Frankfurt am Main'', Gericke (publishers), Wiesbaden 1948. * Wolfgang Klötzer (ed.): ''Frankfurter Biographie. Erster Band A-L'', Frankfurt am Main, Waldemar Kramer (publishers), 1994, {{DEFAULTSORT:Bethmann, Konrad Mints of Germany 1652 births 1701 deaths

Konrad Konrad is a German (English equivalent: Conrad or Coonrod) given name and surname that means "bold counselor" and may refer to: People Given name Surname * Alexander Konrad (1890–1940), Russian explorer *Antoine Konrad (born 1975), birth nam ...

People from Goslar German metallurgists Engineers from Lower Saxony

Life

See also

References

Bibliography