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Franz Dominic Grassi (* 11 May 1801 in
Although Grassi largely considered in his testament even distant relatives, godchildren and servants, he left the city a fortune of 2.327 million Gold Mark (approx. 23 million euro). From this property numerous construction projects, parks and monuments have been supported, some of which were destroyed during World War II ( New Gewandhaus and the museums on Augustusplatz. Of the remaining buildings is the Grassi Museum at Johannisplatz, the "Old Grassi Museum" (now Leipzig city library) and the Mendebrunnen mention. Furthermore parts of the money was used for the erection of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal, and the statues of
Grassi Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grassi, Franz Dominic 1801 births 1880 deaths Businesspeople from Leipzig German philanthropists 19th-century philanthropists
Franz Dominic Grassi (* 11 May 1801 in Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
; † 14 November 1880 Leipzig) was a merchant in Leipzig who was of Italian descent. As a result of his extensive heritage given to the city, numerous monuments and buildings were constructed.
Life
He was born as son of Franz Josef Grassi (merchant and financier) and his wife Rossi née?The family originate fromcentral Italy
Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...
and immigrated to Leipzig. After his commercial training and numerous trips abroad, he founded his own trading firm for Russian products, indigo dye
Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive indigo, blue color. Indigo is a natural dye obtained from the leaves of some plants of the Indigofera#Uses, ''Indigofera'' genus, in particular ''Indigofera tinctoria''. Dye-bearing ''Indigofer ...
and tropical fruits in Leipzig. After the death of his father in 1847, he operated mostly in the speculation and exchange business. After the death of his mother in 1854, he retired completely from active commercial life.
Grassi remained a unmarried all his life. He was a theater and horse lover, and therefore one of the founders of the Leipzig racing club. He also supported Leipzig citizens, who were in emergency situations. Grassi wad also popularly called "The Wood Sucker" because of his habit of chewing on a toothpick.
Grassi is buried at the Alter Johannisfriedhof ("Old St. John's Cemetery").
Legacy
Although Grassi largely considered in his testament even distant relatives, godchildren and servants, he left the city a fortune of 2.327 million Gold Mark (approx. 23 million euro). From this property numerous construction projects, parks and monuments have been supported, some of which were destroyed during World War II ( New Gewandhaus and the museums on Augustusplatz. Of the remaining buildings is the Grassi Museum at Johannisplatz, the "Old Grassi Museum" (now Leipzig city library) and the Mendebrunnen mention. Furthermore parts of the money was used for the erection of the Völkerschlachtdenkmal, and the statues of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
.
Since 2002 the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Germany and the TU Chemnitz endow the "Franz Dominic Grassi Prize" for services to promote the German-Italian trade and economic relations.
See also
* Statue of J. S. BachReferences
External links
Grassi Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grassi, Franz Dominic 1801 births 1880 deaths Businesspeople from Leipzig German philanthropists 19th-century philanthropists