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: ''Goslär'') is a historic town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different p ...

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

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) 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 pe ...

ended the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

. 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 medieval and Renaissance Germany, the Münzwardein ("assayer", lit. "mint-warden") was the title of an official whose duties included supervising the Münzmeister and the stock of precious metals used in minting. He was responsible for the qual ...

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, 25 km southwest of Ludwigslust, and 37 km northwest of Wittenberge. It was grant ...

(Mecklenburg), then was appointed in 1683

Münzmeister In medieval and early modern Germany, the ''Münzmeister'' ("mint master", the Latin term is ''monetarius'') was the head or manager of a mint, a moneyer with responsibility for the minting of coins, or specie. His duties were defined differently ...

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 federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in ...

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

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

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

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. 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 a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau w ...

. 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 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 Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, Anna Elisabeth and her children left the Archbishopric 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 Simon Moritz Bethmann (1721–1782) was a German merchant and banker. Life Simon Moritz was born in Nassau, northwest of Frankfurt am Main, the youngest son of the identically named Nassovian administrator ''Simon Moritz Bethmann'' (1687–172 ...

(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. He was the most se ...

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

. Another son lies buried in the St. Lazarus cemetery of Regensburg.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 (with variants ''Kunz'' and ''Kunze'') 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 name ...

People from Goslar German metallurgists Engineers from Lower Saxony

Life

See also

References

Bibliography