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1000 hours in appreciation for Mautner Markhof
/in General /by Beate HemmerleinA project of this dimension – meaning the present website – cannot be completed with conceptual know-how, creative strength, willingness to work and perseverance only. It is the soul of a work that forms its perfection – and I had good companions who made it possible for me to accomplish this work with soul. Each of them has strengthened and motivated me again and again – each one in his own way; some of them actively, some of them just in memory of, some of them sporadically, some of them constantly. They are the ones whose contribution I do not want to leave unappreciated and therefore dedicate the following lines to Adolf Ignaz , Carl Ferdinand, Victor, Manfred II, Viktor, Abi & Rike, and finally to Theodor Heinrich.
Adolf Ignaz
whose pioneering spirit, diligence and will (like his motto to match the coat of arms) made incredible achievements possible for generations over a period of only half a human life. A self-made man with the heart in the right place, whose memory has to be valued far beyond his social achievements and whose biography – as I hope – gives all his descendants the motivation not to just limit themselves to inherited social privileges.
Carl Ferdinand
the one that touched me inside. As a boy, already looking after his family at a young age and still simple and modest, as a young adult, dutifully treading the predetermined path at his father´s side, when a mature man was forced to do so, he saw himself to choose suicide. And this with the simple touching final request for forgiveness, but not to refuse him the sacraments of death.
Victor
whom I personally find refreshingly outstanding in the dynastic context on hand.
Although he was not concerned about social advancement through marriage, which remained childless, he was fond of the fine arts and individual joie de vivre, I cannot avoid the fact that this historically proven cheerful and pleasant contemporary, brother and uncle always brings a smile on my face.
Manfred II
the dear Professor, who had always been friendly and benevolent towards me and who had always shared his office at the Seilerstätte with me according to demand. I will never forget our last meeting in the lift on the Stubenring.
Viktor
the best, the most correct and the most reliable partner that one can only ask for and who has never spared the time and effort to bring the project up to date with the most detailed content that we can present on this website.
Abi & Rike
who sifted through their inheritance with so much commitment and dedication and tirelessly research, scan and transcribe over many nights of work. Thanks to them, the Reininghaus line could also – but not only – be resurrected!
Theodor Heinrich
who sent me on this historic journey at the beginning of 2017, which did not only take me through a large part of Austrian history, but also finally made me understand all the stories that I had been listening to – first being completely incoherent to me – over the past three decades. It is only thanks to his vision —, energy, and generosity that everything that once started in Bohemia with Adolf Ignaz and was taken up by Georg (IV) J.E. in the 1990s, was able to find its way out of the paper archives, and with the help of contemporary media it can also be preserved for future generations worldwide.
1,000 hours of Mautner Markhof – may the exciting journey bring many more hours of Mautner Markhof.
The passing on of the fire
/in General /by Theodor Heinrich Mautner MarkhofThe history of the Mautner Markhof House is a story of many fates. A story of tradition, of success and, of course, also setbacks. Outstanding are the pioneers, who passionately pursued their visions and thus influenced society at that time, some of them sustainable.
You cannot choose a family, as the saying goes, that, of course, also applies to each of us, with all its advantages and disadvantages. However, what Mautner Markhof is able to give to all its members and descendants is the certainty that all dreams, wishes and imaginations can be realized with dedication, commitment, faith, will and perseverance.
Adolf Ignaz was brave, progressive, creative and revolutionary. He created, effected, shaped, produced and – above all else – had the heart in the right place. Preserving his spirit therefore means not only being the beneficiary of material and social values, but also courageously follow new paths, believing in oneself and creating one’s own trend-setting ideas and projects.
“Innovate don’t imitate” – or to put it in Gustav Mahler’s words: “Tradition is to pass on the fire and not to worship the ashes”.
In order now to make this possible and to all family members, wherever they may be, to get their roots, I have in the age of new media seized the opportunity to use its powers and laid the foundation for this as part of the website. I wish and hope that in every future generation a few descendants find that to continue what my cousin Viktor and I have initiated and thus preserve what Adolf Ignaz outstandingly had begun.
Written by Theodor Heinrich Mautner Markhof
Refugio Tinti – a tribute to Paul Kupelwieser
/in Family Chronicle /by Beate HemmerleinAlexander Tinti, son of Christiana and grandson of Manfred I Mautner Markhof and Maria Anna “Pussy” Kupelwieser has been walking in Costa Rica since 2016 in the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather Paul, who transformed the islands of Brioni from an uninhabitable swamp into a natural paradise.
24 hectares of drained and trampled marshland have been turned into a thriving ecosystem.
But it is not just the love of nature that drives him. Concerned about the massive increase in environmental degradation, he studied soil biology and permaculture at a young age and went to Asia in 1998, where he already was involved in various environmental projects.
Alexander Tinti’s approach is based on systems analysis and design methods based on permaculture. The Refugio Tinti is now a nature conservancy project with the overall theme of reconciliation between people and nature. What was once a degraded marshland in the humid lowland rainforests of Costa Rica, contaminated by agrochemicals and herd of cattle, has become a growing habitat for numerous species, including some threatened with extinction.
The Hager advertising agency: When Manfred II Mautner Markhof was writing advertising history.
/in Family Chronicle /by Beate HemmerleinManfred II Mautner Markhof, also called “Professor” for short, was without doubt one of, if not THE leading founder of the Austrian media and advertising landscape. At a time when the multinational agency networks with multiple name, identity and personnel changes, one thinks back with sadness of the decades successfully managed owner agency, which could concentrate with stability and continuity on making their customers even more successful.
It is therefore not surprising that even twenty years after Die Hager officially closed its gates at Seilerststätte 13 forever, this milestone of innovative Austrian entrepreneurship is still being paid tribute to. Alexander Schönburg, founder and owner of the lifestyle magazine Notorious, expresses his reminiscence in the first episode of his “Mad Man Stories”.
Read article in German
More about the Hager advertising agency:
Brochure Hager Gesellschaft KG
Brochure Hager Life 1952 – 1992
Prof. Dr. h.c. Manfred II. Mautner Markhof at his desk in the Hager advertising agency
Hager door hanger in the 1950s and 1960s
Hager door hanger still in use in the 2020s
“PAC- MAN™ Arcade Line” by Sophia Castell-Rüdenhausen
/in Family Chronicle /by Beate HemmerleinArcade Line by Sophia Castell-Rüdenhausen
With Sophia Marie Castell-Rüdenhausen, daughter of Theodor Heinrich Mautner Markhof and granddaughter of Manfred II Mautner Markhof, the creative potential of her father and grandfather will be continued in the next generation. After trainings and internships in Vienna, Florence, Munich, London and Madrid in the Fashion & Design sector, in 2018 she founded her company VIER with its headquarters in her new home in Germany.
Sophia’s passion is shoe design, especially men’s shoes, to which she also dedicated her launch collection. Their “Arcade Line” is not only a tribute to PAC- MAN™, the cult video game of the 80s, but also and above all a reinterpretation of the classic brogues. Each pair of VIER shoes is handcrafted in Portugal by a family company that has mastered the traditional craft of shoe making for generations and has perfected the Goodyear welt technique. Such welted shoes not only impress with their excellent manufacturing quality, but also with their special durability, stability of fit, high breathability and last but not least special ease of repair.
But Sophia’s shoes are not only characterized by excellent quality in production and materials, they have that certain something, the subtle twist that surprises. At first glance conservative, the “Arcade” reveals its small secrets in tiny details, which not only make the wearer happy but let him also feel a certain sense of independence and freedom in his professional uniform, the suit. The brand wants to meet the needs of men who are aware of their traditional role, who have integrated into it and adapted to it, but have retained their independence and freedom inside.
View Arcade Line
View Arcade Line
VIER shoes, “Iconic PAC- MAN™”, Collection Arcade Line
VIER shoes, “Iconic PAC- MAN™”, Collection Arcade Line
VIER shoes, “Iconic PAC- MAN™”, Collection Arcade Line
Georg III and the Ethiopian adventure
/in General /by Beate HemmerleinSince George III Mautner Markhof always endeavoured to set up companies abroad, he decided in 1937, at the end of the Italo-Ethiopian War, to acquire a dilapidated brewery in Addis Ababa. So the cousins Georg III and Manfred I personally, as equal partners, took over the largest brewery in Africa, which was to be called San Giorgio in memory of Floridsdorf. Since this could only be done together with an Italian partner (it was decided in favour of a Roman lawyer) via a very complicated company structure, there were great difficulties starting and maintaining operations.
The brewery was in a sorry state. A desolate building with equally desolate machines awaited the new owners. In October 1937, machine foreman Weissenhofer from Schwechat was sent to Ethiopia with his son Wilhelm to carry out the necessary technical renovations. The equipment of the St. Georg Brewery, which had been closed, was used. The water quality was so miserable that it seemed downright impossible to brew a decent beer. Later it turned out that the African barley was also completely unsuitable, so that it had to be imported from Schwechat. Wilhelm Weissenhofer finally succeeded with three other Europeans and around twenty local workers to renovate the brewery and improve the water quality. From 1938 on it was possible to produce a decent beer, although the circumstances could not have been more difficult. The language barrier was enormous, it was only with great effort that it was possible to communicate to the locals what was expected of them. The competition was considerable; foreign beer imports stormed the market.
In 1940 Gerhard Mautner Markhof came to see if everything was going well and Afredo Conte della Feld (married to Erika Hebra, a great-granddaughter of Adolf Ignaz) was appointed director. Just when the first successes were showing and Amedeo Duke of Aosta, Vicerory of Italian East Africa, had honoured the brewery with his visit, the victorious English conquered the country in 1941, which in turn meant the end of the brewery. Emperor Haile Selassie returned to his country, declared the brewery confiscated on the spot and had it transferred to his wife immediately. George III and Manfred I had to convince the emperor after 1945 that the brewery was an Italian company, but indeed was entirely Austrian-owned and that Austria was not considered an enemy of the British. After numerous attempts at mediation and proceedings at international courts, which were very expensive for the Mautner Markhof family, Haile Selassie finally wanted to speak to Georg III personally. This conversation between the god-like emperor and the “little” entrepreneur, who worked with “Wiener Schmäh” and tactical breaks in conversation, should not have lacked a certain bizarre. According to tradition, Georg III annoyed the very linguistic Haile Selassie furthermore with endless translations in three languages and so he finally managed to convince him of his point of view. Manfred I and Georg III received compensation that, although not quite the amount requested, was at least satisfactory. At the same time Wilhelm Weissenhofer, who had been taken prisoner of war and had been interned since 1941, was allowed to return to Austria. Even today, a beer in Ethiopia reminds of the Mautner Markhof era.
The emblem of the Ethiopian St. George Beer
Signets der Abessinischen Brauerei San Giorgio in Anlehnung an St. Georg Floridsdorf
Georg III and the Brazilian adventure
/in General /by Beate HemmerleinCervejaria Vienense – when the Schwechat brewery expanded to Brazil
After the war and his return to Austria George III continued to support the takeover policy of foreign breweries and therefore also used his contacts in Brazil, where he had spent several years of war. With a share capital of 11 million Cruzeiros, he founded the Companhia Paulista de Cervejas, in which the Schwechat Brewery had held 55% of the voting shares.
He used the equipment of the Nussdorf brewery, which had been bought in 1950 thanks to an increase in the share capital. For the organization of the transport, all machines were dismantled into two halves, one half of which was transported via Hamburg and the other half via Trieste. This was done to ensure that the devices really arrived in South America and could not be set up anywhere near the Ural (George III was a chronic enemy of the Soviets). 8 million schillings and 62 railroad cars were required for that.
The undertaking was fortunate and the Brazilian “Vienense” was successful for a number of years. However, George III, was unable to inspire any other family member to join the “new home” permanently. The poor Brazilian economic situation of the following years and the devaluation of money almost caused the project, however, to fail, so that the “four-in-hand-management” (Georg III, Gustav, Gerhard, Manfred I) were very much in favour of welcoming a new partner. So, the Brazilian brewery group Cervejaria Brahma was taking over the large capital increase and started actively participating in the business management. Subsequently they could sell the entire stake to Cervejaria Brahma until 1959 and withdraw again successfully, as they claimed. It is said that with an investment volume of 9.5 million schillings, cash returns of 16 million schillings were ultimately made.
Marius Mautner Markhof (left) and Georg III Mautner Markhof (front right) at the opening of the Brazilian brewery in 1954
1954: Tasting of the first glass, the Radetzky March was played as signature music. Marius Mautner Markhof (left) and Georg III (right) with the Viennese master brewer Ing. Urban, who had fled to Brazil from the Russians. He had slapped a communist member of the workers` council on the face and otherwise would have been “transferred” to a GULAG.
George III Mautner Markhof hands over the ballots for the election of Miss Vienense
Richard Strauss to Manfred I Mautner Markhof in the deep despair of 1941
/in Manfred I Mautner Markhof /by Theodor Heinrich Mautner MarkhofRichard Strauss had helped Manfred I considerably by intervening with Goebbels. With the handed-down words, “He is a friend, it must be a mistake”, he got him out of the Gestapo prison. And in return, the latter then hid Richard Strauss’s grandson Richard, whose mother was Jewish, in the Simmering factory disguised as a worker. In this way, a friendly relationship between the families was maintained until the next generation, because it was precisely that Richard, who, in turn, entrusted me in the 1980s with his daughter Madelaine’s entry into the advertising business.
The following letter is preserved in handwriting and describes in a moving way the desperate mood Richard Strauss was in during the winter of 1944.
Garmisch 24.1.44
Dear friend Manfred,
After a lot of worrying and anxiety and your, unfortunately all too justified, concerns, Christian finally arrived here happily with the good Martin and reported how lovingly you and the dear Pussy have taken care of my homeless children. Many thanks also from the very desperate Pauline! In my destroyed life, the family now is the last and only ray of hope (I especially thank you for taking Richard into your care, even though I thought about his future a little differently). I hear with great regret that many bad things have already happened to you. Hopefully at least your beautiful new home will be preserved, even if I have to say goodbye to the happy hours there forever.
**
Maybe you will come back here again, where we could (for the time being!) play a Skat as a memory. In the house next door, I can even offer a small picture gallery (a very beautifully preserved Madonna from Northern Italy and a very exceptional piazetta), and furthermore I can present a new arrangement of the “Rosenkavalier waltz“, which the dear Philharmonic Orchestra will play at my forthcoming funeral, so that I do not enter the waltz heaven too sadly when I join my name mates, because my life has been over since August 16th. My life’s work has been destroyed, the German opera has been destroyed, German music has been banished to the inferno of the machine, where its tortured soul suffers a sad, miserable existence, my dear, beautiful little house, of which I was so proud of, destroyed.
***
I will never see or hear my works again in this world – I wanted Mozart and Schubert had taken me to their Elysium at the age of 80, I could have brought Gluck the beautiful bust. Well, let us forget about it! Forget it all! Now I only hope that my incorrigibly optimistic children with healthy skin will come out of the horror of poor, beautiful, and dear Vienna. We have already prepared everything for their welcome: whatever furniture and household items they will bring with them will be stored. I am trying to accomplish things with the help of military relations, which, thanks to the good General Schubert (whom I wrote a letter of thanks yesterday), has proven to be the only feasible option to find a second furniture van, and also to continue to prepare the grounds here for “racial defilers” and “half-breeds”!1
****
Tomorrow I will find out more details, and I will also try to have a spare hut built, perhaps also with the help of the Wehrmacht. In any case, the children can get into a warm bed as soon as possible, where Christian already feels very comfortable. Please, show this letter to Bubi – I cannot write everything again. I will only give you a message when I have something new to report. My poor wife has calmed down a bit now, too. Please, give my greetings to the whole dear Mautner family especially to the honoured parents who have always been cheerful “with me” and dear poor Böhm – how often do I think of him and his beautiful Strauss week!
Gone – gone it says in the Capriccio!
Yours faithfully,
Richard Strauss
1 Strauss alludes to the fact that his son Franz is married to the Jewess Alice, whose son Richard was considered to be a Jewish half-breed according to the racial ideology of the NS since the Nuremberg Laws (1935).
Richard Strauss’s handwritten lines to his friend Manfred I Mautner Markhof
Written by Theodor Heinrich Mautner Markhof
Manfred I Mautner Markhof, Richard Strauss and Skat
/in Manfred I Mautner Markhof /by Theodor Heinrich Mautner MarkhofManfred I Mautner Markhof, also known as MMM, had a long-standing, deep and respectful friendship with the great composer Richard Strauss. A passion that connected them, was undoubtedly Skat. The following memories have been shared in the Mautner Markhof family:
As is well known, Richard Strauss was a passionate card player who also liked to play for quite large amounts. However, he never entered a gaming room. When MMM once asked him in Monte Carlo why he never went to the casino, he said that on the one hand he was bored with losing little money, but on the other hand never wanted to get involved in playing beyond his means, however exciting such a game might be. This attitude seemed so reasonable to MMM that he had never entered a gaming room again from that time on.
In the incomparably beautiful Eden Hotel in Nervi they both played Piquet for days because a third person was missing for Skat. MMM had an unlikely lucky streak and continued to win. At that time, foreign exchange management in Germany was very strict and money transfers abroad were almost impossible. After MMM had just collected his winnings, Richard Strauss asked him to call the mighty musician of Monte Carlo, Monsieur Ginsberg. He answered the phone and Strauss picked up the handset, which had always made him uncomfortable.
To the great delight of the other, Strauss agreed to conduct a second concert. MMM was pleased as well, but Richard Strauss only meant with a smile on his face, “After the losses you inflicted on me in the game, I have no choice but to conduct another concert, because after all the hotel bill has to be paid.” My grandfather, from his own experience, always had to strongly contradict the rumour that Richard Strauss was a bad loser. Strauss liked to play and, with equanimity, pocketed profits as well as accepted losses.
The reason why Richard Strauss was such a passionate Skat player was because that activity was the only way that allowed him to clear his mind, to switch off from the music – as he emphasized several times. Music always accompanied him everywhere, and the notes just flowed out of him. When the German composer Hans Pfitzner once complained to Richard Strauss, “If you only knew how much effort and hard work went into my opera Palestrina, you would talk differently!”. He replied, “I don’t know why you compose at all when you find it so difficult.”
Manfred I. Mautner Markhof (center), Richard Strauss (right)
Written by Theodor Mautner Markhof
The Kupelwieser Waltz
/in Manfred I Mautner Markhof /by Theodor Heinrich Mautner MarkhofThe Kupelwieser Waltz is a unique case of an oral tradition, the written documentation of which we owe to the good friendship of my grandmother Maria Mautner Markhof (née Kupelwieser) with Richard Strauss. On this from the memoirs of my grandfather Manfred I Mautner Markhof:
“My wife once played a small but very typical waltz from Franz Schubert, a friend of her great-grandfather Leopold, to our friend Richard Strauss. It was composed in 1826 on the occasion of the wedding of her great-grandparents, Leopold Kupelwieser and Johanna von Lutz – a cousin of Franz Grillparzer. It is a characteristic of this incredibly talented and music-loving era that Schubert did not need to write that waltz down at all, it was enough that he played it a few times and everyone could replay it by heart. This is how my wife had learned it from her grandfather Paul Kupelwieser – the founder of Brioni – and so the family’s waltz was preserved for the next generation. One day now, before an agreed game of skat in Simmering, to our greatest delight, Richard Strauss suggested putting the waltz on paper. My wife played for him, he took some notes and a few days later he gave us a neat fair copy of the little piece of music. In terms of music history, this document is remarkable, since Richard Strauss obviously could not resist colouring some expressions “Straussian”, what music lovers and connoisseurs will recognize immediately.”
Kupelwieser Waltz, version of Richard Strauss by Isolde Ahlgrimm, Deutsche Grammophon
Kupelwieser Waltz version of “Pussy“ Mautner Markhof, Deutsche Grammophon
Report Austrian Music Magazine
The Waltz
Sheet music Kupelwieser Waltz, 1943
Maria “Pussy” Mautner Markhof playing her beloved family waltz
by Theodor Heinrich Mautner Markhof