He had a huge palace in Warsaw, made a fortune on the lease of a tobacco monopoly, introduced French capital to Congress Poland, founded Bank Handlowy, Towarzystwo Kredytowe Miasto Warsaw, Kasa Przemysłowców, Warszawskie Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń od Ognia, Towarzystwo Kopalń Węgla i Zakłady Hutniczych, he was a shareholder of companies mining, metallurgical and sugar factories, financed the construction of the Vistula Railway ... Leopold Kronenberg achieved a lot, but he lacked a suitable heir to his full happiness.
Leopold Kronenberg (1812-1878) and his wife had three sons and as many daughters (one of whom did not reach the age of majority). This greatest Polish rich man of the nineteenth century had great hopes for his children. Thanks to their marriages, the daughters joined famous families - Maria married Karol Zamoyski, introducing her family to the circle of the family aristocracy, and Róża married Aleksander Orsetti. It was not too bad with the Kronenbergs, but the question of who to pass the family fortune over to the ailing Leopold, who had more and more difficulties keeping all his business in check every year.
The scandalist Stanisław Leopold
The greatest hopes were pinned on the eldest son. Stanisław was to take over his father's inheritance and lead the family empire. He obtained a doctorate in philosophy in Heidelberg, and in Paris, he studied economics. During the Franco-Prussian war he fought in the French ranks, for which he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and received a decoration.
Stanislaw Leopold Kronenberg (photo from the book:A. Żor, Kronenberg. Dzieje Fortuny, PWN 2011).
Old Kronenberg tried to train Stanisław in managing the estate. To this end, he sent him to St. Petersburg to look after the family's interests on the spot, gain experience and develop contacts. In the capital, Stanisław was negotiating with the tsarist minister of finance, among others. To his misfortune, apart from business, he was also concerned with ... married women, one in particular.
On the lips of the cream of society was Kronenberg's affair with the wife of a high-ranking official. Mrs. Elżbieta Półtoracka had to completely lose her head for him, since she abandoned her husband, divorced and after a few years of life, she married Stanisław. Lest it be too sweet, the abandoned husband pulled out heavy cannons. He publicly accused the new partner of the unfaithful spouse of using violence against their little daughter. In connection with this accusation, young Kronenberg was brought to court. It was defended by eminent servants of Themis, who managed to dismiss the accusation. This nasty scandal, however, compromised Stanisław in the eyes of the society of the time, and caused Leopold a lot of distress.
When Kronenberg the father finally withdrew from public life, the empire's management fell on the shoulders of the firstborn anyway. He did quite well, gained respect from the community and was involved in many projects. Unfortunately for the family, he was overcome by a severe (mental) illness which precluded any further work in directing the fortune of the Kronenbergs.
An engineer with no skill, Władysław Edward
After Stanisław left the family empire, Władysław Edward, the middle son, took over the helm. As an engineer, he graduated from the prestigious Parisian technical university. From the beginning he was eager to the economy, trying to use the gained experience in practice. There was one fat detail that disturbed him in everything ... was completely out of business . It hurt Leopold's fortune a lot.
The unfortunate second son tried his hand at textiles. Near Częstochowa, he started building a linen factory, which was to shake the market position of the Żyrardów factories. Unfortunately, he miscalculated with his abilities and even with the enormous property of the Kronenbergs at hand, he was unable to finance the construction of the factory. To make matters worse, he failed to attract any investors and was forced to sell the uncompleted plant for half the price to his rivals.
Wladyslaw Edward and Leopold Julian Kronenberg (photo from the book:A. Żor, Kronenberg. Dzieje Fortuny, PWN 2011).
Władysław Edward, devastated by a complete flop, which has not happened to any Kronenberg so far, left Poland and settled in Paris. There he took up something completely different from the education he received and the work he had undertaken so far. Taking the pseudonym Władysław Wieniec, he began to compose and put together poems. He died at the age of 44.
Leopold Julian, unfulfilled musician
Stanisław fell ill, Władysław Edward left in disgrace, gladly Leopold Julian had to take over the reins of the empire. The youngest son never showed any special love for economics and banking, but during his father's lifetime he was practically forced to explore these fields. He knew how to win over people, but he constantly felt the burden of Leopold Sr.'s inheritance. His father's shadow peeked out from every angle, depriving him of his independence.
Years ago, his father, wanting to get him in business and at the same time have someone trusted on the spot, sent Leopold Julian to St. Petersburg. A commentator at the time - quoted by Andrzej Żor in the book "Kronenberg. The history of fortune "- he prophesied that the inborn suspicion of young Kronenberg and his complete lack of enthusiasm for work in the financial sector and to make any creeds will hurt him. In practice, it turned out that the youngest son was not the president of the St. Petersburg branch of Bank Handlowy for too long. Shortly after taking up the position, he decided to resign from it and pass it on to a certain Jan Goldstand. This young man knew his stuff, but he was extremely conservative, which prevented him from engaging in new, risky business. Unfortunately for the Kronenbergs, was quickly bought by the competition .
kronenberg
Although Leopold Julian, like his middle brother, was interested in music, he was not able to devote himself fully to it. After Stanisław left, he concentrated in his hands the presidencies of many institutions, from which he could not resign so easily. At the same time, successive concessions and monopolies passed the Kronenbergs near the nose, and successive golden deals were successful without their participation. The family empire was slowly shrinking, to which each of the three brothers contributed. Already in 1897, Leopold Julian closed the family banking house, from which the fortune of the Kronenbergs was born. In the interwar period, he also sold the impressive mansion of Leopold senior.
Gradually it came to the fact that the Kronenbergs stayed mainly with the landed goods, which in their glory days were at best a representative addition to their fortune. Leopold Julian ended up living in memories. The Kronenberg family, which once shook the entire Congress Poland, completely lost its importance in the interwar period. When its last member, Leopold Julian's son, died in the 1970s, no one paid much attention to it. Besides, he was also not a financier, but a "farmer by training and passion".
Source:
- Andrzej Żor, Kronenberg. History of Fortune , Polish Scientific Publishers PWN, 2011.
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