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Margarethe Krupp (15 March 1854 – 24 February 1931; née Margarethe von Ende) was a German businesswoman.[1]
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She was the wife of Friedrich Alfred Krupp (1854–1902) and mother of Bertha Krupp (1886–1957).
Personal life
editMargarethe von Ende was born in Wrocław (Breslau) on 15 March 1854. She was the eldest daughter of Freiherr August von Ende (1815–1899) and Eleonore Gräfin von Königsdorff (1831–1907), and the fourth of their ten children.[1] She had two years of secondary education and then, against her mother's wishes, studied teaching and worked as a governess, in England and later in Dessau at the court of the Duchy of Anhalt. In 1872 she met Friedrich Alfred Krupp in Essen. They married in 1882, although his family was at first against him marrying an aristocrat. They had two daughters, Bertha (1886–1957) and Barbara (1887–1972).
On 8 August 1912 she was named " Ehrenbürgerin" ("honorary citizen") of the town of Essen, the first woman to be so honoured.[2]
Margarethe Krupp died on 24 February 1931 and is buried in the Bredeney cemetery in Essen.[2]
Business
editWhen her husband died in 1902, her daughter Bertha inherited the Krupp company. As she was a minor, Margarethe became the head of the company's trustees until Bertha's marriage in 1906.[3]
Housing
editThe Krupp company had provided accommodation for its employees since the 1870s, but Margarethe created an innovative housing scheme influenced by the garden city movement. In contrast to other Krupp housing provision, this estate provided housing for a mixture of classes of employees and local government officials.[4] She had acquired land in the south west of Essen and in 1906, after her daughter's marriage, she donated an area of land and one million marks to establish the Margarethe Krupp Foundation (Die Margarethe Krupp-Stiftung), which is still a major housing provider in Essen. The area where the homes were built was named Margarethenhöhe by the Essen council in her honour. As of 2025[update] the foundation manages 3,100 residential units and 60 commercial units.[3][5][6]
Legacy
editIn the German television series Krupp – Eine deutsche Familie the part of Margarethe Krupp was played by Barbara Auer.[7]
A novel based on her story was published in 2023 by Birgit Ebbert, titled Die Königin von der Ruhr: Margarethe Krupp und die Gründung der Margarethenhöhe [The queen of the Ruhr: Margarethe Krupp and the founding of the Margarethenhöhe] (Lübbe, ISBN 978-3757700089)
References
edit- ^ a b "Friedrich Alfred Krupp, Margarethe Krupp". thyssenkrupp. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Margarethe Krupp". Historisches Portal Essen (in German). Stadt Essen. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Margarethe Krupp Foundation". Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Margarethenhöhe". Route Industriekultur. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Margarethe Krupp Stiftung". www.worldgardencities.com. World Garden Cities. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "About the Foundation". Margarethe Krupp Stiftung. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Krupp – Eine Deutsche Familie – Cast". www.tvmaze.com. TVmaze. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
Further reading
edit- Fritz, Diana Maria: Margarethe Krupp: Das Leben meines Urgroßmutter [The life of my great-grandmother] (2008, dtv Verlagsgesellschaft: ISBN 978-3423247030)
- Lober, Marjam: "The succession of women to the management of family businesses: The example of Margarthe Krupp and her trusteeship (1902–1906) of the Krupp steel company". In Draiflessen Collection GmbH & Weymann, Johanna (eds) Wives, Heiresses, Businesswomen: Historical case studies of women's changing roles in family businesses (2023, Böhlau Köln: ISBN 9783412528508) pp. 77–92
External links
edit
Media related to Margarethe Krupp at Wikimedia Commons
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