Simon von Lämel

Who was Simon von Lämel?

Simon Edler von Lämel was an Austrian-Jewish merchant who devoted his life to bettering the lives of his fellow Jews.

He was born in Tuschkau, near Pilsen, Bohemia. He father died early on, so Lämel quickly developed an interest in the mercantile business. By the age of twenty-one, he had his own wholesale warehouse in Prague. This soon became one of the nation's most important.

Lämel was a great supporter of reforms. He encouraged improvements in sheep raising, and created new ways to card and manufacture their wool.

During the Napoleonic wars, he sought to help Austria in any way he could. He bought all the supplies from magazines captured by the French, and later all the captured artillery pieces as well. In all, he saved the empire over 3,000,000 gulden. In 1809, he bought 450 tons of biscuits for the troops, declining any profits or commissions. On top of that, he loaned the government considerable sums of money, which culminated in 1809, with his lending the state his entire fortune to speed the withdrawal of French troops from Vienna.