The Rise and Fall of the Loitz Banking House

Oto tłumaczenie na język angielski:

The driving force behind the urban economy at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries was international trade and the development of banking operations, which allowed the wealthiest burghers to dynamically multiply their fortunes. The patricians held both economic and political power in the cities, serving as councillors, bankers, landowners, craftsmen, and, above all, merchants. The wealthiest and most famous merchant-financial family in Pomerania were the Loitzes, who were often compared to the famous Fuggers. Sources mention them as early as the 15th century as Szczecin burghers and merchants.

Family legend had it that the Loitzes originated from the village of Klępino (German: Klempin) near Stargard. Michael, a later councillor, was said to have arrived in Szczecin and found employment as a brewer’s assistant or a servant. According to the tale, on the bridge leading into the city, he met a wealthy merchant who hired him as an errand boy. Thanks to his abilities and cleverness, Michael was sent to school and later involved in business operations. In time, he married his protector’s widow, obtained municipal citizenship, and held the office of mayor. Although it is difficult to assess the credibility of this story, it is a fact that individuals bearing the name Loitz were recorded in Klępino near Stargard.

It is more probable that the Szczecin line of the family descended from the Greifswald burghery. Its first known representative was Hans I (c. 1410–1448), likely born in Greifswald. He studied first at the University of Leipzig and Rostock, and in 1433 he obtained municipal citizenship in Szczecin. Around this time, he married a wealthy burgher woman – Elisabeth Hegerstein († Feb 1493), who brought as her dowry a tenement house at the Hay Market (German: Heumarkt) on the border of the Passau Quarter (German: Passauer Viertel) and the Kessin Quarter (German: Kessin Viertel), near the town hall and the parish church of St. Nicholas—right in the city center. Hans I began his career in herring fishing in the Baltic and selling them in the Swedish towns of Skanör and Falsterbo, as well as in the Danish Dragør. Being involved in maritime trade, he belonged to the most important guild in Szczecin – the brotherhood of sailors.

His son, Michael I (1438–1494), returned to Szczecin after studying in Greifswald and likely continued the family fish trade. He married a wealthy young widow of the merchant Albrecht Hohenholz – Margaretha, née Rossow. Her estate included three tenement houses, including a property on Maiden Street (German: Frauenstraße), eight residential booths, a timber yard in Łasztownia (Lastadie), meadows by Lake Dąbie, and gardens and fields nearby.

the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, as well as farms on Szczecin’s municipal lands, which she leased. Thanks to this marriage, Michael quickly advanced socially – as early as 1473, he became a city councillor, and in 1484, he was appointed mayor and chairman of the sailors’ guild. He held these positions until his death on March 8, 1494. He was buried in St. James’ Church, in a chapel belonging to the Hohenholz family. After his death, his widow managed the estate and cared for their son.

When Hans II (c. 1470 – August 4, 1539) took over his father’s legacy, he significantly expanded the commercial activities, which underscored the power of the House of Loitz. The beginnings of his activity date back to 1495, when he settled costs with the city of Medemblik in the Netherlands and engaged in money exchange as far as Antwerp and Bergen op Zoom. In 1497, he married Anna (1480 – March 1551), the daughter of the mayor of Neubrandenburg, Hermann Glineke. The marriage produced seven children: four sons – Michael II (Feb 15, 1501 – Feb 10, 1561), Simon I (1502 – Nov 7, 1567), Stefan I (1507–1584), and Hans III (c. 1510–1575) – and three daughters: Anna (1498–1540), Clara (b. 1499), and Cäcilia (c. 1503/6–1572). In 1509, Hans II became a councillor, and a decade later, he was elected mayor of Szczecin.

Hans II’s rule coincided with the times of turmoil caused by the spread of Martin Luther’s (1483–1546) teachings. Loitz remained loyal to Catholicism, while the second mayor, Hans Stoppelberg (†1538 or 1549), was a supporter of the Reformation. Religious tensions, as well as personal conflicts – including an incident in which Hans’s son, Simon, wounded a burgher from the Goldbeck family – caused the townspeople to turn against the Loitzes. Goldbeck, taking advantage of the favor of Elector Joachim II Hector (1505–1571), moved to the Neumark (New March), where he harmed the interests of Szczecin merchants, for which they blamed Hans II. As a result, he had to leave the city. He returned after three years but had to resign from any political activity; however, he continued to be successful in the economic sphere.

Over time, alongside trade, financial operations began to play an increasingly important role. Around 1538, the Loitz firm, which managed the deposits of the Pomeranian nobility, began granting large loans to, among others, the Elector of Brandenburg, Joachim II. In exchange for financial support, the Loitzes obtained broad commercial privileges and expanded their activities into the trade of metals and alum. They supplied clothing, jewels, wines, building materials, and even exotic animals (e.g., a young lion for the King of Poland) to the courts in Berlin, Kraków, and above all, Szczecin. They also granted loans to rulers, including for military purposes. The surviving account books of the Loitz family show that in financial settlements with their business partners, they typically used a new instrument: the bill of exchange (weksel).

The family’s rise in importance was also bolstered by a well-thought-out matrimonial policy. Through it, the family gained not only prestige in the highest circles of Pomeranian society but also an extensive network of influence among court officials and urban elites. Hans II’s eldest daughter, Anna, married Martin von Tessen, lord of Smołdzino (German: Schmolsin) and Wierzchocino (German: Virchenzin), who served as chancellor to Duke George I (1493–1531) and later became the starosta of the castle in Lębork (German: Lauenburg). Clara married Balthasar vom Wolde († 1540), the chancellor to Duke Philip I of Wolgast (1515–1560). The youngest, Cäcilia, became the wife of David Braunschweig († 1552), the mayor of Szczecin and a councillor of Kołobrzeg. Equally important for the family interests were the marriages of Hans II’s sons. In 1528, Michael II married Cordula (May 12, 1507 – 1569), the daughter of the Gdańsk merchant Reinhold Feldstete. His brother, Simon I, married her sister Christina (March 11, 1515 – September 1, 1541) in 1539. These marriages were directly linked to the opening of the firm’s Gdańsk branch in 1528, which enabled expansion beyond Pomerania and the acquisition of new trade concessions. Additionally, Gdańsk played a key role in the copper trade, as it was the transshipment port for raw materials brought from Slovakia (Upper Hungary) via Kraków to Western Europe (photo 2). The Loitzes’ share in this trade amounted to approximately 5%. Stefan I, at nearly 50 years of age, married Beata von Dassel (1529–1568), the daughter of a patrician from Lüneburg. Thanks to this marriage, the Loitzes obtained rights to the local salt works and established another branch. The youngest of the brothers, Hans III, married a Pomeranian noblewoman, Elisabeth von der Osten († 1582), in 1542.

After the death of Hans II on July 4, 1539, the management of the estate was taken over by his wife Anna, known as “Old Lady Loitz.” For the next two decades, she efficiently managed the firm, which began to function according to principles typical of a family partnership. The inheritance shares of family members were treated as capital contributions, and after her death, the assets were divided equally among the four brothers. All the sons appeared together in the firm’s name and used the same seals and merchant marks, differentiating them only with minor individual elements. Brothers-in-law and their offspring were also involved in the business, especially in providing guarantees. However, the organization of the company was a closely guarded secret, which allowed the Loitzes to blur the line between private and joint assets. In practice, this helped, for example, during legal proceedings, when they could deny the formal existence of the partnership to protect their assets. The Loitzes also benefited from tax privileges. In Szczecin, they paid a flat-rate tax of 100 talers, which was significantly undervalued relative to their actual income. In turn, in 1551…

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…the Elector, as part of a settlement, acknowledged his debts to the family in the amount of 29,000 florins. Repayment was structured in the form of transferring revenues from the so-called “beer tax.” In subsequent years, the Loitzes also received customs revenues, other taxes, and extensive landed estates as collateral. The family remained active in the financial sector, granting substantial loans to both Elector Joachim II and the Duke of Prussia, Albrecht. In 1561, together with the merchant Andreas Lindholz (†1589) from Chojna, they granted the Elector a loan of 72,000 talers. A significant portion of this sum was earmarked for the construction and armament of the Spandau citadel—partially in the form of supplies of gunpowder, iron cannonballs, and copper for cannons.

In exchange for a large loan granted to Elector Joachim II at that time, they received from him a privilege for salt shipping on the Oder River towards Silesia and Lusatia. Possessing their own fleet, they imported sea salt from the French Atlantic coast through the Sound (Øresund) to Szczecin and Gdańsk. However, they could not fully exploit the Oder privilege, as it was contested by the cities of Szczecin and Frankfurt, as well as by competing merchants. The dispute grew to such a scale that Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564), as the overlord of Silesia, became involved. In 1563, he bought out the shipping rights from the Loitzes, committing to purchase salt from them at a price higher than the market rate and transporting it on his own ships to Silesia. This secured a steady income for the Loitzes of 18,000 talers per year. They also directed a significant portion of the imported salt to the Polish market.

The brief period of splendor for the Loitz banking and merchant house in the 16th century was primarily linked to the political and financial support provided by King Sigismund Augustus. Thanks to this, family members became owners or leaseholders of numerous landed estates in Royal Prussia. Initially, Sigismund II Augustus repaid his debts according to the schedule. However, in 1571, complications arose: the cities of Anklam, Greifswald, Nowogard, Stargard, Stralsund, and Szczecin took over a 25,000-taler debt guarantee from Fritz and Werner von Schulenburg, which had been provided by Stephan and Hans Loitz. In the same year, the King appointed a special commission to settle the Pomeranian debts, but his illness halted these actions.

Creditors demanded immediate repayment from Duke John Frederick and from the Loitzes themselves. Faced with mounting pressure, Hans and Stephan had to leave Pomerania—the former went to his son’s estate in Royal Prussia, and the latter to Kraków. Hans III Loitz fled Szczecin for Gdańsk in March 1572, taking with him valuable items and…

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…cash, while Duke John Frederick agreed to look after the assets he had secured; however, no information regarding their value has survived. This was quite different from the situation in Lüneburg, where it is known that Simon I Loitz left behind 24,000 talers in cash when fleeing the city. The situation became dramatic when a creditor, Rüdiger Massow, demanded their arrest from the Gdańsk authorities, citing the intervention of the Dutch envoy of Prince William I of Orange. Loitz ships, along with their goods, were detained in the port of Gdańsk due to debt, and the city councillors were called upon to bring them to trial. In Gdańsk, their landed estates consisted of 31 villages acquired as collateral for loans to the King and granted fiefs, estates inherited from the Feldstete family, and church properties such as the Oliwa Monastery. They also leased the village of Kozielec (near Świecie) from the Bishop of Gniezno, where an alum mine was established. However, their primary activity remained the grain trade; consequently, they leased several granaries in Gdańsk and maintained a timber yard there.

Both the numerous high-interest loans and, likely, the drop in grain prices in the second half of the 1560s contributed to the financial catastrophe. The Loitz family enterprise followed a development model similar to other banking and merchant houses in Central Europe. The foundation of this growth was the privileges granted by territorial rulers, which periodically led to a monopoly in the trade of specific goods (especially salt). After fleeing, Stephan Loitz still attempted to salvage the situation, traveling and providing assurances that the debts to kings, dukes, and electors were secured and would be repaid if the creditors showed patience. However, internal family disputes—especially with his half-sister—deepened the chaos. Meanwhile, towards the end of Sigismund II Augustus’s life, the Polish nobility did indeed recognize the Loitzes’ debts as a state obligation, but payments were delayed, and his successors demanded a reduction of the liabilities.

The collapse of the Loitz bank had tragic consequences for Pomerania: three decades of disputes, lawsuits, and acts of violence undid the achievements of the 16th century. Many old noble families fell into ruin, and the effects of the crisis were still felt 250 years later. It is no wonder that contemporaries assessed the Loitzes as a “detriment to the country.” Over time, however, their merits also began to be recognized. The family rose to power through risky financial operations, which simultaneously became the cause of their downfall. Nonetheless, they cannot be attributed with greater dishonesty than was typical for that era.

A testament to their position was the new tenement house near the Ducal Castle—built on a family plot that had existed since the 15th century. Unusually positioned in the middle

of the block, accessed through a narrow passage from the Hay Market, it resembled North German buildings: narrow, with a high staircase, and its architecture—the portal, tracery, and the arrangement of the tower windows—referenced the Szczecin Castle (fig. 2). Another sign of the Loitzes’ prestige was the acquisition of a burial chapel in St. Mary’s Church—the traditional necropolis of the Pomeranian dukes and the court elite—and the transfer of the family burial site there from St. James’ Church.

More:
Marcin Grulkowski, Działalność domu kupieckiego i bankowego Loitzów na tle sytuacji
politycznej i gospodarczej Gdańska w drugiej połowie XVI wieku, „Porta Aurea“ 21 (2022):
21–57.
Rafał Makała, Die Bankiers, ihre Stadt und ihre Fürsten. Stettin als Wirkungsfeld der Familie
Loitz aus der Perspektive der Kunstgeschichte. „Porta Aurea“ 21 (2022): 88–102.
Johannes Papritz, Das Handelshaus der Loitz zu Stettin, Danzig und Lüneburg, „Baltische
Studien Neue Folgen“ 44 (1957): 73–94.
Gulia Simonini, Bettina Schröder-Bornkampf, Archivbestände der Kaufmannbankiersfamilie
Loitz. Stand und Perspektiven der Forschung“, [w:] Geld, Prestige, Verantwortung. Bankiers
und Banken als Akteure im wirtschaftlichen, politische und kulturellen netzwerk im (Nordost-)
Europa des 16.-20. Jahrhunderts, red. David Feest, Aleksandra Lipińska, Agnieszka Pufelska,
Kiel 2020, S. 331–352.
Ilustracje
Fot. 1. Epitafium Micheala Loitza w kościele Mariackim w Gdański.
Fot. 2. Kamienicy Loitzów przy ul. Kurkowej w Szczecinie

Monika Ogiewa-Sejnota