| Berenberg/Gossler | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of the Barons of Berenberg-Gossler; the Berenberg bear (adopted in Flanders in the 16th century) and the Gossler goose foot (adopted in Hamburg in the 18th century) | |
| Current region | Germany |
| Etymology | Bear mountain |
| Place of origin | Gummersbach |
| Connected families | Gossler, Amsinck |
| Distinctions | Hereditary Grand Burghers of Hamburg from 1684; senators and First Mayor of Hamburg; ennobled in Prussia in 1888; Baronial rank in 1910 |
The Berenberg family (Dutch for "bear mountain") was a Flemish-origined Hanseatic family of merchants, bankers and senators in Hamburg, with branches in London, Livorno and other European cities. The family was descended from the brothers Hans and Paul Berenberg from Antwerp, who came as Protestant refugees to the city-republic of Hamburg following the Fall of Antwerp in 1585 and who established what is now Berenberg Bank in Hamburg in 1590. The Berenbergs were originally cloth merchants and became involved in merchant banking in the 17th century. Having existed continuously since 1590, Berenberg Bank is the world's oldest surviving merchant bank.
The Berenberg banking family became extinct in the male line with Elisabeth Berenberg (1749–1822); she was married to Johann Hinrich Gossler, who became a co-owner of the bank in 1769. From the late 18th century, the Gossler family, as owners of Berenberg Bank, rose to great prominence in Hamburg, and was widely considered one of Hamburg's two most prominent families, along with the related Amsinck family. A branch of the family was later ennobled by Prussia as Barons of Berenberg-Gossler (Hamburg was a free imperial city and had no nobility). Several members of the Berenberg and Gossler families served in the Senate of Hamburg from 1735, and Elisabeth Berenberg's grandson Hermann Gossler became head of state of the city-republic. Richard J. Evans describes the family as one of Hamburg's "great business families."[1] The Gossler Islands in Antarctica are named for the family. Elisabeth Berenberg and Johann Hinrich Gossler presently have descendants with names including Berenberg-Gossler, Paus, Bernstorff and other names.
Members of the Berenberg family have founded several other companies. A London branch of the Berenberg family were prominent merchants in the West Indies trade from the 17th century and co-founded the London firm Meyer & Berenberg.[2][3] Berenberg-Gossler & Partner was Hamburg's leading corporate law firm and later merged into the current law firm Taylor Wessing.
- ^ Richard J. Evans, "Family and Class in Hamburg," in D. Blackbourn (ed.), The German Bourgeoisie, p. 122, Routledge, 1993
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Vierteljahrsschriftwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Margrit Schulte Beerbühl, The Forgotten Majority. German Merchants in London, Naturalization, and Global Trade 1660–1815. Berghahn Books, 2014. ISBN 1782384480.