Palais Fugger - Taxis

There is hardly an uncrowned person who had a greater influence on the history of Europe until the 20th century than Jakob Fugger (1459-1525). Not only did his lifetime coincide with that of Emperor Maximilian, the fates of the two men were closely linked. The history of Tyrol was also shaped by the most important financial magnate of his time.

An early form of financial capitalism emerged in the region between Florence, Venice and Milan. Banking began its triumphal march through Europe here in the late Middle Ages. Merchants who did not want to carry vast amounts of cash with them needed so-called bills of exchange in order to carry out their transactions. They therefore began to set up branch offices in the major trading cities. Italian financial institutions also had branches in Innsbruck from the High Middle Ages onwards.

Monarchs and aristocrats in Europe financed their courts and warfare through tithes. This tax was paid by the peasants within the feudal system. Warfare in particular had become more expensive, fuelled by modern firearms. Therefore, this tithe was often no longer sufficient. The legitimisation as God's representative on earth had worked for monarchs up to this point, but around 1500, the sounding coin and interest in the form of financial capitalism slowly but surely began to replace God as the ultimate authority.

Jakob Fugger came from a merchant family in Augsburg. He and his brothers traded cotton with northern Italian cities. On his trading trips to Venice, Fugger learnt the art of double-entry bookkeeping and the intricacies of progressive Italian finance. He quickly realised that there was more to be gained from money transactions and loans than from cotton.

Jakob Fugger's relationship with the House of Habsburg, and in particular with Tyrol, began to intensify in 1487. The Tyrolean sovereign Siegmund was defeated in a military conflict with the Republic of Venice. In order to pay his debt of 100,000 florins to the Mediterranean power, he borrowed money from the Fuggers. In return, he issued promissory notes, which he covered by pledging the Schwaz silver mine to his lenders. Schwaz was the largest silver mine in the world before the development of the American silver mines. The Fuggers sold the Schwaz silver to the Hall mint, which they also owned, and in turn lent these coins to Duke Siegmund. A special kind of cycle was born.

However, this was not the end of the Fuggers' political influence - in fact, it was only just beginning. When the Tyrolean estates deposed Siegmund in 1490 due to his disastrous business behaviour, Maximilian I succeeded him as Prince of Tyrol. Fugger was clever enough to back the new ruler. The word credit, which goes back to the Latin credereThe choice shows that he believed in Maximilian. Fugger believed in a powerful Maximilian as his best asset. He financed Maximilian's election as Holy Roman Emperor in 1493, thereby securing his influence. When Maximilian died in 1519, Fugger repeated this and used his financial power to have Maximilian's grandson Charles V elected emperor. It was also Fugger who sponsored the Vienna double wedding, Maximilian's masterpiece of marriage policy, which made Hungary part of the Habsburg Empire.

It is estimated that at the time of his death, Fugger's financial empire handled around 50% of the Tyrol's state budget and 10% of the assets of the Heiligen Römischen Reiches owned. Jakob Fugger was elevated to the nobility as an expression of his solidarity and probably also of his obligations. His officials managed mines in Tyrol, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Spain, financed trading expeditions throughout the then known world and numerous wars in Europe. Some historians consider Jakob Fugger to be the richest man in world history. How high his fortune was is difficult to convert to today's standards. When the FAZ made an attempt in 2016, it came up with 300 billion dollars.

In Innsbruck, the Palais Fugger-Taxis and a small alley between Maria-Theresien-Straße and Landhausplatz are reminders of the Fuggers.