Karl Otto Georg von Meck
Encyclopedia
Karl Otto Georg von Meck (Карл Фёдорович фон Мекк), (22 June 1821 – 26 January 1876, Moscow) was an important 19th century Russian
businessman of German
descent, one of the founders of Russian railways
.
. His father was major Otto Adam von Meck a customs officer in Riga
. His mother was Wilhelmine Hafferberg - a daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm and Catharine Constanze Nott which in the second marriage was a wife of Carl Ludwig von Veichtner, a son of composer Franz Adam Veichtner.
In 1844 Karl von Meck graduated from the St. Petersburg Institute of Communications and joined the Moscow-Warsaw road upgrade project as a service road engineer. In 1860 von Meck left public service and entered business. After the military defeat in Crimea
many people became aware of the importance of rail transportation. Von Meck entered the Saratov Railway Association with the aim of constructing a private rail line between Moscow
and Saratov
with independent finance. The first phase of construction was the line between Moscow
and Kolomna. This site was put into operation, after only two years work, as the funds of the company had been exhausted and the entire operation quickly went bankrupt.
Karl von Meck persevered and in 1863 found work with the new Moscow-Ryazan Railway Association. The Chairman of the Board appointed von Meck as the main contractor and the road was built over a year and a half, and made an enormous profit. Karl von Meck participated in several other railway ventures but none with such financial success. However his diligence, tenacity and effort were widely recognised and acknowledged.
After his death his widow, Nadezhda von Meck
, provided invaluable assistance to Tchaikovsky. Karl von Meck's son, Nikolai Karlovich von Meck, played an invaluable role in the development of Russian
railways and worked on the People's Commissariat of Railroads until arrested for wrecking
and murdered in the 1920s.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
businessman of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
descent, one of the founders of Russian railways
Russian Railways
The Russian Railways , is the government owned national rail carrier of the Russian Federation, headquartered in Moscow. The Russian Railways operate over of common carrier routes as well as a few hundred kilometers of industrial routes, making it the second largest network in the world exceeded...
.
Family
Baron Karl von Meck came from an old Baltic-German noble family originally from SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
. His father was major Otto Adam von Meck a customs officer in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. His mother was Wilhelmine Hafferberg - a daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm and Catharine Constanze Nott which in the second marriage was a wife of Carl Ludwig von Veichtner, a son of composer Franz Adam Veichtner.
In 1844 Karl von Meck graduated from the St. Petersburg Institute of Communications and joined the Moscow-Warsaw road upgrade project as a service road engineer. In 1860 von Meck left public service and entered business. After the military defeat in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
many people became aware of the importance of rail transportation. Von Meck entered the Saratov Railway Association with the aim of constructing a private rail line between Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Saratov
Saratov
-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...
with independent finance. The first phase of construction was the line between Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Kolomna. This site was put into operation, after only two years work, as the funds of the company had been exhausted and the entire operation quickly went bankrupt.
Karl von Meck persevered and in 1863 found work with the new Moscow-Ryazan Railway Association. The Chairman of the Board appointed von Meck as the main contractor and the road was built over a year and a half, and made an enormous profit. Karl von Meck participated in several other railway ventures but none with such financial success. However his diligence, tenacity and effort were widely recognised and acknowledged.
After his death his widow, Nadezhda von Meck
Nadezhda von Meck
Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck was a Russian businesswoman, who is best known today for her artistic relationship with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. She supported him financially for 13 years, enabling him to devote himself full-time to composition, but she stipulated that they were never to meet. ...
, provided invaluable assistance to Tchaikovsky. Karl von Meck's son, Nikolai Karlovich von Meck, played an invaluable role in the development of Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
railways and worked on the People's Commissariat of Railroads until arrested for wrecking
Wrecking (Soviet crime)
Wrecking , was a crime specified in the criminal code of the Soviet Union in the Stalin era. It is often translated as "sabotage"; however "wrecking" and "diversionist acts" and "counter-revolutionary sabotage" were distinct sub-articles of Article 58 , and the meaning of "wrecking" is closer to...
and murdered in the 1920s.
Literature
- Гавлин М. Л. Династия «железнодорожных королей» фон Мекк
- Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr I., The Gulag Archipelago (1973), pp. 44–45 (1st ed.). Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-080332-0.