- Hans Boner
Hans Boner (also known as Jan Boner; before 1463 - 1523) was a German-born Polish
merchant andbank er. He was one of wealthiest men of his times in Europe.Born before 1463 in
Landau in Palatinate, early in his life he started a merchant business in Breslau. In 1483 he settled inKraków , in Poland. A wealthy merchant and tradesman dealing withspice s,metal s, timbers,livestock , etc., he opened branch offices of his firm in many towns of Poland, Germany, Russia andHungary . In 1498 he was elected to the Town's Charter and in 1514 he was grantedindigenate by the KingSigismund I of Poland , who granted him with a noble status.As the king's banker and main purveyor to the royal court, Boner became one of the wealthiest men in Europe of his timespl icon [http://www.izoo.krakow.pl/index.php?sw=157 History of the palace in Balice] ] . Among other deeds he was able to recover the royal treasury from the verge of bankruptcy, having strengthened it with roughly 200,000 Red złoty, an incredible sum for 15th century standards. He bought off the Royal properties for debts, among them the entire area of
Spisz (for 12,000 Red złoty from Jordan of Zakliczyn), the town ofOświęcim andRuthenia n salt mines (for 14,000 Red złoty fromStanisław Kościelski ) and a number of royal towns (includingSieradz ,Gostynin ,Radom ,Sochaczew , Piotrków,Drohobycz ,Rabsztyn ,Głuchów ,Tuchola ,Sącz ,Inowrocław and others).In 1515 he became the manager of the
Wieliczka salt mine, one of the most profitable enterprises of the epoch, from which a large part of the Poland's income was drawn. He also received the castles ofOjców and Rabsztyn as his private propertypl icon [http://www.rabsztyn.ilkus.pl/kalendarium.html History of the castle of Rabsztyn] ] . In 1522 he also became the royal governor ofKraków .Among his most notable achievements was a division of the treasury onto state and royal treasuries, a development that had survived until the
Partitions of Poland in late 18th century. He served afinancier of theKing of Poland , and acted as a representative for handling donations made in pursuit ofindulgence s in Poland. Also, he was a patron of German and Italian scholars andartist s.He died in 1523 in Breslau, during a business trip.
Notes and references
::In-line:::General:
# [http://www.jura.art.pl/pl/postacie.php?go=bonerjan Biography of Jan Boner]
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