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COLMAR

the memory of stones

MOLLY, the dynasty of brewers.

House Molly

Jean Guillaume MOLLY , born in 1810, son of a stonecutter founded an enterprise of brewery in Colmar in the beginning of the Monarchy of July. The establishment situated street of the school initially, was transferred to the 12 of the street of the Juifses, the present street Berthe MOLLY. He got married with Catherine Elisabeth DAXELHOFFER of Wissembourg that gave him in 1840 a son, Louis François Guillaume.

To his father's death, aged of 22 years only, Louis François Guillaume MOLLY became boss of the paternal enterprise. He developed the brewery and counted quickly among the notables of the city.

He entered to the municipal Council of the city in 1872 and was reelected regularly. He married Marie Thérèse SCHWINDENHAMMER girl of a butcher of Ammerschwihr in 1861qui gave him two sons Etienne Louis Guillaume December 9, 1862 and Jules August 8, 1879 and a Berthe girl November 29, 1865.

Etienne Louis Guillaume and Jules MOLLY retook the family enterprise from their father's death in 1899. The Brewery MOLLY was absorbed, with three other establishments, by the big brewery Society and malteries of Colmar in 1919.

Berthe Molly

Berthe MOLLY had a more unaccustomed destiny. In cure in a thermal establishment in Karlsbad in Germany, she met Alfred Zoltan SZENDEFFY , alias baron Aladar of SZENDEFFY, doctor in medicine original of Budapest in Hungary that she marries in July 1900.

The couple lived in Budapest and will settle in Colmar in 1925 following the insurrection led by Bela Kun in Hungary that ordered the expropriation of goods of the Hungarian nobility.

Baron de SZENDEFFY

From this moment Alsace becomes the second homeland for the baron.Letting the practice of medicine, he leads to Colmar a restful life of comfortable pensioner dedicating his time to reading and to the walk.

His figure became familiar to all colmarians that recognized it in its daily walk driving it of the Number 4 of the Hertrich street where it lived, to the museum or to the municipal library, or when, provided of its cane and combed of its hat tophat, to the church Saint - Joseph or to the church Saint - Martin to attend the dominical office.

Old brewery

Berthe MOLLY died March 24, 1945. She bequeathed by will in the city of Colmar his family house and his property (57,22 ares) suited Hertrich street, the remaining usufruct to his husband who survived him.

At the time of his death June 3, 1958, the baron of SZENDEFFY bequeathed on his turn in the city his important library (7000 works), his collections of art and a land.

In counterpart, the couple required that the city makes construct a museum of natural history on the site of the garden of the property bequeathed, assure the maintenance in perpetuity from the tomb to the cemetery and give the name of Berthe MOLLY at the street of Juifs.

The taken street of Juifs the name of Berthe MOLLY by decision of the Municipal Council of June 27, 1945 and the land served to raise a memorial to the glory of him Marshal of LATTRE of TASSIGNY.

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