The Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen

Anna Reiß (1836 – 1915) started performing theater at an early age and was hired as a singer in Schwerin. She withdrew from life on the stage after just a few years but remained loyal to the artistic scene in Mannheim. A theater connoisseur and critic, she was a regular at the National Theater, had her own box in the first tier, and frequently received artists at her home.

Carl Reiß (1843 – 1914) had a career as a Mannheim businessman, politician and patron of culture. After graduating from the University of Heidelberg with degrees in law and political science, Carl Reiss spent several years abroad in Palermo, Bordeaux, Paris and London before returning to Mannheim. Other ventures took him to Egypt, North Africa and the USA as well as on a world tour together with his sister Anna Reiss.

Reiss attained high standing in Mannheim as the founder of and partner in major businesses. A financier, he was a member of the management of several banks. He took advantage of his excellent connections to the family of the grand duke and the government of Baden to benefit his hometown in civic politics and additionally represented the city of Mannheim’s interests as its delegate to Baden’s first and second chambers.

Peter Engelhorn (died 1991), great grandson of BASF founder Friedrich Engelhorn and cousin of Curt Engelhorn, was a partner in the former pharmaceutical company Boehringer Mannheim (now Roche). He married publisher and editor Traudl Vechiatto, originally from Vienna, in 1955. Their marriage produced four daughters. Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto (1927 – 2022) established the Brombeeren-Stiftung in 2013 in memory of her husband. The incorporated non-profit Brombeeren-Stiftung funds activities of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen in the fields of cultural history and art as well as scholarship and research. Regarded in scholarly and cultural circles as a quiet sponsor, donor and patron, Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto had very close ties to Mannheim. Her deceased husband had been one of the co-founders of the Friends of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen. The Peter & Traudl Engelhornhaus will be opened 22 January 2023 in the museum quarter of the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen for the foundation’s exhibition activities. Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto had devoted herself to the foundations and associations even more since Peter Engelhorn’s death in 1991. Together with her family, she supported numerous research projects, publications, scholarly conferences and cultural projects in the field of music, among others, through her immaterial and material gifts. She also supported young scientists working in biotechnology, genetic engineering and life sciences. On 22 September 2022 Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto died at the age of 95. The Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, the Brombeeren-Stiftung and all other foundations and institutes associated with the museum mourn the loss of the generous patron and commemorate this extraordinary woman with deep gratitude.

Klaus Tschira was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1940. A physicist, he established the non-profit Klaus Tschira Stiftung gemeinnützige GmbH (Klaus Tschira Foundation), headquartered in the Bosch Villa in Heidelberg, with his own funds in 1995. The foundation promotes the natural sciences, computer science and mathematics and encourages new forms of science education. Its nationwide activities begin in preschools and continue into schools, colleges and research organizations. It supports both the compilation and comprehensible presentation of research findings. The most advanced complex of laboratories and research offices for scientific dating in Germany, the Klaus-Tschira-Archäometrie-Zentrum (Klaus Tschira Physical Dating Laboratory) at the University of Heidelberg (based in Mannheim), funded by the Klaus Tschira Stiftung and the Curt-Engelhorn-Stiftung, is located at the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen. Dr. h.c. Klaus Tschira was presented with numerous accolades for his dedicated work, including the German Cross of Merit, First Class and the Association of German Foundations’ Benefactors Award.
A successful career as a businessman preceded his stage of life as a philanthropist. After earning a degree in physics, Klaus Tschira worked as a systems consultant at IBM in Mannheim until 1972 when he and four partners founded a successful and rapidly growing software company, Systeme, Anwendungen, Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung GmbH (SAP).

Klaus Tschira died unexpectedly and prematurely on March 31, 2015. He was a generous patron and magnificent human being from whose vision of vibrant scholarship we have consistently been permitted to profit. The Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, the Curt-Engelhorn-Stiftung and the Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum Archäometrie are deeply indebted to him.