ŠLECHTICTVÍ BEZ MONARCHIE? NOBILITAČNÍ POLITIKA KARLA I. NA PŘÍKLADU RODU BECKŮ
NOBILITY WITHOUT MONARCHY? ENNOBLEMENT POLICY OF CHARLES I AT THE EXAMPLE OF THE HOUSE OF BECK

Summary/Abstract: The paper focuses on the possibilities and limits in the social ascension of middle class members and in particular follows transformation of the family business from a petty artisanal workshop to a wholesale company having several production factories of its own as exemplified on the entrepreneurial Beck family. Due to the production orientation (uniforms tailoring), the biggest boom was brought about by the First World War. The fall of the monarchy, the end of the common market and establishment of customs barriers caused a massive decrease in production and a subsequent decline of the whole business. Since three main representatives of the company were ennobled in the last year of the Austrian monarchy, the paper studies whether such social class mobility was possible and if so, under which conditions.

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