Christa Gelpke
Christa Gelpke, née Engelhorn (born June 30, 1932 in Mannheim; died February 1, 2014 in Küsnacht), was a German–Swiss patron.
Also recorded as Christa Engelhorn · Christa Engelhorn-Gelpke
Christa Gelpke
- Full name
- Christa Engelhorn.
- Born
- 1932. · Mannheim.
- Died
- 2014. · Küsnacht.
- Nationality
- Switzerland.
- Occupation
- photographer.
- Languages
- German.
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Christa Gelpke, née Engelhorn (born June 30, 1932 in Mannheim; died February 1, 2014 in Küsnacht), was a German–Swiss patron.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q19957871 · wikipedia · Christa Gelpke
In this article
Life
Life
• Illustration — Villa Gelpke-Engelhorn, February 2024 Christa Engelhorn was born in Mannheim in 1932 as the third child of Fritz Carl Engelhorn (1886–1956) and Annamarie Engelhorn, née Clemm (1899–1981), and had two older brothers. Her great-grandfather Friedrich Engelhorn founded the chemical company BASF in Ludwigshafen in 1865. Gelpke's cousin Curt Engelhorn headed the family company Boehringer Mannheim for over 30 years. The company was sold to Roche in 1997 for 19 billion DM. Christa Gelpke owned 18 percent of Böhringer shares, so the sale of the company brought her 2.8 billion Swiss francs. In 2013, she was ranked 81st among the richest Germans in the Manager Magazin list. According to the Forbes list, her fortune in 2015 was about 3.4 billion US dollars. With part of the proceeds from the sale of her share in the family holding company, Gelpke established the Drosos Foundation in October 2003. The foundation is committed, among other things, to education, nutrition and health in poor regions as well as to climate and environmental protection. At Gelpke's request, she remained anonymous as a founder until the board of trustees decided to publish her name in 2020. Above all, "this was to preserve a fitting memory of the founder". She was married to the Swiss architect and town planner Wendelin Gelpke (1932–2001) until their divorce in 1965. They had a daughter and two sons. Her son Nikolaus Konstantin Gelpke is a marine biologist and publisher. Her brother-in-law was the Islamic scholar Rudolf Gelpke. Christa Gelpke worked as a photographer and took portrait and reportage photographs for magazines, including the Swiss cultural magazine Du. Some of her works can be found in the "Image + Sound" database of the Swiss Social Archives. From 1971 to 1973, Gelpke had the architect Beate Schnitter build her a "hidden" house with a view of Lake Zurich, the Villa Gelpke-Engelhorn, at Zumikerstrasse 20a in Küsnacht. After her death, its proposed replacement received media attention. Christa Gelpke died on February 1, 2014, at the age of 81 in Küsnacht. It was not until April 2021 that the Zurich Heritage Society recognized the house as worthy of protection.
Identity
Identity
Christa Gelpke is recorded with the occupation photographer. Recorded as a citizen of Switzerland.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1932
Christa Gelpke was born on 30 June 1932.
2014
Christa Gelpke died on 1 February 2014.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Mannheim.
Residences
Küsnacht.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Christa Gelpke”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q19957871: Christa Gelpke
General reference · Wikidata
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Christa Gelpke was recorded at birth as Christa Engelhorn. The authorities additionally record the headings Christa Engelhorn and Christa Engelhorn-Gelpke. Her recorded language was German. One child is recorded: Nikolaus Gelpke.
Identity and origins
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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