Banker, generous… Who was Adolphe Veil-Picard, this benefactor of the city of Besançon?

Three generations of Veil-Picards have marked the daily lives of the inhabitants of Besançon (Doubs) with their generosity. A look back at the life of Adolphe Veil-Picard, banker and benefactor of the city whose bicentenary of birth we are celebrating this year 2024.

Who really knows the history of this family who left their name on the Veil-Picard quay in Besançon? The city’s historians want to pay tribute to Adolphe, son of Aaron and father of Arthur. It particularly marked the daily life of the Bisontins at the end of the 19th century.

100 years to the day after his birth, a tribute should be paid to him by the municipality on May 17, 2024, at the foot of the statue representing him on Place Granvelle. A conference is also planned for 3 p.m., Proudhon room at Kursaal.

He is an admirer of the Veil-Picard family, the historian Lionel Estavoyer led our journalists Catherine Schulbaum and Denis Colle in the footsteps of this illustrious family from Besançon.

The story begins at 49 Grande rue. It was in this house that Adolphe, born in 1824, grew up. Two years earlier, his father Aaron arrived from Alsace.

In this house he made his fortune developing a fabric business before becoming a banker. Later, the family moved a stone’s throw away, to a private mansion on Place Pasteur. A small, discreet plaque recalls their presence.

Passers-by walking along the Grande Rue can learn more about the generosity of the Veil-Picard family by reading the inscription above the door of the birthplace. The city still owns the building.

Adophe Veil-Picard’s generosity does not stop there. Like his father and later his son, he will be one of the city’s benefactors. Having become a banker in his turn, Adolphe is particularly generous. “It is considered that he will have given the city of Besançon alone more than 2,500,000 gold francs. It’s considerable!” explains Lionel Estavoyer.

The banker will finance the renovation of his birthplace out of his own pocket. This expense is estimated at 10,000 gold francs. It is from this period that the Masonic symbols which adorn the facade date. A sign of his commitment to the Freemasons. The benefactor also paid 25,000 gold francs for the city to buy wood “so that the poor can heat themselves” recalls Lionel Estavoyer.

The banker will also finance the renovation of the synagogue and the construction of the Veil-Pïcard quay. The city will decide to name it after its benefactor.

For his burial, more than 10,000 people followed the funeral procession.

I am fascinated by this family because they have a sense of others that is absolutely remarkable.

Lionel Estavoyer, historian

Engaged in the firefighters

During the conference planned in Besançon on the very day of the bicentenary of his birth, a little-known commitment of Adolphe will be detailed by Sébastien Freidig, commander of SDIS 25 and amateur historian.

At the age of 40, Adolphe Veil-Picard joined the fire brigade. He will become second in command and the first departmental inspector of the Doubs fire services.

Always concerned about others, “he will financespecifies Sébastien Freidig, the clothing of the men of the battalion” which corresponds to approximately 300 men. In addition to being active with the firefighters, the banker will also finance the purchase of twelve hand pumps. With his foundation, Adolphe Veil Picard will develop a mutual system which will provide an annuity to former firefighters.

The Veil-Picard family was established in Besançon until the 1950s before moving to the Paris region. Adolphe’s son, Arthur, will be a great art collector. The family still has a family tomb in the Jewish cemetery of Besançon.