Klotz, Matthias |
| VIOLIN MAKER (GERMANY) |
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BORN 1653, Mittenwald, Bayern - DIED 16 Aug 1743, Mittenwald, Bayern GRAVE LOCATION Mittenwald, Bayern: Friedhof von St. Nikolaus, Freidhofsweg 2 (grave disappeared) |
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Matthias Klotz established violin making in Mittenwald. He was baptised there on 11 June 1653. He was the son of the tailor Urban Kootz (1627-1691). From 1672 to 1678 He worked as a journeyman at the Bottega di Lautaro in Padua for the lute maker Pietro Railich. In the 1680s he returned to Mittenwald where he started making violins. He married Maria Seitz, the daughter of a weaver in 1685 or 1686. They had six children and after Maria died in 1704 he married Ursula Schändl. Several of his children worked in his workshop and became violin makers themselves. His sons Sebastian Klotz (1696-1775) and his grandson Aegidius Klotz (1733-1805) were particularly well known. Matthias Klotz died in Mittenwald in 1743. His grave at the cemetery of the St. Nikolaus chapel was lost but there is a plaque for him on the wall of the chapel. |
| Images |
 Plaque for Matthias Klotz at the cemetery in Mittenwald, Bavaria. Picture by Androom (12 July 2004) |
