Clara Hammerl
Clara Hammerl | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Bromberg, Prussia (present-day Bydgoszcz, Poland) |
| Died | October 9, 1931 (aged 73) Rufino, Argentina |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, bank director |
| Known for | First woman to direct a financial institution in Spain; director of Pollença Savings Bank |
Clara Hammerl (5 March 1858 – 9 October 1931) was an educator from Mallorca and notably the first woman to direct a financial institution in Spain, specifically the Pollença Savings Bank.
Biography
Clara Hammerl was born in Bromberg, Prussia (present-day Bydgoszcz, Poland), to Friedrich Hammerl, a locomotive engineer, and Emma Müller. She had a younger sibling named Marie Ida Bertha Hammerl. Following the death of her father, her mother moved with Clara and her sister to Berlin in 1885.
By 1887, Clara was teaching German at Humboldt University in Berlin, where she encountered Guillem Cifre de Colonya, the adopted son of a wealthy landowner from Mallorca. The couple wed on 7 October 1889 in Berlin and subsequently relocated to Pollença on the island of Mallorca.
Life in Mallorca
Both Clara and Guillem believed strongly in education as a means for societal advancement. In 1879, Guillem established the Institució d'Ensenyament, a forward-thinking secular school in Pollença that promoted coeducational learning. The following year, he founded the Colonya Caixa d'Estalvis de Pollença, a savings bank designed to assist ordinary citizens in acquiring property.
Clara contributed as a German language instructor at the school but encountered social challenges due to her Lutheran faith, German heritage, and limited proficiency in Spanish and Catalan. The conservative religious authorities on Mallorca opposed the progressive nature of the institution; in 1893, they orchestrated a two-week Jesuit "Holy Mission" aimed at eradicating what they considered "Protestantism and other errors" through sermons and public ceremonies.
Bank manager
Of the five children born to Clara and Guillem, only two survived into adulthood. Guillem struggled with depression and died by suicide in 1908. After his passing, Clara officially assumed control of the savings bank. Together with Rafel Cortès, she grew the bank's operations and personally oversaw its management from 1908 until 1916, marking her as Spain’s first female financial institution director. The bank continues to operate as of 2024.
The Institució d'Ensenyament closed during the Spanish Civil War; to revive it afterward, Clara arranged for a teacher who shared her late husband's educational philosophy. She also handled the family’s investments across import-export ventures and various enterprises.
Clara Hammerl passed away on 9 October 1931 in Rufino, Argentina, where her daughter resided, at the age of 73.
Legacy
- Since 2012, the secondary school located in Port of Pollença has been named “IES Clara Hammerl”
- In 2013, Pollença honored her posthumously with honorary citizenship
- A bust sculpted by Georgina Gamundí was placed in Plaça dels Seglars in Pollença
- A documentary about Hammerl was broadcast in Catalan in 2016
- The inaugural Clara Hammerl Awards were presented to eight educators at Pollença town hall in 2018