George was
born in Pancevo on 15 June 1850.
His father was Ignjat Weifert and his
mother Ana. Both were Roman Catholic Germans and citizens of Hungary, which
was at that time a part of Austro-Hungarian Empire[5].
Pancevo was a small Hungarian border town on the banks of the river Danube,
populated with a mix of German, Hungarian and Serbian merchants and artisans.
On the opposite bank of Danube was Belgrade, the commercial center and capital
of the newly emerging kingdom of Serbia, that was at the time still formally a
part of a dying Ottoman Empire[6].
Weifert’s
grandfather moved to Pancevo in the beginning of the 19th century, trying his
luck first as a wheat merchant and then as a beer brewer. In order to improve
his business he sent his son Ignjat to Munich, where he spent some time
working and studying beer production in the famous Spatenbrau Brewery. Upon his
return home, Ignjat Weifert and his father built the largest brewery in Pancevo, which still exists today[7].
In 1865
they rented an existing brewery[8]
in Belgrade, and started production there, in order to avoid the cost of
transporting the beer from Pancevo to Belgrade.
Young
George Weifert attended the German Elementary School and the Hungarian High
School in Pancevo, after which his father sent him to Budapest, where in 1869
he graduated from Merchants Academy. In accordance with the family business
needs, he then attended the Agricultural School in Weihenstofen, near Munich, where he particularly studied beer production technology. After graduation in
1872, he returned to Belgrade, in order to help with his father’s rapidly
growing
business. Together they built a new brewery in the Topcidersko
Brdo district of Belgrade[9].
In 1873 he married Maria Gisner. He was a bright young man on the threshold of
an unusual and colorful career.
[5]
The town of Pancevo is located on the River Danube , in Vojvodina , which is a
southern part of the Pannonian Valley. Till 1919, the province of Vojvodina
was part of Hungary. After the First World War, it became part of Kingdom of
Serbs , Croats and Slovenians- Yugoslavia.
[6] The
Kingdom of Serbia lost its independence after the battle of Kosovo in 1389,
and became part of Ottoman Empire. After rebellions against Turks in 1804 and
1813, they gained partial autonomy. They finally achieved independence in 1867, under King Michael Obrenovich.
[7]
After The Second World War, the brewery ‘Pancevo’ was nationalized by the
communist government. In spite of their mismanagement, ‘Pancevo ‘beer, as it
is called today, is one of the most popular beers in Serbia.
[8]
The German entrepreneur Wainhapel operated the brewery in Belgrade till
1865, but then went out of business.
[9]
This brewery was destroyed during the German
bombing of Belgrade on 6 April 1941.
