Djordje Vajfert was born on June 15, 1850. He completed Advanced Brewery School at Weihenstephan near Munich, and took over the brewery his father had built in Belgrade, which he would later expand. Also in his possession were several mines in Serbia (copper ore and brown coal as well as a gold mine at St. Ana, making him a pioneer of modern mining in Serbia).
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He was one of the top industrialists in Yugoslavia and the governor of the National Bank of Serbia. From his own resources he built the Church of St. Ana in Pančevo in 1922/23, and the portal edifice at the Roman Catholic cemetery in 1924.
His brewery in Belgrade was well-known throughout Europe so that in the late 19th century Djordje I. Vajfert became one of the wealthiest men in Serbia. His financial success began when the Great, or the Prince’s Brewery closed down in 1871, and he built a new one at Smutekovac, what is today Belgrade’s Topčider section. His slogan “Pivo ladi, dušu sladi” (Beer cools, sweetens the soul) should be supplemented with “a iz džepa pare vadi” (and it lightens one’s purse), to gain a fuller understanding of his fast moneymaking philosophy. |
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German by origin, he claimed to be a Serb through and through. He came from a family that was already in the brewery business. His grandfather, also named Djordje, was originally from Austria and was a tanner who could not support his family with his trade. He became a man of means by transporting grain with barges from the confluence of the Sava River upstream to the town of Sisak. His relative had operated a brewery in Pančevo. Business was slow so old Vajfert took on beer production, reorganising the production facilities, and it wasn’t long before business picked up. Still dissatisfied, the grandfather sent his son Ignjac to Munich to complete a course with a famous beer expert, Professor Sedelmaier, to perfect his trade at the renowned Munich Spaten brewery. When Ignjac returned, he was given the brewery to run. He made some adjustments and turned it into a regular money factory. In the meantime, Ignjac’s son Djordje became interested in beer, so his father let him have the Prince’s brewery in 1873. Up until that time, he had been renting it and developed the operation quite well. The Prince was content and so was Ignjac. He kept the other, Pančevo brewery for himself and for his other son Hugo. So, grandfather Djordje lived his days happy to know that his son and grandsons ‘swam’ in beer. The Vajferts definitively conquered Serbia with beer.
Then, at considerable business risk, 23-year-old Djordje bought a sizeable piece of land some ways out of town and built a modern brewery on Smutekovac hill in 1871. Not having Serbian citizenship, he encountered some problems before he could begin construction. Prince Mihailo Obrenović, who liked him for his talent and industry, helped him to obtain the necessary permits. Saddened that he could not participate in the Balkan wars, Djordje sent the Serbian cavalry a wagonload of beer. Just so the boys could refreshen themselves!
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Vajfert first opened the mine in Kostolac for very practical reasons – he needed coal for the steam-powered brewery. Having an inquisitive mind and flighty by nature, he sought and was granted approval from the Serbian government and began exploring ore finds in Serbia. He brought with him mining engineers and miners, equipment, constructed miners’ settlements and spend hefty sums. But, whatever enterprise he conducted seemed doomed to failure. Thus, he made money on beer, but lost it on mercury mining. A smelting works in Ripanj near Belgrade misfired, as the Mt. Avala mercury mine was virtually dry of ore. The same happened with the St. Ana mines on Mt. Deli Jovan, St. Barbara on the Pek River and at the Miroč, Rudnik and Zlot digs. The brewery could not produce as much beer as Djordje needed to fund these explorations. He went bankrupt three times. Djordje Vajfert’s spiteful contemporaries used to say he was “ripe for suicide”. But his hazardous conduct suddenly yielded fruit. When every bank in Belgrade closed its doors to him and rejected his promissory notes, Djordje one day appeared dressed up at the Merchant Bank. He asked for a 50,000-dinar loan in gold. Bank director Miloš Tucaković signed the bill unaware that he was making possible the opening of the Bor Mines. In this way, Djordje I. Vajfert became the owner of the best known copper ore deposit in Europe. That was in 1903. However, he did not keep his ownership for more than a year. Large sums were needed for the mine’s exploitation, sums neither he nor the state of Serbia could produce. He then found partners in France and founded a joint-stock company called the French Society of Bor Mines. Its share capital was 5.5 million golden French francs, and Djordje Vajfert had in his hands 3,300 shares worth more than one million golden francs.
There are a number of anecdotes about him. One of them dates from the time he was governor of the National Bank of Serbia. A farmer from southern Serbia rushed into his office one day. He came to Belgrade to open a small eatery but was some 500 dinars short. Uneducated as he was, someone had told him that he could come by money through issuing a promissory note. He went to the first bank to get one, but the people at the bank decided to hoodwink him. They sent him to the National Bank and told him that some guy named Vajfert needed to sign his bill. The farmer managed to get past the doorman, came to Vajfert’s office and straight from the door set out: “Are you this Vajfert that signs bills? Come, give me your signature!” Seeing that the farmer was set up and admiring his outgoing approach, he remembered his 50,000 golden-dinar loan and initialed the bill, noting that he was personally guaranteeing payment of the farmer’s debt.
Djordje I. Vajfert died in 1937 at the age of 87. He had no descendants. He was grand master of the “Jugoslavija” masonic lodge. The breweries in Belgrade and Pančevo continue bottling “Djordje Vajfert” beer to this day.
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Philanthropist and Donor
There were wealthier people in Serbia than Vajfert, but there were no businessmen endowed with such an entrepreneurial spirit and what in this day and age would be termed managerial prowess. He loved money, but not for its own sake, but to distribute to people what he had acquired. Thus, he bequeathed a numismatic collection with more than 14,000 pieces of ancient money to the Belgrade University. To the City Museum, he left a large collection of paintings. He gave out property to charity. When he had no money, he would borrow to give to someone. He left behind two churches. The fi rst he built in Glogovac near Bor, and the second in Pančevo.
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