Mr. Willem Frederik Ewald Marggraff (Vught, 9 June 1923 - Vught, 7 December 2003) was a controversial wealthy son of a famous Law- family of Dutch nobility.
Biography
Ewald Marggraff was the son of Lodewijk Marggraff and Catharina Schran. His only brother died at a young age, so when his father died he ruled alone over the heritage.
He studied law in Utrecht and international private law in Paris.
On 7 December 2003 his house Zionsburg was destroyed by fire, while Marggraff was in the house. He was buried in the gardens of Zionsburg. In March 2006, the investigation of the accident and Marggraff's death was reopened, as there are reasons to believe the fire was not an accident, but arson.
Properties
With more than 500 estates (on a surface area of about 7km² in total) Marggraff was probably one of the richest men of Noord-Brabant, one of the Dutch provinces. His fortune was estimated in 1998 at 18 million euros (excluding his fortune outside the Netherlands). Marggraff's land is now owned by the Marggraff Stichting (a non-profit organization) and is open for public (except for Zionsburg, which is planned to be rebuilt in 2006). ionsburg is planned to be rebuild. The company Six Architects had obtained a building permit from the community of Vught. It is not certain when building will start.
External links
- small movie after the fire and interviw with a good friend in Dutch
- Several articles about Marggraff in the Dutch press (in Dutch)
- Several audio and video fragments about Marggraff (in Dutch)
- New investigation of Marggraff's death (in Dutch)
- The history of Zionsburg (in Dutch)
- Zionsburg before and after the fire in 2003 (in Dutch)