Simon Sinas

Portrait of Simon von Sina

Born| 15 August 1810

Vienna, Austrian Empire

Died| 15 April 1876

Vienna, Austria-Hungary

Nationality| Austrian, Greek
Occupation(s)| Businessman, banker
Known for| Benefaction and Diplomacy
Title| Freiherr
Spouse| Iphigenie Ghika de Dézsanfalva
Children| Anastasia, Countess von Wimpffen
Irene, Princess Mavrocordato
Helena, Princess Ypsilantis
Ifigenia, Duchess of Castries and Vicomtese d'Harcourt
Parent(s)| George Sina (father)
Katalin Derra (mother)

Simon Freiherr von Sina or Simon Sinas (Greek: Σίμων Σίνας; 1810–1876) was an Austrian-Greek banker, aristocrat, benefactor and diplomat. He was one of the most important benefactors of the Greek nation together with his father Georgios Sinas.[1]

## Biography

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Simon Sinas was born on August 15, 1810, in Vienna.[2] The Sinas family came from the Aromanian settlement of Moscopole in southern Albania.[3] The son of Georgios Sinas, also a benefactor and diplomat, Sinas expanded his father's business. His ethnic origin has been described as Aromanian,[4][5][6][7][8] Hellenized Aromanian,[9] or Greek.[10][11][12][13][14] Regardless of his ethnic origin, Sinas was part of the social-cultural Greek merchant class which maintained close relations with the newly founded Greek state of his era. He served as Greek consul in Vienna, and later as minister to Austria, the Kingdom of Bavaria, and Germany. He also made major donations to various educational and scientific foundations in Austria, Hungary, and Greece.[12] During his time as Greek ambassador in Vienna, Johann Strauss II composed the Hellenen-Polka (Hellenes Polka) op. 203, at Simon's request, in 1856, for an annual ball of the ethnic Greek community in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.[15]

Sinas became director of Austria's central bank Oesterreichische Nationalbank and established the Simon Georg Sina banking house in Vienna.[2] Following the end of the Second Schleswig War (or German-Danish War) in 1864, he funded the return transport of Austrian forces from the region of Schleswig-Holstein.[2] From 1874 onwards, Sinas held a position in the Herrenhaus of Austria.[2]

Sinas was the donator and founder of the Hungarian Academy of Budapest, the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Vienna, the Athens Orthodox Cathedral, the Athens Academy, and others.[12] His father had made the foundation of the National Observatory of Athens possible.[16] Since Sinas was also a patron of astronomers, the crater Sinas on the Moon was named after him.[11] Sinas died in Vienna on April 15, 1876.[2]

## References

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### Citations

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1. ^ Vakalopoulos, Konstantinos (1991). "Die kulturpolitische und wirtschaftliche Rolle der griechischen Diaspora im Donauraum während des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts". Wirtschafts- und Kulturbeziehung Zwischen dem Donau- und Balkanraum Seit dem Wiener Kongress (in German). Das Institut: 144. Retrieved 28 September 2021. "Georgios und Simon Sina zeichneten sich als große Wohltäter der griechischen Nation aus. Ihnen ist die Wiederherstellung des Observatoriums und der Akademie in Athen zu verdanken."
2. ^ a b c d e Killy & Vierhaus 2005, p. 346: "Sina, Simon Georg, from 1832 onwards Baron von Hodos und Kisidia, Austrian banker, * 15.8.1810, Vienna; † 15.4.1876, Vienna. S., the son of Georg Simon → S., founded the banking house of Simon Georg Sina in Vienna and was director of the Austrian National Bank. In 1864 he financed the return transport of the Austrian troops from Schleswig-Holstein following the German-Danish War. S. was a member of the board of management of the General Hungarian Credit Bank and the board of administration of the Rossitz mining company. He was also a member of the executive senate of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. S. held a seat in the Austrian Herrenhaus from 1874 onwards."
3. ^ Chatziioannou, Maria (2010). "Mediterranean Pathways of Greek Merchants to Victorian England". The Historical Review. 7: 218. "The success of the migrant-entrepreneur is not only illustrated by such impressive careers as the Rothschilds of Jewish background, or, in the Greek case, that of S. Sinas in Vienna, originally from the Vlach-populated Moschopolis, or A. Syngros and the Ralli brothers from Chios, but can be identified in strategic choices of medium-sized merchants as well"
4. ^ Kahl, Thede (2003). "Aromanians in Greece: Minority or Vlach-speaking Greeks?" (PDF). Jahrbücher für Geschichte und Kultur Südosteuropas. 5: 205–219.
5. ^ Jovanovski, Dalibor; Minov, Nikola (2017). "Ioannis Kolettis: The Vlach from the ruling elite of Greece". Balcanica Posnaniensia. Acta et Studia. 24: 222. doi:10.14746/bp.2017.24.13.
6. ^ Kahl, Thede (2002). "The ethnicity of Aromanians after 1990: the identity of a minority that behaves like a majority". Ethnologia Balkanica. 6: 145–169.
7. ^ Özkırımlı, Umut; Sofos, Spyros (2008). Tormented by History: Nationalism in Greece and Turkey. Hurst. p. 146\. ISBN 978-1850659051.
8. ^ Bogdan, Gheorghe (1992). MEMORY, IDENTITY, TYPOLOGY: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY RECONSTRUCTION OF VLACH ETHNOHISTORY (PDF) (Ph.D). University of British Columbia. p. 162.
9. ^ Richard Clogg (20 June 2002). A Concise History of Greece. p. 77: "a Hellenised Vlach whose family came from Moschopolis in southern Albania...": Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00479-4.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location (link)
10. ^ Berend, Ivan; Berend, Tibor Iván (2013). An Economic History of Nineteenth-Century Europe: Diversity and Industrialization. Cambridge University Press. p. 173\. ISBN 978-1-107-03070-1. "One of the leading financiers was the Greek banker Georg Simon Sina."
11. ^ a b Rükl & Rackham 1991, pp. 98: "Sinas [8.8°N, 31.6°E] Simon Sinas, 1810–1876. Greek merchant, patron of astronomers, bequeathed Athens Observatory. Circular crater (12.4 km/2260 m)."
12. ^ a b c Moscow Patriarchate 1978, p. 84: "A son of the rich Greek family of Sina, Simon Sina the Younger did many good works, contributing large sums of money for the building of Athens University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Art Gallery, the Institute for the Blind, hospitals, schools and in particular Orthodox Churches and other ecclesiastical institutions."
13. ^ Dent 2007, p. 9: "...Count Simon Sina, a banker, aristocrat and landowner of Greek origin, and one of the wealthiest men of his day. His father, George Sina had been a chief financier backing the construction of the Chain Bridge."
14. ^ Gill, John (2011). Athens. Andrews UK Limited. p. 47\. ISBN 978-1-908493-48-4. "The expatriate Greek millionaire Baron Simon Sinas, then living in Vienna, [...]"
15. ^ "Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 1999-06-04". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
16. ^ "Η Ίδρυση του Αστεροσκοπείου Αθηνών" (in Greek). Εθνικόν Αστεροσκοπείον Αθηνών. 2013.

### Sources

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* Dent, Bob (2007). Budapest: A Cultural History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-531494-6.
* Killy, Walther; Vierhaus, Rudolf, eds. (2005). Dictionary of German Biography (Volume 9: Schmidt – Theyer). Munich: K.G. Saur (Walter de Gruyter). ISBN 9783110966299.
* Moscow Patriarchate (1978). The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. Moscow: Moscow Patriarchate.
* Rükl, Antonín; Rackham, T.W. (1991). Atlas of the Moon. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 9780600571902.

## Further reading

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* Stoianovich, Traian (June 1960). "The Conquering Balkan Orthodox Merchant". The Journal of Economic History. 20 (2): 234–313. doi:10.1017/S0022050700110447.

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