Painter Nikolaus Hipp and food industry magnate Prof. Dr. Claus Hipp are the same person. Since his youth, he has been building his artistic and business career in parallel, and since the early nineties he has been active in Hungary, where his business has been a lasting success. As reported by Válasz Online, the Heimann Winery in Szekszárd has organised an exhibition of the works of Nikolaus Hipp, which was opened by the director of our Foundation.
In response to the opening speech, the artist-businessman said that during a conversation with Otto von Habsburg around the time of the regime change, the former heir to the throne advised him to look around Hungary, and he was sure that the businessman would find good opportunities. “I came, Otto was right. It’s as simple as that.”
On this occasion, we have reviewed the correspondence between Claus Hipp and our namesake, and found a number of interesting things. Pöcking in Bavaria, the Habsburg family’s home town, and the HiPP headquarters in Pfaffenhofen are close to each other, so the two well-known personalities met at many social events; at the same time, they also consulted each other by letter, asking for help on various matters. On one occasion, Otto consulted Hipp about the organic farming plans of the King of Morocco (an important contact of Otto’s), since Hipp, ahead of his time, had already been growing the ingredients for his baby food in an environmentally conscious way in the 1950s, without the use of chemicals.
Around the time of the regime change, Hipp reports on an exhibition of his work in Kiev. In a response letter dated 25 September 1990, Otto praises the artist-entrepreneur for not talking about Soviets but about Ukrainians: “It is good that you are building a bridge to these people, because they will once again be our partners in a free Europe.”, he writes.
Letter from Claus Hipp to Otto von Habsburg, 1990
Letter of response from Otto von Habsburg, 25 September 1990
In February 2003, Claus Hipp, aware of our namesake’s commitment to Zagreb’s integrationist aspirations, wrote a letter to the “Imperial Highness” offering his support for Croatia’s early accession to the EU. Meanwhile, Otto von Habsburg also included an occasional thoughtful line in praise of Hipp’s painting.
Letter from Claus Hipp to Otto von Habsburg, 21 February 2003
