Gillis Hooftman

Gillis Hooftman van Eyckelberg, (German: Ägidius Hauptmann; b. 1521 in Eupen; d. Jan. 19, 1581 in Antwerp) was an influential merchant, trader, banker, and shipbuilder from the Duchy of Limburg. Hooftman was one of richest men in the prosperous city of Antwerp, the trading center of the Spanish Netherlands.

Gillis Hooftman was the son of Erken (Arnold) Arnt Hauptmann (d. 1545), a bailiff of the Lathof in the Stockem neighborhood of Eupen, and of Tryntgen (Katharina) Hoesch. Die Familie stammte ursprünglich aus den The family originated from the Rhineland, and its earlier name of Eichelberg was changed to a Limburger form, van Eyckelberg Rheinland und nannte sich einst Eichelberg (limburgisch umgewandelt in: van Eyckelberg). A fiefdom in Eupen-Stockem named after Hauptmann, as is the "Hauptmann Column" was erected to help travelers find their way through the marshlands of the High Fens.

The international trade in lumber was the key to the success of his trading house. His business contacts reached as far as Russia, and eventually Hooftman was in a position to purchase several trading vessels. Sources state that Hooftman may have owned more than 100 ships at is peak. These ships sailed to ports in the Baltic Sea, and also pioneered Dutch trading with ports of the Arctic Ocean, and North Africa.

By 1559, Hooftman had become one of the richest men in Antwerp, and was living on the "Steenstraat", near the Het Steen fortress. In 1578 he bought the "Pulhof" quarter in Berchem, and in 1580, he acquired the Van Affinghem Abbey's retreat in the Mattestraat. That same year he also acquired the Cleydael Castle, and became the Landlord of Cleydael and Aartselaar. He became active in local politics, and for many years, he was a member of the Antwerp City Council.

His sister Johanna married the cloth merchant Antonio Anselmo. Martin de Vos painted portraits of the couple, which appear in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.

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