House of Zili
The House of Zili was a St. Gallen patrician merchant family whose wealth grew through linen trading, shipping, and banking from the late medieval period into the nineteenth century.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
The House of Zili was a ruling patrician family of merchants based in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The family is documented from the fourteenth century and rose to prominence through the city’s linen trade. By the fifteenth century, it was regarded as one of St. Gallen’s wealthiest families and had gained access to the city’s political institutions, including the mayoralty and the Small Council. The family’s influence combined commercial activity, civic office, religious leadership, military service, and strategic marriage alliances. Heinrich Zili, a member of the tailors’ guild, became the first known Zili to reach the mayoralty of St. Gallen in 1485. He also served as a bailiff and military commander during conflicts involving the city. In the sixteenth century, Jakob Zili consolidated the family’s position by establishing a trading company with his sons in 1559. He had previously worked with his brother-in-law Georg Zollikofer and later became president of the Notenstein Society, a powerful merchant association, as well as mayor and a member of the city’s Small Council. The Zili family also contributed to the religious transformation of St. Gallen during the Reformation. Anton Zili and Dominik Zili were associated with the promotion of Reformed theology. Anton served as a schoolmaster and preacher at St. Lawrence Church, participated in major religious disputations, and published an early collection of Swiss Reformed hymns in 1533. These activities gave the family importance beyond commerce and municipal politics. From the late sixteenth century, members of the family gradually reduced their direct political involvement and increasingly pursued military, diplomatic, and landed interests. They formed alliances with leading St. Gallen families such as the von Watt, Grübel, Zollikofer, Wirth, and Rietmann families, as well as with urban elites in southern Germany. The family acquired estates in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley and adopted an increasingly aristocratic lifestyle. The decline of the linen industry during the first half of the seventeenth century weakened its commercial base, and the family left the Notenstein Society in 1657. The Zili fortune was later partly rebuilt through commercial shipping. Hans Anton Zili and his son Caspar Zili expanded this direction, and the family was readmitted to the Notenstein Society in 1733. In the nineteenth century, Wilhelm Zili, described as the last male-line representative, transformed the family’s enterprise from shipping into banking. After his death, the institution passed to his nephew and associate Emil Wegelin and eventually became known as Wegelin & Co. from 1893. Wegelin & Co. later described itself as Switzerland’s oldest private bank, but ceased operations in 2013. The Zili family itself became extinct in the nineteenth century.
History
The House of Zili emerged in the commercial and political environment of late medieval St. Gallen. The family is attested from the fourteenth century and built its wealth in the linen trade, the principal economic activity associated with the city’s merchant elite. During the fifteenth century, the Zili became one of St. Gallen’s richest families and entered the circle of urban ruling families. Heinrich Zili marked an early political breakthrough. A member of the tailors’ guild, he became mayor of St. Gallen in 1485 and again in 1488. He also held the bailiwicks of Steinach and Sax-Forstegg and commanded St. Gallen troops during the sack of the Rorschach monastery in 1489 and the St. Gallen War in 1490. His offices established a pattern in which commercial status supported civic authority and military responsibility. The family reached a further peak under Jakob Zili. After partnering with his brother-in-law Georg Zollikofer from 1519, Jakob founded a trading company with his sons in 1559. He served as mayor from 1546 to 1550, joined the Small Council from 1551, and chaired the Notenstein Society, an influential association of St. Gallen merchants. Through these roles, he strengthened both the family’s economic position and its integration into the city’s governing elite. Several Zili members also played roles in the Reformation. Anton Zili, who lived from 1494 to 1571, was a schoolmaster and later preacher at St. Lawrence Church. He advocated the Zwinglian Reformation in religious disputations held at Baden, Bern, and Basel and published a collection of Swiss Reformed hymns in 1533. Dominik Zili was another Reformed theologian and preacher associated with the family’s religious influence. During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, the Zili increasingly shifted away from direct urban politics. Members served in military and diplomatic capacities, held leadership positions in the Notenstein Society, acquired estates in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley, and adopted aristocratic social practices. Marriage alliances connected the family with the von Watt, Grübel, Zollikofer, Wirth, and Rietmann families in St. Gallen and with elites in southern Germany. The decline of the linen industry during the first half of the seventeenth century reduced the family’s commercial strength. The Zili withdrew from the Notenstein Society in 1657. Later generations restored part of the family’s influence through shipping. Hans Anton Zili and his son Caspar Zili were central to this revival, and the family was readmitted to the Notenstein Society in 1733. In the nineteenth century, Wilhelm Zili transformed the shipping enterprise into a bank. Wilhelm, who lived from 1813 to 1876, was the last male-line representative of the family. Afterward, his nephew and associate Emil Wegelin took over the institution. It became known as Wegelin & Co. from 1893 and continued as a private bank until it ceased operations in 2013. The Zili family itself became extinct in the nineteenth century.
- 2013
Wegelin & Co. ceases operations
[1]The private bank connected to the later development of the Zili enterprise ended its operations.
- 1893
The successor bank adopts the name Wegelin & Co.
[1]The banking institution derived from the Zili enterprise became known as Wegelin & Co.
- 1733
The family returns to the Notenstein Society
[1]Following a revival based on commercial shipping, the Zili regained membership in the Notenstein Society.
- 1657
The family leaves the Notenstein Society
[1]The Zili withdrew from the merchant association amid the weakening of the linen economy.
- 1559
Jakob Zili establishes a family trading company
[1]Jakob Zili founded a trading company with his sons, consolidating the family’s commercial organization and influence.
- 1533
Anton Zili publishes a collection of Swiss Reformed hymns
[1]Anton Zili published an early collection of Swiss Reformed hymns while promoting the Zwinglian Reformation.
- 1519
Jakob Zili begins a trading partnership with Georg Zollikofer
[1]Jakob Zili entered a commercial partnership with his brother-in-law Georg Zollikofer, preceding the creation of the family trading company.
- 1490
Heinrich Zili commands troops in the St. Gallen War
[1]Heinrich Zili led the city’s troops during the St. Gallen War.
- 1489
Heinrich Zili commands troops during the Rorschach conflict
[1]Heinrich Zili commanded St. Gallen forces during the sack of the Rorschach monastery.
- 1485
Heinrich Zili reaches the St. Gallen mayoralty
[1]Heinrich Zili became the first known family member to serve as mayor of St. Gallen, establishing the family’s access to the city’s political leadership.
Products and positioning
A historically prominent St. Gallen merchant and patrician house whose economic identity evolved from linen trading to shipping and banking, supported by civic office, elite alliances, and regional commercial networks.
Textile commerce
Linen trade
Linen trading was the principal source of the family’s wealth during its rise in St. Gallen. The family’s commercial activity placed it among the city’s leading merchant houses by the fifteenth century and supported its later political and social prominence.
Merchant trading · 1559
Family trading company
Founded by Jakob Zili with his sons in 1559, the trading company formalized the family’s commercial operations. It followed Jakob’s earlier partnership with Georg Zollikofer and helped preserve the family’s influence as it expanded beyond purely local commerce.
Shipping
Commercial shipping enterprise
Later Zili generations, particularly Hans Anton Zili and Caspar Zili, used commercial shipping to rebuild the family’s economic influence after the decline of the linen trade. Shipping also supported the family’s readmission to the Notenstein Society in 1733.
Private banking
Zili banking enterprise
Wilhelm Zili transformed the family’s shipping business into a bank in the nineteenth century. After his death, the institution passed to Emil Wegelin and became known as Wegelin & Co. from 1893.
Brand decisions
1733
Return to the Notenstein SocietyStrategyBackground
Hans Anton Zili and Caspar Zili had restored part of the family’s influence through commercial shipping.
Action taken
The family regained membership in the Notenstein Society.
Aftermath
The return marked a recovery of the family’s standing in St. Gallen’s merchant elite.
1657
Withdrawal from the Notenstein SocietyStrategyBackground
The decline of the linen industry weakened the commercial foundations of the Zili family.
Action taken
The family withdrew from the Notenstein Society and reduced its direct participation in the association’s merchant network.
Aftermath
The family later rebuilt influence through commercial shipping and was readmitted in 1733.
- Conversion of the shipping business into a bankStrategy
Background
Wilhelm Zili reshaped the family enterprise during the nineteenth century.
Action taken
He converted the commercial shipping enterprise into a banking institution.
Aftermath
The institution passed to Emil Wegelin and later operated as Wegelin & Co. until its closure in 2013.
Sources1 sources
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