Marselis, Petr

Marselis, Petr Gavrilovich

 

(P. Marselius). Year of birth unknown; died 1672. Owner of mills in Russia. The son of a Hamburg merchant.

Marselis arrived in Russia in 1629. From 1639 he was a partner of A. Vinius and then the owner of Russia’s first metallurgical plants. Together with the Dutchman F. Akema, Marselis rebuilt the Tula plants and built four new plants in Kashira District. He received a property-granting charter so that he could organize iron mills on the Vaga, Kostroma, and Sheksna rivers (1644) and exploit copper mines in Olonets District (1665). In 1642-43, Marselis was in Denmark on diplomatic missions.