Agnellus Schneider
Father Agnellus Schneider (born July 23, 1913 in Leupolz im Allgäu as Josef Anton Schneider , † July 16, 2007 in Bad Wurzach ) was a German Salvatorian father , writer and committed ecologist . Schneider was the founder of the Federation for Nature Conservation in Upper Swabia . He became known as a bird father .
Life
Growing up in the community of Leupolz near Wangen in Allgäu , Schneider was placed by his teacher at a Salvatorian boarding school in Lochau near Bregenz. He entered the Order with the aim of becoming a missionary in Brazil . However, nothing came of that, his order made him a teacher at the Salvatorkolleg in Bad Wurzach. There he began to work as a writer in addition to teaching and to be interested in nature conservation .
Act as a conservationist
A special focus of Schneider's work was the preservation of the Wurzacher Ried , a high moor area north of Bad Wurzach. In 1959 he founded the Association for Nature Conservation in Oberschwaben (BNO), which he headed for 40 years and which today has over 500 members. With the BNO he fought for the preservation of the natural state of the Argen , against the construction of a high-rise estate on Lake Constance and against the making the Upper Rhine navigable as far as Lake Constance.
He achieved particular fame, however, above all for over 500 radio broadcasts in which he played tape recordings of bird calls that he had made himself to, as he said, "to convey the beauty of creation". These radio broadcasts earned him the nickname Vogelpater among the population , although Schneider, whom the Schwäbische Zeitung once described as a pioneer of ecologists , always emphasized that nature and nature conservation contain “much more than just a few birds”.
Act as a writer
Schneider published several books on nature conservation and his work, the focus here, too, was on ornithology .
- Ornithologia Wurzachiensis, 1992, ISSN 0177-5456
- Feathered friends. From trusting and eccentric, 1991. ISBN 978-3-88006-160-6
- The bird father tells, 1988. ISBN 978-3-928934-67-1
- The bird father tells what he has experienced and heard, 1985. ISBN 978-3-88006-113-2
- Bad Wurzach: A natural and historical guide through the area, 1968, together with Rüdiger German, Paul Filzer, Reinfried Schneider. ISBN 978-3-510-99031-3
Quote
When asked by a reporter whether he, Schneider, believed that his work could have an effect beyond his days, the latter replied, alluding to his nickname, Vogelpater :
"If not, I'll spit on you from heaven"
Honors
- Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon
- State medal for agriculture and forestry of the state of Baden-Württemberg in gold
- Medal of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg
- Felix von Hornstein Medal of the Federation for Nature Conservation in Upper Swabia
- Certificate of thanks from the Radolfzell ornithological station for cooperation and ringing
- Weather service badge of the German Weather Service
- Honorary membership of the Society for Natural History in Württemberg
- Citizen Medal in Gold of the City of Bad Wurzach
literature
- Environmental protection was a question of conscience for the “bird father” - obituary for Father Agnellus Schneider in the Schwäbische Zeitung on July 21, 2007.
Web links
- Literature by and about Agnellus Schneider in the catalog of the German National Library
- Nature Conservation Center Bad Wurzach ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Salvatorkolleg, annual booklet 2003 (PDF file; 1.12 MB) ( Memento from March 13, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Schneider, Agnellus |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Schneider, Josef Anton (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Salvatorian priest, writer and committed ecologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 23, 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leupolz in the Allgäu |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 16, 2007 |
| Place of death | Bad Wurzach |