agra (agricultural exhibition)
| agra | |
|---|---|
| Branch | Agricultural engineering , animal production , crop production , special crops , forestry , food industry |
| Place of issue | Leipzig Fair |
| First exhibition | 1952 in Markkleeberg |
| Website | agra |
| Last exhibition | |
| date | May 4, 2017 to May 7, 2017 |
| Visitors | 50,450 |
| Exhibitors | 1,183 |
| Exhibition space | 115,000 m² |
| Next exhibition | |
| date | Apr. 25, 2019 to Apr. 28, 2019 |
The agricultural exhibition "agra" , which takes place every two years on the grounds of the Leipzig Trade Fair , is the largest trade fair for agriculture, forestry and the food industry in Central Germany. The fair has seen an increasing international presence for years. The fair, which has been taking place since 1952, is primarily aimed at trade visitors .
profile
Founded in the agra 1952 as central horticultural and agricultural exhibition of the GDR on the same grounds of agra in the south of Leipzig . Initially also called agra Markkleeberg , it attracted up to 750,000 visitors a year. After the fall of the Wall she changed her name several times and was almost discontinued, but ultimately returned to the old name and on the road to success. A special feature of agra is the addition to its name. Each agra is given a unique name from the name component and the year of alignment. For example, the agricultural exhibitions in 1966, 1970 and 2015 were called agra66 , agra70 and agra2015 . The organizer of agra is agra Veranstaltungs GmbH from Markkleeberg .
Central topics are the resources and processes of agriculture. These include agricultural engineering , animal production , plant production , special crops , renewable raw materials , forestry , renewable energies and the food industry . Framework events and special shows also take place at agra . In 2017 this was the special show “Land und Genuss”, which was aimed primarily at public visitors and less at trade visitors.
In 2015 and 2017, agra saw record participation for the period after the fall of the Wall. Almost 93% of the visitors in 2015 were trade visitors. In 2017 the fair saw a good 50,400 visitors with 1,183 exhibitors from 14 countries, including all well-known manufacturers of agricultural machinery. In 2017 it occupied two of the four exhibition halls and, with a total area of 115,000 m², the entire outdoor area of the Leipziger Messe. With this the agra reached the capacity limit of the Leipziger Messe.
History until 2004
Agricultural exhibition of the GDR
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The origin of today's agra park area between the cities of Leipzig and Markkleeberg goes back to the landscape park Paul Herfurths (1855–1937). In 1889 he acquired the meadows between Städtelner Strasse (now Raschwitzer Strasse) and Pleiße and built his family seat there, which remained in private ownership until the family was expropriated in 1945.
In 1948 the first horticultural exhibition of local gardeners took place on the site, which expanded rapidly in the following years. At the instigation of Oskar Baumgarten , the first horticultural exhibition of the GDR opened in Markkleeberg in 1950; from 1952 this and the agricultural exhibition of the GDR were regularly held here together. This exhibition was a presentation of agriculture in the GDR and a point of attraction for the specialist audience of the socialist states, the population of the GDR and guests from abroad. A propaganda function became particularly evident during the regular visits by the party and state leadership of the GDR.
The agra was above all a meeting point for the agricultural world. The exhibition was acknowledged as the "University in the Green". At the same time it served as a performance exhibition for the GDR food industry. From 1956 the Association of German Consumer Cooperatives took part several times with its own product exhibition. The organizer of agra Markkleeberg was the GDR Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Management.
Agricultural equipment, machines, stables and process engineering as well as animal performance shows were presented. Furthermore, the exhibition was usually associated with a presentation of new creations from the GDR's food industry. In the first years of agra , exhibitors from Finland , Great Britain ( United Kingdom ), Sweden , Yugoslavia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands also took part . High-quality products were later awarded the agra gold medal . In 1965, the farmer Marlis and the farmer Knolle were developed as advertising figures for agra in the DFF's doll studio. From 1967 the Marlis doll was also offered for sale as a souvenir from agra . The GDR's 14th Agricultural Exhibition took place for the first time as agra66 with the addition of “agra Markkleeberg”. This designation was retained until the reunification of the two German states in 1990. The GDR Deutsche Post often issued special postage stamps for agra . From 1967 there was the agra film studio , which produced short films and slides on topics related to agriculture.
In the years that followed, the exhibition grounds were further modified on a large scale. After the horticultural exhibition was relocated to Erfurt in 1960, this part of the exhibition grounds was transformed into a recreational park. In 1990 the agra site comprised approx. 90 hectares on which more than 90 halls and pavilions were located. In addition, there were around 30 hectares of demonstration areas in Lößnig and Wachau. The agra was well known outside the GDR. Successful information shows were organized at regular intervals in the cities of Budapest , Budweis , Geneva , Havana , Cairo , Kassel , Moscow , New Delhi , Nitra , Novi Sad , Plovdiv , Turku , Warsaw and Wels (city) .
The exhibition usually attracted over half a million visitors and guests each year, including more than ten thousand visitors from over 100 countries. In 1969 alone 750,000 visitors came. A cultural program accompanied the exhibition, which was mostly open for four weeks, on many stages and terraces in the part of the former Herfurth Park. From agra 74 onwards , only companies from the GDR and the Comecon countries were to be found as exhibitors. Representatives of a group of experts from the UNIDO Organization of the United Nations for Industrial Development , a special organization of the United Nations , paid an official visit to agra74 .
Since 1981, a comprehensive collection of agricultural machinery and equipment as well as exhibits of rural craft traditions has been built on the site. By 1989 agra had put together a fund of 150,000 individual items in an agra and forest history collection. In addition to machines and devices from GDR production, the collection contained numerous photo and film documents that gave an overview of 40 years of agriculture in the GDR. In 1989 the 31st agricultural exhibition took place on the agra site .
Agra gold medal
The agra gold medal was awarded to the manufacturing company for its award-winning exhibit in recognition of outstanding performance in the development and manufacture of high-quality products . It was a product-related award. But not only exhibitors received the coveted gold medal, international press organs could also be honored with it. The President of the Office for Standardization, Metrology and Goods Testing of the GDR ( German Office for Weights and Measures ) and the Director of the Agricultural Exhibition of the GDR awarded this award on request.
The gold medal was rectangular with rounded edges. On the front was the agra logo and the writing: Markkleeberg German Democratic Republic . Two lying ears of corn are attached as additional jewelry. The back shows the coat of arms of the GDR. The edge is smooth.
At the award ceremony, a diploma was also presented, which named the award-winning exhibit and the manufacturing company. It also read in capital letters: In recognition of outstanding achievements in the development and manufacture of high-quality products, they will be awarded the Agra Gold Medal (each year) . Prize winners were, for example, cake flour products, pastries, beers and various spirits from the GDR production. Most of these products were also in demand and found abroad. Some were even specially developed for export to the western world and were popularly bought there. The manufacturing companies advertised with this award on labels and packaging. Often such products were also exhibited at the Leipzig trade fair and were awarded the coveted trade fair gold there . The Agra gold medal was made of bronze and was gold-plated. It was 80 mm high, 55 mm wide and had a thickness of 3 mm. She had an average weight of 126 g. The medal was presented in a white case.
Agricultural exhibition from 1990
From 1990 the exhibition business was transferred to the "agra Messepark Betriebsgesellschaft mbH", a subsidiary of the city of Markkleeberg, and various agricultural exhibitions and trade fairs were to follow. In 1991 there was a joint exhibition with the new name DLG-agra 91 , since the DLG Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft was now also involved. It was decided that the central location of the DLG specialist exhibitions and the international innovation market for agricultural technology will continue to be in Frankfurt am Main. An agra special followed in 1992 and 1994. These two exhibitions were then only of regional importance in Central Germany. The Central German agricultural exhibition "agra" moved in 2005 to the New Leipzig Trade Fair. The agra archives with a volume of around 80 running meters have been in the Leipzig State Archives since 2004 ; online research can be found in the distortion information.
literature
- Erich Rübensam, Hans Wagemann (ed.): Memories of contemporary witnesses of their work in the agricultural science of the GDR. Van Derner, 2011, ISBN 978-3-937747-12-5 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c agra 2017 is the platform for agriculture in Central and Eastern Germany In agra Veranstaltungs GmbH, press release from May 7, 2017, accessed on May 15, 2017.
- ↑ agra Messe program , agra Veranstaltungs GmbH, accessed on March 28, 2017.
- ^ Press articles in the Berliner Zeitung and Neue Zeit from 1967 and 1968
- ↑ Stefan Sommer: The large lexicon of everyday life in the GDR, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf Verlags GmbH Berlin, 2002
- ^ Press article Neues Deutschland from December 31, 1966
- ^ Simone Tippach-Schneider: The large lexicon of GDR advertising, Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf Verlag GmbH berlin, 2004
- ^ Press articles in the Berliner Zeitung and Neue Zeit from 1969 and 1989
- ^ Agra Markkleeberg certificates and gold medals from different years
- ↑ Press article in the Berliner Zeitung and Neue Zeit from 1990 to 1994
- ↑ 20314 agra agricultural exhibition of the GDR, Markkleeberg. Saxon State Archives, accessed on December 29, 2019 .