Anton Alexander von Magnis

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Anton Alexander von Magnis (born July 28, 1751 in Straßnitz , † June 5, 1817 in Eckersdorf , district of Glatz ) was a large landowner and pioneer of modern agriculture .

Origin and family

Anton Alexander von Magnis came from the Moravian noble family von Magnis , whose ancestors came from Lombardy . His parents were Franz Johann von Magnis (1727–1756) on Straßnitz and Franziska (1721–1780), daughter of Count Franz Anton von Götzen (1693–1738) on Eckersdorf and Scharfeneck from the Catholic line of the noble family Götzen .

On June 20, 1785 in Glatz, Anton Alexander married Louise von Götzen (1763–1848) from the evangelical line of those von Götzen. She was a daughter of the Prussian Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Götzen the Elder. Ä. (1734–1794) and Louise von Holwede, widowed Countess von Mellin (1729–1783). Friedrich Wilhelm von Götzen the Elder J. was Louise's brother. The marriage of Anton Alexander and Louise had eight daughters and sons Anton (1786–1861) and Wilhelm (1787–1851).

Success in Agriculture

After the male (Catholic) line of the Counts von Götzen with Johann Josef von Götzen expired in 1771, his sister Franziska, married von Magnis, inherited the estates in Eckersdorf in the county of Glatz . After her death in 1780, they were passed on to their son Anton Alexander. Between 1795 and 1812, he acquired twelve more properties, some of which were over-indebted or run down. They were managed according to the principles of "rational agriculture" of the time and were considered modern model farms. With the introduction of crop rotation , the use of natural and mineral fertilizers and new methods of amelioration , the soil could be fully used and the yields increased.

Anton Alexander achieved great success with breeding merino sheep . Due to the production of the finest cloth wool, which was equivalent to the high quality English wool, top prices could be achieved on the wool market. He bought his sheep in Spain, Moravia and Hungary. With around 8,000 sheep that were kept on his property at the end of the 18th century, he is said to have been the largest sheep farmer in Germany. He sold breeding sheep to the Mark Brandenburg and Poland from his stocks.

In cattle breeding, Anton Alexander refined the local animals with breeding animals from Switzerland, Tyrol and Styria, which enabled higher milk and meat yields to be achieved. Other areas of the economy were extensive investments in coal mining in Neuroder Revier and a glassworks that worked with coal. In the forestry sector, large timber yards were set up and sawmills operated.

After Anton Alexander's death, his son Anton took over the property and continued his father's agricultural and entrepreneurial successes. In 1829 he founded a sugar beet factory in Eckersdorf, which was expanded into a modern and profitable large-scale operation and served as a model for other start-ups in Germany. It was run by his descendants until 1907.

Trivia

The Eckersdorf ruin , an artificial ruin, was given to him by his wife in 1801 as a present. It fell into disrepair today.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Magnis, Anton Alexander von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Magnis, Anton Alexander Graf von; Magni, Anton Alexander von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Large landowner in Moravia and Silesia and pioneer of modern agriculture
DATE OF BIRTH July 28, 1751
PLACE OF BIRTH Straßnitz
DATE OF DEATH June 5, 1817
Place of death Eckersdorf , district of Glatz