Gerhard Otto Christoph Janus

Gerhard Otto Christoph Janus (born January 9, 1741 in Blersum , East Frisia ; † April 14, 1805 in Asel , East Frisia) was a German Lutheran pastor. His father Heinrich Anton Janus came from a weaving family in Tangermünde (Altmark) and was also a pastor. This worked in Bleersum (1725–1757) and in Stedesdorf. His mother was Catharina, geb. Garish.

Janus studied theology at the University of Halle from 1766 to 1768. For the time immediately afterwards, it is assumed that he served in school in Jever.

On March 3, 1772 Janus became pastor of the island church on the North Sea island of Juist . There he married Elisabeth Oltmanns from Esens on September 27, 1781. From this marriage there were four children.

His petition to the Prussian King Frederick the Great , in which he suggested the idea of ​​a seaside resort , is today considered the oldest known historical document in German seaside resort history . He is therefore considered the father of the German seaside resort concept.

The background was Janus' attempt to enable the islanders, who lived mainly from fishing, a better and more regular income. In the 18th century, however, his request was a little too early to be met with open ears. At that time the sea was considered "voracious" and therefore dangerous and frightening.

Last but not least, it was the church that reported from the Holy Scriptures of the prophet Jonah that a large fish (whale) had swallowed him. The seafaring and fishing legends, which reported about sea ​​monsters such as gigantic octopuses , had another effect . It was only the philosopher and physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg from Göttingen and the doctor Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland from Berlin who managed to take the Germans' fear of swimming in the sea away.

The historical document from 1783, in which the island pastor Janus suggested the establishment of a seaside resort on the island of Juist and described the healthy North Sea air, makes it clear that Janus was well aware of the potential of the East Frisian Islands . He foresaw a possible development towards a beach tourism. However, his petition went unanswered. The Juister themselves dared to follow the suggestion of their pastor only in 1840 with the establishment of a seaside bath, after this had already been carried out on the neighboring island of Norderney in 1797.

After 16 years at Juist, Janus moved to Asel (East Frisia) in 1789 and stayed there until his death in 1805.

literature

• Kurt Perrey: Church on Juist then and now . Editor (ed.): Church council, church community advisory board and parish office of the ev.-luth. Parish of Juist. Anniversary publication, Juist 1980.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Catalog for the exhibition “Season on the Beach - 200 Years of Bathing Life on the North and Baltic Seas”. April 16 to August 31, 1986. Altona Museum in Hamburg, North German State Museum. Herford 1986. pp. 14-17.
2. ↑ Pastor Janus ( Memento of the original from August 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , at: juist.de, accessed on April 7, 2016  
3. ↑ Arrived safely. Many seasick people. In: Die Zeit, July 11, 1986, at: zeit.de, accessed on April 7, 2016
4. ↑ Richard Pott : The North Sea: a natural and cultural history . CH Beck. Munich 2003. p. 245. ISBN 978-3-406-51030-4 .
5. ^ Hanswilhelm Haefs : East Frisia . Books on Demand 2013. p. 161. ISBN 978-3-8334-2384-0
6. ↑ The East Frisian Islands . In: Neue Westfälische Zeitung, March 24, 2013
7. ^ Werner Rahn: German Marines in Transition: From the Symbol of National Unity to the Instrument of International Security . De Gruyter Oldenbourg. Berlin 2005. p. 59 ISBN 978-3-486-59464-5 .