Gottfried Menzel
Gottfried Menzel (born June 7, 1798 in Schönwald near Friedland; † May 14, 1879 in Neustadt an der Tafelfichte ) was a German Roman Catholic priest and naturalist. He dealt with botany , zoology , geology and climate of northern Bohemia and published scientific papers on it.
Life
Menzel was born into a farming family in Schönwald (Czech Krásný Les ) near Friedland ( Frýdlant v Čechách ). He attended the Piarist school in Jungbunzlau , the grammar school of the Lesser Town in Prague and in 1824 the seminary in Leitmeritz . Then he became a chaplain in Grottau . In 1831 he published during his time as a catechist at a girls' school in Reichenberg with Flora from the Counts of Clam-Gallasschen Friedland, Reichenberg, Grafenstein and Lemberg with practical comments (Prague 1830-33) his first scientific work. The herbarium dedicated to Count Christian Christoph Clam-Gallas can now be seen in the Frýdlant City Museum. Under Christian Christoph Clam-Gallas, Menzel became pastor in Neustadt an der Tafelfichte in 1834.
As a pastor, Gottfried Menzel also devoted a large part of his time to the natural sciences. Among other things, he dealt with the mulberry as a useful plant, astronomy and naturopathy. He made the results of his research available to schools and interested parties. When the population's interest in the United States grew in the mid-19th century , Menzel traveled to Texas at his own expense from 1849 to 1851 to gather information about the local conditions. He then published his work The United States of America with special consideration for German emigration there, written according to his own views , in which he describes the natural, economic and social conditions. After returning to Neustadt, he was appointed dean .
In 1854 he retired from office because of an eye disease. He lived again for several years in his native Schönwald, but returned to Neustadt an der Tafelfichte in 1875, where he died in 1879.
Gottfried Menzel received from Franz Joseph I , a Gold Cross of Merit with the crown . He was also an honorary member of scientific societies, including the Natural Research Society of Upper Lusatia . Already during his lifetime he received the rarely awarded honorary citizenship of Neustadt.
literature
- Marek Řeháček: The Jizera Mountains. Hiking guide through the mountains and its surroundings. First edition published by Kalendář Liberecka, 2003.
- Rudolf Anděl, Roman Karpaš: Frýdlantsko: Minulost a současnost kraje na úpatí Jizerských hor (German Friedland area: past and present of the region at the foot of the Jizera Mountains ), 2002 ISBN 80-86424-18-9
Web links
- Works by and about Gottfried Menzel at Open Library
- Homepage of the town of Nové Město pod Smrkem (Czech)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 8, 2014 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. , accessed November 30, 2010
- ↑ 2. Neustadt, 400 years of the city of Neustadt aT
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Menzel, Gottfried |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Roman Catholic priest and naturalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 7, 1798 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Schönwald near Friedland |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 14, 1879 |
| Place of death | Neustadt an der Tafelfichte |