Thank God Karl von Nathusius

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Thank God of Nathusius, in the 1930s
Thank God von Nathusius, here in 1936 in the Haldensleben / Hundisburg landscape park

Gottlob Karl Engelhard von Nathusius (born July 25, 1884 in Hundisburg , † March 30, 1948 in Ermschwerd-Freudenthal ) was a German castle and manor owner and a well-known animal breeder in what is now Saxony-Anhalt . He was also an important regional ornithologist , bird collector and bird protector. His extensive bird collection, which was partially destroyed by the effects of the war, is now in the Museum Heineanum in Halberstadt , after it was merged with other parts of the collection from the Municipal Museum of Local History in Neuhaldensleben and the Museum of Natural History Magdeburg . Publications in ornithological journals also made him known nationwide in appropriate circles.

Adolescent years

Gottlob von Nathusius was the eldest of three children of Joachim von Nathusius (1848–1915). His mother was Adelheid, geb. von Schenck (1863–1954), daughter of a manor owner and entertainer in the neighboring village of Flechtingen ( Flechtingen moated castle ) and of estates in Böddensell , Dönstedt and other villages. The ancestors of the Nathusius family lived in Upper and Lower Lusatia . The grandfather was Hermann Engelhard von Nathusius and the great-grandfather Johann Gottlob Nathusius .

Nathusius grew up with his brother Hans-Joachim (1893–1945) and sister Barbara (1895–1982) at their father's castle in Hundisburg . There he initially received private lessons, later he attended high school in Haldensleben. After graduating from high school in 1904, he completed military training in Stendal (1904/05) and a one-year agricultural training course in Piesdorf, which was followed by studying agriculture at the University of Halle (1905–1907) and at the Agricultural University of Berlin (1908).

Before taking over a leased property in Emden (then Neuhaldensleben district ) from the possession of Count Schulenburg in 1909, Nathusius undertook a journey of several months through the USA. For the First World War he was drafted on September 23, 1914 and was employed as a captain at the front in northern France until his release (October 12, 1918) at the end of the war .

The Hundisburg, Saxony-Anhalt's largest baroque palace, here in 2006 shortly before the completion of the reconstruction of the palace and park
Side view of Hundisburg Castle from the village. The economic facilities of the "Oberhof" are clearly visible

Work at Hundisburg Castle

After his father's death, on May 8, 1915, Nathusius inherited the Hundisburg castle and manor, which had been in the family since 1811. Hundisburg's reputation as a model property in agriculture and animal breeding , developed by grandfather, still existed. A tour of the estate has been a compulsory part of training at the agricultural school in Neuhaldensleben since 1910. Even under the praise of Nathusius, the business in Hundisburg should maintain its good reputation in the region.

farmer

The agricultural operation of the Hundisburg (on the so-called "Oberhof") consisted of 3200 acres (about 800 hectares ), the majority of which was arable, otherwise meadows, forests and pastures or unland (e.g. lowland pastures). It was root crops , grains, peas (Victoria), field beans and alfalfa grown. After returning from the war, Nathusius dedicated successfully to increase breeding of sugar beet and potatoes, as well as the yield-enhancing catch crops . From taking over the estate in 1915 to 1928, Nathusius was able to increase the yields of grain per hectare by around 30% and that of potatoes by around 14%.

He also reintroduced fruit growing. From 1933 onwards, orchards were planted (tall pear bushes, half-stemmed cherries, four-sorts apple trees and apple spindle bushes ), a total of approx. 7,000 trees. The orchard achieved excellent results, so the University of Halle set up a research branch here. Even after the expropriation in 1945, the Hundisburger fruit production achieved "special successes".

In addition, Nathusius developed or renewed agricultural ancillary businesses. In addition to its own forge and cartwright, there was a potato alcohol distillery and a potato drying plant. Nathusius held stakes in the sugar factory in Nordgermersleben and in Magdeburger Molkerei GmbH.

Advertisement for merino sheep from the Hundisburger line, ca.1925

Animal breeder

Nathusius took over from his father the oldest regular sheep farm for merino meat sheep in Germany, which was founded in 1856 by his grandfather, Hermann von Nathusius (with the support of the sheep farmer Rudolf Behmer ). As early as 1900, all German high breeds were provided with breeding material from this branch. Here, too, Nathusius was able to maintain the high standard. Animals of his breeding won a large number of animal breeding prizes (including the important awards from the German Agricultural Society ) and state awards every year . The turnover in the 1940s was around 80 bucks per year. Merino breeding continued even after the war.

In addition, Nathusius set up a successful herdbook cattle breed with a herd (1935) of 125 cows and 125 young cattle. This breed was a focus of the expropriated company after the war.

Honorary positions

Nathusius' activities in agriculture and animal husbandry led to various honorary leadership positions. Until 1933 he was a member of the board of the Agricultural Chamber of Saxony-Anhalt (Halle). Until his escape at the end of the war, he was chairman of the Magdeburg dairy, chairman of the Saxony-Anhalt sheep farmers' association for merino meat sheep and chairman of the Magdeburg association for agriculture and agricultural machinery . In addition, Nathusius was a legal knight of the Order of St. John .

Charitable commitment

As a large landowner, Nathusius saw himself committed to the common good. His care for his agricultural workers was exemplary: from the age of 65 each of them received half an acre of potato land, which was worked on by the farm. Former workers also received half a hundredweight of grain, apartment and garden land (around a quarter of an acre) free of charge per month. Wood was approached in vain. Widows were also looked after. He provided financial support to the Neinstedter establishments founded by earlier family members (here in particular the Detzel Castle branch). In 1925, Nathusius released the "Waldsee", a former quarry filled with water, belonging to the Althaldensleben-Hundisburg Landscape Park , as bathing water for the public. This is how a very popular “people's recreation center” was created.

Bird collector and ornithologist

At the age of eight, Nathusius began to be interested in birds. First he started a collection of feathers. From 1895 he started collecting stuffed birds. In 1903 he already had 27 preparations of mostly rare bird species from the region, about half of which had been stuffed in Schlüter's natural science institute in Halle. Later the Zoological Institute of the University of Halle was supposed to make preparations for him. Most of these birds had been killed by Nathusius himself. In the years that followed, the collection was to grow steadily until, at the end of the war, a number of rooms in Hundisburger Schloss were occupied by exhibition showcases.

The Heineanum Natural History Museum in Halberstadt is particularly dedicated to ornithology

Ornithology and Collection

The collection of Gottlob von Nathusius was a purely local collection. The collection area included the districts of Neuhaldensleben, Wolmirstedt , Jerichow I and Gardelegen , as well as the Braunschweig'schen districts of Helmstedt and Calvörde . It thus covered a terrain extension of about 55 km in diameter.

At the outbreak of war, the collection consisted of around 230 species of birds in 600 copies, including some albinos and hybrids. The collection included many species that are rare for the region, such as the ring owl , the northern dipper , the reed warbler , the reed warbler , the spatula sku , the little chickle or the red and white-starred bluethroat .

He gave the municipal museum of local history in Neuhaldensleben several gifts of stuffed birds. Species lists published by the author , organized according to Schlüter 's methodology (albeit without any find data), cataloged the collection according to scientific criteria. Otto Kleinschmidt sometimes helped with identification (especially of the birds of prey) .

On April 25, 1946, a large part of the collection was initially “taken care of” by the Magdeburg Museum. Since the bird collection was not formally expropriated as a private property as part of the land reform, Nathusius agreed in 1947 (already living in western Germany) to store the collection at the Haldensleben local history museum (as a carer and carer). Due to bureaucratic hurdles, the collection could not be brought together until 1960 in the now renamed Haldensleben District Museum .

The Halberstadt Museum Heineanum later received parts of the collection. After consultation with the Haldensleber district museum and a donation in December 2004 by a nephew of Gottlob von Nathusius, Joachim von Nathusius (* 1920), the entire collection is now stored or exhibited in this ornithological specialist museum.

Bird protection

For Nathusius, collecting (including hunting) and intensive bird protection were not contradictions. He was involved in the preservation and ringing of birds . In the Hundisburg bird sanctuary that he created (approx. 100 hectares of forest and park), up to 1,000 nesting boxes have been made and hung over the years. The boxes were manufactured and maintained in the farm's wheelwright shop. Up to 300 star - and just as many pied flycatcher pairs - brooded in these boxes . Nathusius also included dying trees for cave-breeders , straw thongs for breeding owls and kestrels, and threshing residues for wintering passerine birds in active bird protection . As early as 1935 he saw the danger that water regulations posed for marsh birds. As a result he campaigned for the Papenteich near Emden to be declared a nature reserve.

The ringing of over 3,000 young starlings from the late 1920s to 1941 is assured. According to his own records, Nathusius ringed a total of 7,228 birds. In 1933, 351 birds ringed by Nathusius were identified in a report from the Magdeburg branch ringing office to the Heligoland bird observatory.

Memberships and honorary positions

On May 23, 1906, Nathusius became a member of the Neuhaldenslebener Aller-Verein , an association of regional local researchers and naturalists whose areas of interest were widely spread. Here he was to develop a lively lecturing activity over the next 40 years. In 1908, at the request of Nathusius, the association became a member of the Federation for Bird Protection in Stuttgart, and around 1911, also on Nathusius's initiative, with the Naturschutz eV association (also in Stuttgart).

After interest in his work also grew beyond the region, he became a member of the General German Ornithological Society in 1924 . From 1927 Nathusius was also a corresponding member of the Magdeburg Ornithological Association . Once in the DC circuit of associations from the federation for bird protection of Reichsbund for bird protection was Nathusius belonged to the 1940 founded Landesbund for bird Saxony Anhalt as advisory board. In 1941 he was made an honorary member of the Aller Association . Also in 1941 he was elected chairman of the newly founded local group Haldensleben of the Reich Association for Bird Protection .

End of war, expropriation and displacement

After the war ended in 1945, what was then the province of Saxony was initially occupied by American troops. As early as April 13, 1945, the American army had taken the district town of Haldensleben . The farm initially continued to run undisturbed. On July 1, 1945, the area was handed over to the Soviet occupying forces . After the occupation by Russian troops, the palace was confiscated to accommodate up to 1,000 officers and soldiers.

On September 7, 1945, the mayor in charge announced the immediate expropriation of Nathusius' property without compensation, with reference to the land reform . Associated with this was the deportation of the family. In order to avoid being sent to a forced camp, Nathusius fled to Witzenhausen at the end of September . After arriving at his daughter's at the nearby Berlepsch Castle , he learned of the fire at Hundisburg Castle on November 28, 1945. The manor was still closed in 1945 and transferred to public ownership and initially administered as a provincial property and later as a publicly owned property (VEG) .

For Nathusius, years of inactivity followed, which he decided to end in 1948. He was buried in the Berlep Castle Park.

family

On June 30, 1914, Gottlob von Nathusius married in Holdenstedt near Uelzen Olga von der Wense (1895–1938), daughter of the royal Prussian chamberlain and royal Saxon lieutenant colonel a. D. August von der Wense and Elisabeth, b. Baroness von Fritsch.

The couple had two daughters. Erika Barbara (1917–1944) married Ernst-Eckart von Eichborn (* 1911) in Hundisburg in 1942; she died in a tragic riding accident shortly before the wedding of her sister Sigrid Elisabeth (1922–1992). In 1944 she married Hubertus Graf von Berlepsch (* 1919), son of Karl Graf von Berlepsch and later owner of Berlepsch Castle. A grandson of Nathusius is Vito von Eichborn , founder of the Eichborn publishing house .

A great uncle of Nathusius was Wilhelm von Nathusius , who is considered a private scholar and one of the founders of oology . It can be assumed that his ornithological activities also aroused the interest of the young Gottlob Karl von Nathusius in ornithology.

It may be considered a coincidence that the daughter married into a family that had produced two important ornithologists: Hans Freiherr von Berlepsch (called the "Vogelschutz-Berlepsch"), a brother of the aforementioned Karl Graf von Berlepsch, and Count Hans Hermann Carl Ludwig von Berlepsch (called the "Kolibri-Berlepsch").

Works

  • Agriculture and Agricultural Machinery in the United States of America. 7 articles in the weekly newspaper . No. 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 23 and 26/1909, 1909.
  • The bird species in the Neuhaldensleben district. In: From the Aller association. 1911, pp. 32-56.
  • The bird species in the Neuhaldensleben district. In: Franz Bock: Local history of the district of Neuhaldensleben . 1920, pp. 54-63.
  • List of species in the bird collection of Gottlob von Nathusius in Hundisburg. Neuhaldensleben district, Magdeburg district, 1925, 1930, 1936, city ​​and country messenger printing company. Neuhaldensleben
  • My bird collection with observations from the years 1904–1939. In: Contributions to the avifauna of Central Germany. Volume 3, special issue, 1939, pp. 1–26, E. Sperling
  • Various articles in the communications of the Ornithological Association Magdeburg . Magdeburg 1931 and 1935.

literature

  • Reinhold Brennecke: The life's work of the ornithologist Gottlob von Nathusius (1884–1948). In: annual publications of the district museum Haldensleben. No. 25. Haldensleben 1984, pp. 77-82.
  • Reinhold Brennecke: Gottlob von Nathusius (1884–1948) as an ornithologist and bird collector. In: Annual publications of the museums of the Ohrekreis. No. 5. Haldensleben 1998, pp. 55-82.
  • Ludwig Gebhardt: The ornithologists of Central Europe. Brühl, Giessen 1964, p. 254.
  • Ulrich Hauer: Of art gardeners and garden art. The gardeners and gardens of the Nathusius family in Althaldensleben and Hundisburg. KULTUR-Landschaft Haldensleben-Hundisburg eV and Museum Haldensleben, Haldensleben-Hundisburg 2005.
  • Guido Heinrich: Nathusius, Gottlob Karl Engelhard von. In: Guido Heinrich, Gunter Schandera (ed.): Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon 19th and 20th centuries. Biographical lexicon for the state capital Magdeburg and the districts of Bördekreis, Jerichower Land, Ohrekreis and Schönebeck. Scriptum, Magdeburg 2002, ISBN 3-933046-49-1 ( article online ).
  • Lilly von Nathusius: Gottlob Karl Engelhard von Nathusius. In: Johann Gottlob Nathusius and his descendants and his nephew Moritz Nathusius with his descendants. (Family Chronicle). Detmold 1964, pp. 68-71.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ with Wolfgang Ollrog (arrangement): Johann Christoph Gatterer, the founder of scientific genealogy. In: Archives for kin research and all related areas with practical research assistance. Volume 47, issue 81/82, February 1981, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg 1981, No. 3.4.1.5.1, p. 74 is given as March 31, 1948 as the date of death
  2. ↑ according to Nathusius (1840, 1861), I. Line (Hundisburg), 1) Gottlob Karl Engelhard. In: Genealogical manual of the nobility . Volume 57 of the complete series, Adelige Häuser B, Volume XI, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg ad Lahn 1974, p. 310.
  3. ↑ according to corresponding information on the website of the city of Halberstadt
  4. ↑ according to Reinhold Brennecke: Gottlob von Nathusius (1884–1948) as an ornithologist and bird collector. P. 62, see bibliography
  5. ↑ according to Werner Vahldieck: A report on the management of the Hundisburg manor around 1910 - based on a protocol of a visit to the property by listeners from the training institute for practical farmers and property officials Neuhaldensleben on November 29, 1910 , Haldensleben o. J.
  6. ↑ other sources state (e.g. for 1941) a farm size of only 720 hectares. The difference may be due to the fact that part of the land has been leased
  7. ↑ according to Werner Vahldieck: A report on the management of the Hundisburg manor around 1910 - based on a protocol of an inspection of the manor by listeners from the training institute for practical farmers and property officials Neuhaldensleben on November 29, 1910. Haldensleben o. J.
  8. ↑ according to Wochenblatt (formerly: Neuhaldensleber Wochenblatt ) of October 12, 1938.
  9. ↑ according to Magdeburg People's Voice of September 7, 1949.
  10. ↑ according to Thank God von Nathusius: Rittergut Hundisburg (a business report), printing by Stadt- und Landbote Neuhaldensleben. Hundisburg 1930, p. 2f.
  11. ↑ see note on ad opposite: The herd always won the highest prices at the DLG exhibitions
  12. ↑ so after the war 80 breeding rams were delivered to the nationally owned animal breeding main estate of the subdivision nationally owned goods at the council of the Halle district (formerly Rittergut Storkau of the Thimey family), according to Hartmut Boettcher: Edelschweinzucht in Storkau b. Weissenfels . P. 3 ( Memento from August 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 167 kB)
  13. ↑ according to a description of the Hundisburg farm, created by Gottlob Karl von Nathusius himself, around 1941.
  14. ↑ according to Guido Heinrich: Nathusius, Gottlob Karl Engelhard von. In: Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon . see bibliography
  15. ↑ “... Through the great friendliness and the self-sacrificing common sense of the owner, the Lord God Praise v. Nathusius ... an ideal popular recreation area was created here. .. Few people know that the release of the forest lake to the people already means a great personal sacrifice for the owner. ” , According to NN (author) in the Wochenblatt (formerly: Neuhaldensleber Wochenblatt ) of July 24, 1925.
  16. ↑ according to Invoice ( spotted eagle , oriole , little ringed plover ) from: Zoological Institute Halle, Hugo Beil (head taxidermist) dated July 30, 1943.
  17. ↑ according to Wochenblatt (formerly Neuhaldenslebener Wochenblatt ) of January 14, 1899.
  18. ↑ In 1936 there were 225 species in 538 copies, according to List of species in the bird collection of Gottlob von Nathusius in Hundisburg, Neuhaldensleben district . see bibliography
  19. ↑ named after the ornithologist Wilhelm Schlueter who worked in Halle and who also ran the previously mentioned taxidermy workshop
  20. ↑ An exhibition cabinet with large birds (storks, cranes, bustards and others) burned, and several parts of the collection had been looted.
  21. ^ KH Mühlmann: Report III of the branch ringing office Magdeburg of the ornithological station Helgoland. In: Communications from the Magdeburg Ornithological Association. No. 7, pp. 1-5.
  22. ↑ according to Wolfgang Weidlich (Hrsg.): Castles and manors in the province of Saxony and Anhalt. Frankfurt am Main 1961, p. 24f.
  23. ↑ according to Ulrich Hauer : 850 years of Hundisburg. Council of the municipality of Hundisburg (ed.), Haldensleben 1990, p. 12.
  24. ↑ according to Nathusius (1840, 1861), I. Line (Hundisburg), 1) Gottlob Karl Engelhard. In: Genealogical manual of the nobility. Volume 57 of the complete series, Noble Houses B, Volume XI, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg ad Lahn 1974, p. 310 f.
  25. ↑ according to Reinhold Brennecke: Gottlob von Nathusius (1884–1948) as an ornithologist and bird collector. In: Annual publications of the museums of the Ohrekreis. No. 5, Haldensleben 1998, p. 55.


personal data
SURNAME Nathusius, Gottlob Karl von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nathusius, Gottlob Karl Engelhard von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German animal breeder and ornithologist
DATE OF BIRTH July 25, 1884
PLACE OF BIRTH Hundisburg
DATE OF DEATH March 30, 1948
Place of death Ermschwerd-Freudenthal