Gustav Friedrich Werner

Gustav Werner in a lion cage, 1864 or earlier

Deer kennel in Gustav Werner's zoo, 1864 or earlier

Grave of Gustav Friedrich Werner in the Fangelsbach cemetery in Stuttgart

Gustav Friedrich Werner, called Affenwerner, (born October 15, 1809 in Stuttgart , † March 20, 1870 in Stuttgart) was a cafetier and zoo owner.

Life

Werner was born as the son of the cafeteria Immanuel Christoph Friedrich Werner and Christiane Frederike geb. Fisher born.

Gustav Werner married Eleonore Friederike Katharine Böhringer, who was four years his junior and daughter of a flour dealer, in 1831. Eleonore died 13 years later on March 28, 1844. In the same year he married Anna Digel in Betzingen near Reutlingen, the daughter of a weaver who was 13 years younger than him. Gustav Werner died in Stuttgart on March 20, 1870, his widow Anna died three years after him in 1873.

From 1840, the animal-loving Gustav Werner took over his father's tavern (J. Werner's guest house) on the grounds of today's Hotel Royal at Sophienstrasse 35 in Stuttgart and added a zoo. Until his death in 1870, he kept various domestic and exotic animals in the large garden of his inn.

At first, Gustav Werner mainly owned birds in his zoo, later monkeys were added, which earned him the name Affenwerner. By 1855 his little menagerie had become a real zoo, where lions, bears, leopards, hyenas and monkeys even reproduced. Some of the more harmless animals were allowed to roam freely in the garden. Legend has it that an otter became so tame that it accompanied the Affenwerner on walks through the city. He was also active as a trainer for lions, bears and leopards.

The Affenwerner became famous in Stuttgart because its parrots croaked the name of the Baden revolutionary Hecker or his call "Hecker hoch". This meant that the soldiers stationed in Stuttgart were no longer allowed to visit his inn and the guard parade was no longer allowed to march past his bar in order to avoid being overly liberal. Instead, they had to take a detour. The authorities suspected Affenwerner and was ultimately sentenced to prison at Hohenasperg fortress . However, one of his regular guests, who belonged to the court society, stood up for him and obtained an amnesty from King Wilhelm I.

After his death, his son Emil continued the zoo in the Schwanen bar in Stuttgart-Berg for three years . When it was dissolved, Johannes Nill bought most of the animals for his zoo .

Werner's grave is in the Fangelsbach cemetery in Stuttgart (Department 7, Row 19, Number 5).

supporting documents

1. ↑ Eugen Dolmetsch: Pictures from Old Stuttgart , 2nd edition, Stuttgart, Verlag JF Steinkopf 1930, p. 79

literature

• Uwe Albrecht: pleasure and teachings. The history of the bourgeois Stuttgart zoo in the 19th century.
  • 1st part: G. Werner's "Zoological Garden" 1840–1874. In: The zoological garden , volume 70, 2000, pages 171–193, online .
  • Part 2: Nills Zoo (1871–1906). In: The zoological garden , volume 71, 2001, pages 15–56.
• Karl Büchele: Stuttgart and its surroundings for locals and foreigners , Stuttgart 1858, page 140 [1] .
• The Affenwerner . In: Eugen Dolmetsch: Pictures from Old Stuttgart. Retold and self-experience. Stuttgart 1930, pages 66-93.
• Stefan Hammer and Ralf Arbogast: Stuttgart on foot, tour 14, Silberburg-Verlag , Tübingen 2005, ISBN 3-87407-649-0 .
• Carl Benjamin Klunzinger : History of the Stuttgart zoo. In: Annual Books of the Association for Fatherland Natural History , Volume 66, 1910, Pages 167–217, online . - With literature list.
• Annegret Kotzurek and Rainer Redies: Stuttgart from day to day Jan Thorbecke Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-7995-0176-2 .
• Jörg Kurz: From Affenwerner to Wilhelma - Stuttgart's legendary animal shows . Belser-Verlag , Stuttgart 2015, ISBN 978-3-7630-2701-9 .
• L. Martin: Werner's zoological garden in Stuttgart . In: Über Land und Meer 13.1864, page 165, 167–168, 180 [2] .
• Erik Raidt: Stuttgart Zoo History. The wonderful world of animals. In the Stuttgarter Zeitung of September 16, 2012, [3] .
• Fritz Wiedermann: Bubenbad and Affenwerner - taverns in the old Stuttgart Silberburg-Verlag, Stuttgart 1987, ISBN 3-925344-14-4 .
• Richard Zanker: Beloved old Stuttgart. Memories and encounters. Stuttgart 1977, page 127.