Heinr. Mette
Heinr. Mette was an important and traditional seed breeding company in Quedlinburg in what is now Saxony-Anhalt .
history
The company was founded in 1784 by the gardener Heinrich Mette . That year Mette leased the Dechaneigarten of the Quedlinburg Abbey. He ran a horticultural seed cultivation at least from 1792. Instead of the usual trade in young plants and plants at that time, which was problematic because of the traffic situation, he dedicated himself to the production and trade in seeds. In addition, exotic plants such as jasmine, carob, laurel, oleander, oranges, bitter oranges and lemons were grown in greenhouses.
From 1794, Mette's son Burghart Hartwig Mette (1768–1831) worked in the company until he took over from his father in 1802. In 1811 he acquired the previously leased Dechaneigarten and later further agricultural land in order to be able to expand seed cultivation. In 1823 he was succeeded in the next generation by Johann Heinrich Andreas Mette (1801–1869), under whom the company experienced a significant boom. The company was based in what is now the Westendorf district of Quedlinburg . A storage facility for the cultivation of seeds was built here. As early as 1825, the extraction of sugar beet seeds became an important focus . The company thus benefited from the growing sugar beet growing and took a stake in a new sugar factory and trading company of united farmers on the corner of Harzweg and Gernröder Weg, today's Mettehof . There was a separate rail connection. The area expansion was also continued. In addition to fields, the Schiffbleekhof and the Stumpfsburger Garten were acquired in the area around Quedlinburg . In addition, Gersdorf Castle was leased in 1840 . In 1861 he handed over the business to his three sons Johann Heinrich Andreas Burghart Mette (1827–1889), Johann Carl Theodor Mette (1828–1889) and Wilhelm Heinrich Theodor Mette (1832–1885). They acquired the Gersdorfer Castle, which had only been leased until then.
In 1889 Johann Georg Heinrich Wilhelm Mette (1857–1907) took over management of the business for all three lineages. In 1900 the company's headquarters were relocated to the former sugar factory, the property of which had already been acquired. In total, almost 1000 hectares were cultivated, 100 hectares of which were breeding gardens. The greenhouse area was about 5000 m². About 4000 different species and varieties were propagated and sold. A large exhibition of the company's range was held annually in the Stumpfsburg garden. The number of employees was 1898 634 people. In addition to three steam threshing machines , a steam engine was operated for the water supply. 80 horses, 90 oxen and 2000 sheep were kept. In 1904 one of the Erb lines was eliminated. The farmer Karl Tölke became the new partner until he died in 1926. From 1906 to 1911 the German crop scientist George Sessous (1876–1962) was the company's seed breeding manager.
From 1907 the family members Hermann Heinrich August Mette (1887-1945) and Carl Georg Conrad Vogler (1889-1976) took over the management. From 1926 they were the sole business owners. In 1920 the number of employees was given as 674.
After the end of the Second World War , the company was expropriated in the Soviet occupation zone in 1945 without compensation. The operation went on in the state-run German Saatzucht Gesellschaft . After German reunification, the company was ultimately liquidated. The listed company premises at Harzweg 23 stood empty and was ultimately largely demolished in 2008. The Mettehof shopping center was created, a storage building belonging to the Heinr company. Mette was retained.
literature
- Helmut Gäde , ways and detours of the brand names of Quedlinburger Saatgutwirtschaften , docupoint Barleben 2010, p. 5 ff.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Guide through Quedlinburg , editor: Selmar Kleemann on behalf of the Quedlinburg Municipal Transport Office, 1920, p. 31 ff.
Coordinates: 51 ° 46 ′ 55.8 " N , 11 ° 8 ′ 37.2" E