Heinz Fischer (natural scientist)

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Reconstruction of Heinz Fischer's study in the Königsbrunn Nature Museum

Heinz Fischer (actually Heinrich Fischer ; born April 5, 1911 in Augsburg , † April 15, 1991 ibid) was a German naturalist , ecologist , zoologist , entomologist , geographer , archaeologist and local researcher .

Life

Heinrich Fischer came to Augsburg as the second son of the postal inspector, ornithologist , entomologist and taxidermist Anton Fischer and his wife Wilhelmine, née. Brecht to the world. His father introduced him to the natural sciences and scientific working methods at an early age.

His love of nature and the connection to his Swabian homeland, especially to the then largely undeveloped and natural Lech , stem from his youth. In 1921 the 10-year-old boy scout became a boy scout leader in 1929 as a member of the German Freischar Augsburg ( Bündische Jugend ).

Fischer studied for a year philosophy , then biology , geography and history at the University of Munich . He received his doctorate in 1936 with Hans Krieg with a dissertation on the Donauried near Mertingen magna cum laude . He then found a job with Hans Krieg at the Munich State Zoological Collection . From 1937 to 1938 he took part in his 4th South America expedition as a taxidermist, together with Eugen Schuhmacher and two other scientists. This research trip took him to Patagonia as well as to the upper reaches of the Río Paraná and the Mato Grosso in Brazil , where there were still largely unexplored primeval forests , savannas and swamps .

Back home, Fischer worked briefly in Landsberg am Lech as a specialist teacher for biology, chemistry and geography before he became a freelance scientist.

A focus of his work was the research of the Swabian animal world , especially the insects , whereby he concentrated particularly on the relatively "neglected" families such as mosquitoes , flies , bedbugs or grasshoppers . The biodiversity was his special interest; he paid great attention to the living environment of each species in order to better understand the diverse interactions in and between ecosystems . Fischer's entire life's work intensely reflects the maxim “No living being without an environment”.

When Fischer was not on site in nature or researching archives, he mainly worked in the house where he was born in Augsburg at Vogelmauer 33. He had been a member of the Natural Research Society Augsburg eV since 1948 and editor of their series ("Reports"), in which he also regularly published his own articles. From 1978 to 1990 Fischer was a board member of the association. Fischer also gave many lectures in which he vividly conveyed his scientific enthusiasm for nature.

Fischer was never married and had no children. He died a few days after his 80th birthday and was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Augsburg .

The Lech and its biotopes

Map of the Lech before its straightening

Before the Lech between Füssen and Augsburg was converted into a barrage chain by Bayerische Wasserkraftwerke AG (BAWAG) for energy generation from 1943 to 1984 , with the artificial Forggensee flooded in 1954 as top storage for the barrages that followed it and straightened, deeply recessed sections in between, it was one of the most species-rich biotopes in Europe.

Fischer hiked the Lech several times from its source at 1840 m in Vorarlberg to its confluence with the Danube at 320 m. He mapped and examined the unique habitats created by the fast-flowing mountain river, its gravel fields , flood plains , alluvial forests and heaths . For example, Andreas Bresinsky , Ludwig Häßlein , Oscar Klement and Josef Poelt took part in scientific work excursions on the Lech, which Fischer initiated around 1949/1950 . The painter Heinz Butz captured the Lech landscapes in oil paintings while Fischer documented them with the camera.

The further destruction of the Lech natural area that goes along with every straightening and damming measure filled Heinz Fischer with anger and sorrow. Fischer's photographs of the undeveloped Lech from 1936 to 1952 are of particular documentary value for posterity. In 2011, on the occasion of Fischer's 100th birthday, these photos were used to publish the illustrated book The untamed Lech: a lost landscape in pictures .

Archeology, history and local research

The areas of interest of the polymath also included archeology, history and local history. During the Second World War, between 1941 and 1944, he carried out six archaeological excavation camps with students, four of them at Goldberg near Türkheim . In 1946 a previously unknown medieval fresco with an unusual and puzzling image was discovered in the war ruins of Augsburg on the west side of Peutingerstrasse 5 near the cathedral . It shows the fight of the free imperial city against besiegers, represented by mice and cats, and was named " Augsburger Mäusekrieg ". Fischer was involved in the uncovering of the 8 m × 2 m mural, which has since been destroyed. He researched this extraordinary motif for several decades and dated it to the year 1295.

Fischer's toponomastic investigations into the settlement of the Lechfeld and the perennials resulted in his 1974 work When the Bajuwaren came ... which, because of its idiosyncratic, interdisciplinary theses on the origins of the Alemanni (“ Nibelungen ”) and Bavarian ware, met with divided resonance among experts. Another focus of Fischer was biographical work on Swabian naturalists, such as the Augsburg entomologist Jacob Hübner .

Natural science museum and association in Augsburg

Fischer's father had already been a taxidermist at a natural science museum in Augsburg, which at the time was operated by the Natural Science Association for Swabia and Neuburg . This museum in the Stettenhaus am Obstmarkt, the most important natural history museum in Bavaria, was completely destroyed in the air raids on Augsburg in 1944.

After the war, the association re-established itself as a natural science association for Swabians . In addition, a new association was founded in 1946, which was named Naturforschende Gesellschaft Augsburg eV . Heinz Fischer was active in this. In 1948, Fischer initiated the re-establishment of a natural science museum in Augsburg in one of the water towers at the Red Gate . Initially housed on four floors of the hospital tower, the museum was soon expanded to include the small water tower. This post-war museum existed until 1953. Subsequently, it was continued by the city of Augsburg as a municipal institution: 1964–1987 as a natural science museum in one of the Fugger houses in Maximilianstrasse , since 1991 under the name Naturmuseum Augsburg in a new building in the northern old town not far from the city theater .

Fischer's own scientific collection and museum

The Königsbrunn Nature Museum (2016)
Butterfly box in the Königsbrunn Nature Museum

It was Fischer's concern that his scientific collection should be preserved as a whole and serve research and the public. Little by little the idea for a natural museum of their own matured. He found a supporter in Fritz Wohlfarth , the mayor of Königsbrunn , and in 1981 they signed a contract for the transfer of Fischer's entire scientific work to the city of Königsbrunn. In 1983 a museum was created in Königsbrunn, which is called the Natural Science Museum or Natural Science Collection Dr. Fischer was designated. Fischer's scientific legacy comprises around 100 meters of shelf, including specialist literature, research documentation, card boxes, manuscripts, correspondence and an extensive photo archive as well as around 1,300 insect boxes .

From 2009 to 2014 the museum, now under the name Naturmuseum Königsbrunn , was completely redesigned according to new didactic concepts. Parts of the collection went on permanent loan to the Augsburg Nature Museum.

The association “Freundeskreis Dr. Heinz Fischer Collections eV ”today operates the Königsbrunn Nature Museum on behalf of the city.

Fonts (selection)

  • The community of the Donauried near Mertingen (Swabia) (plant communities, flies, grasshoppers, dragonflies and birds). Inaugural dissertation to obtain a doctorate from the Philosophical Faculty, Section II, of the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, January 20, 1936.
  • Shield Bug Atlas of Swabia. Colonization and Distribution. In: Report of the Natural Research Society Augsburg. 25, 1970, ISSN  0343-7566 , pp. 29-166.
  • When the Bavarians came ... The Alemannic and Baier colonization of southern Germany. Landsberger Verlagsanstalt, Landsberg / Lech 1974, ISBN 3-920216-21-0 .
  • Climate history of the last 20,000 years. In: Report of the Natural Research Society Augsburg. 29, 1974, pp. 3-72.
  • The settlement of the Lechfeld. In: Report of the Natural Research Society Augsburg. 39, 1984, pp. 1-48.
  • with Klaus Kuhn: Distribution atlas of dragonflies in Swabia. In: Report of the Natural Research Society Augsburg. 41, 1986, pp. 1-80.
  • The old Lech. In: Norbert Müller, Kurt R. Schmidt (Red.): Der Lech. Change of a wild river landscape (= Augsburg ecological writings. 2, ISSN  0941-2123 ). City of Augsburg - Environment and Municipal Department - Office for Green Regulations and Nature Conservation, Augsburg 1991, pp. 37–58.
  • with Anton Fischer: The untamed Lech. A lost landscape in pictures. Edited by Eberhard Pfeuffer. Wißner, Augsburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-89639-820-8 .

literature

  • Hans Mühle, Klaus Warnke: Dr. Heinz Fischer. In: Report of the Natural Research Society Augsburg. 52, 1992, pp. 70-74 ( PDF, obituary with bibliography ).
  • Albert Teichner, Christoph Zieher (Ed.): Dr. Heinz Fischer - the life and work of a polymath. Meeting Land LechWertach eV, Königsbrunn 2015. 2 volumes. ( PDF Vol. 1 , PDF Vol. 2 , PDF Errata ).

Web links

Commons : Naturmuseum Königsbrunn  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Augsburger Allgemeine: A natural scientist is researched. In: augsburger-allgemeine.de. Augsburger Allgemeine, accessed February 9, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Albert Teichner, Christoph Zieher (Ed.): Dr. Heinz Fischer - the life and work of a polymath . tape 1 . Königsbrunn 2015, p. 159, 168 .
  3. ↑ Albert Teichner, Christoph Zieher (Ed.): Dr. Heinz Fischer - the life and work of a polymath . tape 1 . Königsbrunn 2015, p. 160 .
  4. ↑ Albert Teichner, Christoph Zieher (Ed.): Dr. Heinz Fischer - the life and work of a polymath . tape 1 . Königsbrunn 2015, p. 24 .
  5. ↑ Kerstin Kornacker: Presentation of the life's work of Dr. Heinz Fischer. (No longer available online.) In: gegennungsland.de. Archived from the original on February 8, 2016 ; accessed on February 8, 2016 . 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.begegnungsland.de
  6. ^ Report of the Natural Research Society Augsburg. 64, 2012, pp. 96-98.
  7. ↑ Augsburger Allgemeine: He documented the untamed Lech. In: augsburger-allgemeine.de. Augsburger Allgemeine, accessed February 8, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Albert Teichner, Christoph Zieher (Ed.): Dr. Heinz Fischer - the life and work of a polymath . tape 1 . Königsbrunn 2015, p. 103 .
  9. ↑ Albert Teichner, Christoph Zieher (Ed.): Dr. Heinz Fischer - the life and work of a polymath . tape 1 . Königsbrunn 2015, p. 81 .
  10. ↑ Albert Teichner, Christoph Zieher (Ed.): Dr. Heinz Fischer - the life and work of a polymath . tape 1 . Königsbrunn 2015, p. 23 .
  11. ↑ Augsburger Allgemeine: Fascinated by the "mouse war". In: augsburger-allgemeine.de. Augsburger Allgemeine, accessed February 8, 2016 .
  12. ^ Heinz Fischer: Jacob Huebner (1761-1826). In: Wolfgang Zorn (Ed.): Pictures of life from Bavarian Swabia , Volume 11. Konrad Verlag, 1976. ISBN 978-3-87437-083-7
  13. ↑ Albert Teichner, Christoph Zieher (Ed.): Dr. Heinz Fischer - the life and work of a polymath . tape 1 . Königsbrunn 2015, p. 88-99 .
  14. ↑ City of Königsbrunn - 100 years of Dr. Heinz Fischer - Pfeuffer with 3 f - introduces the untamed Lech. (No longer available online.) In: koenigsbrunn.de. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016 ; accessed on February 9, 2016 . 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.koenigsbrunn.de
  15. ^ Augsburger Allgemeine: Nature Museum Königsbrunn - The nature on the Lech. In: augsburger-allgemeine.de. Augsburger Allgemeine, accessed February 9, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Albert Teichner, Christoph Zieher (Ed.): Dr. Heinz Fischer - the life and work of a polymath . tape 1 . Königsbrunn 2015, p. 26 .
personal data
SURNAME Fischer, Heinz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fischer, Heinrich (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German naturalist
DATE OF BIRTH April 5, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH augsburg
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1991
Place of death augsburg