Horst Niesters

Horst Niesters (born April 21, 1937 in Cologne ; † October 16, 2009 in Schmallenberg ) was a German wildlife photographer , environmentalist and falconer .

Success as a photographer

As early as 1956 as a young photographer, his pictures had reached a standard that leading magazines and magazines printed his pictures. He designed over 40 hunting and nature calendars that were sold worldwide. He published around 5,000 photos and helped design 51 books and many nature films. He designed over 40 hunting and nature calendars that were sold worldwide. He made over 450,000 recordings and traveled to almost every continent on earth.

He won gold, silver and bronze medals in photo competitions. His pictures were u. a. seen at exhibitions in New York, Paris, Toronto, London, Mamia, Munich, Buenos Aires, Dakar, Cairo, Monaco, Moscow, Cape Town, Marrakech, Innsbruck, Prague and Florence.

Well-known personalities from politics and business took over patronage of his exhibitions, so

• Prince Rainer of Monaco ,
• Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands ,
• King Hassan II of Morocco ,
• Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan , President of the United Arab Emirates ,
• Princess Maria Stolberg of Wernigerode
• the Federal Presidents Walter Scheel , Karl Carstens and Roman Herzog
• the Bundestag Presidents Eugen Gerstenmaier and Rita Süssmuth
• the Federal Chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl
• the Foreign Ministers Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Klaus Kinkel
• the Federal Minister of Economics Jürgen Möllemann
• the Federal Agriculture Ministers Josef Ertl and Ignaz Kiechle
• the Prime Ministers Franz Josef Strauss and Lothar Späth
• the NATO Secretary General Manfred Wörner ,
• the Egyptian Minister of Tourism Fouad Sultan
• US Ambassadors Richard Burt , Vernon A. Walters , Robert M. Kimmitt , Richard Holbrooke , Charles E. Redman ,
• the animal filmmaker Heinz Sielmann

For his exceptional achievements in the field of nature and wildlife photography , he was appointed member of the German Society for Photography (DGPh), Association Sportive de la Chasse Photographique Francaise (ASCF), Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (RPS) and Society of German Animal Photographers ( GDT) (honorary member). He was awarded the golden merit pin and the large merit medal of the German Hunting Protection Association.

He was the official photographer of the International Hunting Council for Game Conservation and Hunting -CIC-, to which 81 nations are affiliated. In 1998 he was awarded the Literature Prize at the General Assembly of the CIC in Prague and in Helsinki in 2003 he received the highest award of the CIC, the badge of honor and the gold medal for his life's work. In 2006 he received the "Pour le Mérite" for art and science from the Order of Alexander the Great, New York. Over 1000 photographers attended his photo seminars or accompanied him on photo trips around the world.

life and work

As a trained pastry chef, Niesters recognized the marketing value of the "birds of kings" in the 1960s. In 1967 Niesters was asked by Guillermo Staudt to build a bird of prey station in his planned Hellenthal wildlife park, which is now well-known far beyond Germany. There he was the first to succeed in breeding the bald eagle , the American heraldic bird. In 1982 a bred pair was presented to the then President of the USA Ronald Reagan as a gift from the Federal Republic of Germany. His breeding success was rated in a personal letter from US Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush as a work that unites people. Today numerous species threatened with extinction are bred in Hellenthal.

The wildlife park became known far beyond the borders of Germany through its activities. Niesters left the German Falcon Order, the oldest and best-known association of German falconers, because commercial flight demonstrations at that time did not comply with the statutes of the order. Niesters used the intention of the Argentine owner of the game reserve to part with his park in 1977 to sell this property to an Arab merchant. He was the owner of the wildlife park and bird of prey station until 1996. Due to this long-term cooperation, an attractive relationship developed in the United Arab Emirates without inevitably causing problems with the species protection laws in Germany. Several television series were shot under his advice. Including “In the hunting ground”, “ Silent hunt ”, “A day of hunting with Elector Clemens August” and “Crowns, experts, cavaliers”.

Over 40 television reports, around 200 radio programs and 1,600 press publications reported on his work. His commitment to nature and species protection received the greatest recognition. In addition to awards such as honorary membership in the Academic Hunting Association Hubertia Aachen, the German Game Reserve Association, the Association of German Falconers and the appointment as master falconer, the falconer Horst Niesters received his greatest recognition from being awarded the "Golden Dagger" by the President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahayan on the occasion of the World Congress on Falconry in Abu Dhabi in 1976.

For the Federal Minister of Economics, he designed the German culture week with the theme “1000 years of falconry”. Numerous exhibitions and presentations for the German-Arab Society, the Asil Cup, the International Hunting Council for the Conservation of Game CIC, the German Hunting Protection Association, the Protection Association of German Wildlife, the Association for Nature and Species Protection, the German Hunting and Fishing Museum followed Munich, König Bonn Natural History Museum, Nuremberg International Wildlife and Environment Exhibition - to name just a few. His exhibition on falconry 2000 in Berlin, which gave a world-wide insight into one of the oldest hunting cultural assets, found international recognition. He pioneered the recognition of falconry as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2010.

He revised the probably best-known German falconry book by Renz Waller "The wild falcon is my companion" (first published in 1936), and illustrated in the new edition the probably oldest falconry book from the 8th century "The Beizvögel" by Caliph Al-Gitrif. Also in the book “Die Jagd”, which was published in ten languages, he dealt with the articles on falconry and hunting with the camera. He has written numerous publications in books and magazines. His lectures were in international demand.

Niesters died in October 2009 in a rehabilitation clinic in the Sauerland, where he had been recovering from heart surgery for a long time. Niesters leaves behind a wife and two children.

Public impact and honors

Niesters was brilliant at putting his person in the spotlight in publications. So he was u. a. Appointed honorary member and master falconer by the Association of German Falconers.

The maintenance of the bird of prey sanctuary in Hellenthal was a life's work for Niesters, to which he felt called. His successes with raptor breeding and the air shows are undisputed. Many nature and animal protection associations honored him or made him an honorary member. Niesters managed to be regularly included in the program for state visits in four decades.

Niesters has received many awards for his services to falconry. B. by being awarded the “Golden Dagger” on the occasion of the World Congress on Falconry in Abu Dhabi in 1976. His lectures and publications reached the highest standard (e.g. 1,000 years of falconry ). Many statesmen and personalities received Niesters, u. a. Ronald Reagan , Mikhail Gorbachev and George HW Bush .

Web links

• B. John Zavrel: Horst Niesters, the “King of Eagles”, is dead. The great eagle breeder, environmentalist and wildlife photographer was 72 years old (extensive biographical appraisal with numerous photos)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Article in the Kölnische Rundschau  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ http://www.meaus.com/alexander.html