Johann Cornies

Johann Cornies (born June 20, 1789 in Baerwalde near Danzig , West Prussia ; † March 13, 1848 in Ohrloff in the Mennonite settlement of Molotschna , Ukraine ) was an important Mennonite in southern Russia , who had a decisive influence on the agriculture of the Mennonites and helped establish a progressive school system participated. Later he became probably the richest man in southern Russia.

Life

Johann Cornies was born the eldest of four brothers. His father of the same name moved with his family in the years 1803–1805 from West Prussia to Molotschna, southern Russia. Johann Cornies senior practiced as a healer and was thus the first doctor in the colony.

Johann Cornies junior initially worked as a farmhand for a miller at a young age and then began trading in agricultural products. In 1811 he settled in the village of Ohrloff.

In the following years he succeeded in decisively improving cattle breeding and agriculture in the area. His initiative gave the Mennonites in the region a major economic advantage over the other German settlers. Cornies discovered that the nearby steppe was suitable for breeding merino sheep, which was particularly beneficial for the nomadic Nogai people . The agricultural knowledge was passed on to the surrounding villages of the Russians , Jews and Tatars . He developed the methods that made it possible to grow grain in the steppe. He could regulate the irrigation of the fields with dammed small rivers and ponds. Experiments with silkworms and tobacco, on the other hand, were less successful. In 1830 Cornies founded the “Agricultural Association” and became its first president.

The model farm Juschanlee, which he built himself, was later given to him by the tsar .

His success in building a functioning school system is just as important. In 1820 he founded the "Christian School Association". Cornies implemented uniform teacher training, founded schools and introduced compulsory education. Its 87 general rules on the teaching and treatment of school children were groundbreaking for the school system. Classes were held in High German, while Plautdietsch was the common language in the Mennonite colonies of southern Russia .

In 1825, Cornies received a visit from the Russian tsar Alexander I , who was very benevolent towards him. He was very popular with the Russian authorities; the Prince Vorontsov was often a guest in his house. Under Tsar Nicholas I , Cornies was appointed a corresponding member of the Scholars' Committee of the Reich Ministry in St. Petersburg because of his life's work . His scientific interests were also expressed in archaeological excavations that he had carried out in the steppe hills, where evidence of an earlier culture was found.

Despite his wealth, Johann Cornies remained a simple, humble farmer who, like all other Mennonites, lived in a simple farmhouse. In any case, his achievements and his formative, educational influence on the private life of the colonists are undisputed. After his death in 1848, the inhabitants of the village of Ohrloff erected a modest marble monument on his grave.

literature

• Ernst Crous:  Cornies, Johann. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 367 ( digitized version ).
• Uwe Greve: The tsar's protection is still in place. Germans from Russia, Part II: Expansion of German settlements and the preservation of Germanness ; The Ostpreußenblatt / Preussische Allgemeine Zeitung; ISSN  0947-9597 ; Issued August 16, 2003

Web links

• Bildungsverein Die Linde e. V .: Johann Cornies ( Memento from October 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive )