Johann Michael Zeyher
Johann Michael Zeyher (born November 26, 1770 in Obernzenn ; † April 23, 1843 in Schwetzingen ) was a German gardener and botanist . Its official botanical author abbreviation is " J.Zeyh. “He is the uncle of Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher .
Live and act
The son of a court gardener and Imperial Privy Councilor first learned gardening in Ansbach , where he was able to familiarize himself with the English garden style , which was then in fashion , during the renovation of the Triesdorf summer residence . In addition to the facilities in Ansbach, he gained experience in the gardens of Ludwigsburg , Basel , Mannheim and Darmstadt . After studying in Ludwigsburg and at the Karlsakademie in Stuttgart, where he took particular courses in geometry, algebra and drawing, he fled Ansbach to Karlsruhe in order not to have to serve in the legion of Duke Carl Eugen , which he had grown tall .
In Karlsruhe he became a volunteer with the local court gardener Friedrich Schweickart , who was brought from England by the margrave to redesign the gardens of Karlsruhe based on the English model. Zeyher also found a lot of inspiration from the new ideas of English garden art.
Margravine Karoline Luise became aware of Zeyher and found him a job as a gardener in Basel, where he served with a patrician in 1792 and, after marrying the Basel city gardener's daughter in 1794, became court gardener at the Basel palace of Margrave Karl Friedrich .
Supported by his marriage to a woman from Basel, he received numerous commissions from Switzerland, which he fulfilled in addition to his position for the margrave of Baden: he planned gardens in both Basels (e.g. at the Bäumlihof estate near Riehen) and in the cantons of St Gallen and Solothurn and in Schaffhausen (Fäsenstaubpark), Arbon and Altstetten .
In 1804, Zeyher was appointed court gardener in Schwetzingen by Elector Karl-Friedrich, who had acquired the Electoral Palatinate in 1803, as the successor to Friedrich Ludwig Sckell . Karl-Friedrich is said to have checked him personally to see whether he was familiar with the exotic trees. In 1806, Zeyher was awarded the title of gardening director. The title was also associated with the supervision of all the manorial Baden gardens, as well as the obligation to set up forest tree nurseries in each forest district and the management of tree planting on all country roads.
In addition, he set up an arboretum that was to accompany the forest training and introduce the youngsters to the “ Flora palatina ”. In a tree nursery, he also moved exotic trees, including fruit trees that were given to private gardens.
Zeyher, who was an excellent plant connoisseur, set up a herbarium in Schwetzingen , which was temporarily looked after by Karl Friedrich Schimper and Fridolin Spenner .
Although Zeyher's work had the main focus in Schwetzingen, he also took on tasks in other places of the new Elector and later Grand Duchy of Baden. In 1805 he planned the public facilities in Mannheim , which were then implemented in 1812. In Karlsruhe he was given the task of planning the water drainage for the Schlossplatz. Together with Friedrich Weinbrenner , he planned the new parks in Karlsruhe. Grand Duke Ludwig entrusted him with the planning of the facilities for the Roman baths in Badenweiler , and Grand Duke Leopold with the planning of the new facilities along the Lichtentaler Allee in Baden-Baden .
Since Zeyher was childless, he bequeathed a large part of his fortune to the city of Schwetzingen in his last will. For his services he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Zähringer Lion Order in 1825 and honorary citizenship of Schwetzingen in 1835. In 1826 he was appointed Grand Ducal Privy Councilor.
In addition to young botanists and gardeners, his house also frequented well-known personalities of his time, according to Johann Peter Hebel , who spent the night in Zeyher's house during a school inspection in 1826 and died there unexpectedly.
In 1828 Zeyher was a member of the Second Chamber of the Baden Estates Assembly .
Zeyher was buried in the old cemetery in Schwetzingen, in 1870 he was reburied in the new cemetery, where his tomb still stands today.
Honors
After him, the plant genus is Zeyheria Mart. named from the trumpet tree family (Bignoniaceae). The plant genus Zeyheria A. Spreng . from the sunflower family (Asteraceae) honors Johann Michael Zeyher and Karl Ludwig Philipp Zeyher . }
Works
- Garden director Zeyher and G. Roemer: Description of the gardens in Schwetzingen. Unchanged reprint of the original edition. (From this information on the biography of Zeyher in the afterword). Kehrer Verlag 1983.
literature
- E. Götz: gardening director Johann Michael Zeyher. Writings from the Schwetzingen City Archives, No. 20., 1984, 1985 (2).
Web links
- Author entry and list of the plant names described for Johann Michael Zeyher at the IPNI
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymic plant names - extended edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .
- ↑ Hans-Peter Becht: The Baden Second Chamber and its Members, 1819 to 1841/42. Investigations into the structure and functioning of an early German parliament. Dissertation University of Mannheim, Heidelberg 1985, p. 507
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Zeyher, Johann Michael |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German gardener and botanist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 26, 1770 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Obernzenn |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 23, 1843 |
| Place of death | Schwetzingen |