Johannes von Gumppenberg

Johannes Freiherr von Gumppenberg (born June 26, 1891 in Pöttmes , Upper Bavaria, † November 16, 1959 in Geneva ) was a German landowner, sheep farmer and administrative farmer belonging to the von Gumppenberg family .

Live and act

It is known that the Barons von Gumppenberg family has been traceable since 1279, when Hildebrand von Vohburg bought the Bailiwick of Pöttmes and named himself after the neighboring Gumppenberg. Ignaz Franz von Gumppenberg founded a Fideikommiss from Pöttmes and Gumppenberg . In 1571 the family was raised to the status of imperial baron.

Johann Freiherr von Gumppenberg attended school in Pöttmes, then the Jesuit college “Stella matutina” in Feldkirch and the private institute “Athenaeum” in Munich . This was followed by service as a one-year volunteer in Munich. During the First World War he was used on the Western Front. In 1920 he took over the legacy of his father (Hans Georg Reichsfreiherr von Gumppenberg-Pöttmes-Oberbrennberg) with over 1,300 hectares (including about 900 hectares of forest) and ran it as a grain-fodder mixed farm with dairy farming (60 cows Simmental offspring, today Fleckvieh ) as well as pig, horse and sheep farming. On his initiative, areas were exchanged (at a ratio of 10: 11) similar to land consolidation . He had minor alterations and changes carried out on the castle. The park was expanded and planted by purchasing small plots.

Sheep farming had been common in Pöttmes for centuries. In 1907, 1,300 sheep were expelled from the von Gumppenbergs estate. They were divided into three herds. In 1920 the estate administration began herdbook breeding of the Refined Landschaf breed ( Württemberger , now Merinolandschaf ) and in 1926 received confirmation as a state-recognized stock breed of the refined Württemberg Landschaf . As a result of the self-sufficiency efforts in the German Reich, the total number of sheep at Gut Pöttmes rose to 2,500 by 1944. With the assumption of activities and offices in the field of sheep breeding (see section Volunteering ), Johannes Frhr. v. Gumppenberg also advocated better wool marketing including the construction of new storage and auction halls (Reichswollverwertung G. mb H.). Such framework conditions enabled the sheep farmers to generate higher income from wool sales.

Johannes Frhr. v. Through his work for the Reichsnährstand in Berlin, Gumppenberg had a significant influence on the development of the reorganization of the sheep breeding associations as well as the drafting of the law for the promotion of animal breeding (Reichstierzuchtgesetz) of March 17, 1936 and the subsequent orders (licensing of sires, milk performance test) among others). In recognition of his high professional achievements in animal breeding, he was awarded the Hermann von Nathusius Gold Medal by the German Society for Breeding Studies in 1936 - as was Bernd Freiherr von Kanne and Ministerialrat Karl Kürschner .

After the end of the Second World War , Joh. Frhr. v. Gumppenberg back to Pöttmes. Its operation was under trusteeship for three years, the castle was used by the American occupation and then as an apartment for evacuees. He was only able to dispose of his property again from 1948. In the course of a dispute with the Bavarian state, 135 hectares had to be given up for six new farms. V. Gumppenberg held honorary posts again from 1949. As chairman of the Working Group of German Sheep Breeders - later the Association of German Sheep Breeding Associations (VDL) - he was looking for new ways for sheep farmers, whose stocks were rapidly declining under the conditions of the free market. In 1954 he resigned his honorary post for health reasons, died on November 16, 1959 in Geneva and was buried in the family vault in Pöttmes.

His achievements were recognized as early as 1954: with specialist knowledge, foresight and organizational talent, he served the entire German agricultural sector beyond sheep breeding (SSZ, 1954).

voluntary work

• 1924 2nd Mayor of Pöttmes
• 1927 1st Mayor of Pöttmes
• 1932 member of the Aichach District Assembly
• 1924 chairman of the district association of Upper Bavarian sheep farmers
• from 1924 judges at regional shows
• 1927–1932 2nd chairman of the Bavarian Sheep Breeders' Association
• from 1928 reporter for the Landschafe group at the touring exhibitions of the German Agricultural Society (DLG)
• 1932–1945 1st chairman of the Bavarian Sheep Breeders' Association
• 1933 authorized representative of the Reichsnährstand for measures to reorganize German sheep breeding
• 1934–1945 Head of the Reich Association of German Sheep Breeders e. V. (umbrella organization of 28 state sheep breeding associations as corporate members)
• 1934–1945 Reich plenipotentiary and 1st chairman for wool recycling
• 1934 Reich plenipotentiary "for the regulation of all questions pertaining to the field of animal breeding including breeding and livestock"
• 1935 representative of the Reichsnährstand for the milk performance tests
• 1935 authorized representative of the Reichsnährstand for the German silk industry
• 1937 Authorized Representative of the Reich Nutrition Stand for Fiber Plants

• 1949 1st chairman of the herdbook department of the regional association of Bavarian sheep farmers
• 1950 1st chairman of the Bavarian Sheep Breeders' Association
• 1950–1954 1st chairman of the Association of German Sheep Breeders
• 1950 Chief Justice for Sheep and reporter at the 40th DLG traveling exhibition,
• 1951 Chief Justice for Sheep and reporter at the 41st DLG traveling exhibition,
• Chairman of the Sheep Breeding Committee of the German Agricultural Society
• Member of the board of the Association of German Animal Breeders (ADT),
• Member of the board of Zuchtvieh Im- und Export G. mb H. (Imex),

Main work (excerpt)

• Bavarian sheep farming. In: German Agricultural Press. No. 22, 1929
• Securing German wool sales. In: magazine for sheep breeding. Volume VIII, 1933
• Reconstruction of German sheep farming and its national economy. Meaning. In: Süddeutsche Schäferzeitung (SSZ), issue 45, 1933
• Foreword to the manual of sheep breeding u. Sheep farming. Parey, Berlin 1941
• 2 years of German sheep breeding. Report on the Reichsnährstands exhibition in Leipzig. In: Süddeutsche Schäferzeitung (SSZ), issue 27, 1939
• The goal is and remains to increase the German sheep population. In: Süddeutsche Schäferzeitung (SSZ), Issue 1, 1943
• Thoughts on German sheep farming. In: Süddeutsche Schäferzeitung (SSZ), issue 40, 1950

Awards

• 1926 Silver honor plate of the Reich Association for German Sheep Breeding
• 1936 Hermann von Nathusius Medal in Gold from the German Society for Breeding Science (DGfZ)
• 1953 Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• 1954 Max Eyth silver medal from the German Agricultural Society (DLG)
• 1956 Gold State Medal for outstanding services to Bavarian agriculture
• 1957 Adolf-Köppe-Nadel of the German Society for Breeding Science (DGfZ)

literature

• Hans Oskar Diener: Johannes Reichsfreiherr von Gumppenberg, Pöttmes - A life for sheep breeding. Reprint from Bayerisches Landwirtschaftliches Jahrbuch, Volume 59, Issue 6/1982, pp. 748–767
• Ludwig Albert Frhr. v. Gumppenberg: History of the Gumppenberg family. Thein, Würzburg 1856; 2nd edition, Straub, Munich 1881
• Levin Frhr. v. Gumppenberg: history of the barons v. Gumppenberg 1881-1981. Addendum to the family history from 1856–1881. For the family as a manuscript and in 1981 with numerous pictures by Christoph Frhr. v. Gumppenberg published
• Previously awarded with the Hermann von Nathusius Medal of the DGfZ
• Previously awarded with the DGfZ's Adolf Köppe needle
• Franz Werkmeister: The new legal regulation of the milk performance test in 1935. In: Performance and quality test in animal breeding in Baden-Württemberg from the beginnings around 1900 to 1970. Stuttgart 2011, section 11, p. 18
• Josef Menke: In: Süddeutsche Schäferzeitung. Issue 32, 1954.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Association of German Sheep Breeding Associations (VDL)
2. ^ German Society for Breeding Science
3. ↑ Federal Cross of Merit September 1953
4. ^ Hermann von Nathusius Medal
5. ^ Adolf Köppe needle in the DGfZ
6. ^ MLP history from 1900 to 1970