Johannes Vögeli

Johannes Vögeli (baptized March 21, 1642 in Burgdorf BE ; † 1713 or 1714 there) was an important potter of the late 17th century.

Life

Johannes Vögeli was baptized on March 21, 1642 (for all evidence and references, see Heege 2016). His grandfather Hans / Johannes (1585–1651) and his father Jakob (1613–1696) were both rope makers and citizens of Burgdorf. Johannes was also accepted as a burger in Burgdorf in 1659 and became a member of the guild of blacksmiths and carpenters. He married Catharina Leeman on August 4, 1662. The marriage remained childless.

On June 4, 1659, the council manual of Burgdorf records: “Johannes Vögeli the Hafner is allowed to make a Brön oven in his father's house. In the form he said so to the Hr., So at the sight. However, only as long as it is folded by men. " This entry means that at the age of 17, Johannes set up a pottery workshop with a kiln in his parents' house immediately after he was accepted as a burger. It is therefore not surprising that Johannes Vögeli also appears in the Bernese official accounts for Burgdorf after 1660/61. It is not known exactly where the workshop was.

John's pottery kiln was to cause problems again and again in the years to come. In July 1663 the council manual reported that, to the horror of the neighbors, flames were breaking out of the allowed kiln of the potter Johannes Vögeli. Vögeli then stated that he had only burned larger dishes and no smaller ones. He was warned to be more careful in the future. A similar incident is documented for April 1667. In 1673, Vögeli even had to stop the renovation or new construction of a pottery kiln in his house after apparently the neighborhood had complained to the council about the potential fire hazard. In the end it was decided: "That he would like to make the planned other Brönoffen in his mother's house (Verena Venner, add. Author)." He also has to pay for any damage that occurs.

Disputes over the locations of the pottery kilns classified as flammable occurred again and again in Burgdorf, also in connection with other potters. So threatened z. For example, in 1683 the stoner Oswald Schönberger (born 1642), if he is not offered any other place in a kiln than in the monastery, he will leave and leave his wife and children in the lurch. Thereupon he received permission to "make a kiln in the trench". Possibly it is the ditch area next to the Mühletor, because Oswald Schönberger was one of the victims of the fire in the lower town there in 1715. In 1697 he was turned away again when he wanted to build a kiln in the moat on the curtain wall. In 1690 the Hafner Bendicht Gammeter (born 1648) wanted to build a new kiln near his house "in the ditch before underen Thor" (= Wynigentor). However, this was turned down due to complaints from the neighborhood. Finally, the council gave him permission to build a kiln in his house if it did not endanger the neighborhood.

There have been no more complaints about Johannes Vögeli's workshop for 30 years. It was not until 1703 that he was asked again "about too much firing". He stated that his journeyman fired a little too hard, which he felt sorry for.

1676 can be proven that Johannes Vögeli from the wages of the potter Jacob Knup the Elder. J. von Oberburg (died 1690) had to contribute two chunks a week to support Knup's wife and his three children. Apparently Knup worked in Vögeli's company. Due to the unfortunately undated entries in the Zinsrodel of the blacksmiths' guild (approx. 1686 / 1691–1713) it can be proven that Johannes Vögeli also trained apprentices. In the meantime, Vögeli's work was of such a quality that he was awarded a public contract in 1677. For 20 kroner including a tip, he was hired to set a new tiled stove in the back council room. Between 1689/90 and 1697/98, work by Johannes Vögeli can also be documented in the Bernese official accounts for the Landvogtei Brandis.

From 1680 to 1684 Johannes Vögeli worked as "Iseler", d. H. Overseer of measure and weight. From 1684 to 1688, as a member of the 32 council, he held the office of “unification”. As a kind of city police officer, he was responsible for supervising forests and timber deliveries. At the age of 60, he married Magdalena Matter a second time in 1702. Their son Johann Christian was baptized on October 14, 1703.

It was rather unusual for a potter to become councilor, but this was the case with Johannes Vögeli. As a member of the Council of 32, he became Kirchmeier for five years from 1705, d. H. elected to the administrator of church finances.

For his brave work in the Burgdorf upper town fire of 1706, the journeyman received a "discretion" from Johannes Vögeli. After the fire, Vögeli himself distributed "several pieces of earthenware" to every affected household.

In 1706 there was evidence of a dispute between the Kirchmeier and master potter Johannes Vögeli and the potter Bendicht Gammeter. Gammeter had been commissioned by the mayor to set up a tiled stove in the Sigristenhaus (am Kirchbühl / Beginengässli). The council rightly recognizes that the stove was made by Vögeli, since the care of the stoves and windows is one of the official duties of the Kirchmeier.

Another reference to Johannes Vögeli can be found in the master book of the blacksmiths' guild under December 26, 1712. He was exempted from visiting the light ones (funeral burials) against 5 Bz due to the alleged old age (70 years!) And the possibility of physical disability. But he should "visit the Meisterbott as much as possible or else make a replacement payment of 1 pound". Unfortunately there is a gap in the Burgdorf toboggan run from 1713–1714, so it is unclear when Johannes Vögeli died. According to the city chronicler Joh. Rudolf Aeschlimann, Johannes Vögeli did not leave any children behind when he died. In connection with the fire in the lower town of 1715, no injured party with the name Johannes Vögeli is named in the archives. Presumably, based on the data determined so far, a production time of 1659 to a maximum of 1714 can be expected for him.

Works

Wall fountain by Johannes Vögeli, signed and dated 1707

Today 11 ceramics can be clearly assigned to the potter Johannes Vögeli in a stylistic way. Among these is a signed and dated wall fountain from 1707, which is kept in the Burgdorf Castle Museum (Inv. IV-1060).

literature

• Andreas Heege: The potteries Vögeli in the Burgdorfer lower town , in: Burgdorfer Jahrbuch 83, 2016
• Andreas Heege and Pierre-Yves Tribolet: Les ateliers des potiers Vögeli dans la basse-ville de Berthoud . manuscript

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Andreas Heege: The Hafnereien Vögeli in the Burgdorfer Unterstadt , in: Burgdorfer Jahrbuch 83, 2016, pp. 41–68.

Web links

• The potteries Vögeli in the lower town of Burgdorf - Andreas Heege - Academia.edu
• Burgdorf: The wise sayings of Mr. Vögeli - Region: Emmental - bernerzeitung.ch