Josef Löschnig

Josef Löschnig (Slovenian Jožef Lešnik ; born March 18, 1872 in Altendorf near St. Johann am Draufelde (Slovenian Starše, Lower Styria); † October 24, 1949 in Vienna ) was an Austrian regional fruit growing inspector and councilor. As an author, he has published numerous books on fruit, viticulture and horticulture. As an excellent connoisseur of pomological varieties, he is often referred to as the 'old master of Austrian fruit growing'.

Life

Grave of Josef Lösching and Hermann Neubacher in the Münchendorf cemetery in Lower Austria

Josef Löschnig attended the agricultural school in Grottenhof-Hardt in Thal near Graz. After graduation, he enrolled as an extraordinary student at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna.

Löschnig initially worked as an economic adjunct on various Styrian estates. In 1894 he became a specialist and hiking teacher at the wine and fruit growing school in Marburg an der Drau , and from 1898 he worked as a specialist teacher at the regional wine and fruit growing school in Krems .

In 1904 he was appointed provisional and in 1905 full state fruit growing inspector. From 1918 he also worked as a consultant for fruit and vegetable growing in the Ministry of Agriculture.

In 1921 he was appointed preliminary consultant for fruit growing. After the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture was founded, he became director of the wine, fruit and horticultural department in 1922.

In 1923 he was given the title of a government councilor and in 1925 that of a councilor. In 1934 he went on a study trip to America, on which he particularly visited the local wine-growing regions. He published his impressions in the following year on behalf of the Association of Viticulture Austria and the Association of Austrian Fruit Growers.

In 1938 he retired, but remained involved in fruit and wine growing into old age and continued to publish numerous specialist books on fruit and wine growing as an author. In 1949 he died in Vienna at the age of 77.

Above all, Josef Löschnig campaigned for the revival of Austrian viticulture, which was badly affected after the First World War . He promoted fruit growing by setting up new tree nurseries and had several model orchards set up in Lower Austria. Löschnig also paid special attention to fruit processing. To promote the sales opportunities for the fruit, he founded a fruit processing company in Münchendorf , which he managed himself for several years. Mainly fruit juices and wines as well as dried fruit products were produced and marketed here.

He promoted the agricultural exhibition system by campaigning for the establishment and expansion of agricultural and forestry model shows at the Vienna Fair .

Löschnig was active in numerous associations and societies. For several years he was managing director of the Austrian fruit growing and pomologists society, president of the regional fruit growing association for Lower Austria and a founding member of the Lower Austrian horticultural association.

In 1903 he founded the journal Der Obstzüchter , of which he was editor until 1918. From 1918 to 1922 he published this magazine, which at that time was called the magazine for horticulture and fruit growing , in collaboration with the Austrian horticultural society. From 1922 to 1938 Josef Löschnig was also the chief editor of the magazine Die Landwirtschaft , the organ of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Agriculture.

Löschnig achieved great fame through his numerous and widespread books on the subjects of fruit growing and viticulture, in which he placed particular emphasis on imparting practical knowledge. Many works were reprinted several times.

Josef Löschnig's estate also included his private book collection, which Löschnig had put together over the years. The approximately 1000 volumes, including numerous rarities from the field of fruit variety (pomology), comprehensive Löschnig library was purchased in 1961 by the library of the higher federal college for viticulture and fruit growing Klosterneuburg.

Honors

Löschniggasse, 22nd district, Donaustadt, Vienna

Josef Löschnig is said to have been one of the best pomological connoisseurs of fruit varieties of his time and is often referred to as the 'old master of Austrian fruit growing'.

In 1932 the Löschnig Foundation was established in his honor, which works to promote the next generation of students.

In 1972, the Löschniggasse in the Vienna district of Donaustadt was named in honor of Josef Löschnig.

Works

• Practical guide to efficient fruit growing. , published by the Landes-Obstbau-Verein für Niederösterreich, 1901; 7th edition 1946
• Selling the fruit fresh: Instructions for harvesting, sorting, packing and storing the fruit. Eugen Ulmer publishing house, 1907
• Preserving the fruit in middle-class households. 1910
• The fruit winemaking. 1911
• The vole, its way of life and control. 1912
• Josef Löschnig, HM Müller, Heinrich Pfeiffer: Recommended types of fruit (normal range for Lower Austria). 2 volumes, Volume I: Apples. 40 plates / volume II: pears. 38 plates (watercolors by L. Stricker), (Ed.) Landes-Obstbauverein für Niederösterreich, Verlag W. Frick, Vienna 1912 and 1914, 177 pages
• The cider pears. Description of the most commonly planted cider pear varieties in Austria. Published by the Austrian Fruit Growing and Pomologists Society with the support of the KK Agriculture Ministry. Edited with the participation of members of the company by the manager Josef Löschnig. F. Sperl, Vienna 1913
• The fruit brandies and their preparation. Volume 118 of the book series Scholle-Bücherei , 1923; 3rd edition 1946
• Fruit growing yield book, bookkeeping and instructions for orchard owners. Volume 125 of the Scholle-Bücherei book series , 1924
• Instructions for the production and treatment of fruit wines: fermented musts and sweet musts. , Volume 119 of the Scholle-Bücherei book series , 1924, 6th edition 1947
• Planting and caring for the fruit trees and berry bushes. Practical instructions for carrying out the most important tasks in fruit growing. Volume 113 of the book series Scholle-Bücherei , 15th edition 1948
• Frost damage and frost protection in agriculture with special consideration of viticulture. Scholle-Verlag, 1928
• The rejuvenation and grafting of older fruit trees. Volume 1 of the fruit growing library series. 1929
• Winter frost damage to fruit trees 1928/29. 1930
• Wire frame culture. An important economic measure in viticulture. 1931
• 40 days North America: Perceptions and impressions of a study trip to the USA Published by the Main Association of Austrian Viticulture and the Association of Austrian Fruit Growers, 1935
• Our apricot varieties. 1943
• Pests in fruit growing and their control , together with Gustav Köck and Karl Miestinger, Scholle-Verlag, 1931 * The evaluation of the fruit trees. Frick-Verlag, 1947
• The utilization of fruit and vegetables in the household. A. Hartleben Publishing House, 1947
• Fruit harvest despite late frost with good frost protection measures. Volume 112 of the book series Scholle-Bücherei , 1947
• Improvement of fruits, hybrids, mutations, twin fruits, chimeras, xenias, Luther Burbanks and JW Michurin's findings. Volume 187 of the book series Scholle-Bücherei , 1948
• Diseases and pests in fruit growing and their control. together with L. Fulmek, Volume 110 of the book series Scholle-Bücherei , 6th edition 1948
• Fruit brandies and their preparation: with an appendix from the regulations on the production of brandy by E. Hartmann. Scholle-Verlag, 1948
• The apricot and its culture. together with Fitz Passecker, 1954

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Löschnig, Josef (1872-1949), fruit, wine, and horticultural specialist. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon and Biographical Documentation, Volume 5: 1815-1950, Delivery 23, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 1971, ISBN 978-3-7001-3213-4 , pp. 280–281, accessed on March 8, 2016
2. ↑ Josef Löschnig: 40 days North America: Perceptions and impressions of a study trip to the USA Published by the Main Association of Austrian Viticulture and the Association of Austrian Fruit Growers, 1935
3. ↑ The fruit grower
4. ↑ Information on the Löschnig library ( Memento of the original from February 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of the library of the Höhere Bundeslehranstalt and the Federal Office for Viticulture and Fruit Growing Klosterneuburg, accessed on March 8, 2016  
5. ^ Löschniggasse Vienna History Wiki