Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences

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The Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences (OLGdW) with its seat in Görlitz is one of the oldest still existing learned societies in Central Europe. The society was founded on April 21, 1779 by the historian and linguist Karl Gottlob Anton (1751-1818), by the manor and naturalist Adolf Traugott von Gersdorff and by eighteen other Upper Lusatian scholars. The aim is to promote history and natural history. In the founding years, agriculture was the focus of work in Upper Lusatia .

Company headquarters at Görlitzer Neißstraße 30 until 1945, donated by Karl Gottlob Anton

history

Seal of the Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences 1779

Karl Adolph von Schachmann designed the company's seal in a timely manner. It shows a blooming orange branch with two fruits and a legend: "Soc: Lusatiae sup:" and the signature: "in uno". From 1781 to 1783 the first periodical appeared with the provincial papers. This was followed by the Lausitz monthly magazine from 1793 to 1799 and the New Lausitz monthly magazine from 1799 to 1808 . Until 1792, Anton's house at Langestrasse 49 and the “ Zum Hirsch ” inn served as meeting places . Since 1793, a working group, the so-called document deputation, has dealt with the recording of all documents relating to Upper Lusatia in copies and registers as preliminary work for the Codex diplomaticus Lusatiae Superioris, which will appear from 1851 . In 1801 Karl Gottlob Anton and von Gersdorff donated their libraries and scientific collections to the society. In 1804 the company moved into its own house in Görlitz. In the first third of the 19th century, the company transformed into a regional history association. From 1822 to 1941 the Neue Lausitzische Magazin was published as an annual magazine. This tradition has been continued since 1994 with a new issue of the magazine.

Large meeting room
Society library

In 1945 the OLGdW was liquidated and the baroque society house at Neißstraße 30 with its extensive collections was transferred to the city of Görlitz. The important historical collections - including a physical cabinet, a mineral collection, a graphic cabinet and other science history collections from around 1800 - and the important baroque building have been in the care of the city ​​museum ever since .

The society's valuable library was made accessible for use again in 1951 under the name of the Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences . The heart of the remains in the house Neißstraße accommodated 30 library provides the furnished as a backdrop Library historic library hall around 1800. Among the numerous located there unique book stocks and discounts are numerous writings of Görlitz theosophist Jacob Boehme and the estate of the poet and composer Leopold Schefer to call.

In 1990 the "Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences" was re-established at the Ortenburg in Bautzen . Its president has been Steffen Menzel since June 20, 2009, who is also head of the Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences. He replaced Wolfgang Geierhos (* 1940), who had been president since 2004. Matthias Herrmann was Vice President from 1999 until his death in 2007 .

Names

When it was founded in 1779, the company was called the "Upper Lusatian Society for the Promotion of Nature and History". In order to express the range of personal interests more appropriately in the company name, it was agreed in autumn to rename it to “Society of Sciences in Upper Lusatia”. The name in use today as the "Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences" has only been proven since 1792, but it was not generally used until 1815. In the meantime, until 1803, the term "private company" was also used. From 1803 until the end of the Old Kingdom (1806) the association was called the “Electoral Saxon Society of Sciences”.

Hermann Knothe Prize

The Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences has been awarding the Hermann Knothe Prize annually since 2007 on the initiative of the historian Matthias Herrmann . The prize was named after Hermann Knothe , the most important regional historian who published a large number of writings on the history of Upper Lusatia.

The prize is endowed with 700 euros and is sponsored by the historic six cities of Upper Lusatia, Bautzen, Görlitz, Kamenz , Löbau , Zittau and Lauban / Lubań, as well as the Polish city of Zgorzelec . This award recognizes outstanding achievements in researching Upper Lusatian culture and history. Young academics are invited to submit papers on an Upper Lusatian topic. The works can address historical as well as art and cultural-historical issues, for example from the areas of the environment, cultural landscape, technology, economy, society, family, demography, everyday life, material culture or politics.

The prize winner is chosen by a prize committee. The prize can also be divided after the jury's decision. The award ceremony takes place at the company's spring meeting.

Other well-known members

literature

  • Städtische Kunstsammlungen Görlitz (Ed.): The Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences in Görlitz , Görlitz, no year (brochure, approx. 1980)
  • Kai Wenzel (Red.): Art and Science around 1800. The collections of the Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences in Görlitz, Bielefeld 2011

See also

Web links

Commons : Oberlausitzische Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: New Lusatian Magazine  - Sources and Full Texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.olgdw.de/gesellschaft/geschichte/18-jahrhund/ accessed on November 2, 2014
  2. ↑ Upper Lusatian Society of Sciences e. V., statutes for the Hermann Knothe Prize