Spessart (magazine)
| Spessart - monthly magazine for the cultural landscape of Spessart
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| description | German cultural magazine |
| First edition | April 1906 |
| founder | Richard Sorrowing Coffin |
| Sold edition | 5,000 copies |
| Web link | spessart-online.de |
| ISSN (print) | 1613-9518 |
The Spessart magazine is a cultural magazine written by local researchers and scientists from the fields of history , culture and natural history .
overview
It was founded in 1906 by the country doctor Richard Wehsarg from Sommerau (Eschau) to promote tourism in the economically weak Spessart region. The first edition appeared in April 1906 . The magazine celebrated its 100th anniversary in April 2006 with around 900 issues and almost 7,000 articles. It appears today in the Main-Echo-Verlag, Aschaffenburg , the publisher of the most important daily newspaper in the Bavarian Lower Main . It has a monthly circulation of around 5,000 copies, 3,200 of which go to long-term subscribers.
history
At the time of its founding, the Spessart had a desolate economic situation, which was characterized by the poor soil conditions, the small plots and generally low income opportunities. The founder Dr. Richard Wehsarg, doctor and operator of a sanatorium in Sommerau , wanted to use the magazine to help tourism break through as a new branch of industry by introducing potential visitors to the beauties of the forest mountains. So he was able to win high-ranking personalities from Aschaffenburg and the surrounding area as authors for the paper.
The activities of the main regional hiking clubs were therefore the main topic of the publication from the very beginning. In the early years, it was specific to target groups and only appeared in the travel season from April to September. In 1912 Wehsarg handed over the editing to the teacher Hans Rothenbach in Aschaffenburg. There have already been successes. By the First World War, several tourist centers had already developed in the Spessart.
The First World War and the difficult time afterwards caused a compulsory break from July 1914. It was not until April 1924 that the magazine could appear again. In 1930, the previously retained appearance of the title was changed. The Art Nouveau pen drawing with natural and architectural motifs from the Spessart has been replaced by a more factual and monthly changing cover picture.
The time of National Socialist rule brought a significant change . In 1935 the magazine was renamed "Mainfranken" at the instigation of the Würzburg NSDAP Gauleiter Otto Hellmuth and brought into line with the National Socialists. It was thus placed in the service of National Socialist propaganda . In 1940 the well-known writer and playwright Julius Maria Becker became editor of the magazine "Mainfranken". But there were other priorities during World War II. In April 1942 the magazine appeared under this name for the last time, in one color and without a cover picture.
1950 until today
The first trial number after the war was released in June 1950 under the old name "Spessart" in the newly formed Main-Echo publishing house. Editor Bernd Opel was responsible for the paper from 1950 to 1977. Ernst Pfeifer and Viktor Zeilinger then took over the editorial office. The paper was modernized and editorially realigned. In the historical articles, the history of the rule was no longer dominant, but the history of the "little people", social history , was increasingly discussed. This made the magazine an important source for modern contemporary history .
In April 1980 the appearance changed again. After 30 years in black and white, a green decorative bar has now been introduced at the top and bottom of the title page. In April 1995 the first four-color cover picture finally came, an aerial photo of Aschaffenburg with Johannisburg Castle and Mainschleife . The entire issue has been published in four-color printing since 1998. Editor-in-chief Klaus Eymann has been in office since January 2001. In the subtitle, the paper is now called "Monthly magazine for the Spessart cultural landscape". The editorial contributions by local researchers and scientists from the fields of history , culture and natural history are presented on 32 pages .