Association of Friends of Nature in Reichenberg
The Association of Friends of Nature in Reichenberg was a private association of citizens of the city of Reichenberg (today Liberec, Czech Republic ) and their region. The members pursued a variety of goals for the care of the natural sciences , from which today's Liberec Botanical Garden developed.
Foundation and purpose of the association
The Friends of Nature Association in Reichenberg was founded on January 14, 1849. The initiative for its establishment came from Wenzel Jantsch ( businessman ), Siard Kosak ( professor at the secondary school ) and Wilhelm Siegmund ( cloth manufacturer ). The task of chairman of the association (referred to as chairman ) was taken over by Karl Ritter von Bundschuh at the founding meeting, who held it until 1854. The first board meetings and monthly members' meetings took place in a Reichenberg school building. At the monthly meetings, the members were offered lectures on topics of general interest within the scope of the association's purpose.
In accordance with its statutory objectives, the association conducted its activities in two separate areas, which were led by their own chairmen . That was the horticultural department and the natural science department. In this way one contributed to the promotion of corresponding interests in practical and theoretical education in the population.
Horticultural department
With the help of the members of the horticultural department, the association was active in the greening of the cityscape over the period of its existence. This began with the construction of fruit tree avenues on the then arterial roads to Röchlitz , Paulsdorf and Maffersdorf , which later had to be replaced by Ahorn. Among other things, the green area at the city theater, the avenue on the old road to Röchlitz, green areas at the state trade school and the troop hospital, the North Bohemian trade museum and the Protestant church as well as the Spitalbrücke were planted. The Stadtpark (former Kaiser-Josef-Park) was planted between 1882 and 1884. In the nearby city forest , the system of paths was improved and the springs emerging there were expanded with sockets . In 1901, the association created two children's playgrounds in the same area . In addition, the members laid rows of trees on the streets in the then newly created district of Am Kranich .
The association maintained and cleaned these green spaces. In addition, there were planting borders and annual decorations for the town hall through flower boxes and laurel trees.
The most historically significant achievement of this club department, however, is the club garden begun in 1876, which was not far from Siebenhäuserstraße by the old swimming pond . This area was accessible to schools in the region as a teaching garden . A year later a club house was built here and in 1884 a greenhouse. After twenty years, the city of Reichenberg decreed a change in use of the site. It was needed to build a new building for the North Bohemian Trade Museum . As compensation, the municipality offered the association a 14,000 m² replacement area behind the former military hospital building on the edge of the municipal forest and approved its permanent and free use. After the move, a new clubhouse with a gardener's apartment and a greenhouse with a cold and warm department were built here. The reopening took place on September 5, 1895. The institution formed the scientific basis for today's Botanical Garden in Liberec, which was used for purposes other than intended after the Second World War and which was relocated to another site in 1954.
The association used the new domicile for public educational activities in the fields of botany , fruit growing and horticulture . In addition to school events for children, this also included courses for adults on fruit tree cultivation and flower and plant exhibitions . In addition, the association members cultivated young plants here that were used to green the urban area.
Natural science department
In this department, those members were active who strived towards the goal of the statutes of “promoting scientific knowledge in general and detailed research into the area around Reichenberg in terms of natural history”. This included lectures and scientifically oriented excursions as well as publication activities geared towards them. For this purpose, the members wrote articles in their own association news and in other printed publications. The excursions mainly led to the Giant and Jizera Mountains as well as to the Bohemian regions west and north of Reichenberg.
The members carried out long-term meteorological observations at the meteorological station created by the association in Reichenberg and its branches in Christofsgrund , Drachenberg , Langenbruck and Neuwiese . Not all observation points were used continuously.
The association also ran a collection of natural history objects, which gained regional fame as a natural science museum . The aim was to promote school lessons and the ability to observe nature. These collections were particularly dependent on donations in kind and money from members or other people. The exhibits were housed in different buildings over the course of the collection's history. Well known for this are a supply house, then the new town hall of Reichenberg and later the Reichenberger Hof in Wiener Straße. The museum was open to the public on Sundays between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m.
A scientific library existed to support the scientific work of the association . In 1925, the association's communications name 1631 volumes and 5000 works from the exchange of papers and 112 volumes of periodicals from other partner institutions. This library collection includes works on botanical, geographical, geological, historical and zoological topics. The association also owned five map series .
Others
Together with the Agriculture and Forestry Association , an agricultural winter school was founded in Reichenberg.
Association chairperson
According to the statutes, the office of chairman of the association was called chairman. The following people worked in this role:
- 1849–1854 Karl Ritter von Bundschuh
- 1854–1868 Josef Fousek (doctor)
- 1868–1870 Wilhelm Siegmund (entrepreneur)
- 1870–1906 Ludwig Hlasiwetz
- 1906–1920 Gustav Miksch (building contractor)
- 1920-? Josef Ehrlich-Treuenstätt (pharmacist)
Selected publications of the association
- Messages from the Association of Friends of Nature in Reichenberg, 1879–1938 (born in 60)
- Karl Huebner: Guide through Reichenberg and the surrounding area (Iser-Jeschkengebirge) . 1883 (arranged by the scientific department of the association, Karl Hübner was secretary of the association and senior teacher in Reichenberg)
literature
- Karl Hübner: A brief overview of the activities developed by the Naturfreunde Association during its 75 years of existence . In: Messages from the Friends of Nature Association in Reichenberg, at the same time a commemorative publication to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the association, Reichenberg vol. 47 (1925) pp. 46–49
- Marek Řeháček: Reichenberg in Bohemia . 2nd edition (German translation: Klaus-Rüdiger Schäffler) Liberec 2007, p. 216
Individual evidence
- ^ Botanical garden in Liberec. on http://en.infoglobe.cz/
- ↑ Vývoj Botanické zahrady - historické milníky. on www.botaniliberec.cz
- ↑ Karl Huebner: Brief review. P. 48