Wilhelm Franz Epha

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Wilhelm Franz Epha
Fortified dune on the Curonian Spit, Elche (before 1900)
Gravestone of Epha in the forest cemetery of Rossitten (2013)

Wilhelm Franz Epha (born November 8, 1828 , Goldap , East Prussia , † September 16, 1904 in Rossitten ) was a Prussian forest protection officer. For almost four decades it served to protect the Curonian Spit by planting the dunes .

Life

Epha's ancestors immigrated to East Prussia from Lower Alsace in the 18th century . In Rominter Heide he received forestry training at the Nassawen Forestry Office . In 1846 he joined the East Prussian Jäger Battalion No. 1 in Braunsberg . Retired in 1857, he was employed by the Memel merchants as a forest protection officer.

When the shifting dunes on the spit threatened not only the last villages, but also the lagoon fishery, the Poststrasse and the Memeler Tief, the Crown Prussia decided to define them. In 1870 the Royal Dune Inspector Epha was entrusted with the management of the safety work. Unlike before with the front dunes, the attempt with beach grass and sandgrass failed. So one went over to the immediate afforestation : In small square fields, bordered by reed and shrub cutlery , pines were planted in boulder clay or oat marl . The floor was covered with seaweed or brushwood . Spirken (hooked pines), which had already proven themselves in Denmark , were planted on the windward slopes . The common pine was also used in sheltered locations . The ball planting introduced in Königsberg proved its worth. The laborious and costly process allowed the plants to take root and set the dunes in a short time.

The Bruchberge near Rossitten were reforested in this way from 1877 to 1882, from 1875 to 1885 the up to 50 m high dunes Urbo Kalns and Angiu Kalns west of Nida , from 1897 to the fore dunes at Preila and Perwelk and the Petschberg near Pillkoppen. Out of gratitude, the almost buried Pillkoppener called the 61 m high summit of the dune “Ephas Höhe” in 1891.

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personal data
SURNAME Epha, Wilhelm Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION East Prussian dune inspector
DATE OF BIRTH November 8, 1828
PLACE OF BIRTH Goldap
DATE OF DEATH September 16, 1904
Place of death Rossitten