Grave of Josef John with a Commemorative Plaque in Vimperk

1871 

Josef John (1802–1871) was one of the most renowned foresters in the Schwarzenberg service. His most important achievement was the initiation of the establishment of the natural forest reserve in Boubín in 1858. John died shortly after the storm of 1870, which destroyed more than half the area of the original reserve, he is buried in the cemetery in Vimperk. 

 

Josef John, a native of Petrov Dvůr, was transferred to the Forest Schwarzenberg office of forestry in Vimperk on 22 May 1838. He had studied at the Schwarzenberg forestry apprenticeship in Zlatá Koruna and also had many years of experience working in the Schwarzenberg services - both in the forestry office in Krumlov, where he supervised, among other things, the navigation of timber in the “Vienna branch” of the Schwarzenberg navigation canal, and also on the Třeboň estate. It is interesting to note, that it was in 1838 that the first European natural forest reserve, the Žofínský prales (Žofín Forest), was founded in the Novohradské Mountains by the nature-philosophically minded Count George Franz August Buquoy. In 1843 John became the head forester. He became increasingly aware of the adverse effects of clear-felling and the subsequent artificial planting of spruce and he became a strong advocate of the natural regeneration of forests. In 1849 John conducted the first professional excursion to the Šumava natural forest and tried to attract the attention of scientific experts to this remarkable natural site. His commitment to the natural community resulted in the establishment of the Boubín Natural Forest by Charles II Prince of Schwarzenberg in 1858. John led the last excursion into the forest in 1868. In that year the forest was hit by the first destructive storm, which, however, was repeated with even greater intensity on 26 October 1870 and affected a large part of Šumava, including more than half of the area of the Boubín Forest. This catastrophe affected John so much that he asked to be retired and died a few months later, on 21 January 1871. 

Josef John was buried in the Vimperk cemetery on 26 January 1871 and his grave lies in the immediate vicinity of the cemetery chapel of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord. In the bottom part of John`s gravestone, a small memorial plaque was placed in 2002 on the initiative of the Ministry of the Environment to commemorate John`s contribution to saving the Boubín Natural Forest for future generations.

 

References

Macar, V.: Schwarzenberský lesmistr Josef John a jeho „Kámen“. In: Obnovená tradice 3/1993, s. 13–17.

 

Havlátková, S., Hubený, P., Balda, P.: Boubínský prales – ostrov divoké přírody. Vimperk 2009.

 

LeO

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