Hans Schreiber

Hans Schreiber (1859–1936) was a leading expert in peat bogs. His work is linked not only to his native Šumava and the places in northwestern Bohemia where he taught – Děčín-Libverda and Stod –, but also with a number of places around Europe. Schreiber enriched the natural sciences with a great many professional publications, and also by creating institutional facilities for the study of peat bogs.

Hans Schreiber was born in Volary. After completing his studies at the grammar school in Prachatice and the college (Realschule) in České Budějovice, he studied physics, chemistry and geology at the German Technical University in Prague. Before continuing his studies in Vienna he passed his teaching examinations in the history of the natural sciences and physics. After a short time working as a teacher in Děčín-Libverda and Trutnov, from 1895 he was the director of the Winter Agricultural School in Stod and also from 1899 served as the Head of the Peat Culture Station (Moorkulturstation) in Hora Svatého Šebestiána, which was part of the Stod school. In 1900 he established a German-Austrian association in Salzburg devoted to the study of peat bogs (Deutschösterreichischer Moorverein), which he headed until 1918, and also published the association’s journal (Deutsch-Österreichische Moorzeitschrift) until 1915. The association’s library, together with Schreiber’s private collection of books, which were exclusively on the topic of peat bogs, contained a total of 1460 publications. From 1905 Schreiber organised an international seminar on peat bogs in Hora Svatého Šebestiána. He also became famous for his documentation of peat bogs; 246 of the total of 708 peat bogs were situated in Šumava, 22 in south Bohemia and 185 in northwestern Bohemia. In addition to this, he is known for his contribution to nature conservation, advocating the protection peat sites. He was interested in all the European peat bogs, which he set out to visit from Hora Svatého Šebestiána – with the exception of three trips to Scandinavia, northern Italy and the Baltic Sea – by bike. Schreiber was also involved in the establishment of the Museum of Šumava. After the first unsuccessful attempt to found a museum in Volary in 1907, in 1923 he and Gustav Jungbauer succeeded in establishing the Museum of Šumava in Horní Planá. The museum also featured a natural science exhibition that included peat bogs. Hans Schreiber died in 1936 in Český Krumlov; he is buried in his home town of Volary.

Hans Schreiber. In: kol.: Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon1815–1950, sv. 11, 52/1997, s. 191f.

Schreiber, H.: Moorkunde nach dem gegenwärtigen Stande des Wissens auf Grund 30jähriger Erfahrung. Berlin 1927.

Hans Schreiber. Jihočeská vědecká knihovna v Českých Budějovicích, Kohoutí kříž. URL: