Gottfried Menzel was born in the family of a farmer in Krásný Les and it was at the instigation of the local priest that he was sent to study; first at Piarist Latin school in Mladá Boleslav and then at Malá Strana high school in Prague. He completed his studies at the Litoměřice Theological Seminary in 1824, when he was ordained a priest and appointed chaplain in Hrádek nad Nisou. It was here that his research and teaching activities began. In 1826 he became a corresponding member of the Naturforschende Gesellschaft zu Görlitz (Society for Nature Sciences in Zhořelec). In 1831 he became a catechist at an all-girls school in Liberec. During this time, he published his first naturalistic work on the local flora Flora der excellenzgräflichen Clam Gallas’schen Herrschaften Friedland, Reichenberg, Grafenstein und Lämberg (Prague 1830–33, The Flora of the Count Clam-Gallas Estates Frýdlant, Liberec, Grabštejn and Lemberk with Practical Remarques in Czech). In 1834 Count Kristián Kryštof Clam-Gallas appointed him as priest in Nové Město pod Smrkem. Here he also devoted himself to further scientific research in addition to his duties as a clergyman. He studied the possibilities of mulberry cultivation, fruit growing and astronomy, he collected plants and researched healing with the use of natural remedies, etc. He made the results of his research available to schools and all interested parties. This was a time when many people were leaving for America in search of a living. In order to get to know the conditions there and be able to advise other interested people, he planned a journey overseas, initially considering a trip to Chile, but eventually going to Texas at his own expense in 1849─51. He published his findings in the book Die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika mit besonderer Rücksicht auf die deutsche Auswanderung dahin nach eigener Anschauung geschrieben (The United States of America, with special focus on German emigration, written there from my own experience and observations), kin which he described the natural, economic and social conditions in the USA. Upon his return to Nové Město, he was appointed dean as a reward for his meritorious work and the usefulness of his overseas trip. He retired in 1854 because of a serious eye disease. He settled in his native Krásný Les where he continued his research, but in 1875 he returned to Nové Město and he died there in 1879.
In 1875 Emperor Franz Joseph I. awarded him the Cross of Merit with a crown. He was also an honorary member of many scientific societies – e. g. the Society for Society for Nature Sciences in Zhořelec, the Physiocratic Society in Prague and the Imperial Institute of Geology in Vienna.
When Menzel died, the grateful citizens organized a committee for the erection of the monument and the leading town officials of Nové Město were its members together with Mayor Anton Schwertner. The eight-member committee launched a fundraising campaign and approached institutions and private individuals through the press and personal letters. Donations from town residents, friends and corporations paid for the construction of the monument by sculptor Ernst Blumrich from Frýdlant and for the making and maintenance of Menzel`s tombstone. The unveiling probably took place on 17 August 1884. The obelisk is inscribed with only the name and dates of birth and death: “GOTTFRIED / MENZEL / GEB 7. JUNI 1798. / GEST 14. MAI 1879.” There is a short dedication on the lower part “Von seinen Verehrern” (From his admirers). The signature on the pedestal is difficult to read: “geftgt. Ernst Blumrich Bildhauer / in Friedland”.

Keywords: botany; geology; pomology; Menzel; geology; herbaria; national history and geography

Monument to Gottfried Menzel in Nové Město pod Smrkem