Johann Cornies

Johann Cornies ( born June 20, 1789 in Bärwalde near Danzig, West Prussia, † 13 March 1848 the Ohrloff in the Mennonite settlement of Molotschna, Ukraine ) was a Mennonite in Southern Russia, contributed greatly to shaping the agriculture of the Mennonites and helped to establish an advanced education. Later he became probably the richest man in southern Russia.

Life

Johann Cornies was born as the eldest of four brothers. His eponymous father moved with his family in the years 1803-1805 from West Prussia in the Molotschna, South Russia. Johann Cornies senior practiced as herbalists and thus was the first physician of the colony.

Johann Cornies junior worked at a young age, first as a servant to a miller and then began to trade in agricultural products. In 1811 he settled in the village Ohrloff.

In the following years he succeeded crucial to improve the livestock and agriculture in the area. His initiative brought the Mennonites in the region a major economic advantage over other German settlers. Cornies discovered that the nearby steppe was suitable for the merino sheep, which is especially zugutekam the nomadic Nogaiern. The agricultural knowledge was passed on to the nearby villages of Russians, Jews and Tatars. He developed the methods by which grain farming in the steppe was possible. He could control the irrigation of fields with pent-up small rivers and ponds. Experiments with silkworms and tobacco, however, were less successful. 1830, Cornies the " Agricultural Association" and its first president.

The model farm Juschanlee, which he himself had built, was given to him later by the Tsar.

Of equal importance are his successes in the development of a functioning school system. In 1820 he founded the "Christian School Association ." Cornies put a uniform teacher training by, founded schools and introduced compulsory education. His 87 general rules about teaching and treatment of school children were groundbreaking for the school system. Classes were conducted in High German language, while the language in general use was Plautdietsch in the Mennonite colonies in southern Russia.

Cornies got 1825 visit of the Russian Tsar Alexander I, who confronted him very favorably. He was very popular with the Russian authorities; Prince Vorontsov was often a guest in his house. Under the Tsar Nicholas I Cornies was appointed in St. Petersburg due to his life's work as a corresponding member of the Scholars Committee of the Reich Ministry. His research interests also expressed in archaeological excavations, which he had carried out in the steppe hills where there were evidence of a previous culture.

Despite his wealth Johann Cornies remained a simple, humble farmer who lived like all other Mennonites in a simple farmhouse. His achievements and his formative, educational influence on the private lives of the colonists are certainly indisputable. After his death in 1848 the inhabitants of the location Ohrloff built a modest marble monument on his grave.