Carl Pfeiffer

Radebeul without viticulture? An unheard-of idea! The local grape juice, which not only gives us a taste of the dolce vita at the annual wine festival, is an integral part of Radebeul's identity. The local winegrowers have recently been extremely enthusiastic about the 2011 vintage, both in terms of quantity and quality.

Carl Pfeiffer made the persistent, up-and-coming wine production in the Elbland region possible in the first place. He is currently celebrating his 140th birthday in August 2012. Reason enough to turn our attention to the father of Saxon oenology.

Born in Silesia in 1872, his path initially led him through various horticultural training colleges, where he specialised in viticulture. In 1912, he and his wife Paula followed the call of the "Rebschulverein Meißen" as specialised teachers and travelling teachers for fruit growing and viticulture. Highly qualified people were urgently needed at the time, as the wine region was recovering from the last foothills of the devastating phylloxera disaster. The pest arrived in Europe from 1860 via imported American vines and began its devastating work. It had already infested vines in the Elbe region by 1885. Attempts to contain the damage with incineration and chemical mace were unsuccessful. In 1888, the resigned proposal was finally made to abandon viticulture altogether. However, the enthusiastic winegrowers were not to be deterred in their enthusiasm, and as early as 1907 reconstruction began through grafting with phylloxera-resistant rootstock from America. The success of this experiment signalled the start of the revival in the Meissen and Lößnitz vineyards. The fruits of each flourishing plant appeared not only in the form of ripe grapes, but also in the form of state financial aid.

With his knowledge and innovations, the agricultural teacher Carl Pfeiffer played a significant role in the continuation of this success story to this day, as he was unshakeably convinced of the high quality of the local wine. In 1916, he moved from Meissen to Oberlößnitz and was welcomed with open arms in his endeavours to revitalise the area. His innovations included mineral fertilisation and the use of motorised winches. He created sample vineyards to test varieties and planted clonal gardens to test grafting techniques with different vine rootstocks or soil conditions. The esteemed "Mr Rat Pfeiffer" (or "Lös-Pfeiffer") provided advice and assistance to private winegrowers in particular by organising pruning courses and viticulture training courses, which were always well attended. He published 200 specialised articles in the course of his career.

In 1927, his tireless efforts to improve Saxon viticulture found a focal point at Hoflößnitz with the founding of the viticultural research and teaching centre. Not only did he take over the management of this college himself, he also set up his own winery for scientific research purposes and independent self-financing. Great care was taken in the choice of cultivated plants, and the findings from experimental cultures and ongoing observation were channelled directly back into domestic viticulture. His credo was: from practice for practice. The resourceful Pfeiffer also played a pioneering role in terms of marketing: the unique bottle shape, the so-called Sachsenkeule, can be traced back to his initiative. In addition to his vocation and writing activities, he headed the "Sächsische Weinbaugesellschaft" and the "Weinbergsgesellschaft Lößnitz" for many years. In 1938, he was one of the founding members of the Sächsische Winzergenossenschaft Meißen (Saxon Winegrowers' Co-operative Meissen), of which he was managing director until 1942. A drop of Müller-Thurgau, a sip of Veltliner, a glass of Neuburger - the first bottlings of these grape varieties in local viticulture are also part of Carl Pfeiffer's many achievements.

Of course, Pfeiffer also dedicated his retirement to the Lößnitz grape juice. As early as 1935, he had a vineyard planted in Radebeul-Zitzschewig, the "Wächterberg" (Knollenweg 8), for his long-time employee Magdalena Schlegel, where he himself worked quietly and continuously until the end of his life. On 6 February 1946, he closed his eyes forever and was buried at the foot of this vineyard in St John's Cemetery in accordance with his wishes. He shares his final resting place there with his wife Paula and his workmate Magdalena.

Maren Gündel, City Archive

Published in: Radebeul official gazette, August 2012