Bavaria: How do we see the wolf? – Bavaria

Near the village of Neufraunhofen (Landshut district), on the edge of a forest, stands the lonely old wolf column. It recalls a terrible event that happened at that point more than 300 years ago. An inscription describes the drama in rhyming form: “Lurte in this place here / a wolf, a ferociously wild animal / when late to Hausbach all alone / a girl hurried home in good spirits / but suddenly she caught the wolf’s teeth / and pulled her to the ground. .. “

In this place it becomes clear how the view of wild animals like the wolf is currently changing. She now vacillates between primal fear – as it is expressed in the wolf column and also in the bad wolf in Grimm’s fairy tales – and a new appreciation. Even in the early 19th century, humans felt so threatened that wolf, bear and lynx were almost exterminated. Today attempts are being made to reintroduce these animals, which are strictly protected but not undisputed.

Barbara Michal, the director of the Bogenberg District Museum near Straubing, has dealt intensively with the changing relationship between humans and animals in recent years. There are also very different views today on so-called pests, she says. “Some see them as animals that threaten the very basis of life, for others they are an important part of the ecological system.” So some see the bark beetle as a forest destroyer, others a forest restorer.

“We differentiate between farm animals and pests, domestic animals and wild animals. The boundaries are culturally determined and sometimes fluid,” says Michal, who, together with her colleagues, has designed an exhibition on this topic that is well worth seeing. “The topic is absolutely contemporary,” she says. Nevertheless, she gave the exhibition the old term “critters”. This means cattle and other farm animals in the countryside. “The name was chosen deliberately because country air clings to it,” as Michal says.

Humans and animals, this is also a highly mined area, as Michal learned from her research. Therefore, the exhibition wants to show and contrast the fundamentally different attitudes towards animals. This has succeeded excellently: Seldom has one received such deep insights into the different worlds of farmers, breeders, artists, animal rights activists, hunters and fishermen. “Everyone has their own view of the animal and how to deal with it,” says Michal. It depends on whether you earn a living with it, keep animals for fun, or whether you want to protect them and refuse to hunt and slaughter.

“The topic polarizes a lot”

It is hard to grasp the breadth in which the exhibition thematizes the relationship between humans and animals over the past 200 years. Although only the rural district of Straubing-Bogen was used as the study area, the abundance of material is overflowing. The museum team not only collected objects, archive material, photos and works of art, but also conducted interviews with 30 informants who had something to say on the subject of wild animals, pets and farm animals. In this way, much that is illuminating, surprising and contradicting about the complex of animals and people in the country comes to light.

“The topic polarizes a lot, many do not even dare to speak their mind openly,” said Barbara Michal. This is also due to the fact that the categories into which animals are divided are always fluid. In pre-industrial times, most farm animals were also pets. But while cattle and cows were bred to be highly specialized performers who donate more and more milk and meat, dogs and cats now enjoy a high emotional value. They are pampered as family members and as a social partner.

Again and again, however, cultural taboos were broken. A meat inspection stamp shows that in times of need dogs were sometimes also cattle for slaughter and were eaten. Conversely, farm animals like chickens are kept as beloved pets today. In modern private gardens, bees and chickens often satisfy the need for closeness to nature.

Farm animals were indeed suppliers of raw materials, but they used to exude their own aesthetic. One of the objects is a horn judge (Hörndlbieger) who let cattle horns grow into a shape that matched the yoke and at the same time enhanced the value and beauty of the animal. The existential importance of livestock in pre-industrial times is shown by votive tablets with images of animals that were sacrificed on pilgrimages in order to obtain help in times of need. The material value of cattle is reflected in the cynical, but once popular saying: “Die Frauberben does not go to ruin / horse death is terrifying for the peasants!”

One of the innumerable stratifications that the human-animal theme has is the dung heap, once a valuable fertilizer and a sign of economic efficiency. Until the mineral fertilizer broke the dependence on animal manure. Today there is an excess rather than a lack of animal excrement. Last but not least, the genus of the cattle dealer should be mentioned, who also worked as a marriage cuddler and thus embodied something like an early form of the Tinder platform.

Critters – About animals and people in the country. Bogenberg District Museum, until October 30th, Wednesday-Friday 2 pm-5pm, Sat / Sun 12 pm-5pm.