Ein Gipsapostel und ein lachender Philosoph

Art, grain and cows
This is the granary of Hohenlohe and Baden-Württemberg. In addition to good soil and high-quality food production, it has even more to offer: From the Würth Museum, a cultural attraction, to a lovely, agricultural landscape, to Hohenlohe princes and the "laughing philosopher" Carl Julius Weber, the range of interesting destinations for travelers and hikers spans.

This hiking tour begins and ends in Gaisbach, which belongs to the district town of Künzelsau. The Würth Group, one of the largest trading companies in Germany and a global corporation, has its headquarters here and its main business is the worldwide trade in fastening and assembly materials. However, entrepreneur Reinhold Würth also has a heart for the fine arts. That is why two independent museums have been integrated into the administration building in Gaisbach: Museum Würth for modern and contemporary art and the Museum for Screws and Threads. Würth's annual program includes open-air music events. The sky stretches out over Hohenlohe when you step out of the Würth world of art and technical exhibits. That's when you set off, step by step, through the

surrounding fields and meadows interspersed with wooded plots and small streams. Rural dwellings, hamlets and villages can be found in the fertile Hohenlohe plain. Cows and horses graze. Grain, maize, sugar beet, potatoes and vegetables grow here. So it is no coincidence that the first cooperative grain storehouse in Baden-Württemberg was built in the market town of Kupferzell (1897). Wilhelm Dutt, the mayor of Kupferzell (1887 to 1924) was the driving force behind this. During this time, he founded the first Württemberg grain sales cooperative and agricultural and commercial bank. The warehouse is now in the Hohenloher Freilandmuseum Wackershofen, as is the former railroad station. Johann Friedrich Mayer, who was a parish priest in Kupferzell in the 18th century, also rendered outstanding services to agriculture. He became an agricultural expert.

Among other things, he was the first to recommend that farmers fatten their cattle in the barn and use mineral fertilizer, namely crushed gypsum stone. This earned him the honorary title of Gypsum Apostle of Kupferzell. He also advocated improved three-field farming. Mayer's grave is in the cemetery in Kupferzell. The "laughing philosopher", Court Councillor Carl Julius Weber (1767 - 1832), is also buried there. His "Monument of Love and Gratitude" stands against the cemetery wall. Weber was a polyhistor - a scholar well versed in many fields of knowledge. He is also known as Baedecker's predecessor. He undertook travel studies throughout Germany and wrote them down in his witty and ingenious "Letters of a German traveling through Germany".</p