Anton Adner (1705? – 15 March 1822), also known as the Bavarian Methusalem, was a

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

, who reportedly is of the oldest people to have lived in that region of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Life

Anton Adner was born in 1705, either in Schönau - where his residence was - or in the

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, from whence Adner would have come after the birth of his child. Adner's nickname was ''Danei''.

Selling wooden boxes

Until the end of his life, Adner's modest

activity consisted of building and selling his wooden creations. In those years, the region of

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...

had strict commerce regulations. Carpenters were allowed only one specialized item to build to sell, so Adner specialized in making

wooden box A wooden box is a container made of wood for storage or as a shipping container. Construction may include several types of wood; lumber (timber), plywood, engineered woods, etc. For some purposes, decorative woods are used. Boxes as ship ...

es of many uses, basically

decorative Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...

for storing basic necessities such as foodstuffs, valuables, toys, etc. Berchtesgaden also imposed import/export fees for those goods which crossed the Bohemian border. However, the artisan could carry his wares by foot without paying a tax, so therefore - like many other artisans of his time - Adner chose to transport his goods by foot with a backpack far beyond

Berchtesgadener land Berchtesgadener Land (Central Bavarian: ''Berchtsgoana Land'') is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the district of Traunstein and by the state of Austria. History Middle ages and early modern era The southern a ...

, trekking throughout

and farther into

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The wooden boxes were carried by Adner, over his shoulder and even over his head. He continued this activity long after he had reached his 100th birthday. For a pastime, Anton Adner would also knit artisan

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

s, to supplement his income along with his wooden boxes.

National fame

Bavarian royalty had spotted Anton Adner for the inauguration of a

brine Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt (NaCl) in water (H2O). In diverse contexts, ''brine'' may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% (a typical concentration of seawater, on the lower end of that of solutions used for br ...

device at Berchtesgaden. Then Adner was presented in 1814 at the Frauenkirche

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

for

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...

, as ''the oldest man in Bavaria''. For the occasion, Adner participated in the rite of

foot washing Foot washing is the act of cleansing one's feet. Foot washing may also refer to: * Maundy (foot washing), a religious rite involving foot washing observed by various Christian denominations * Wudu Wuḍūʾ ( ar, الوضوء ' ) is the Islamic ...

and attended a theatre for the first time in his life. During the event, Adner, who then claimed to be 110 years old, also managed to climb the 92-meter-high southern tower of the cathedral. A portrait, the ''Frauenturm'' (Lady's Tower), was engraved to commemorate the deed, but it was destroyed during a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

bombing raid. Nonetheless, Munich-based painter Kleiber did a painting of it, which hangs in the museum of Berchtesgaden. In 1817, at the alleged age of 112, Anton Adner met

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death. He was never crowned by the pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed himself E ...

who supported his medical care. Bayerische Staatszeitung
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adner, Anton Longevity claims 1705 births 1822 deaths People from Berchtesgadener Land