Jean Baptiste Holzmayer or Johann Baptist Holzmayer ( – ) was a Baltic German teacher, archaeologist and folklorist who worked on Saaremaa. He carried out excavations on locations of the ancient forts and stone graves, and gathered material about local religious customs and folklore. Holzmayer was also one of the founders of the local research society, and led the volunteer firefighter society.

Early life

As son of the craftsman Joseph Holzmayer, Johann Baptist Joseph was born on 12 July 1839 in

Mayence Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. From 1858 to 1862 he studied

classical philology Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and ancient studies in Giessen University.Personalbestand der Großherzoglich-Hessischen Ludewigs-Universität Giessen, Sommer-Semester 1862
p. 24.

Life on Saaremaa

In 1864, Holzmayer started working in the Kuressaare Gymnasium as teacher of old languages and

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...

. In 1865 he was one of the founding members of the Research Society of Saaremaa (''Verein zur Kunde Ösels'') in

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276. Th ...

. At society a museum was also soon founded. Lang & Laneman (2006), p. 227 Holzmayer carried out limited excavations at the locations of ancient forts of

Kaarma Kaarma (german: Karmel) is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia. (retrieved 28 July 2021) The Estonian communist politician Viktor Kingissepp was born here in 1888. Before the administrative reform in 20 ...

, Muhu, and

Pöide Pöide (german: Peude) is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County, on the eastern part of Saaremaa Island, Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the n ...

. He also composed the descriptions of all the historical hill forts on Saaremaa. During period of 1868–1874 Holzmayer excavated the stone graves of Piila, Kantsi, Päälda, Paju, Loona, Mäla, Kurevere and Viira. Lang & Laneman (2006), p. 130 Finds from the excavations formed basis of Research Society museum's collections. By the time of Holzmayer's death, the museum's collection included 1163 archeological objects, and 1877 coins, mostly from the ancient hoards. He also encouraged

Estonians Estonians or Estonian people ( et, eestlased) are a Finnic ethnic group native to Estonia who speak the Estonian language. The Estonian language is spoken as the first language by the vast majority of Estonians; it is closely related to other ...

like Mihkel Kallas,

Rudolf Kallas Rudolf Gottfried Kallas (22 May 1851 – 22 April 1913) was an Estonian clergyman and pedagog. 1871-1875 he was a primary school pedagog in Tartu. In 1883 he graduated from Tartu University. After graduating he had been a pastor in Valga, Rõuge ...

and

Carl Wilhelm Freundlich Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...

to participate in collecting. Kaevats et al. (2000) In addition to his archeological activities, Holzmayer was active in gathering material about the ancient religious customs and folklore. Starting from 1867 he collected data with written questionnaires, with a goal of eventually publishing his finds. In this he was strong example for the Estonian folklorist and linguist

Jakob Hurt Jakob Hurt ( in Himmaste – in St Petersburg) was a notable Estonian folklorist, theologian, and linguist. With respect to the last, he is perhaps best known for his dissertation on "pure" -ne stem nouns ("Die estnischen Nomina auf -ne purum ...

. Hurt also later helped to publish Holzmayer's Osiliana, which summarized findings of the Holzmayer's research. The first part included materials about ancient religion, the second part was about people's customs, and the third part included results of studies of the burial places. Holzmayer became the leader of the Kuressaare Volunteer Firefighter Society. Due to his strict leadership, most of the Baltic-Germans left the society, leaving only common people as members. Holzmayer died on 28 October 1890 in Kuressaare, and was buried in

Kudjape Cemetery Kudjape is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County, in northeastern Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holzmayer, Jean Baptiste 1839 births 1890 deaths Baltic-German people Writers from Mainz People from the Grand Duchy of Hesse Estonian archaeologists Estophiles University of Giessen alumni Estonian numismatists