117 - Anton Adner - Berchtesgaden, BY-DE
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member André de Montbard
N 47° 37.809 E 013° 00.091
33T E 349862 N 5277129
Headstone of Anton Adner, the oldest known Bavarian in Berchtesgaden.
Waymark Code: WM11WZ4
Location: Bayern, Germany
Date Posted: 01/01/2020
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member elyob
Views: 5

Anton Adner (1705? – 15 March 1822), also known as the Bavarian Methusalem, was a Bavarian artisan of wood, who reportedly is of the oldest people to have lived in that region of Germany.

Anton Adner was born in 1705, either in Schönau - where his residence was - or in the Tyrol, from whence Adner would have come after the birth of his child. Adner's nickname was Danei.

Until the end of his life, Adner's modest artisan activity consisted of building and selling his wooden creations. In those years, the region of Berchtesgaden had strict commerce regulations. Carpenters were allowed only one specialized item to build to sell, so Adner specialized in making wooden boxes of many uses, basically decorative 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, trekking throughout Bavaria and farther into Austria and Switzerland. 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.

National fame

Bavarian royalty had spotted Anton Adner for the inauguration of a brine device at Berchtesgaden. Then Adner was presented in 1814 at the Frauenkirche cathedral of Munich for Maundy Thursday, as the oldest man in Bavaria. For the occasion, Adner participated in the rite of foot washing 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 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. who supported his medical care.

For a pastime, Anton Adner would also knit artisan socks, to supplement his income along with his wooden boxes.

Source: Wikipedia
Location of Headstone: Old Cemetery Berchtesgaden

Visit Instructions:
Upload a photo of the headstone and, if possible, the surrounding area.(nothing should be placed on grave stone) If you can provide more information about the waymark than what is currently provided, please include that information in your visit log.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Headstones of Centenarians
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.