Out and About with Ed.ith Mich.aeler

Where do you think these pics were made? Somewhere in Iran, central Asia or at least Egypt you’d probably guess.

Well, actually they were made right in one of Vienna’s posher areas, Döbling. And actually it’s a former factory for moothproofing agents.

Well read! This is Zacherlfabrik, a rare example of historicistic architecture referring to Persia.

And an excellent example of architecture as a means of Storytelling in PR!

The story is the following: Mit 19th century a guy named Mr. Zacherl travelled to central Asia and found a plant that effectively repells mooths and other vermins. He imported the plant, some kind of chrysanth, from central Asia to Vienna, fabricated the agent and sold it widely across the Austro-Hungarian Empire and beyond.

The powder was modestly called ‘Zacherlin’ or ‘Persian powder’ as reference to its provenance.

Persia (today Iran) was at that time associated with wealth, luxury, opulence.

To underline the exklusivity of the product and to directly connect with Persia , one of Mr.Zacherl’s smart (and wealthy) descendants errected the factory with references to the persian (but also egyptian and ottoman) architecture, mainly the Sheik’s mosque in Isfahan/now: Iran.

The image of the factory was then widely refered to in all kinds of publicity, ads,… Quite smart.

After WW1, when Austria became much smaller, import tolls increased and chemical repellents were invented (and cheaper), Zacherlin had a bottomless decline and fabrication was finally dismissed.

Captured a lot of booty - and had another tree experience:

Yesterday I made a very special trip - I was in the jungle again. But I didn´t travel around the world to do so – I went to Austria´s last jungle. Jungle? In Austria? No way! These two don´t come together. I thought so too. But I was -luckily- disabused. Before entering the woods, I couldn´t imagine, what a „jungle in Austria" could look like – for sure nor lines, banana plants, huge bright flowers or monkeys,... But, when we entered the protected parts of the „nature-wood“ I captured the idea of jungle rather quickly.

What is the Austrian Jungle like? There is a little hidden treasure (only 500ha) in the deepest corner of Lower Austria (sometimes covered with snow until early June): Wildnisgebiet Dürrenstein (www.wildnisgebiet.at). This „wild wood“ is one of the very, very few areas in the Alps, yet in Europe, that was -throught history -neverever cleared by humans. So the "wood" - the plants, the animals, the mushrooms, algees and lichens - could exist and evolve „their way“ throughout time (aka since the Ice Age). This is very special and precious, as allmost all of the rest of Europe was more or less at least once roded over times.

Apart from this insight, I took a lot with me from this day out (metaphorically – as it is strictly forbidden to take anything out of the jungle). Interesting, interesting things I learned there. It is basically: It seems as if I admire the junge for its very well-organized chaos. Order in Chaos? This untouched, wild wood looked -no other word fits- „chaotic“! Trees are bundled in groups, not in „lines“, trees and plants in all stages of decompostion are lying around, you see bones and sticks and plants of very different heights all overall, and next to each other. In between there are clearings and holes or dense hedges. All the plants are somehow hunched or curved or grown together with other plants. You can hear the unfamiliar sound of silence. This is really irritating and uncommon. Chaos in Order! But, nevertheless, it is a very well organized chaos. Organized chaos in a wood left on its own, you may wonder... Well, what I discovered as well, is that nature left on its own is nevertheless very, very well organised. Not by humans, but by itself. And what comes out of "non-human", natural organization is somehow really instructive: Everything has it´s place and it´s reason for being exactly there, where it is – may it be an ant, a spruce of 60m (!) altitude, a dense hedge of small birches,... May it be small, tall, unimpressive or massive. It´s all interlinked and follows in its uncontrolled growth nevertheless determined rules and processes. Probably this is all no surprise to those who have engaged themselves with ecology or nature any sooner... but hey, I just start getting into this nature thing. It was kind of an enlightenment. ;-)

And so...

I know almost nothing about ecology or wild life or nature, so no statements on how to deal with all this forest and wood management, on ecological behaviour or so.

Just some (a bit philosophical) reflections, this trip to the jungle tought me:

Nothing is as it seems (A wood is not a wood, e.g.)

There is order in chaos.

There is no „normal“.

But there are some rules.

Everything is there because it has to be there.

Matters resolve themselves.

Coming back to the essentials: The impact of just one (species) on the whole eco-system is fascinating. The following video (as well as the article from the Guardian) illustrates "How the wolf changed the river" when the wolf was resettled in the #Yellowstone National Park.