VACHOLD PHENOMENON – REMARKS OF A RARE MAN

Peter URBAN

Katedra biológie a ekológie, Fakulta prírodných vied UMB, Tajovského 40, 974 01 Banská Bystrica

 Abstract

RNDr. Július Vachold – biologist, pioneer of Slovak zoology, founder of the Slovak chiropterology, teacher, nature conservationist and a rare and honest man – was born on November 3^rd 1918 in Krupina. He attended the Faculty on Natural Sciences of the Slovak University in Bratislava. At the first he pursued his studies in geology, but later on he switched to zoology. He finished his study in 1947. Having graduated from the university he worked as a teacher in secondary school in a hometown. In 1954 he started work in a Faunistic Laboratory in Bratislava and became engaged in the research of bats. Vachold realised bat studies in some slovak karst mountains (e. g. Slovak Karst Mts., Muránska planina, Demänovská dolina valley atc.).  Because of political inspections in 1958 and 1958 was Dr. Vachold forced to leave his work. After a forced departure from the scientific field, he was employed in the in the aluminium factory in Žiar nad Hronom, in the Zoological garden in Bojnice and the secondary schools in Krupina. Afterwards he was only little angaged in zoology, but he was engaged in fruit growing, beekeeping, music etc. Július Vachold died on February 4^th 2008 in Krupina.