July/August 2026

41 – Purebred PIGEON Karlheinz Sollfrank 27.10.1936 – 3.4.2026 By Jerry Sindelar For over three decades, Good Friday was a day for many pigeon enthusiasts, magazine editors, publishers, collectors, association officials and friends, to gather together at the Deutsches Taubenmuseum e.V. (German Pigeon Museum) in the city of Nuremberg, Germany. A place where the Easter holiday and the friendship of people with a mutual interest in pigeons from Europe, Australia and America was celebrated. Opening spring time brings joy and fresh ideas, especially to the breeders starting a new season, planning shows and competi- tions for their favorite breeds. No doubt then, that it was highly attended with many new ideas, contacts and plans for the future. Karlheinz Sollfrank, noted propagator of purebred pigeons and poultry with a great vision, was a brilliant organizer of gi- gantic pigeon/poultry shows, not seen at such large scale before. He opened the museum in1992 which quickly became famous in the pigeon world as a global center of ornamental pigeon collectibles. The Museum published an informative bulletin “Columba,” which inspired writers and historians to write about the past, col- lected artifacts at one place and successfully informed the public about the great history of pigeon keeping. During his life he bred several breeds. His favorite was the Franconian Field pigeon, that he kept whole his life. In 1993 with his friend Jean-Louis Frindel, Sollfrank realized a new concept for the Book of Standard Breeds, where each breed, after consultation with its specialty club, was painted by one artist. The book was unified with a very professional look. This practice is preferred by number of countries today. For many years, Sollfrank served as vice president of the BDRG (Association of German Poultry Breeders), honorable president of the Bavarian Poultry Association and also of the Nürnberger Taubenclub e.V. (Nuremberg Pigeon Club). He was a bearer of the honorary golden ring of BDRG and the German Cross of Merit. Karheinz Sollfrank was a very active, modest and creative man, not only as a breeder. He established the feed company KG; was as a young successful athlete who had the honour to compete with famous Olympic gold medalist Emil Zatopek, etc. To visit the museum and spectacular Ger- man shows is always a great inspiration and education; a must for every serious breeder. Sportsmanship, hard work and friend- ship were characteristic of this great pigeon man. He will be missed by many for a long time. The door of his museum closed on the date, when he opened it.• Sollfrank in the book collection/library of the museum Jean-Louis Frindel’s standard painting of the Franconian Field pigeon Jerry Sindelar, Karlheinz Sollfrank and Frantisek Slepicka of the Czech Republic - a very good friend of Sollfrank; he obtained trophies for many German shows created by J. Janska and other Czech artists