an honorary diploma at Graz, presented by Archduke Johann of Austria. In 1903 Dzierzon was presented to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. In 1904 he became an honorary member of the Schlesische Gesellschaft für vaterländische Kultur ("Silesian Society for Fatherland Culture"). Dzierzon's questioning of papal infallibility caused him to be retired from the priesthood in 1869. This disagreement, along with his public engagement in local politics, led to his 1873 excommunication. In 1884 he moved back to Lowkowitz, settling in the hamlet An der Grenze, (Granice Łowkowskie). Of his new home, he wrote:In every direction, one has a broad and pleasant view, and I am pretty happy here, despite the isolation, as I am always close to my beloved bees – which, if one's soul be receptive to the works of the Almighty and the wonders of nature, can transform even a desert into a paradise. From 1873 to 1902 Dzierzon was in contact with the Old Catholic Church, but in April 1905 he was reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church. He died in Lowkowitz on 26 October 1906 and is buried in the local graveyard. Legacy Johann Dzierzon is considered the father of modern apiology and apiculture. Most modern beehives derive from his design. Due to language barriers, Dzierzon was unaware of the achievements of his contemporary, L.L. Langstroth, the American "father of modern beekeeping", though Langstroth had access to translations of Dzierzon's works. Dzierzon's manuscripts, letters, diplomas and original copies of his works were given to a Polish museum by his nephew, Franciszek Dzierżoń. In 1936 the Germans renamed Dzierzon's birthplace, Lowkowitz, Bienendorf ("Bee Village") in recognition of his work with apiculture. At the time, the Nazi government was changing many Slavic-derived place names such as Lowkowitz. After the region came under Polish control following World War II, the village would be renamed Łowkowice. Following the 1939 German invasion of Poland, many objects connected with Dzierzon were destroyed by German gendarmes on 1 December 1939 in an effort to conceal his Polish roots. The Nazis made strenuous efforts to enforce a view of Dzierżoń as a German. After World War II, when the Polish government assigned Polish names to most places in former German territories which had become part of Poland, the Silesian town of Reichenbach im Eulengebirge (traditionally known in Polish as Rychbach) was renamed Dzierżoniów in the man's honor. In 1962 a Jan Dzierżon Museum