diff --git a/src/main/java/caosdb/server/ServerProperties.java b/src/main/java/caosdb/server/ServerProperties.java
index 701f22c83b4f33036ce4d8f014b0d53009d2517e..74c421f8faa338d8390542541fcb975e2a9bddbd 100644
--- a/src/main/java/caosdb/server/ServerProperties.java
+++ b/src/main/java/caosdb/server/ServerProperties.java
@@ -150,7 +150,10 @@ public class ServerProperties extends Properties {
       String[] confFiles = confDir.list();
       Arrays.sort(confFiles, Comparator.naturalOrder());
       for (String confFile : confFiles) {
-        loadConfigFile(serverProperties, new File(confDir, confFile));
+          // prevent backup files from being read
+          if (confFiles.endsWith(".conf")) {
+              loadConfigFile(serverProperties, new File(confDir, confFile));
+          }
       }
     }