Alexander Ludwig von Wattenwyl
Alexander Ludwig von Wattenwyl (born February 18, 1714 in Bern ; † November 2, 1780 there ) was a Swiss historian and politician .
Life
He was the son of Franz Ludwig von Wattenwyl, an officer in foreign services and from 1723 governor in Landshut , and Elisabeth de Mestral. In 1736 he married Dorothea Salome von Erlach, daughter of Viktor von Erlach, Hofmeister zu Königsfelden . From 1745 Alexander Ludwig von Wattenwyl was Bernese Grand Councilor and in 1749 official defender ( public defender ) in the trial of the accused of the Henzi conspiracy . From 1752 to 1758 he was bailiff in Nidau , and from 1762 he was also supreme commander in the Moutier-Grandval provost's office . He was also a member of the library commission and the school council in Bern from 1762 and worked as a censor .
As a patrician he supported the idea of freedom , but not that of equality , which he called a dream.
Services
Von Wattenwyl had the Bern Chronicles, which had been kept secret until then, brought to the city library in order to make them accessible for public use. As a historian, he devoted himself in particular to Bernese history, critically questioning the statements of the chroniclers and wanting to have history written solely on the basis of documents, making him the first modern historian of Bern. In 1739 he founded the German Society with Johann Georg Altmann to cultivate language and literature. In 1759 he was one of the founding members of the Economic Society of Bern , of which he was president in 1767 and 1769. After von Wattenwyl suggested the establishment of a historical society in 1747 , he joined the Helvetic Society in 1762 and served as its president in 1766.
Works
- Description of the history of the Swiss Confederation. 1754, French 1754, covers the period up to 1516. 3rd edition 1768 under the title History of the Helvetian Confederation (French 1768), covers the time up to 1603.
- Histoire du Gouvernement de Berne. Published in German in 1783 by Johann Heinrich Füssli in the Swiss Museum under the title On the State Constitution of the City and Republic of Bern .
- Histoire de la ville de Berne. (Unprinted)
- Histoire du Canton de Berne. (Probably lost)
literature
- Gustav Tobler: Wattenwyl, Alexander Ludwig von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 41, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1896, p. 245 f.
Web links
- Karin Marti-Weissenbach: Wattenwyl, Alexander Ludwig von. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Alexander Ludwig von Wattenwyl's estate in the catalog of the Bern Burger Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wattenwyl, Alexander Ludwig von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss historian and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 18, 1714 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bern |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 2, 1780 |
| Place of death | Bern |