Alexander von Rennenkampff

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the Livonian landowner and district administrator, see Alexander von Rennenkampff (district administrator) (1787–1869).

Alexander Edler v. Rennkampff

Racekampff villa in Easter castle (1825)

Stele in the Easter Burger cemetery

Karl Jakob Alexander Edler von Rennenkampff (born January 29, 1783 at Helmet Castle , Estonia; † April 9, 1854 in Oldenburg (Oldb) ) was a writer, imperial Russian cavalry master , major of the cavalry, councilor , and later grand ducal Holstein-Oldenburg upper chamberlain in the rank a vice-chief steward, 1836 knight of the Greek Order of Redeemer , founder of the State Museum for Nature and Man in Oldenburg and since 1802 a Freemason (1842–1849 master of the chair in the lodge of the golden stag ).

Life

Karl Jakob Alexander Edler von Rennenkampff was born at Schloss und Gut Helmet on January 29, 1783, the eldest of three sons of District Marshal Jakob Johann (1753–1794). After the early death of the father, the mother, Elisabeth Dorothea from the Baltic German aristocratic family von Anrep (1759–1844), took care of the upbringing of her three sons, whom she entrusted to a tutor from Germany. Open-minded and educated beyond the class average, she pursued the unconventional goal, influenced by Rousseau's ideas, of "preferring to see her sons purely humanly educated in all directions than to see them vegetate mechanically on a prescribed track."

In 1797 Alexander and his younger brother Gustav sent them to Berlin to see Ignaz Feßler (1756–1839), a former Capuchin , scholar, Freemason and later general superintendent of the Lutheran congregation in St. Petersburg, whose didactic and philosophical writings had impressed them. After just one year, the two brothers - like all Russians studying abroad - had to return home by order of Paul I. Alexander first attended the cathedral school in Riga and after the death of the tsar in 1801 returned to Berlin, where Feßler organized and supervised his further training. Rennkampff later expressed himself very critically about his teacher, from whom he acquired "as much as nothing in terms of knowledge and education".

career

In 1802 Alexander left Berlin and in the following year entered the self-government of Livonia , in which the sons of the local noble families usually began their careers if they did not opt ​​for military service. The work in the knight chancellery in Riga and as an assessor at the regional court in Pernau, however, did not agree to run racekampff in the long term; After only two years he left again (... "which position he had to resign at the doctors' request in 1805 because of stomach ailments and migraines that were rampant." ) in order to complete and round off his incomplete training according to his own ideas. His scientific interests led him in October 1805 to the University of Göttingen (... "where he devoted himself to studying art and science under Boutherweck, Forillo and Blumenbach, in which knowledge his whole life and work was essentially absorbed."), Which was precisely in these Fan enjoyed a good reputation at the time. Rennkampff conducted four semesters of natural science and art history studies here, which he carried out in the style of the nobility education of the 18th century with an extensive educational trip through Switzerland (... “where he stayed in Lausanne, Geneva and especially in Coppet on Lake Geneva and the circle of well-known Mrs. Stael stepped closer ”), Italy and France graduated. Italy made the strongest impression on him, where he stayed for almost two years. In Rome he frequented the German artists' colony and the house of the Prussian ambassador Wilhelm von Humboldt , with whose wife Caroline the much younger Livonian soon enjoyed a lifelong friendship characterized by a spirit of sensitivity. His self-education ended in 1809 with a stay in Paris. In what was then the center of Europe, he was able to observe Napoleon at the height of his power and, next to that, found in Count Gustav von Schlabrendorf a deeply impressive example of human exemplary nature.

Return to Russia

When Rennkampff returned to Russia in 1810 (to St. Petersburg , where he came into contact with Klinger , AJ v. Krusenstern , EM Arndt and Freiherr v. Stein ), he brought the plan to found an elite institute with him, where the candidates for management positions should get the finishing touches in the state administration after attending university. However, he did not find much support for this grandiose project, which he hoped to lead himself, and in October 1811 accepted the position of teacher for German and French literature and aesthetics at the newly founded imperial lyceum in Tsarskoye Selo , which was only a temporary substitute for him depicted.

On January 7, 1812, Alexander von Humboldt wrote to Rennenkampff that Russia was equipping a mission via Kashgar to Tibet towards the end of 1811 and that Humboldt's hopes and plans for an expedition to Central Asia seemed to be realized. The Russian Chancellor, Count Romanzow, knew Humboldt personally and valued his zeal and knowledge very highly. At his instigation, Rennenkampff was commissioned to invite Humboldt to take part in this Central Asian mission. Humboldt gladly accepted the offer, but Napoleon's Russian campaign in 1812 made the pursuit of the plans obsolete.

Military experience

Almost relieved, Alexander left the Lyceum in 1813 after Napoleon's invasion and joined the Russian-German Legion organized by Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig von Oldenburg . Due to a lack of previous military knowledge and experience, he was out of the question for a troop command and became adjutant to General Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn , on whose staff he participated in the campaign to France.

After the victories of Vellahn and an der Göhrde , Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig suggested a few other merited soldiers from the Legion, as well as Rennenkampff, then a captain , because of his determination to carry out orders for the Order of St. Anne, 3rd class.

Even the war did not bring the turning point in life that was now hoped for. Rennkampff, now thirty years old, found himself in a dead end. While his pronounced self-confidence had previously led him to believe that he could “expect great things”, he now had to admit that his overly ambitious hopes had failed, for which, in understandable self-deception, he was responsible for the “connection of circumstances that could not be foreseen” made. Desperate, he tried desperately for some suitable employment in diplomacy or in court service and in July 1814 took the position of adjutant to the Hereditary Prince Paul Friedrich August von Oldenburg , who as Governor General of Estonia was looking for an adviser with knowledge of the country.

At Paul Friedrich August von Oldenburg

It was not difficult for Rennkampff to win over the young and impressionable prince. According to the descriptions of his contemporaries, if he wanted to, he was a winning personality, "a man of knowledge, spirit and love for everything that touches art and science"; which was also characterized by a “rare abundance and depth of sensation”. The lasting impression he managed to make at that time is shown by the memories of the youth of the historian Theodor von Bernhardi, who, at the age of thirteen, met with Rennenkampff on his parents' estate in Estonia: “With the arrival of this guest [Alexander v. R.] a spiritual spring had broken out in our house. The housemates were suddenly transported into another element. Rennkampf drove out every day, interrogated peasants and soldiers, and came back indignant at the brutality that had happened, edified by the peasants' sense of justice and moderation. But these things were only thought of temporarily. The conversation always turned to ideal things. Rennkampf had seen a lot and had many interests. There was talk of Italy, of art and poetry, of important men and women who were more or less well known. Certainly other conversations went on alongside, but without disturbing; for while indulging in the long-lacked enjoyment of such conversations, the immediate surroundings were not infrequently thought of as a decided contrast to everything that has value and interest. Certain neighbors were introduced and discussed as comical persons with a certain degree of comfort: Rennenkampf in particular never tired of telling all sorts of stories with a certain dry humor that was characteristic of him, which illustrated the leisurely provincial narrow-mindedness of the people; the limitation that beyond one's own narrow horizon suspects no further world, but only something indefinite, misty, in which one is not interested. He quoted wonderful sayings and judgments of which the people in the field of art and science were guilty. "

Wilhelm von Humboldt wrote to Goethe from Frankfurt on October 25, 1816 about Alexander:… “A Liefländer, Alexander von Rennenkampf, a man of knowledge, spirit and love for everything that touches art and science, who was with us in Rome and who we love very much, will come to Weimar (with the Prince of Oldenburg, I believe). He asks through me for a kind reception from you. Don't refuse him the same. ... "

On his trip with the Hereditary Prince in 1816, R. also came to Weimar, where, with the recommendation of his friend Wilhelm v. Humboldt found a friendly reception with Goethe and praised himself as happy to encounter almost the same views in art and science.

In 1816, Rennenkampff came to Oldenburg in the wake of the prince, where he had to be content with the office of chamberlain in the tiny court of Paul Friedrich August for a number of years. In the social and intellectual life of the residence, however, he was immediately able to secure a permanent place for himself as “a finely crafted man of the world who had experienced and seen a lot”. Rennkampff, who had already become a Freemason in 1802 , joined the Oldenburg lodge "Zum golden Hirsch" in 1817, in which he played a leading role as a deputy master (1826–1833) and as a master of the chair (1842–1849). In 1852 he had the rare luck of being able to celebrate his fiftieth anniversary as a bricklayer.

to travel

In the same year (1817) he was accepted into the Literary Society founded by Gerhard Anton von Halem, whose members belonged to the country's narrow upper class. Due to the contacts he had made in the big European cities and in St. Petersburg, Rennkampff was able to function in Oldenburg as an intermediary to the big world and its spiritual centers. One must, of course, be careful not to overestimate these relationships, which often did not extend beyond socially courtly acquaintances that easily came about within the manageable upper and educated European class of the early 19th century. Their scope and importance could only be precisely determined with the help of Rennkampff's letter estate. A letter of January 1815, received by chance, offers at least a fleeting and impressionistic impression of the network of his connections. During a trip to the Rhine in the summer of 1817 he visited Clausewitz, the former chief of staff of the Russian-German Legion, Joseph Görres in Cologne, the art historian Schulz in Bonn and finally the Freiherr vom Stein in Nassau, whom he and Ernst Moritz Arndt knew from St. Petersburg . In the wake of the Hereditary Prince, he then stayed at the courts of Stuttgart, Nassau, Sachsen-Hildburghausen and in the fashionable seaside resorts of Wiesbaden and Karlsbad, where he a. a. met the Russian foreign minister and later Greek regent Count Kapodistrias.

In 1818 Alexander v. R. for the last time his old home for a short time. On the sea voyage from Lübeck to Riga, Louis Cambecq , who would later become professor of Roman law in Dorpat and Kazan, met him, who is full of praise in his “reminiscence” of the highly educated, amiable man: “It was at the end of March In 1818, when I was about to go to Riga on a small merchant ship - Captain Prahm - I was sitting at the table d'hôte in Lübeck. Across from me was a handsome young man of about 35 years of age. The whole being betrayed aristocracy, a soulful eye, the high forehead surrounded by black curly hair pointed to spirit, behavior and speech to education, noble irony played around the mouth, tempered by decidedly expressive good-naturedness. In a word, the man inspired me with the greatest interest in his personality; however, he fixed me in a way which at first annoyed me and finally annoyed me to a certain extent. [...] So the trip, which was in itself extremely monotonous, passed like a beautiful dream and I was deeply moved when I said goodbye to the clever, experienced and truly noble travel companion sent to me by a benevolent fate. I had to go to Kurland and after a short stay in Riga he wanted to go back to the Oldenburgschen Hof. "

Letters from Goethe

Two letters from Goethe to Rennenkampff from 1820 and 1823 have been published:

“To Baron v. Race fight. Ew. To see your honored name under a letter was very gratifying to me on the same day when I was fortunate enough to wait for Your Majesty the King to have a pleasant conversation with Colonel von Wimpfen and Legation Councilor von Goes about your previous visits to us. To your confidential inquiry recently replied that Dr. Ehrmann to Frankfurt a / M. has shown himself to be compliant to me at all times and rendered many a service; But I also know him as an eccentric and humorous man, whose moods I probably experience myself, without wanting to judge how far they can lead and seduce him. I left that matter entirely to my friend Sulpiz Boisserée, who would probably like to be authorized to treat this subject with dignity when he published his great work on the Cologne Cathedral. Dabey would like to be able to distinguish between secret and closed societies; the representation of how they adjoin one another and flow into one another, spring from one another, would probably have the greatest difficulties. The very correct remark about the old manuscript can be found on the inside of the cover of that booklet, since I had made it through friends and my own research before it was published. The second remark is very witty and polite, and I ask permission to use it. May I be highly recommended to you and your friend's Kreiße! Weimar, April 10th 1820 obediently JW v Goethe "

“To Baron v. Race fight. Ew. I would like to greet you most beautifully, and to recommend me to your precious memory. I would be happy to take an opportunity that presents itself. Mr Thioli, painter and particularly skilled restaurateur, who has worked in Berlin so far and has praised his skill in restoring injured pictures on his way through, is thinking of making his way to Oldenburg and I do not hesitate to recommend it. He is a quiet, well-mannered man and his wife, the daughter of the famous landscape painter Fidanza, is also brave and good. He carries with him some pictures which the lover will always find interesting. Perhaps there is something to be restored there, although I may say that it is cheap, as we have learned from it, with and without a chord. Should there be an opportunity to commend me subserviently to the highest authorities; so I would consider myself very lucky. Letter Ew. Hochwohlgeb. Give this letter to the renewed trust, which your precious presence has freshly revived in me and I will receive a benevolent keepsake. Weimar, June 2nd, 1823 obediently JW v Goethe "

Mediations

His Roman contacts made it possible for him to arrange art commissions for Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig and to advise him on the development of the Oldenburg art collections. For Wilhelm Tischbein's idyllic cycle, which the Duke acquired for Oldenburg Castle in 1820, he wrote an interpretive description that Goethe used for his well-known verses on these pictures. In addition to a few smaller writings and a Macchiavelli translation that had already appeared before his time in Oldenburg, in 1827/28 Rennkampff published the two-volume “Outlines from my sketchbook”, a collection of autobiographically colored memories and travel descriptions, which are connected with didactic stories he presented his view of life and worldview based on the ideas of the late Enlightenment and idealistic philosophy. The fluently written book, which was well received, clearly shows its limits. Rennkampff was not an original thinker, but a receptive head who, in line with the ideals of humanity of his time, propagated the spiritual and moral perfection of the individual as the primary goal.

After Paul Friedrich August took office on May 28, 1829, Rennenkampff, who was immediately appointed First Chamberlain, quite deliberately decided not to pursue a career in the state administration, from which he - as he justifiably explained - was deterred by the "small dealings". The position of a trusted advisor to the sovereign and the work behind the scenes corresponded to his temperament and his urge for independence more than any civil servant, however high, with its fixed duties. His influence on the Grand Duke, which lasted unbroken until the end of his life, was significant, even if it is almost impossible to specifically prove it in individual cases, since it was practiced in daily dealings and was hardly recorded in writing. Racekampff was evidently little interested in political questions and practical day-to-day politics and seems to have limited himself to the role of the distant observer. The change in his political views from the “enthusiasm for freedom” of the so-called liberation wars to moderate conservatism reflects the general development in Germany. In the national spirit of optimism of 1813/14, Rennkampff also advocated “maturity of the people, constitution and political rights” and, in the crisis situation after the outbreak of the July Revolution, urged the Grand Duke to grant a constitution. Later he rejected constitutional forms of government, "all popular rule and sovereignty" decidedly. His interests and inclinations were clearly in art and the natural sciences.

Museum director

He advised the Grand Duke on the purchase of various private collections that formed the basis of the new Natural History Museum, which he took over as head in May 1837. In the following years he took care of the expansion of the museum, but turned his attention primarily to the mineral collection and, to the chagrin of the curator Friedrich Wiepken, neglected the recording of the local animal world which he carried out.

Ludwig Starklof , a confidante of the old Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig zu Oldenburg, who passed away in Wiesbaden on May 21, 1829, describes Alexander as:… “the witty eagle owl, by origin half-Russian.” In 1829 Starklof expressed himself as follows: “Rennenkampff is in mine Eyes a fake fox who has the hereditary prince in his pocket and plays him out and in at will. The Hereditary Prince took the shell for the core. "...

“The museum is the only public institution in Oldenburg with which the Rennkampff name is associated. He preferred to act as a stimulator and sought-after conversation partner in a small circle and, through his influence on the Grand Duke, to influence the Oldenburg cultural policy in a hidden way, which in the first half of the 19th century still largely depended on the court and the court administration. However, he was not absorbed in it. The real focus of his life was rather his family, who gave him "the happiness of the most satisfying versatility". On March 13, 1819 he had married Karoline Freiin von Dalwigk (1799-1837), lady-in-waiting in Oldenburg and daughter of the President of the Nassau Higher Appeal Court Karl Friedrich August Freiherr von Dalwigk, Lord on Lichtenfels (1761-1825), and Louise Wilhelmine von und zu Löwenstein's. The couple had six children - five daughters and one son - who Rennkampff took great care of. The retreat into privacy and family life was typical for the German educated and bourgeoisie of those years and also formed part of his self-stylization as a contemplative spirit that strived for the full development of his personality. After 1848 he withdrew more and more to his house "Under the Cathedral of the Seven Oaks" next to the Easter Burger Church and died here on April 9, 1854, almost a year after the death of Grand Duke Paul Friedrich August, whose life and personality he was in tried to describe his last publication. Chamberlain Clara Schumann and the fairytale poet Andersen visited his house when she gave concerts. Wilhelm von Humboldt always visited him when he was passing through to Norderney. He was in contact with Charlotte von Schiller, the entomologist Anton Dohrn and the Chancellor Friedrich von Müller. "

“How this independent deep thinker subsequently rises above the parties and viewed the world from a liberal human standpoint as a free observer, but in old age keeps politics completely at bay because it excites him that it is with the German unity is going so unhappily and the great expectations of 1848 bear so little fruit, we can only suggest here. Participation in the activity of social work, which also gives his "outlines" greater significance, is a characteristic feature of Rennkampff, and when he gives a heart-moving characteristic of the wonderful Count Schlabrendorf in this book, he also illuminates the kinship with Karoline v . Humboldt, because they both met in the admiration of this man. "

“Another fixed aspect of his character was the loyalty to duty with which he fulfilled his office and the obligations he had assumed. Whatever fell within the sphere of his occupation, his activity, was important to him, and - was it even the smallest trifle - was treated with the same zeal as the most important thing. He could certainly exclaim sadly when the Grand Duke died and he himself wanted to see him alive when he was ill, but received the death message when he got into the car: "The first time that I am late." "

family

Rennkampf was married to Karoline geb. von Dalwigk , daughter of the ducal Nassau Higher Appeal Court President Karl Friedrich August von Dalwigk (1761–1825), who had come to Oldenburg as a lady-in-waiting . The couple had a son and five daughters, of whom Cäcilie von Rennenkampff (1834–1913) married the Bavarian officer Otto von Parseval (1827–1901), later a prince tutor at the Oldenburg court and Bavarian general of the infantry , in 1861 . Caroline von Rennenkampff (1828–1906) became the second wife of the Oldenburg Minister Julius von und zu Egloffstein (1803–1861), Elisabeth von Rennenkampff (1824–1877) married the Austrian consul Viktor Joseph Weiß von Starkenfels and their son Peter Friedrich Ludwig von Rennkampff (1826–1861) became an officer.

dig

Alexander von Rennenkampff was buried on April 15, 1854 in the Oldenburg Gertrudenfriedhof . The family's tombstone is upside down on the southern side wall of the cemetery of the Trinity Church in Easter Castle between old trees of life. On the front of the stone above under a crown it says: "Be faithful to death so I will give you the crone of life".

His writings

• Fragments from the letters of a traveler from Liefland . Riga 1805.
• About Pius the Seventh, by Alexander von Rennenkampf . In: The Prussian Correspondent . Nos. 135 and 136 of November 22 and 24, 1813. Detailed summary by Joseph Görres in Rheinischer Merkur No. 91 of July 23, 1814.
• Essai sur l'Essence e l'Histoire des Arts Plastiqes . St. Petersburg 1813.
• History of Castruccio Castracani of Lucca . Translation and notes by the Russian-Imperial Major von Rennenkampff, Wenden and Reval 1816.
• Steam wash . Contribution to the Oldenburgischen Blätter (1817). Procedure of a new washing method.
• Contributions in the Oldenburgischen Blätter about Tischbein's latest painting, 1821.
• Wilhelm Tischbein his pictures, his dreams, his memories in the ducal palace in Oldenburg . Bremen 1822.
• Outlines from my sketchbook . Volume I and Volume II, Hanover, 1827 and 1828, published by the Hahn'schen Hofbuchhandlung.
• About Pius VII. His behavior in 1808 and 1809 and his excommunication Napoleon, Weser nymph, stories and novels . edited by Theodor von Kobbe. Bremen 1831, publisher Wilhelm Kaiser.
• Quelques mots sur le gouvernement actuel de la Pologne . Août 1833, Par un térmoin oculaire. General Netherlands, bookstore, Leipzig 1833.
• The little one . In: Nordic flowers, stories and short stories . published by Theodor von Kobbe, UD Geisler publishing house, Bremen 1835.
• Essays in Temporalien No. 21 and 141 from 1844, originals from the realm of truth, art, whim and fantasy . Founded by Georg Lotz.
• Self-talk , on the morning of July 13, 1853 in Oldenburg .
• A summer ride through Livonia . From the memories of A. Edler v. R. from the beginning of the 19th century. Published by Ms. Bienemann, Reval 1913, published by Fritz Kluge.

Bibliography

• About his discharge from service. Military history state archive of Russia, inventory 395, repertory 64, file 1460, year 1817, sheet 9 and back.
• August Mutzenbecher:  Rennenkampff, Karl Jacob Alexander von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 28, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1889, p. 226 f.
• Entry from the National Library of Russian Sciences, St. Petersburg.
• Handwritten records from the family archive, Riga.
• Alten, Friedrich von: From Tischbein's Life and Correspondence, Leipzig, 1872.
• Bernhardis, Theodor von: From the life of Th. Von Bernhardis. “Jugenderinnerungen”, first part, Leipzig, 1893.
• Biedermann, Flodoard Frhr. from: Goethe's Conversations, a collection of contemporary reports from his handling (1805–1827).
• Biographical manual on the history of the State of Oldenburg: Alexander Edler v. Rennkampff.
• Bratranek, Th .: “Goethe's natural science correspondence”, 1812–1832, 2nd volume. Publisher: Th. Bratranek, Leipzig, 1874.
• Buchholtzer Regesten, Riga. Material on the personal history of Riga and the Baltic provinces from 1868, Volume 37.
• Busse, CH from: “In memory of Alexander Edler v. R. “in the weekly magazine for Liv- Esth- and Curland's history, geography, statistics and literature, No. 18 of May 3, 1854.
• Cambecq, Dr. Luis, State Councilor: “In memory of Alexander Edler v. R. “in the weekly magazine for Liv- Esth- and Curland's history, geography, statistics and literature, No. 31, 1854.
• Distel, Theodor : Wilhelm von Humboldt's last years, Leipzig 1883.
• Düna Zeitung, 1905, issue No. 198: Alexander v. Rennkampff and his worldview, part 1.
• Düna newspaper, 1905, issue No. 199: Alexander v. Rennkampff and his worldview, that's it.
• Ense, Varnhagen from: "Diaries", ninth volume, Hamburg, 1868.
• Euphorion: Journal for the History of Literature, publisher: August Sauer, Volume 2, Bamberg, born 1895.
• Fessler, Dr .: Looking back on his 70-year pilgrimage. An estate to his friends, Breslau 1824.
• Friedl, Hans: “A finely carved man of the world”: The Oldenburg Lord Chamberlain Alexander Edler v. R .; Newsletter of the oldenb. Landscape, No. 66, 1st quarter 1990.
• Geiger, Ludwig: Charlotte von Schiller's letters to Alexander Edler v. R. Edited by Ludwig Geiger, 10th volume, Frankfurt a. M., 1889.
• Goethe: Text passages in which the name Alexander v. Rennkampff is mentioned:
  • Goethe Yearbook: Edited by Ludwig Geiger, 4th volume, Frankfurt a. M., 1883.
  • Goethe yearbook: Charlotte von Schiller's letters to Alexander Edler v. R. Edited by Ludwig Geiger, 10th volume, Frankfurt a. M., 1889.
  • Goethe's letters: published on behalf of Grand Duchess Sophie of Saxony; Volume 32, Aug. 30, 1819-22. April 1820, Weimar 1906.
  • Goethe's Letters: Volume 35, July 1821 – March 1822, Weimar 1906.
  • Goethe's Letters: Volume 37, April – December 1823, Weimar 1906.
  • Goethe's letters: Editor: Friedrich Strehlke; 2. Theil, Berlin 1884. Presentation of the relationship to the recipients.
  • Goethe's correspondence with the von Humboldt brothers, (1795–1832). Published by Ch.Bratranek, Leipzig, 1876.
  • Goethe's correspondence with Alexander Edler v. R., April 1820 and June 2, 1823.
  • Goethe's Conversations: A Collection of Contemporary Reports. Second volume, 1805–1817, Artemis Verlag, Zurich.
  • Goethe's Conversations: A Collection of Contemporary Reports. Third volume, 1817–1825, Artemis Verlag, Zurich.
  • Goethe's scientific correspondence, 1812–1832, 2nd volume. Publisher: Th. Bratranek, Leipzig, 1874.
  • Goethe's diaries: Published on behalf of Grand Duchess Sophie of Saxony. 4th volume, 1809–1812, Weimar 1891.
  • Goethe's Diaries: Volume 7, 1819–1820, Weimar 1891.
  • Goethe's Diaries: Volume 8, 1821–1822, Weimar 1891.
  • Goethe's Diaries: Volume 9, 1823–1824, Weimar 1891.
  • Goethe's Diaries: Volume 12, 1829–1830, Weimar 1891.
  • Goethe's Diaries: Volume 13, 1831–1832, Weimar 1891.
• Humboldt: passages in which the name Alexander v. R. is mentioned:
  • Humboldt, Caroline von: Karoline von Humboldt in her letters to Alexander Edler v. R. Albrecht Stauffer, Berlin 1904.
  • Humboldt, Alexander von: Goethe's correspondence with the Humboldt brothers (1795–1832); Publisher: Batranek, Leipzig 1876
  • Humboldt, Alexander von: A scientific. Biography. Publisher: Bruhns, Karl, Leipzig 1872.
  • Humboldt, Caroline and Wilhelm: W. and C. von Humboldt in their letters about Alexander Edler v. R .; Editor: Anna von Sydow, Berlin 1909.
  • Humboldt, Wilhelm von: Wilhelm von Humboldt's last years of life, Theodor von Distel, Leipzig 1883.
  • Humboldt, Wilhelm von: Memories of W. von Humboldt; Schlesier, Gustav, Stuttgart 1845.
• Langguth, A .: Vossische Zeitung No. 567, Sunday supplement No. 49, Berlin December 3, 1905; Karoline von H. and Alexander Edler v. R.
• Merzdorf, Dr. Br., Secretary and archivist of the Masonic Lodge “Zum goldennen Hirsche” in Oldenburg: History of the Masonic lodges in the Duchy of Oldenburg, Oldenburg 1852.
• Merzdorf, Dr. Br .: Freemasons newspaper, handwriting for brothers, eighth year no. June 25, 1854, funeral box on April 27, 1854.
• Merzdorf, Dr. Br .: Between compass and angle; Masonic lectures, Hanover 1875.
• Pleitner, Emil: Oldenburg in the 19th century, first volume from 1800–1848, Oldenburg 1899.
• Popp, Max (Lodge Master): “Black and White Triangles”, from the history of the Lodge “Zum golden Hirsch”, 1927.
• Raabe, Professor Dr. Paul: “How Shakespeare traveled through Oldenburg”, sketches and pictures from Oldenburg's cultural history. "Under the Cathedral of the Seven Oaks" Alexander Edler v. R.
• Rauch, Christian Daniel: Edited by Eggers, Friedrich and Karl, 3rd volume, Berlin 1886.
• Speak at the baptism of his firstborn daughter; Oldenburg, July 10, 1820, held by Alexander.
• Speech by Pastor F. Frerichs at the baptism of his daughter Cäcilie on December 14, 1934, Oldenburg 1835. * Rüthning, Gustav: Oldenburgische Geschichte, Volume II, Bremen 1911; Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig.
• Savant, Jean: Alexandre de Rennenkampff est ses amis, Paris 1948.
• Schiller, Charlotte von: Charlotte von Schiller's letters to Alexander Edler v. R .; Edited by Ludwig Geiger, Volume 10, Frankfurt a. M., 1889.
• Schlesier, Gustav: Memories of W. von Humboldt, Stuttgart 1845, page 112.
• Starklof, Ludwig: Memories 1789–1850, publisher: Harry Niemann Oldenburg 1986.
• Albrecht Stauffer : Karoline von Humboldt in her letters to Alexander Edler v. R .; Albrecht Stauffer, Berlin 1904.
• Strehlke, Friedrich: Goethe's letters, editor: Friedrich Strehlke, 2. Part, Berlin 1884: Representation of the relationship to the recipients.
• Sydow, Anna von: W. and C. von Humboldt in their letters about Alexander Edler v. R., Berlin 1909.
• Vienna Yearbooks of Literature: Review of the “Outlines from my sketchbook”, by Alexander Edler v. R., 1832, pp. 88-98.

swell

• Amburg Archive at the Eastern European Institute, Munich, Document ID. 76494
• Biographical manual for the history of the state of Oldenburg, Isensee-Verlag
• Bruhns, Prof. Karl: “Alexander v. Humboldt ”, Volume I, Leipzig 1893
• Buchholtzer Regesten, material on personal studies in Riga and the Baltic provinces
• Cambecq, State Councilor Prof. Dr. Louis: Das Inland No. 31 from 1854, pp. 511, 512
• Düna newspaper from 1905, No. 198 and 199, “Alexander v. Rennkampff and his worldview "
• Eesti Ajalooarhiiv, Dorpat / Tartu, Fond 854, inventory list. 3, file 296/297. Gender register d. Estonia. Knighthood, matriculation committee
• Freemason Newspaper No. 25 of June 1854; Funeral box on April 27, 1854
• Friedl, Hans: Bulletin of the Oldenburg Landscape No. 66 / 1st quarter 1990
• Carola L. Gottzmann / Petra Hörner: Lexicon of the German-language literature of the Baltic States and St. Petersburg . 3 volumes; Verlag Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2007. ISBN 978-3-11019338-1 . Volume 3, p. 1066 f.
• Grave register of the Christ parish, Oldenburg
• Inland No. 17 of April 25, 1854
• Church book Helmet / Helme, church register I, entry no.385
• Military History State Archives of Russia, Fond 395, Inventory List 64, File 1460, page 9 and back cover, year 1817
• Gustav Rüthing: Oldenburg History, Volume 2, Bremen 1911, page 518
• Raabe, Prof. Dr. Paul, Wolfenbüttel: "Under the cathedral of the seven oaks"
• Recke and Napierskys: Livonian Writers' Lexicon II, page 517
• Staatsarchiv Leipzig , book number LR 76 R, Baltic noble families, pp. 62–95
• Eutin Castle, Small Holdings, Affairs of the Grand Ducal House, 5b Family Correspondence 1800–1875
• Riga City Archives, LVVA 109 f., 11 apr., 450 l., 1. – 36., 38–44 lp.
• Starklof, Ludwig: "Memories"
• Vossische Zeitung No. 567 of December 3, 1905
• "Between circle and angle", Masonic lectures by Brother Dr. Merzdorf. “The importance of the Masons' Union in our time. (1862) “, Hanover, 1875

Web links

• Genealogy of those von Rennenkampff (PDF file; 2.56 MB)
• The estate is in the Bavarian State Library
• Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on Alexander von Rennenkampff. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Walter Schärl: The composition of the Bavarian civil service 1806-1918 , Munich, 1955, page 148; Excerpt from the source
2. ↑ Hans Friedl u. a. (Ed.): Biographical manual for the history of the state of Oldenburg . Edited on behalf of the Oldenburg landscape. Isensee, Oldenburg 1992, ISBN 3-89442-135-5 .