Alexander von Villers

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Alexander von Villers

Alexander Heinrich von Villers (born April 12, 1812 in Moscow , † February 16, 1880 in Neulengbach , Lower Austria ) was an Austrian diplomat, writer, privateer and farmer.

Life

Villers was born in Moscow in 1812. He came from a French emigrant family. His parents, who had married in Dresden in 1804, were Louise Dauphine nee. Bassenge (1778–1823) and Frédéric de Villers (1770–1846), younger brother of Charles de Villers .

After Villers had left high school without a degree, he began an apprenticeship as a printer in Leipzig . When this failed, he made an attempt to catch up on a school leaving certificate at the Dresden Polytechnic . To do this, his family gave him the opportunity to do an internship in Paris . Here Villers refused to work as a printer and preferred to attend lectures in science. He got to know Gustave Thuret, whose career as a botanist he influenced significantly. Franz Liszt met him in Paris as a wild bohemian . As a kind of secretary, Villers accompanied Liszt on his travels and tours for several years. Liszt encouraged him to the best of his ability and Villers also managed to train as a music teacher. With the support of Mme. De Clermont, who had entrusted him with the upbringing of her children, Villers successfully completed his Abitur. He then began to study law, which he successfully completed in a short time.

In 1843 Villers was able to take up a position in the Saxon state administration as a lawyer. A short time later he represented his government as a diplomat in Berlin , Frankfurt am Main , Paris and Vienna . In 1860 Villers reached the high point of his career when he was appointed Legation Councilor. At the age of 58, Villers retired in 1870 and retired in the Neulengbacher Wiesenhaus , where he led the life of a dropout and nature lover.

Villers became known through the letters to his friends, which were published by them after his death under the name "Letters of a Stranger". In research they are classified as self-portraits. The author himself described the writing of diaries as "sexual onanism". Letters, however, allowed him to communicate directly with his fellow men. He believed in the "people in between".

Legation councilor Alexander Heinrich von Villers died on February 16, 1880 in Neulengbach in Lower Austria at the age of 68. He was buried in the Grinzing cemetery in an honorary grave (group 2, number 8).

plant

Letters from a stranger

  • Letters from a stranger . 2 volumes, Gerold, Vienna 1881–1887
    • 1st volume: 1881
    • 2nd edition: With a portrait and a biographical sketch, 1887 (with a preface by Rudolf Graf Hoyos, biographical sketch by Alexander Warsberg) (online)
    • 2nd volume: 1887
  • Alexander de Villers, ed. von Karl Graf Lanckoronski and Wilhelm Weigand: Letters from a stranger . 2 volumes, Insel, Leipzig 1910.
  • Alexander von Villers, ed. by Peter Müller: Letters from a stranger . Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1983, ISBN 3-215-05081-1 .

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Alexander von Villers  - Sources and full texts
Commons : Alexander von Villers  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Alexander von Villers  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walter Lach: The masked Eros. Exchange of love letters in the realistic age. De Gruyter, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-11-027208-6 , p. 15.
  2. ↑ Alexander de Villers, ed. von Karl Graf Lanckoronski and Wilhelm Weigand: Letters from a stranger . 2 volumes, Insel, Leipzig 1910, Volume 1, p. 231.
personal data
SURNAME Villers, Alexander von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Villers, Alexander Heinrich von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian diplomat, writer, privateer and farmer
DATE OF BIRTH April 12, 1812
PLACE OF BIRTH Moscow
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 1880
Place of death Neulengbach , Lower Austria