Alrich Witken

Alrich Witken , from 1746 alrich Witken of Wittenheim (* 27 July 1693 in Brunsbüttel (Loxstedt) ; † 15. January 1761 in Burgforde ), was a German magistrate in the county Oldenburg and author of historical writings.

Life

Alrich Witken was born as the son of the wealthy horse dealer and farmer Alverich Witken (1647–1700) and his wife Meine geb. Ehlers († 1696) born. After the early death of both parents, he grew up with his two brothers at the office of Dedesdorf and received his training from private tutors . From 1710 to 1713 he studied law at the Universities of Halle and Wittenberg , then went on several study trips to England and France.

In 1722 he became a bailiff himself in Apen , which had come under Oldenburg rule in 1538 under Count Anton I. In 1734 he received the title of Justizrat and in 1749 the title of Budget and District Administrator . In 1746 he received the Feste Haus Burgforde as an Erbmannlehen , which was given the name “Wittenheim”, derived from “Witkens Heim”. In the same year Witken was then first of August III. , Elector of Saxony , raised to the nobility and then appointed Count Palatine by Heinrich , Prince of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen .

Witken's main accomplishment in the administration of his office was the establishment of a driving post from Bremen via Oldenburg to Neuschanz , which he organized in close cooperation with the heads of the neighboring offices. For this post he also had a dam built through the Lengener Moor . However, he abruptly refused to reintroduce the old peasant self-government that had existed in the area before the Oldenburg counts came to power. With this he incited the hatred of the local farmers and appeared in legends and folk tales of the Ammerland as a tyrant .

In addition to his professional activity, the well-traveled and educated Witken was interested in regional studies and history. He wrote a series of essays which the Oldenburg archivist Johann Heinrich Schloifer published from 1746 onwards in the Oldenburg News of State, Scholarly and Civic Matters , which he published. He was also involved in the work for a new map of the county that the reeve Johann Wilhelm Anton Hunrichs in 1761 Nuremberg had printed. In 1749 Witken wrote one of the first historical-statistical-geographical descriptions of the country, which was published by Anton Friedrich Büsching after his death together with a similar work by Schloifer . Further manuscripts on regional and local history remained an unpublished part of his estate. He was unable to realize a history of Oldenburg planned by Witken.

family

Witken was married twice. Shortly after completing his studies, on June 22, 1713, in Oldenburg, he married Sophie Catharina von Oetken (1695–1727), the daughter of the Oldenburg office director Johann Ludolph von Oetken (1653–1725) and Margaretha Dorothea, née. von Suhm (1674–1720). After the death of his wife, he married on March 23, 1731 in Schölisch near Stade Mechthild Anna von Goeben (1699–1733), the daughter of the Swedish captain Johann von Goeben (1669–1719) and Margaretha Dorothea nee. von Tettenborn (1668–1737). Of his six sons, Johann Ludolph (1714–1769) was a Danish major. With his son Johann Ludwig Christian (1764–1773) the family died out.

Remarks

1. ↑ Notation according to the DNB

Works (selection)

• Comitatum Oldenburg et Delmenhorst, Delineatio, Nuremberg 1761.
• Historical-political-geographical description of the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, published in: Büschings Magazin für Neuere Historie und Geographie, Vol. 3, Leipzig 1769.
• Something of the lion fight of Count Friedrich von Oldenburg. From the papers of the cause. Mr. Etats-Rats von Witken and because. Mr. Kanzeley-Assessors Schloifer, published in: Oldenburgischer Kalender, 1785, pp. 74-80.

literature

• Hans Friedl: Witken, Alarich. In: 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 , pp. 808-809 ( online ).