Carl Gustav Heraeus

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Engraving by Johann Adam Delsenbach from 1719

Carl Gustav Heraeus (* 1671 in Stockholm ; † November 6, 1725 in Veitsch ) was a German court antiquarian at the court in Vienna , a scholar and writer.

Life

His father had emigrated from Pomerania to Sweden , where he worked as a court pharmacist. Carl Gustav came to the Regium Gymnasium Carolinum in Stettin in 1686 and studied in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1690/91 , later in Giessen and Utrecht . Via Paris and Sondershausen , where he was in the service of Count Anton Günther von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen from 1701 onwards , Heraeus reached Vienna in 1708. In 1709 he converted to the Catholic faith. He provided the architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach with numerous suggestions for his theoretical work, draft of a historical architecture . As a medal and antiques inspector of Emperor Joseph I and then Emperor Charles VI. He administered and expanded the imperial coin and medal collections. Through his friendship with Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, he was also active as an iconographer for numerous buildings , namely the Karlskirche in Vienna . He was in contact with numerous scholars and artists, including Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Philipp von Stosch , and was a sponsor of Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach . Heraeus mainly published writings on numismatic subjects but also poems under the pseudonym Carolus Gustavus .

In 1719 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

Mining in Veitsch

From 1719 to 1725 Heraeus tried unsuccessfully to mine copper in the Veitschgraben near Veitsch . Heraeus started its mining company on a large scale, with numerous buildings in the Niederaigen district and considerable investments. The mine was not profitable. In doing so, he not only lost his entire fortune, but also pledged coins from the imperial collections entrusted to him. When Emperor Charles VI. found out about it, he withdrew his favor and dismissed him. Nevertheless, Heraeus received a small pension from the emperor with which he could retire to the Veitsch.

Also known is his feud with the St. Lambrecht Abbey , which Veitsch belonged to, and which demanded Heraeus to participate in his company, which was refused. As a result, the St. Lambrecht Monastery tried to hinder Heraeus wherever possible. This went so far that the monastery was publicly reprimanded in this regard by the imperial court chamber in 1721.

Carl Gustav Heraeus died on November 6, 1725 at the age of 54 and was buried in the church cemetery in Veitsch. Its very important library and collection of engravings were owned by Emperor Charles VI. Bought. Without the imperial favor and not least because the St. Lambrecht Abbey and its vassal congregation Veitsch refused any recognition, this important personality was soon forgotten.

Fonts

  • Attempt at a new German type of rhyme (1713)
  • Poems and Latin inscriptions (1721–1728)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Othmar Pickl: History of the community Veitsch . Graz 1979, p. 257
  2. ^ Member entry of Karl Gustav Heraeus at the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina , accessed on March 31, 2016.
  3. ↑ Othmar Pickl: History of the community Veitsch . Graz 1979, pp. 254-258
personal data
SURNAME Heraeus, Carl Gustav
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heraeus, Karl Gustav; Heraeus, Karl Gustaf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION imperial court antiquarian in Vienna
DATE OF BIRTH 1671
PLACE OF BIRTH Stockholm
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 1725
Place of death Veitsch