Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt

Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt (born May 16, 1770 in Kamenz ; † January 5, 1814 in Artern ) was a German Enlightenment writer , translator, theologian and co-designer of the " Beautified Tharandt Landscape ".

life and work

Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt was born in Kamenz as the last of 19 children in his father's second marriage. The father, Johann Friedrich Traugott Voigt, was the rector of the grammar school, his mother's name was Johanna Elisabeth. The father died when Traugott was nine months old.

At the age of 17 he studied philosophy and theology in Leipzig . During his three-year studies he worked as a catechist in the Leipzig-Gohlis parish. As a master's degree he was active as a Vespers preacher in the Paulinerkirche , the University Church of Leipzig, from 1791 . In the following years Voigt received his doctorate in philosophy.

Between 1792 and 1793 he wrote three dramas in which his ethical and moral view of life is already indicated: The Prince as Man - A Play in Three Acts (1792), Radegund von Thuringia . Tragedy in Five Acts (1792), Passion and Duty - A Dramatic Family Painting in Five Acts (1793). The historical novel Athelin von Brutthow from the time of Heinrich III followed in 1794 . of England and the Crusades. Voigt responded anonymously to the Xenien published in Schiller's Musenalmanach of 1797 with epigrams critical of literature, Berlocken an der Schiller's Musenalmanach (1797). In the spirit of the Enlightenment, Voigt published a paperback from 1798 on clever epochs and excellent jokes , in which he deliberately differentiated himself from the bundles of "ordinary" jokes in circulation.

In 1795 Voigt translated a didactic poem by the celebrated French poet Jacques Delille (1738–1813) on the garden art Les Jardins ou l'art d'emblellir les paysages from 1782. His descriptions of the differences between French (baroque) parks and English parklands, which had become the subject of changing taste in the time of sensitivity, Voigt personally transferred to the garden kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz (from 1769), the emerging landscape park in Köstritz (around 1785), the park in Machern (from 1782 ) and the Seifersdorfer Tal (from 1793). His knowledge of modern park and landscape designs was to be of use to Voigt in his later days in Tharandt. How timeless the subject of this book is is shown by z. B. an English reprint from 2011.

In 1799 Voigt was called to Tharandt as pastor. For several years the city had become a place of pilgrimage for bathers and nature lovers. The Leipzig Consistory of the Electorate of Saxony considered the pastor suitable to cope with the pastoral and cultural tasks that had grown with the spa business.

In 1799 Voigt married Juliane Erdmuthe, b. Clausnitzer (1773–1838), the daughter of a merchant from Leipzig. The marriage resulted in five children: Julie Auguste (* 1800), Friedrich (1804-1806), Theodor (* 1807), Rosalie Elisa (* 1810), Robert (1813-1814).

In his first years in office, Voigt procured further reprints of his poetic work from his time in Leipzig; even in his new writings he worked entirely in the spirit of the Enlightenment. He ascribed either the cardinal virtues and secondary virtues, i.e. morally required action, to the people involved, or - in contrast to these virtues - he turned them into the opposite in their opponents: appearances from adolescence or children's idylls to develop the moral character of young people (1798), household needs for betrothed and newlyweds and those who want to become one (1798), The beggar girl and her benefactors (1798–1801), Robert or the man as he should be: A side piece to Elisa, or the woman as it should be ( 1800–1802), Moritz and Auguste, or the little ones as they should be (1800), The dangers of youth - a book on teaching for maturing sons and daughters from the higher and middle classes (1804). That he hit the nerve of his time with these writings is proven by the translation of his “Robert Romans” into Swedish barely two years after it went to print.

Voigt quickly made the acquaintance of representatives of the enlightened bourgeoisie and the lower nobility from Tharandt and Dresden in their endeavors to create a "beautified Tharandt landscape". These included the writers Friedrich Christian Schlenkert and Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker . The Electoral Saxon Court and Justice Councilor Baron Gottfried Ferdinand von Lindemann (lawyer, librettist and translator) from the property in Heilsberg (now Freital-Hainsberg ) was a confidante for Voigt until his death in 1804, through whom he gained deeper insights into the ongoing reorientation Tharandt's landscape design and who introduced him to important sponsors.

When Lindemann began to design a landscape park in the Weißeritztal between Heilsberg and Tharandt in 1792, two healing springs were developed by the Tharandt official surgeon Johann Gottfried Butter . Ernst Friedrich Adam von Manteuffel (1762–1822) as royal Saxon court and judiciary and above all his wife, Baroness von Manteuffel (1761–1802), and her father, Baron Finance Council, were among the early supporters of the Tharandt “embellished landscape” by Wagner.

Together with the capital of wealthy sponsors and the idea of ​​using “donation altars” - an early form of the visitor's tax for Tharandt's guests - it was possible to constantly expand the network of paths and create more benches, shelters, grottos and viewpoints. Voigt has supported his children (17 sponsors) with influential and financially well-off personalities since 1799 with a creative "sponsorship policy", but also with a collection of songs from Tarant's beautiful nature, celebrated in sociable songs (1806/1809) for sufficient funds to entertain the " Embellished Landscape ”.

Voigt became the "father of the community" in his help for the needy in the dearth of 1804. In 1806 he organized the rebuilding of the organ. In 1807 the church tower burned down. The new bells rang in the tower as early as 1808. In his sermon on New Year's Day 1812… Voigt expressed the following wish on the occasion of the forest surveying institute founded by Heinrich Cotta : “May the institute built in our place over the past year, which is named by an important cause that is extremely influential on the welfare of posterity and has a generally revered name at its head (footnote: The Royal Forest Surveying and Forestry School under the direction of Mr Forstrath Cotta), may it, favored by the author of all good things, gain the most desired progress and benefit the fatherland just as much as that Promote our place! May all of your members and comrades achieve the purpose of your being here in the fullest sense, and the honor of your name acquired here become the reason for your future happiness. "

Death and oblivion

In the early summer of 1813 Voigt was recalled from Tharandt in order to serve as the first senior pastor and superintendent in Artern . During this time before the Battle of Leipzig , the confrontation between the French and the allies came to a head. Voigt was immediately at the center of the controversy, first between the French and the inhabitants of the place of which he was the new pastor; and after the Battle of Nations he mediated between the Arterner citizens and Russian Cossacks, but also between Swedish troops. In this difficult situation Voigt wrote the ballad Leipzig's Danger Noth and Rescue, To Remembrance, To Consolation, To Encourage a Former Long-Term Resident of Leipzig (1813) about the Battle of Nations. The ballad was printed by Seeger, Leipzig, in late autumn. The intensity of the descriptions suggests that Voigt must have been a witness in the immediate vicinity of the battle.

The last grueling weeks of life in the troop-occupied city of Artern did not leave Voigt without a trace. Although his health was in poor health, he held a speech as superintendent in front of officers and generals as well as the entire authorities of the city at the celebration of the delightful birthday of Sr. Majesty of the Emperor of all Reussen Alexander I on December 24th. Held at Artern in 1813 .

In addition to the “cold” that he contracted during the speech to Tsar Alexander, the cause of death also includes “Beatings by Russian Cossacks” or “Malignant nerve fever” (nerve fever is a useful way of describing rash, war or hospital typhus ).

Voigt died on January 5th, 1814. In the obituary it is written: "Superintendent Voigt was not only a capable preacher, but also well known as a poet and writer."

On the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the city of Tharandt in 2016, Pastor Voigt was remembered for the first time, who had made great contributions to the city more than 200 years ago, but has since disappeared completely from the collective memory of the citizens of Tharandt.

Follow-up remarks

In addition to the initiators of the "Beautified Landscape Tharandt" such as Freiherr von Lindemann and the civil office surgeon Butter, as shepherd of the community, poet of the Enlightenment, knowledgeable landscape designer and organizational talent in the construction and maintenance of the "Beautified Landscape", Voigt was an important personality. The "Beautified Landscape Tharandt" corresponded to the new, Enlightenment-imbued ideas of a landscape whose naturalness was enhanced by careful human intervention. This new conception of nature was a conscious departure from the courtly park designs of the Baroque era with their geometric lines and artificial plantings.

Tharandt takes against other "beautified landscapes" of Romanticism, such as the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz (from 1769, Prince Friedrich Franz ), the Park on the Ilm, Weimar (from 1776, Grand Duke Karl August ), the Park in Machern ( from 1782, Reichsgraf von Lindenau ), the landscape park in Köstritz (around 1785, Count Heinrich XLIII. Reuss ), Friedrichsgrund near Pillnitz (1785, Elector Friedrich August III. ) and the Seifersdorfer Tal (from 1793, Christina Countess von Brühl ) a special position one in which Voigt was significantly involved. This special position consists of three points:

• In Tharandt there is already a medieval ruin, while in other landscape parks, in keeping with the taste of the times, artificial ruins have been built.
• The place Tharandt itself, including its immediate surroundings, belonged to the "Beautified Landscape", while other park designs were laid out outside of the village.
• In Tharandt, the lower nobility and the enlightened bourgeoisie, including the citizens of the city, became the creators and sustains of a “beautified landscape” and not - as before - the high nobility.

Works

As a writer

• The prince as a person. A play in three acts . Halberstadt 1792
• Radegund of Thuringia. Tragedy in five acts. Frey edited from a patriotic story . Berlin 1792
• Passion and duty. A dramatic family painting in five acts . Leipzig 1793
• Athelin von Brutthow or the crusade. A historical novel . Leipzig 1794
• Lure to Schiller's Muses Almanac for the year 1797 . Jena / Weimar 1797
• Criticism of the new song collection for the city churches in Leipzig along with general waving for future collectors of church chants . Jena 1795
• Performances from adolescence or children's idylls to develop the moral character of young people . Leipzig 1798
• Household supplies for fiancées and newlyweds and those who want to become one, or: How must marriage be led if it is to become a creator of domestic bliss . Quedlinburg / Leipzig 1798/1821
• Songs for the heart. To convey a noble pleasure in solitude . Leipzig 1799/1812
• Robert or the man as he should be. A side piece to Elisa, or the woman as it should be . 3 volumes, Leipzig 1800–1802; New edition: Johann Christian Senckenberg University Library, Frankfurt am Main 2016
• Moritz and Auguste, or the little ones as they should be . Leipzig 1800
• The dangers of youth. A teaching book for maturing sons and daughters from the higher and middle classes . Leipzig 1804
• Robert, eller Mannen, så dan han bör vara. Skildrad ända till sitt inträ de i äkta ståndet. En pendant till Elisa, eller Qvinnan, så dan hon bör vara . Translated into Swedish v. Daniel Wong, 3 volumes, 2nd edition, Stockholm 1804
• with Michael Haydn: Longing for country life . In: Chorbuch Mozart / Haydn VI. Zurich 1804, Stuttgart 1968
• Tarant's beautiful nature is celebrated in sociable songs . Dresden 1806
• Concise German dictionary for management, dealing with reading . 3 volumes, Leipzig 1807
• Practical explanations of the biblical passages which, by the highest order in 1810, are to be used as the basis for public lectures in the Protestant churches of the Kingdom of Saxony . Leipzig 1810
• Practical explanations of the texts to be explained in the Protestant churches of the Kingdom of Saxony in 1811 . Dresden 1811
• Leipzig's danger, need and rescue. As a reminder, as a consolation, to encourage a former resident of Leipzig for many years . Leipzig 1813
• Huis-boekie Voor Verloofden: En Pas-Gehuwden, en Voor Dezulken. The Eenmaal Den Huwelijken-Staat Zullen Omhelzen . Translated into Dutch. v. Johannes Christoffel van Kesteren, Amsterdam 1823
• De gevaren der jeugd: een boek voor jongelingen en meisjes . Translated into Dutch. v. J. van Meurs / D. Veelwaard, Haarlem 1823
• with Passow, Raumer, Wachler, Wilken et al. (Ed.): Historisches Taschenbuch . Contribution from 10 vol., Leipzig 1830–1839
• To a friend “To joy was born” (June 18, 1812). In: Carl Maria von Weber: Homage music for the Saxon court in a small cast as well as other occasional works for birthdays or funerals , Vol. 5, ed. v. Frank Ziegler, Mainz 2015

As editor

• Samuel Friedrich Nathanael More : Academic Lectures on Theological Morality . After his death, ed. u. accompanied by a preliminary report v. Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt, preacher at the University Church of Leipzig, Vol. 1–3, Leipzig 1794
• Triumph of German wit in a collection of the most piercing epistles and funniest ideas of German heads . With 6 coppers, ed. v. Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt, part 1 and 2, Leipzig 1798 and 1800

As a translator and editor of other works

• Jacques Delille: The Gardens. A didactic poem in four songs . Translated from the French. u. edit (Nachdicht) v. Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt, Leipzig 1796
• Anna Maria Bennett: The beggar girl and her benefactors . Translated from English u. revised by Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt, 4 volumes, Leipzig 1798–1801

literature

• Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt, Christoph Richter: Tarant's beautiful nature celebrated in sociable songs. Reprint with foreword and images by Tharandt from the period between 1790 and 1840 and comparative photos from the present, for the 800th anniversary of the city of Tharandt in 2016 , self-published by Ev.-Luth. Tharandt parish, 2016
• Christoph Richter: Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt - a Tharandt romantic poet. Life and work . In: Historical and personal information about Tharandt. Festschrift for Otto Wienhaus for his 80th birthday , ed. v. Norbert Demarczyk, Wilsdruff 2017, pp. 83–112

Individual evidence

1. ^ Otto Wagner: Important events in our community life since the beginning of 1800. Arterner Stadtchronik of the 19th century , special supplement to the Arterner Zeitung. Artern 1930, reprinted as a special publication for the 100th anniversary of the Aratora Heimatverein 2011, pp. 25, 26
2. ↑ Friedrich Christian dangles: Tharand. A historical-romantic painting based on nature, documents and legends . 2nd edition, Dresden 1804
3. ↑ The Plauische Grund near Dresden. With regard to natural history and beautiful garden art . Edited by Wilhelm Gottlieb Becker, Nuremberg 1799
4. ↑ Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt: Altar speech and sermon at the inauguration of a new organ ... and for permanent memory . Dresden 1806
5. ↑ Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt: With what sense should we go up to our temple to pray today? A sermon was given after the great fire accident in Tarant on August 3, 1807 . Dresden 1807
6. ↑ Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt: The consecration of the tower and bell at Tarant, a religious festival of joy on the seventeenth Sunday of Trinity, 1808, celebrated with his congregation . Dresden 1808
7. ^ Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt: A sermon on New Years Day 1812… . Self-published, Tarant 1812, p. 15
8. ↑ Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt: Speech at the celebration of the delightful birth of Sr. Majesty of the Emperor of all Reussen Alexander I on December 24th. Held at Artern in 1813 . Frankenhausen 1814
9. ^ Otto Wagner: Important events in our community life since the beginning of 1800. Arterner Stadtchronik of the 19th century , special supplement to the Arterner Zeitung. Artern 1930, reprinted as a special publication for the 100th anniversary of the Aratora Heimatverein 2011, pp. 25, 26
10. ↑ Ewald Engelhardt: Arterner Heimatbuch , Artern 1913, pp. 197, 218, 219
11. ^ Church archive Magdeburg, Anonymus: Pfarrerbuch der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen , Vol. 9, 2016
12. ^ Church archive Magdeburg, Anonymus: Pfarrerbuch der Kirchenprovinz Sachsen , Vol. 9, 2016
13. ↑ Christoph Richter: Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt - a Tharandt poet of the Romantic period . In: Official Gazette of the city of Tharandt from December 17, 2016; Christoph Richter: Christian Friedrich Traugott Voigt - a Tharandt romantic poet. Life and work . In: Historical and personal information about Tharandt. Festschrift for Otto Wienhaus for his 80th birthday , ed. v. Norbert Demarczyk, Wilsdruff 2017, pp. 83–112
14. ↑ Tobias Voß: Garden monument conservation valorisation of the Tharandt castle ruins . Master's thesis, TU Dresden, Faculty of Architecture, Professorship for Monument Preservation and Design, Dresden 2017