Ernst Wolfgang Behrisch

Ernst Wolfgang Behrisch (* 1738 near Dresden ; † October 21, 1809 in Dessau ) was a German court master and friend of Goethe's youth .

Born as the son of the Electoral Saxon court advisor Wolfgang Albrecht Behrisch, he studied in Leipzig from 1765 to 1767 and then became court master in the house of Count von Lindenau.

During this time, Behrisch met Goethe in Christoph Gottlieb Schönkopf's inn , where Goethe had lunch and fell in love with the landlord's daughter, Käthchen Schönkopf . A close friendship developed between Behrisch and Goethe. Behrisch, eleven years his senior, became Goethe's mentor and “soul guide” ( Rüdiger Safranski ), who exerted a decisive influence on Goethe's poetic and human development in those years.

A lively correspondence developed between him and Goethe after Behrisch left the Leipzig court master's position in autumn 1767 and moved to Dessau. On Gellert's recommendation, he became educator Franz von Waldersees and soon afterwards also the Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau . At the Dessau court, Behrisch became a highly respected man, the prince a spirited companion and loved by his two pupils.

Resting place on the new burial place in Dessau

We owe Behrisch's “disgust for printed matter and being printed” and his cult of “ calligraphy ” to a collection of 19 poems in calligraphy with the title Annette , which Behrisch put together from the poems sent to him by Goethe.

Remarks

^ Rüdiger Safranski: Goethe. Artwork of life. Biography. Hanser, Munich 2012, pp. 47–50.
^ Entry Behrisch, Ernst Wolfgang. In: Deutsche Biographie [1] (accessed on March 29, 2015).
↑ Nicholas Boyle: Goethe. The poet in his time . Volume I: 1749-1790. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2004, p. 87.
↑ Käthchen Schönkopf was called Anna by her second name. Goethe liked to call her Annette. Wilhelm Bode : Goethe's love life. Mittler, Berlin 1914, p. 37.

personal data
SURNAME	Behrisch, Ernst Wolfgang
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German court master and friend of Goethe's youth
DATE OF BIRTH	1738
PLACE OF BIRTH	near Dresden
DATE OF DEATH	October 21, 1809
Place of death	Dessau

[1] Rüdiger Safranski: Goethe. Artwork of life. Biography. Hanser, Munich 2012, pp. 47–50.

[2] Entry Behrisch, Ernst Wolfgang. In: Deutsche Biographie [1] (accessed on March 29, 2015).

[3] Nicholas Boyle: Goethe. The poet in his time . Volume I: 1749-1790. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2004, p. 87.

[4] Käthchen Schönkopf was called Anna by her second name. Goethe liked to call her Annette. Wilhelm Bode : Goethe's love life. Mittler, Berlin 1914, p. 37.