Friedrich Lebrecht Koch

Friedrich Lebrecht Koch (born December 28, 1761 in Löbnitz , † December 16, 1837 in Torgau ) was a German Protestant clergyman.

Life

Koch was a son of Johann Gottfried Koch († 1797), administrator of the two Schönfeld manors in Löbnitz, and of Susanne Elisabeth born. Serau († 1791).

At the age of eight, Koch was sent to his uncle, Pastor Schneider in Pehritzsch , so that he could educate him and give him school lessons. Since he died soon, the boy came to see an uncle who lived in Leipzig , Dr. med Burdach, for raising. After a year of private tuition from him, Koch was able to attend the Leipzig Nikolaischule , where Johann Jacob Reiske was his teacher. In 1778 (1780 is also mentioned!) He began studying at the University of Leipzig , where he attended lectures in philosophy, mathematics, philology, history and theology. In 1783 he passed his first theological exam in Dresden . Nevertheless, he stayed at the University of Leipzig for two years to perfect his knowledge. Finally his father, who had meanwhile given up his professional activity, induced him to finish his studies and come to his parents in Brehna , where they had taken up their retirement home. From here, Koch visited the Philanthropic Institute in Dessau on a trip . Inspired by his work, he developed a deep inclination for education and instruction, although his main circle of life was to be different.

In 1785, through mediation, Koch got a job as tutor for the family of Carl Philipp Schindler, gold and silver goods manufacturer in Zerbst . Later he went to Dresden to work for a Countess Lieven . From this he was able to transfer to the house of the Conference Minister and Senior Consistorial President Christoph Gottlieb von Burgsdorff . Here he occasionally gave lectures on philology, history and encyclopedic sciences for its guests. In the latter two houses, Koch got to know the influential society of Dresden and thus Saxony.

Through the use of Herr von Burgsdorff, he was finally given the vacant diaconate in Mittweida in 1793 . Now it was possible for him to marry Caroline Auguste Schindler († before 1837), the daughter of his former employer in Zerbst; three daughters eventually survived. In 1797 Koch rose to become archdeacon in Mittweida. Since he was a gifted speaker, he was elected as pastor and superintendent in Torgau in 1801 . Due to this high position requires, acquired Koch in 1802 at the University of Wittenberg the title of Dr. of theology. In addition to his actual work, he devoted himself to improving the school system in Torgau from the very beginning. During the siege of Torgau in 1813 by Prussian troops, in the so-called Wars of Liberation, Koch went to the enemy headquarters twice on behalf of the city council at risk of his life and asked for protection for the beleaguered city and its population. After Torgau fell from Saxony to Prussia as a result of the war in 1815, Koch developed a plan to reorganize the entire school system in Torgau and also took care of its implementation. Due to his historical interest, he also founded the first Torgau History Association in 1826, of which he was then a director.

In 1829 Koch suffered a fractured femoral neck, which subsequently made life difficult for him. After contracting a disease of the glands in 1837, he had to give up preaching, although this was soon followed by his death.

Koch wrote several writings, although he was not a prolific writer like many other theologians. For his services he was made a knight of the Red Eagle Order (3rd class).

Fonts

• De Deo poenas eas, quae per ipsam naturam et physico causarum nexu peccata sequi dicuntur, remittente (dissertation, 1802)
• De scholae Torgaviensis constitutione ac forma, fatisque ejus recentissime breviter cammentatur (1815)
• The Protestant Association or about the reunification of the two Protestant churches in the 19th century . Berlin 1824.
• On the history of the wooden Elbe bridge from 1070 near Repnitz (1825/26)

literature

• New Nekrolog der Deutschen , fifteenth year, 1837, 2nd part, Weimar 1839, pp. 1072-1078 ( digitized version )
• Hans-Joachim Böttcher : Koch, Friedrich Lebrecht. In: ders .: Significant historical personalities of the Dübener Heide (= series of publications of the Working Group for Central German Family Research, Vol. 237). Leipzig 2012, pp. 52–53.
• Dietmar Crypa (Ed.): Leopold von Ranke, Briefwechsel , Vol. 1: 1810-1825. Berlin-Boston 2016, p. 620 ff.