George August Kunowski

Georg August Kunowski, oil painting

George August Kunowski (born June 25, 1757 in Beuthen / Oder ; † January 21, 1838 in Schweidnitz ) was for 42 years until 1838 Evangelical Pastor Primarius at the Friedenskirche Schweidnitz , today world cultural heritage , superintendent as well as church and school inspector .

family

The family comes from the part that moved from the Kunowo estate north of Posen to Germany for religious reasons at the beginning of the 17th century and acquired civil rights in Prenzlau .

His father was George Sigismund Kunowski (born May 15, 1715 in Blindow in Prenzlau, † 28 September 1783 in Beuthen / Oder) was pastor in Bytom and one of 12 candidates, called 12 Apostles, which Frederick the Great in the first Silesian War of Army followed in order to use them as Protestant pastors in the conquered province from January 24, 1741. The Glogauer Landbote reports: "Beuthen was lucky enough to get the preacher George Sigismund Kunowski from Blindow in the Uckermark with lot No. 1. " His father Samuel and his brothers Samuel Christian, Gotthilf David and Daniel Gottfried were already in the Uckermark as Pastors active. His mother Dorothea Elisabeth, née Kenkel (* in Bagemühl; † April 18, 1800 in Bielewicz (Silesia)) was a daughter of the pastor Wilhelm Kenkel and his wife Charlotte.

Kunowski had two siblings:

• Georg Friedrich (1759–1819), royal councilor in the Prussian Ministry of Justice
• Wilhelmine Sophie Helene (born October 26, 1766 in Beuthen, † March 16, 1837 in Hirschberg / Silesia)

From the marriage with Charlotte Henrici (born September 4, 1763 in Beuthen; † August 1, 1832 in Schweidnitz), daughter of the pharmacist Johann Josef Carl Henrici (1737–1823), the following children were born:

• Georg Carl Friedrich (1786–1846), judicial commissioner and class reformer, topographer and geologist, astronomer, theater syndic in Berlin, railroad syndic
• Sophie Auguste Henriette (born January 10, 1789 in Beuthen / Oder; † 1872)
• Georg August Eduard (1795–1870), Prussian general of the infantry and general inspector of the technical institutes of the artillery
• Georg Adolf Karl (born February 19, 1800 in Schweidnitz , † January 14, 1842 in Leubus), Syndic of the city of Schweidnitz
• Georg Moritz (1802–1866), district court director

Working life

He received his first training in his parents' house in Bytom through lessons from his father, especially in the ancient languages . In 1744 he attended the Joachimsthaler Gymnasium in Berlin, where he was one of the students who were particularly honored by the director Meierotto and, after attending Selekta for a year, passed the final examination with distinction. He then devoted himself from 1763 to studying theology at the University of Halle . There he passed his exams after three years . Then he worked as a tutor.

Evangelical pastor in Beuthen

In 1783 he followed his father as pastor in Bytom. However, this was preceded by an event: the church consistory of Beuthen had decided to introduce a new hymn book in the church. This found partial opposition in the community and was viewed as a restriction on belief and freedom of conscience . In order to resolve this contradiction and to gradually prepare the congregation for the new hymnbook, Pastor George Sigismund Kunowski had both the old and the new sing. When he once consecrated the pulpit words for this , one of the listeners appeared and spoke out emphatically against the new hymn book and its preacher. This violation of the service made such a deep impression on the very old man that he had to leave the pulpit immediately, fell seriously ill and died eight days later on September 28, 1783. His son George August, who worked as a tutor in a distance, had no knowledge of this and only found out about his father's death on September 4, 1783 when he was crossing the Oder near Beuthen. When he asked what the bell ringing meant , he was told about the incident. He immediately hurried to the parsonage and, as there was no other clergyman present, put on his father's regalia and gave a deeply moving speech off the cuff at his father's grave. The congregation was deeply impressed by this speech and on the same day the councils of the congregation asked him to succeed his father. He initially turned down this offer, but gave in to repeated urgent requests, especially after the previous secretary, the 62-year-old Ludwig Hellwig, joined the community's requests. He was ordained on April 2, 1784 and was appointed on August 8, 1784.

His first concern was repairing the church, which was in disrepair. He succeeded in achieving this goal by attracting wealthy parishioners.

Georg August Kunowski had a violently quick-tempered temperament , but at the same time a deep, noble mind, strength and energy and a fine sociable manner. On the one hand, he was affable, but also appeared self-confident and was equally respected and valued in the community.

Just one year after his appointment, on February 1, 1785, he married the 22-year-old Charlotte, daughter of the city pharmacist Henrici, and had a happy marriage with her until she died of cholera in Schweidnitz at the age of 69 .

Pastor Primarius in Schweidnitz

Peace time

About ten years later, in 1795, the parish of the Friedenskirche in Schweidnitz lost its priest Johann Friedrich Tiede (born 1732 in Pasewalk , died 1795 in Schweidnitz), who had been in office for more than twenty years . He was buried on the north side of the cemetery. As can be seen in the supplement to the Evangelical Church Gazette “Our Church” of August 6, 1939, shortly after his death the Upper Church Authority in Breslau gave the order to find a suitable successor. One wrote to Breslau: "The happier our late Primarius Tiede had combined the qualities of a good charitable pulpit speaker, the more we feel the obligation to fill his position worthily again according to the wishes of our citizens." After several candidates had called and theirs Had given the guest sermon, the choice of 15 out of 18 fell to Georg August Kunowski from among the last three with a large majority. Immediately afterwards, on March 4, 1796, he was appointed pastor primarius at the Church of Peace of the Trinity in Schweidnitz. It was the largest evangelical parish in Silesia, to which, in addition to the city of Schweidnitz, another 30 parishes belong and in which only 5 clergy served. He was also appointed church and school inspector and later with the title " Superintendent of the Hereditary Principality of Schweidnitz " in the county of Glatz , and appointed Ephorus of the grammar school in Schweidnitz.

The official inauguration took place on June 26, 1796. Georg August received the highest recognition in the community as an excellent pulpit speaker in a very short time. He always appeared in a filled, sometimes overcrowded church, so that the wide rooms of the Friedenskirche could not hold the crowd of listeners and numerous groups were standing in front of the open doors and attended the service.

What is remarkable is his relationship with the Catholic community in the city, with whom and whose clergy he had a very good understanding. The young clergy employed by the Catholic parish church were among the keenest attendees of his sermons and, after him, trained as pulpit speakers. This led to the fact that the abbot of the Leubus monastery recommended that his young clergy study Kunowski's sermons for their training. Both Christian denominations therefore lived side by side in full harmony. When he took office, half of the congregation belonged to both denominations. After about forty years in office, the proportion of the Catholic community decreased to a third.

During the siege of the city in 1807, the Catholic clergy willingly offered their parish church to the Protestant community for use because the church in the suburb was not available due to military conflicts during the Napoleonic War . The following later incident provides further evidence of the lasting good understanding between the denominations. So it happened that before the 300th anniversary of the church reformation , the Catholic pastor prepared his members for the upcoming festival of their evangelical fellow citizens in such a way that he gave them a short explanation of the evangelical church reformation in his sermon, pointing out that that the division of the church through the Reformation was extremely regrettable, but that it had a positive influence on the Catholic Church through the removal of many unmistakable grievances. He himself took part in the leadership of the Catholic clergy on Reformation Day in 1817. Even today, the Protestant Peace Church in Schweidnitz (Swidnica) symbolizes the balance between Protestants and Catholics and was therefore, among other things, elevated to a UNESCO cultural monument .

French siege

Georg August was deeply shocked by the events surrounding the battle of Jena and Auerstedt . In the course of the Napoleonic War, the city of Schweidnitz was finally attacked. In the first discouragement and perplexity, the inspector of the Silesian fortresses, General Lindner, came to Schweidnitz and asked the magistrate to send a deputation to the enemy and ask for the city to be spared. Kunowski then rushed to the town hall and gave the magistrate a speech about the shameless and treacherous request. Although General Lindner threatened arrest, the magistrate took Kunowski's side and the defense was ordered. On October 26, 1806 the news came during the Sunday sermon that the enemy was already in front of Schweidnitz. While the congregation fled the church and went to the fortress behind the walls, Georg August led the service to the end. In the meantime his family, his wife with 6 children had fled to a small quarter they had rented in the city. After he had saved all the documents in the church, he quartered himself there. As a pastor he was now anxious to counteract discouragement and despair. He instilled courage and stamina in the community and organized warm clothes for the guards and guards. Until an armistice on January 6, 1807 there was bitter fighting over the fortress. According to Georg August's notes, the fortress was handed over on January 16. At the head of several regiments, Prince Jerome entered Schweidnitz and was received by the magistrate at the gates. Even the clergy, headed by Georg August, had to wait for him, which as a loyal German man cost him quite a bit of overcoming. Although the French leniency were exercised, the occupation of the fortress loaded the population considerably. August planned to get his family out of Schweidnitz to spare them the tribulations of the siege . The sister of his wife Charlotte Henrici was married to Pastor Petersen in Rogan from Zoblen and had invited a daughter to be baptized in early November. Georg August wanted to use this to accommodate his wife and the younger children there. He rejected this plan and after the baptism returned to Schweidnitz, where the enemy had increasingly broken the resistance of the town by force of arms. The end of the siege became apparent with the victorious German War of Liberation from January to June 1813. Georg August wrote enthusiastically to his wife on August 13, 1813: “Viktoria! Blücher beat the French, Wittgenstein beat the French, Wellington beat the French. "

Public figure

The city of Schweidnitz made Georg August Kunowski an honorary citizen for his services and sent him in 1808 as a deputation to King Friedrich Wilhelm III. to Konigsberg to present various requests from the city. In Königsberg he was received by the king and queen and had valuable conversations with Freiherr vom Stein and Gerhard von Scharnhorst for the city . He was honored by the king with the Red Eagle Order IV class. When the new city ordinance was introduced on November 18, 1808, whereby, among other things, the management of the city's property was returned to the hands of the citizens, he was elected head of the city council. But he was not allowed to accept that under the new regulation. However, the government allowed the new order to be introduced under his direction. After a successful introduction, he resigned. In 1819 Georg August presided over the General Synod in Silesia, which met in Schweidnitz. Its main purpose, the union of the Lutheran and Reformed Churches, came about primarily through his influence. After that he received the call of senior consistorial advisor , which he refused because he would have had to give up his preaching office.

In the appointment document from the year 1796, the church council of the Friedenskirche in Schweidnitz expressed the wish, “The new pastor Primarius may direct the hearts of the listeners with teachings admonishing, warning and comforting to God, with an edifying way of life actively shining through so that honor God will be glorified and his kingdom will be expanded. In 1834 he was loved and respected by his community and celebrated his 50th anniversary in office on a large scale. He received much evidence of respect and devotion in the process. The diocese of Schweidnitz gave the jubilee a silver cup with the Kunowski coat of arms. He died four years later on January 21, 1838 at the age of 81.

Publications

• Sermons promoting domestic edification on Sundays and feasts of the year. First part 1804, XX and 478 p. (1 Reichsthaler, 12 Groschen), 2nd part 1804, 382 p. (22 Groschen), Verlag Biesterfeld, Schweidnitz and Verlag Buchheister, Breslau 1804.
• Catechetical manual on the catechism introduced in Silesia: Excerpt from the Holy Scriptures according to the context of Christian doctrine, attempt at a comprehensible presentation of the doctrines of faith and morals on a Socratic basis. Verlag Korn in Breslau 1796, 380 p. (1 Reichsthaler, 12 Groschen), new edition 1809.

literature

• General literary newspaper. Year 1805, Volume 2, Number 108.
• Jenaische General. Literary newspaper. 7th year, Vol. 1, No. 45, February 22, 1810.