Gotthilf Sebastian Rötger
Gotthilf Sebastian Rötger (different spelling: Gotthelf , nickname: Father Rötger) (* May 5, 1749 in Klein Germersleben ; † May 16, 1831 in Magdeburg ) was a pedagogue and head of the well-known pedagogy at the monastery of Our Dear Women .
Life
Rötger was born as the son of the pastor of Klein Germersleben, Peter Rötger , and the daughter of the rector of the Magdeburg Cathedral School , Margarethe Christine Rötger (née Müller). First he attended the city school in Neuhaldensleben from 1756 , then from 1765 to 1767 as an alumne the pedagogy of the monastery of our dear women in Magdeburg. This was followed by studies of Protestant theology in Halle (Saale) with Johann Georg Knapp , Johann August Nösselt and Johann Salomo Semler until 1770 . Rötger, who was also interested in cosmology , mathematics and physics during his studies, gave his first trial sermon in Wörbzig near Koethen .
However, Rötger decided against religious activity, went to Magdeburg and accepted a position as private tutor, which he exercised in 1770 and 1771. In 1771 he became a teacher at his previous pedagogy and was already a member of the convent in 1772 . Rötger became a respected educator close to the Enlightenment with enormous organizational talent. In 1774 he became procurator and at the end of 1779 provost of the monastery. In this office he belonged to the estates, in whose select committee he participated from 1781. In 1786 he was elected as a deputy for the creation of a general Prussian code of law.
As provost, he represented a life of tolerance , humanity and reason and advocated a humanistic and bourgeois national education. After initial arguments, there were several contacts with the school reformer Johann Bernhard Basedow . He introduced a number of reforms and innovations at the pedagogy. A school library , a natural material and a machine room were created . He also introduced censorship . From 1793 he published a regular annual publication of the pedagogy.
As early as 1780 he initiated the regular monastery balls. There were also regular excursions to the botanical plantings he had suggested in the so-called Kreuzhorstfeste belonging to the monastery .
In 1805 Rötger celebrated his 25th anniversary as provost. In this context he was given a number of other offices. He became a member of the Provincial School College and the General Management of the Groß Salze Forced Labor House . In addition, he took over the management of the Magdeburg Free Tables at the University of Halle .
Rötger was also a member of the so-called Wednesday Society, a literary society around Friedrich von Koepcken (1737-1811).
The invasion of the French army in Magdeburg in 1806 prevented the implementation of Rötger's plans to reform Magdeburg's lower school system.
Rötger also remained influential under the French occupation and was able to maintain the independence of the pedagogy. In 1806 he became a member of the Magdeburg municipal council. Between 1807 and 1813 he was also arrondissements liquidator in the Elbe Department of the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was formed during the occupation . For this department he was also elected to the imperial estates of the Kingdom of Westphalia .
The later writer Carl Leberecht Immermann , who later sent him a poem of homage on his 50th anniversary with the company, was one of his students at this time . Rötger held the office of provost until 1830 and thus for a period of 50 years. Rötger was listed in the Magdeburg address books of 1817 and 1823 under the address Regierungsstrasse 3 .
During his tenure as provost, the pedagogy developed again into a nationally important educational institution.
Rötger was an avid collector of the manuscripts of his contemporaries. His collection consisted of several thousand pieces, each one carefully marked in red ink. The autographs have appeared in stores since around 1998 .
Honors
Christian Friedrich Tieck made a marble bust on behalf of the city of Magdeburg in 1821 for Rötger, who was respected during his lifetime , and the painter Carl Sieg created a painting. The University of Halle awarded Rötger an honorary theological doctorate . The city of Magdeburg gave him also for his involvement in the civil Rescue Institute the silver civic crown . Rötger was also a knight of the Red Eagle Order, 2nd class.
Later, the city of Magdeburg named a street in his honor as Rötgerstraße . In his birthplace Klein Germersleben a square was named after him and a memorial stone was erected.
Works
- Letters from a completely impartial cosmopolitan about the Dessau philanthropist , 1776
- Attempt of a briefly told Magdeburg Reformation story , 1782
- Detailed message from the pedagogy at the monastery of Our Dear Women in Magdeburg , 1783
- About teaching, teaching method, school police and character formation , 1791
- Reasons in equity for combining the debts of all the Westphalian departments into a single imperial debt , 1808
- Looking back on life, caused by the jubilee party of the Chancellor Dr. Niemeyer , 1827
- A Hundred epistemic poems , 1828
literature
- Uwe Förster: Rötger, Gotthilf Sebastian. In: Guido Heinrich, Gunter Schandera (ed.): Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon 19th and 20th centuries. Biographical lexicon for the state capital Magdeburg and the districts of Bördekreis, Jerichower Land, Ohrekreis and Schönebeck. Scriptum, Magdeburg 2002, ISBN 3-933046-49-1 .
- Martin Wiehle : Borders Personalities. Biographical lexicon of the Magdeburger Börde (= contributions to the cultural history of the Magdeburger Börde and its peripheral areas. Vol. 6). Dr. ziethen verlag, Oschersleben 2001, ISBN 3-935358-20-2 .
- Martin Wiehle: Magdeburg personalities. Published by the Magistrate of the City of Magdeburg, Department of Culture. imPuls Verlag, Magdeburg 1993, ISBN 3-910146-06-6 .
- Karl Janicke: Rötger, Gotthilf Sebastian . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 29, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1889, pp. 303-305.
Individual evidence
- ^ Address book of the city of Magdeburg , Magdeburg 1817, page 92
- ↑ EF Liweh, address book of the city of Magdeburg , Magdeburg 1823 S. 45th
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rötger, Gotthilf Sebastian |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Pedagogue and head of the pedagogy at the monastery of Our Dear Women |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 5, 1749 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Klein Germersleben |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 16, 1831 |
| Place of death | Magdeburg |