Johann Carl von Eckenberg

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Portrait from 1717

Johann Carl von Eckenberg (born April 6, 1684 in Harzgerode ; † spring 1748 in Luxembourg ) was a German strength acrobat and theater director .

Live and act

Origin and early years

There is different information about the year of birth and name of Johann Carl von Eckenberg. While some sources cite 1700 as the year of his birth, the year 1684 can be regarded as certain through a portrait of Eckenberg by Johann Harper and Christian Karl Albert Wortmann from 1717 with the reference to his age of 32 at the time. According to the church book entry , his birth name was Johann Karl Eckenberger , especially in the period after 1732 he also called himself von Eggenberg . The origin of his nobility is not clearly documented. Eckenberg is supposed to give the Curieusen news of strong people(Frankfurt and Leipzig 1720) stated that he came from the old prince and baron family of those von Eggenberg . However, the prevailing opinion is that he received the title in Denmark. When and on what occasion this was cannot be determined. In the newspaper Curiosa Saxonica , which appeared from 1727, it is also said that he had served with a senior officer since he was 11 years old and that he himself rose to the rank of lieutenant.

List of costs for the horse trade

According to a majority opinion, Johann Carl von Eckenberg was the son of a saddler. His grandfather also practiced this profession. His father was Jacob Eckenberger (* 1653), his mother Anna Lise (* 1659), the daughter of a council chamberlain. According to other sources, his mother is said to have been called Cornelia and was a dancer. Furthermore, Eckenberg must have had a brother. He learned his father's craft and acquired acrobatic tricks with which he appeared in public under names such as Herkules Harzmann , Samson the Insurmountable or simply Simson . He is first mentioned in Bern as Samson in 1715 , according to other sources in Solothurn. Also in Bern he was put on record on February 3, 1716 because of a physical assault on a governor, whereupon Eckenberg fled Switzerland. He also worked as a soloist as a tightrope walker and juggler until 1717. Barely able to write his own name, he was the victim of a fraudulent trade in Leipzig in September 1717, which was to persecute him for 14 years. In the course of buying a horse , he made a deal with the seller, Lieutenant Johann Heinrich Beyer, issuing a bill of exchange, which obliged him to pay one pfennig for the horse within 24 hours in the first hour and double that in the following 23 hours the previous hour to pay. Because of his low level of education, Eckenberg did not foresee that the horse would ultimately cost him almost 60,000 Reichstaler (see list on the right). He escaped the threat of arrest for non-payment by fleeing. When he came to Leipzig again in 1723 and 1731, Beyer insisted each time on his demand. Finally, the bill of exchange was canceled by the court due to fraudulent intent. According to other sources, Eckenberg had to sell all of his property, although only a small amount of money went to the horse dealer.

The years from 1717

On April 30, 1717, he had already been able to demonstrate his acrobatic talents to the Saxon Elector Friedrich August I in Leipzig . Then Eckenberg came to Berlin for the first time, where he was given the opportunity to perform before the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I , who then granted him permission to perform on June 14, 1717. Eckenberg gave 32 performances that turned into a big event in Berlin before he left the city again. He founded a theater group with which he traveled through several European countries, including Germany, Belgium, Poland and Sweden, and possibly Denmark. On one of these trips, Eckenberg probably met the English tightrope walker Caroline and married her. There is evidence that Eckenberg's troupe made guest appearances in 1718 in Riga, Breslau, Königsberg and Danzig, in 1723 in Nijmegen in the Netherlands and in 1725 in Nuremberg. Apparently during this time, Eckenberg also worked as a quack and miracle doctor, in which he offered an antimonial oil against melancholy and sciatica.

The years from 1731

Spittelmarkt in the 18th century
The house of the "strong man" Johann Carl von Eckenberg in Zimmerstrasse, photograph from 1891

In 1731, Eckenberg returned to Berlin, this time a theater group comprising 26 people in the wake, consisting of artists and actors, including Johann Peter Hilferding , Felix Kurz and Karl Rademin, who would later become his son-in-law. He received another performance permit and pitched his tents on today's Spittelmarkt . In addition, he worked as a horse dealer at the court of Friedrich Wilhelm I. In order to be able to gain a permanent foothold in Berlin and in the knowledge that the king was no friend of the traveling people, Eckenberg offered to build a theater in Berlin for his Thrift towards known monarchs to ensure that the money earned in the city would be spent there again. For this purpose, Eckenberg acquired a plot of land on the corner of Charlottenstrasse and Zimmerstrasse and had a house built in 1732/33 according to plans by Philipp Gerlach . On September 27, 1732 Friedrich Wilhelm I granted him a privilege as follows:

" We Friedrich Wilhelm, by the grace of God, King in Prussia, Margrave of Brandenburg Thun Kund and hereby add to the knowledge that We renamed Johann Carl v. Eckenberg, in consideration of many good samples that had been filed so far, was summoned to our Hoff = Comoedianten in grace, and really accepted; Do this also herewith and power this in such a way and so that everywhere in Our lands and provinces in specie but in our royal residences with his people with them he is allowed to play artificial games and to make comedies, but he should also see that nothing scandaleuse, nasty, impudent and dishonorable or otherwise angry and offensive, much less what is wicked and detrimental to Christianity, but nothing but innocent things, so that the viewer can reach for honorable amusement and exhortation for good, can be played and presented. In contrast, thought v. Eckenberg, if he gives all those who are obedient enough to enjoy the freedoms and fairnesses due to a Hoff = Comoedianten. Wobey we protect him vigorously every time and our royal on occasions. Still wanting to show grace. Given in Berlin on September 27, 1932. Friedrich Wilhelm "

This general privilege contains the addition, especially for the competent authorities, “that he” [von Eckenberg] “does not have much to do in all cities and countries with the people around, for recreation of the people and for the pastime of those people have to present publicly without any hindrance, should have authority and freedom ” .

Then Eckenberg left the square on Spittelmarkt and moved into the theater on Stallplatz in Breiten Straße , built at the beginning of 1700 , which was located above the royal riding stable. The king was now a frequent visitor to the Eckenberg Establishment, in order to see, in addition to pieces such as Die-like Basic Soup of the World or Doctor Faust's Hell Ride, also Eckenberg's power numbers. After Eckenberg had already been refused to pay a reduced poor tax at the end of 1731 and again at the beginning of 1732, at the end of 1732 he complained about the amount of the so-called musicians' food money , which was mentioned in an application from the Royal Chamber of Cards dated December 16, 1732. Due to the numerous theatrical performances, the Royal Card Chamber itself complained about the decline in stamped playing cards. A decree issued on January 25, 1702 determined that only stamped playing cards could be used. The fee to be paid for these cards was intended to support the army. Thereupon, Eckenberg offered the king to hold meetings under his own leadership, at which cards could be played and conversations could be held. In this way he secured a steady income and, strengthened by the fact that the king himself often appeared at these meetings, became an important figure in Berlin.

Because of his general privilege, Eckenberg also made repeated guest appearances in Frankfurt an der Oder from 1733. Perhaps his star was already beginning to decline at this time, because Friedrich Wilhelm I refused him permission to perform in Halle, mainly because Eckenberg had repeatedly been violent towards members of his group while drunk. Therefore, for a while, Eckenberg successfully switched his main activity to the horse trade. So obviously in the favor of the king again, he finally played in Halle in October 1733.

Eckenberg did not return to Berlin until 1735. Since the building of the theater was still not completed, he asked for permission to appear again at the stable area, which was apparently refused because the building was now being used as a mounting store. It is possible that he temporarily escaped from his creditors, because in the spring of 1736 he performed comedies and acrobatic numbers in the Ballenhaus in Basel. Further performances in the Ballenhaus Bern were approved for the end of October 1737. In Berlin, he was mentioned again for the first time in a cabinet order of April 16, 1738, in which he and his troops were again granted appearances. Eckenberg and his entourage played again in Berlin between 1738 and 1740. The fact that Eckenberg no longer enjoyed the reputation of the king as it used to be is evidenced by the ban on playing during Lent.

The years from 1740

A few months after Frederick II's accession to the throne, Eckenberg asked the new king to extend his privilege, well aware that he would have to fear for his privileges after the death of his mentor . The king complied with this request made on October 2, 1740, on October 28, 1740 with the stipulation that Eckenberg “did not go out of the country and provide the necessary insurance” . This insurance caused problems for Eckenberg, who was obviously already heavily indebted at the time, as he had planned not to satisfy his creditors until the theater was completed. In the meantime the property had already changed hands twice in 1739. Eckenberg's incessant insistence on the authorities, with the special reference to the fact that he was unable to pay his employees without a gaming permit, ultimately led to a partial success. Without the privilege being extended, the decree was issued to "let the implorant play in the town hall immediately" . After that, Eckenberg again submitted a complaint regarding the poor tax, which was refused on February 15, 1741 by order of Friedrich II. On February 22, 1741, the privilege was confirmed, including the addition internally added in 1732 that Eckenberg “should otherwise (...) expect that this privilege should be revoked in the event of contraventions” .

However, Eckenberg could no longer build on his initial success and received increasingly negative reviews, as a result of which the audience and thus also the income failed to materialize. The Haude and Spener'sche Zeitung from 1742 is cited here as an example , which writes literally: “The disgust that one has had for the Schaubühne and the so-called Commedianten was just. How is it possible that a sensible person could decide to visit more than once a place where all folly and wickedness reign, and where one often hears twenty nonsense in ten minutes? (...) “In the spring of 1741, Eckenberg went to Genthin and from there to Halle, where he was again prohibited from performing. A corresponding complaint by Eckenberg was answered by Frederick II, who was staying in Bohemia during the First Silesian War , with the succinct note: "He'll make comedy as much as he wants, but don't have to go back outside the country to get our money Hauling. ” Since Halle still refused to allow Eckenberg and his troops to perform, another, much more detailed complaint followed, apparently written by a legal scholar. It cannot be determined whether and how Friedrich II reacted to this new request and whether Eckenberg may have come to performances in Halle after all.

At the end of 1741, Eckenberg performed in Wesel and then returned to Berlin. Here he had competition for the first time from a troupe that was led by Eckenberg's former member of the ensemble, the actor Johann Peter Hilferding. The city of Frankfurt / Oder refused Eckenberg further performances in April 1742, but Friedrich II referred to the renewed privilege, so that Eckenberg was finally able to play.

In the summer of 1742, Eckenberg again faced competition from the actor and theater director Johann Friedrich Schönemann , who in a letter dated July 7, 1742 asked Friedrich II to be allowed to perform in Berlin. After a concession was granted, Schönemann was allowed to set up his own showroom in the town hall, whereas Eckenberg's booth was demolished and the material brought into judicial custody until Eckenberg had paid his arrears. On the other hand, a brother of Eckenberg raised an objection (signed with "Gebrüder v. Eckenbergen" ) at the beginning of September 1742, which was rejected with reference to the immense debt burden of Eckenberg. Eckenberg returned to Berlin in the course of September 1742 and, when he pointed out the privilege granted to him, received the answer that it was never exclusive. Frederick II, who in the past had been reluctant to accompany his father to Eckenberg's performances , was more pleased with the plays or comedies by Molière that Schönemann offered his audience than with Eckenberg's productions and thus made Schönemann his protégé. After another petition by Eckenberg on October 17, 1742, was unsuccessful, he left Berlin. There is no information about the time up to his death, Louis Schneider only notes in his essay that Eckenberg went “to the Rhine” , “where he died in the camp near Luxembourg in 1748” . According to Lothar Groth, he is said to have committed suicide completely impoverished. Schneider does not mention suicide, but he also speaks of Eckenberg ending "in misery and oblivion" . According to another source, Eckenberg is said to have died during a guest tour.

In a letter to Frederick II on April 24, 1748, his daughter Sophie made the unsuccessful attempt to have both the privilege and the title of court comedian transferred to her husband Karl Rademin (whom she married in 1747). Since she states in the letter that her father "died a few weeks ago in Luxemburg (...)" , it can be assumed that the time of the Eckenbergs' death is to be found in the months of February or March, but no later than the beginning of April 1748.

When the Eckenberg theater building was completed cannot be determined; in any case, the building still existed around 1850, when the first public court hearings were held there.

Tricks and tricks

It is no longer possible to say with certainty today whether some of his achievements fall into the realm of legend. His power tricks included, for example, tearing anchor chains or turning iron bolts or ship nails into corkscrews. He was walking through the area with a 1,000 kg cannon barrel and holding an oak stick with his teeth to which a horse was tied, which could not move Eckenberg from the spot.

He is said to have carried a wooden bench with his teeth at one end, and a trumpeter was sitting at the other end playing a melody. According to other reports, Eckenberg lay head and feet on two chairs, then six men climbed onto his body and he managed to hold the load. Tied a rope around each wrist and holding a wine jug in both hands, six spectators tried in vain to prevent him from drinking by pulling and tugging on the rope.

Eckenberg's usually final feat was as follows: Standing on a scaffolding, he held iron chains on which hung a weighing pan in which a trumpeter was sitting on a horse. Eckenberg held the scales until the musician had finished his piece, while he was drinking from a wine glass with the other hand.

A comprehensive overview of his acrobatic acrobatics with comments from his contemporaries is contained in volume 72 of the Economic Encyclopedia by Johann Georg Krünitz .

Summary

After Lothar Groth, Johann Carl von Eckenberg was not only known by name as the first professional power acrobat, he can also be seen in particular as the founder of the first permanently operated theater in Berlin's cultural history, which has made great contributions to the city's theater and vaudeville , even if these merits were often misunderstood later.

In summary, Katy Schlegel states that in addition to his acrobatic abilities, Eckenberg has made a name for himself in the history of theater in which he and his group of 40 people at times "built a bridge between primarily soloistic physical and physical imagination and organized, professionally practiced acting" Has.

Louis Schneider describes Eckenberg as "the keystone of a period overcome by the better element of art" . For him, he was "the last representative (...) of low-level antics" , but also speaks of Eckenberg as an "interesting and outstanding personality" .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Lothar Groth: The strong men - A history of strength acrobatics , Henschelverlag Berlin 1987, page 23
  2. ^ A b c Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 3
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Katy Schlegel: Eckenberg (Eckenberger, Eggenberg), Johann Carl von. In: Saxon Biography , published by the Institute for Saxon History and Folklore e. V., accessed on March 16, 2015
  4. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 2
  5. ↑ a b c d Christoph Petzsch:  Eckenberg, Johann Karl. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 287 f. ( Digitized version ).
  6. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 39
  7. ^ A b c Simone Gojan: Johann Karl von Eckenberg . In: Andreas Kotte (Ed.): Theater Lexikon der Schweiz . Volume 1, Chronos, Zurich 2005, ISBN 3-0340-0715-9 , p. 512 f.
  8. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 4
  9. ↑ a b c Lothar Groth: The strong men - A history of power acrobatics , Henschelverlag Berlin 1987, pages 24-25
  10. ^ Lothar Groth: The strong men - A history of strength acrobatics , Henschelverlag Berlin 1987, page 27
  11. ^ A b Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 8
  12. ↑ Carola L. Gottzmann and Petra Hörner: Lexicon of German-Language Literature of the Baltic States and St. Petersburg. Verlag Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-11-091213-5 , page 48
  13. ↑ a b Johann Georg Krünitz: Economic Encyclopedia , section body = strength
  14. ^ Lothar Groth: The strong men - A history of strength acrobatics , Henschelverlag Berlin 1987, page 26
  15. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 9
  16. ^ Berlin-Archiv , Archiv-Verlag, Braunschweig, 1980-90, collective sheet 03055
  17. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, pages 11–12
  18. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 14
  19. ^ Karl von Ledebur: King Friedrich I of Prussia. 1878, page 470
  20. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, pages 13-16
  21. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 18
  22. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, pages 20–21
  23. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 22
  24. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, pages 26–28
  25. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, pages 28–31
  26. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 12
  27. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, pages 31–35
  28. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, pages 37–38
  29. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, pages 38–44
  30. ^ Lothar Groth: The strong men - A history of strength acrobatics , Henschelverlag Berlin 1987, page 29
  31. ^ A b c Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 45
  32. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, pages 44–45
  33. ↑ Lothar Groth: The strong men - A history of strength acrobatics , Henschelverlag Berlin 1987, pages 24 u. 29
  34. ↑ Louis Schneider: Johann Carl von Eckenberg, the strong man. A study on the theater history of Berlin. around 1850, page 1
personal data
SURNAME Eckenberg, Johann Carl von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German strength acrobat and theater manager
DATE OF BIRTH April 6, 1684
PLACE OF BIRTH Harzgerode
DATE OF DEATH March 1748 or April 1748
Place of death Luxembourg