Johann Gottlieb Bärstecher

Johann Gottlieb Bärstecher (after 1782 "Müller") (born January 16, 1749 in Herrenberg ; † after 1802 possibly in Kleve or Seine-Saint-Denis , France) was a German publisher, theater theorist of the Enlightenment and a personality in the southern German revolutionary movement after 1798.

Publisher in Kleve

Bärstecher founded a publishing bookstore in Kleve in 1770. In this he published a number of magazines. On September 29, 1771 he married his first wife Maria Henriette Gesellschap. In 1772 he received the royal privilege to found a "scholarly newspaper" for the Duchy of Kleve , the Principality of Moers and the County of Mark . The paper first appeared in November or December 1772. After just a few issues, the paper had to be discontinued due to a lack of demand.

In 1772 he came into contact with Christoph Martin Wieland . It was about a new edition of his work Agathon. Later, along with others, the plan to found a joint bookstore was added. These plans failed. There are different statements for the reasons. According to one version, the fraudulent behavior of Bärstechers, who misappropriated funds, was responsible. According to another, Wieland's overly strained financial demands.

In spite of the failure of the scholarly newspaper, Bärstecher published further papers. Since 1773, this has included the weekly magazine “The friend of truth and pleasure on the Lower Rhine.” But this paper, too, soon had to stop its publication. The next project was an "Encyclopedic Journal" in 1773. Renowned scholars from the University of Göttingen wrote for the magazine . The magazine was at times widespread. Ultimately, this project also failed in 1775 due to a lack of permanent sales.

Bärstecher now turned increasingly to the theater. He published the theater newspaper (1775), Bagatellen, Literatur und Theater (1777) and the paperback for actors and drama lovers. In addition, a magazine appeared in his publishing house.

Actor and author

His publishing bookstore had to file for bankruptcy in 1776 due to financial problems. After a short time as a bookseller, he became a member of an acting troupe. In 1778 he wrote an operetta about the life of a soldier. The drama "Der Flaißige Schuster" dates from 1781. In the same year he gave up acting again.

Publisher in Kehl

In 1782 he founded another publishing house in Kehl, possibly changing his name to "Müller". There, in Kehl, there was already Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais ' printing works , which printed authors like Voltaire there, unmolested by the French censorship . Bärstecher had a close business relationship with Beaumarchais. In 1785 Bärstecher published the wedding of Figaro von Beaumarchais for the first time in German. In Kehl, too, Bärstecher published various magazines for women, children and young people, among others. The "Wissenschaftliche Magazin der Aufklerung" has been published since 1785. Bärstecher has also published the main work by Adam Smith . The encyclopedia project did not materialize due to a lack of staff. In 1783, Bärstecher leased the grammar school publishing house in Karlsruhe and thus acquired the title of court and office book printer. Another printing house was opened in Durlach. Bärstecher received the capital through his marriage to his second wife Maria Magdalena Rehfuss, whom he married on May 13, 1783.

Shortly before the beginning of the French Revolution, censorship was tightened. Books were confiscated and Bärstecher was imprisoned. Business deteriorated and in 1793 his publishing house went bankrupt.

He had also been producing tobacco since 1790. Forced to leave Kehl by the war events, he got a job in a tobacco factory in Ulm in 1796 .

Project of a South German Republic

Encouraged by the success of the French armies, revolutionary efforts began to develop on the Upper Rhine as well. The goal was to enforce the republic in southern Germany as well. Bärstecher was significantly involved in this. The group in which he was involved had to flee to Basel after a planned uprising attempt in 1798 , where the revolution had triumphed with the proclamation of the Helvetic Republic . The authors of the draft constitution, among them Bärstecher, got in touch with the French army and handed over the draft of a republican constitution to their representatives. The title was: “Draft of a republican constitution, as it may be useful in Germany.” This work consisted of a total of 547 articles. The draft was based on the modern constitutional concept of the American , but above all the French Revolution, and fell back on the doctrine of the constitutional power of the sovereign people. According to the judgment of a biographer Bärstecher, the Bonn Basic Law is spiritually closer to this republican constitutional charter from 1798/99 than to the imperial constitution of 1849.

According to official Baden information from 1799, the font was widely used.

Bärstecher was elected to represent the citizens' committee by the city of Ulm. He was present at the Rastatt Congress as a representative of the free imperial city . He also tried to win the Directory of the French Republic for the revolutionary plans in Germany. In addition to Ulm, he also represented other southern German imperial cities since the same year. On June 4, 1798, the Paris government rejected plans for a South German Republic.

Little is known about Bärstecher's further life. In 1798 he joined a grain trading company in Strasbourg. The last secured message comes from 1802. He may have returned to Kleve later.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Monika Nenon: From the fullness of hearts: Sociability, letter culture and literature around Sophie von La Roche and Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi , Würzburg, 2005. P. 75f.
2. ↑ [Rainer Hoymann: Johann Gottlieb Bärstecher (Müller) Archive link ( memento of the original from September 3, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ] 
3. ↑ Peter Hesselmann: Gereiniges Theater ?: Dramaturgy and Schaubühne in the mirror of German-language theater periodicals of the 18th century (1750-1800). Frankfurt, 2002, p. 182
4. ^ Johann Heinrich Merck, Briefwechsel, p. 587 Partial digitization

literature

• Dieter Schnermann: Johann Gottlieb Bärstecher (born 1749). From the unusual life of a native Herrenberger . In: Gerald Maier, Harald Müller-Baur (eds.): Living with a past, yearbook of the local history association for Schönbuch and Gäu e. V. Band 5 , 2006.

Web links

• Rainer Hoymann: Johann Gottlieb Bärstecher (Müller)
• Uwe Schmidt: The people determine - When the Basic Law is celebrated on May 23, Gottlieb Bärstecher and friends must not be forgotten., Die Zeit No. 21 of May 20, 1999