Karl von Reitzenstein (historian)

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Karl Heinrich Friedrich Chlodwig Freiherr von Reitzenstein (born January 13, 1823 in Magdeburg , † October 23, 1874 in Strasbourg ) was a German historian and curator of the library of the University of Strasbourg .

origin

His parents were Major General Karl von Reitzenstein (1793–1846) and his wife Bertha Luise Albertine, Countess von Chasôt (1801–1868). His brother Egmont (1819–1900) became a Prussian major general.

Life

Reitzenstein attended the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Gymnasium in Berlin from 1836 to 1842 and then devoted himself to studying law and political science at the universities in Berlin and Breslau . On March 25, 1845, he joined the practical preparation for civil service as an auscultator and worked at the city courts of Neisse and Ratibor . After the death of his father he had to give up the preparation for the civil service and from September 1847 devoted himself to the administration of the old manor of Schwarzenstein and Lippertsgrün in Upper Franconia . The search for the documents necessary for the replacement of the fiefdom brought him into contact with the archives, which was decisive for his later direction in life.

In 1851 he renounced country life, first moving to Dresden, then to Schadewalde in Lausitz and Hoblick in Bohemia. His interest in genealogical work moved him to devote himself entirely to historical studies from then on. He had decided to process the documents of the Counts of Orlamünde as a scientific life's work, as the history of the famous house had received little attention until then. In 1857 he began his research in Weimar, the ancestral home of the family . The name after the other seat Orlamünde is found later. His first work also appeared in this year. In it he also processed sources from the estate of his great-uncle, Major General Christoph Ludwig Rudolph von Reitzenstein . In 1858 he went to Munich; Here, in addition to the archive groups important for the Orlamündische regesta collection, it was especially the archive material of the Cistercian monastery Waldsassen , which possessed the main sources for the history of the Egerland neighboring the Vogtland . He spent almost two years, with short breaks, researching and copying the rich treasures of the Munich Reichsarchiv for his own purposes. In 1859 he stayed in Dresden for several months to collect Eger and Vogtland documents, followed by a short stay in Prague to complete his collections from the archives that were still inaccessible at the time.

After his marriage in 1860 he tried in Silesia to Altmannsdorf with Dürrkunzendorf in the Neisse district, then to Kochsdorf in Lausitz, finally to Thurn-Gallenstein in Krain to earn a secure income. But especially the war of 1866 made his fortune dwindle.

Reitzenstein now worked for the Prussian administration. First he took over the reorganization of the princely Russian archives in Gera and Greiz . After this order work he was given a similar task in Schleswig to compile the state archive in Schleswig on behalf of the Prussian state government from the local archives scattered in Schleswig and Holstein . After that he was temporarily occupied with archival studies in Halle and Magdeburg, and in the summer of 1870 he was employed in the board of trustees of the Prussian State Gazette, where he worked on the presentations on Alsace-Lorraine and wrote some brochures. During this last stay in Berlin he supported the founding of the heraldic-genealogical association Herold . He became its chairman and was intent on raising the club's activities in a scientifically strict direction.

The establishment of the regional administration in Alsace led Reitzenstein there. First employed in the local police administration in Mühlhausen , then in Saint-Amarin , in January 1872 he finally managed to get a position as curator of the university and state library in Strasbourg. However, he was only allowed to live and work in comfort for a short time; he died there on October 23, 1874.

family

Reitzenstein married Adele Freiin von Badenfeld-Czeike (1829-1852) in 1849. The couple had several daughters:

  • Editha (1850–1905), poet (pseudonym: Sappho Liepholdt)
  • Laura Marie (* 1851)
  • Camilla (* 1852)

After the death of his first wife, he married Carolina von Rathgeb-Lautsch (* 1836) in 1860.

Fonts

  • Plan of the Citadelle of Antwerp and the siege area 1832. 1833.
  • The campaign of 1622 on the Upper Rhine and Westphalia up to the Battle of Wimpfen.
  • Correspondence between the Elector Johann Friedrich the Generous and his son Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxony in December 1546 about the loss and recapture of Thuringia. 1858.
  • Sources on German war history from 1793. 1857.
  • The northern forest and its own: historical-topographical-genealogical excursions from a document from 1017 on the history of the Reitzenstein family and their ancestors. 1863.
  • Regest of the Counts of Orlamuende from Babenberger and Ascan tribe, with family tables, seal images, monuments and coats of arms. 1871, digitized
  • The oldest Bavarian regiments on foot.
  • Brief outlines of the life of the Bavarian generals and colonels under Elector Max II. Emanuel.

literature
personal data
SURNAME Reitzenstein, Karl von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Reitzenstein, Karl Heinrich Friedrich Chlodwig Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Historian and curator of the University Library in Strasbourg
DATE OF BIRTH January 13, 1823
PLACE OF BIRTH Magdeburg
DATE OF DEATH October 23, 1874
Place of death Strasbourg