Peter Wieselgren

Peter Wieselgren (1847), drawing by Johan Christian Berger .

Peter Jonasson "Per" Wieselgren (born October 1, 1800 in Spånhult (in Vislanda parish ), Småland , † October 10, 1877 in Gothenburg ) was a Swedish Lutheran theologian, literary historian and biographer. He was also known as a leading activist of the early Swedish abstinence movement .

Life

Wieselgren, son of the landowner Jonas Jonsson, was chosen as a child for the profession of pastor. After attending school in Växjö , he studied at Lund University from 1820 and obtained his master's degree in 1823 . In 1824 he became a lecturer in literary history in Lund, shortly afterwards adjunct for aesthetics. After a longer stay as a private tutor in Stockholm (with Count Anders Fredrik Skjöldebrand ) he returned to Lund in 1828 and worked at the university library, from 1830 as a vice librarian. In 1833 he was ordained and took over a pastorate in Västerstad and Östraby in Skåne . In 1834 he was appointed provost of the church district ( contract ). After graduating as Dr. theol. In 1845 Wieselgren moved to a parish in Helsingborg in 1847 . From 1857 until his death he was provost of the cathedral in Gothenburg.

meaning

Wieselgrens tombstone on Stampens kyrkogård .

Wieselgren was involved in numerous literary projects. He opened up the archives of the De la Gardie family , wrote poems and hymns, wrote a five-volume history of Swedish literature from its beginnings to 1844 and was a member of the Samfund för utgivande av handskrifter rörande Scandinaviens historia (society for the publication of manuscripts relating to the history of Scandinavia ).

Great success achieved Wieselgren who is already 19 years old teetotaler , was also in his fight against the widespread alcoholism , especially in its first rural community in Västerstad. Since 1838 he was an honorary member of the Swedish abstinence society. Between 1840 and 1846 he made a great agitation trip through Sweden on behalf of the company. On behalf of King Oskar I , he again gave lectures nationwide in 1855.

As provost of the cathedral, Wieselgren advocated that the poor could also attend church services. In his time it was common to rent a pew for church attendance.

family

Wieselgren was married to Matilda Catharina Rosenquist (1816-1894) from 1833. He had four sons, including the historian Harald Wieselgren (1835-1906), the politician Sigfrid Wieselgren (1843-1910) and the pastor Magnus Wieselgren (1852-1933).

Monument to Peter Wieselgren in front of Gothenburg Cathedral .

Honors

Wieselgren received the Royal Prize ( Kungliga Priset ) of the Swedish Academy in 1863 . In 1880 a 4.5 meter high memorial stone was erected on the railway line between Vislanda and Bolmen near his birthplace. A bronze bust created by Gustaf Malmquist has been in Humlegården in Stockholm since 1910 , another one created by Bror Chronander since the same year on Domkyrkoplan next to Gothenburg Cathedral . The Wieselgrensplats in Gothenburg and the Wieselgrensskola in Helsingborg are named after him.

Fonts (selection)

• DelaGardiska archivet eller handlingar ur Grefl. DelaGardiska library på Löberöd , vol. 1-20, Lund 1831-1843.
• Sveriges sköna literature. En öfverblick vid akademiska föreläsningar . Vol. 1-5, Gleerup [u. a.], Lund 1833-1847.
• From denying the annoyances. Sermon on Matth. 18, verses 7-9 . [Hamburg], 1843.
• The importance of abstaining from strong drinks for Christians . Translated from the Swedish by JD Runge. Hamburg 1844
• Ur min lefnad. Berättelser för mina barn skrifna 1847–48 . Edited by Christer Knutsson. Historiska föreningen i Kronobergs län, Växjö 2003. ISBN 91-85882-08-9

literature

• Aline Hoffmann: Called to break the ground. A portrait of Peter Wieselgren, the pioneer of the Scandinavian temperance movement . Berlin 1912.
• 1. Peter (Per) Jonasson W. In: Theodor Westrin, Ruben Gustafsson Berg, Eugen Fahlstedt (Eds.): Nordisk familjebok konversationslexikon och realencyklopedi . 2nd Edition. tape 32 : Werth – Väderkvarn . Nordisk familjeboks förlag, Stockholm 1921, Sp. 337-338 (Swedish, runeberg.org ).
• Ernst Newman : Peter Wieselgren som romantiker och religious folkväckare . Svenska kyrkans Diakonistyrelse, Stockholm 1928.
• Sigfrid Wieselgren: I västerstad - Drag ur Peter Wieselgrens liv 1833-1847 . Victor Pettersons Bokindustri, Stockholm 1936.
• Moritz Javet: Peter Wieselgren, the Swedish champion for education and sobriety . 2nd edition Ostermundigen / Bern: Dürig, [1942].
• Ralph Tuchtenhagen :  Wieselgren, Peter Jonasson. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 13, Bautz, Herzberg 1998, ISBN 3-88309-072-7 , Sp. 1104-1106.
• Hellmut Haffner: Comet in Sweden's night. Peter Wieselgren, the intrepid fighter against alcoholism . Blaukreuz-Verlag, Wuppertal 1980, ISBN 3-920106-45-8
• Jarlert is different : Göteborgs stifts herdaminne 1620-1999: 1. Domprosteriets contract , Göteborgs stiftshistoriska sällskap, Tre böcker förlag, Göteborg 2010 ISBN 978-91-7029-679-6 , p. 57ff.

Web links

Wikisource: sv: Författare: Peter Wieselgren  - Sources and full texts