Wilhelm Nienstädt

Wilhelm Nienstädt (born October 16, 1784 in Geitelde (today Braunschweig ), † April 28, 1862 in Wolfenbüttel ) was a Prussian prince educator and writer .

Life

The son of a pastor family studied theology in Helmstedt and Göttingen . As early as 1806, Nienstädt published an essay entitled On Didactic Poetry in the Phöbus magazine published by Heinrich von Kleist and Adam Heinrich Müller .

After completing his doctorate, he first went on a two-year educational trip (presumably Italy) and then worked as a tutor in various noble families, including with Count Häseler and in the house of Count von Voss. On the recommendation of the future Prussian Foreign Minister Ancillon, Nienstädt became the tutor of the Prussian Prince Albrecht , son of Friedrich Wilhelm III, in the summer of 1815 . appointed.

This was the beginning of Nienstädt's most productive period as a writer, which lasted about ten years. 1816 romantic comedy seems a Zaubertag , 1819, the two-volume critical cultural-historical treatise attempt a representation of our time (published anonymously) and 1820 the poems mixed content , a work whose many romanticized poems and ballads, a drama fragment and the epic Olint and Elvire contains .

In 1822 Nienstädt was appointed secret councilor. A short time later, however, he was discharged from service - honorably and with the assurance of a pension. In 1826 Nienstädt published the seven dramas cycle Die Hohenstaufen and the drama Karl V. In 1829 he moved his residence from Berlin to the Hallendorf near Braunschweig and married the pastor's daughter Johanna Henriette Augusta Pauli. It is not known whether he was active again as a writer or held a public office in the remaining thirty-three years of his life.

meaning

Nienstädt 's cultural pessimism , inspired by Fichte , constitutes a break in continuity at the beginning of modern times , which was caused by the invention of the printing press , the Reformation, the invention of gunpowder and the discovery of America. He praises the de-dogmatization of religion and a burgeoning democratic self-confidence, but condemns competition and the pursuit of profit , political power poker, alienation and individualism . The Enlightenment , the results of which he values ​​in part, contributed to the fact that love and tradition were replaced by thinking in cold terms . Nienstädt was a supporter of the Prussian monarchy and strongly opposed the French Revolution .

Of his works, only the Hohenstaufen dramas inspired by Friedrich von Raumer experienced a certain echo in the historical drama of the following years and decades.

Works

• A magical day. Romantic comedy. Duncker & Humblot 1816.
• Poems of mixed content. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1820.
• Charles the Fifth. Tragedy in four acts. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1820. ( digitized version )
• Attempt to represent our time. Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, 1819. ( Digitized volume 1 ), ( volume 2 )
• The Hohenstaufen. Cyclical drama in 7 sections. Barth, Leipzig 1826.
  • 1. Waiblinger and Welfen. Historical drama. Barth, Leipzig 1826.
  • 2. Frederick the First. Romantic drama. Barth, Leipzig 1826.
  • 3. Henry the Sixth. Romantic drama. Barth, Leipzig 1826.
  • 4. Liberation. Play. Barth, Leipzig 1826.
  • 5. Frederick the Second. Tragedy. Barth, Leipzig 1826.
  • 6. Conrad the fourth. Romantic tragedy. Barth, Leipzig 1826.
  • 7. Conradin. Tragedy. Barth, Leipzig 1826.
• Charles the Fifth. Tragedy in four acts. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1826.

Web links

• Literature by and about Wilhelm Nienstädt in the catalog of the German National Library