History - OnThisDay - 28 August 1749 - Johann Wolfgang Goethe and his extraordinary life
On 28 August 1749, Johann Wolfgang Goethe was born in the
Free Imperial City of Frankfurt. Then the city was a part of the
Holy Roman Empire.
At the royal court
At the age of 25, Goethe was ennobled by Karl August,
Duke of Saxe-Weimar in 1782 after taking up residence here in
1775 following the success of his first novel:
'The Sorrows of Young Werther' (1774).
During his first ten years in Weimar, Goethe was a member of the
Duke's privy council, was member of the war and highway commissions,
oversaw the reopening of silver mines, and implemented a series of
administrative reforms at the University of Jena.
Goethe also contibuted to the planning of Weimar's botanical park and
the rebuilding of its Ducal Place, which in 1998 were together designated
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Important work
Goethe's first major scientific work 'the Metamorphosis of Plants' was
published after he returned from a tour to Italy in 1788.
In 1791 he was made the managing director of the theatre at Weimar
and in 1794 he started a friendship with Friedrich Schiller.
Goethe produced volumes of poetry, essays, criticism, a theory of
colours and early work on evolution and linguistics.
He was fascinated by mineralogy and there was even a mineral
named after him.
He also wrote some non-fiction writings. His poetry was set to
music by almost every major Austrian and German composer from
Mozart to Mahler.
Goethe had a great effect on the nineteenth century. In many aspects
he was the originator of many ideas which later became widespread.
He did not embrace the mechanistic views that contemporaneous
science subsumed during his time and therewith he denied the
rationality's superiority as the sole interpreter of reality.
His views make him along with Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson
and Ludwig van Beethoven a figure in two worlds: on the one hand
devoted to the sense of taste order and finely crafted detail, on the
other seeking a personal intuitive and personalized form of
expression and society, firmly supporting the idea of self-regulating
and organic systems.
The Goethe monument in Vienna
In 1878 the Goethe Society in Vienna was founded. However then
there was no statue of this extraordinary man.
In 1889 a competition was organized and a year later the best designs
were presented.
On 15 December 1900 the Goethe monument was unveiled after lots
of discussion.
Free Imperial City of Frankfurt. Then the city was a part of the
Holy Roman Empire.
At the age of 25, Goethe was ennobled by Karl August,
Duke of Saxe-Weimar in 1782 after taking up residence here in
1775 following the success of his first novel:
'The Sorrows of Young Werther' (1774).
During his first ten years in Weimar, Goethe was a member of the
Duke's privy council, was member of the war and highway commissions,
oversaw the reopening of silver mines, and implemented a series of
administrative reforms at the University of Jena.
Goethe also contibuted to the planning of Weimar's botanical park and
the rebuilding of its Ducal Place, which in 1998 were together designated
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Young Goethe
Source picture: Wikipedia
Important work
Goethe's first major scientific work 'the Metamorphosis of Plants' was
published after he returned from a tour to Italy in 1788.
In 1791 he was made the managing director of the theatre at Weimar
and in 1794 he started a friendship with Friedrich Schiller.
Goethe produced volumes of poetry, essays, criticism, a theory of
colours and early work on evolution and linguistics.
He was fascinated by mineralogy and there was even a mineral
named after him.
He also wrote some non-fiction writings. His poetry was set to
music by almost every major Austrian and German composer from
Mozart to Mahler.
Goethe had a great effect on the nineteenth century. In many aspects
he was the originator of many ideas which later became widespread.
He did not embrace the mechanistic views that contemporaneous
science subsumed during his time and therewith he denied the
rationality's superiority as the sole interpreter of reality.
His views make him along with Adam Smith, Thomas Jefferson
and Ludwig van Beethoven a figure in two worlds: on the one hand
devoted to the sense of taste order and finely crafted detail, on the
other seeking a personal intuitive and personalized form of
expression and society, firmly supporting the idea of self-regulating
and organic systems.
Goethe at an old age
Source picture: Wikipedia
Death
On 22 March 1832 Goethe died at the age of 82 from a heart failure.
He is buried at the Ducal vault at Weimar.
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| Goethe monument in Vienna own picture taken in 2011 |
The Goethe monument in Vienna
In 1878 the Goethe Society in Vienna was founded. However then
there was no statue of this extraordinary man.
In 1889 a competition was organized and a year later the best designs
were presented.
On 15 December 1900 the Goethe monument was unveiled after lots
of discussion.
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