Garlieb Merkel

. Garlieb Helwig Merkel (born 21 Oktoberjul / November 1 1769greg in Loddiger, ( Lēdurga ), Governorate of Livonia, now in the county Limbaži, Latvia; † 27 Apriljul / May 9 1850greg Depkinshof in Riga, (now. :. . Ramavas muiža, Ķekavas novads ) ) was a Baltic German publicist and writer.

Since his father, removed from office as a country pastor for his enlightened attitude, died early, Merkel had to develop his knowledge autodidact. He first worked as a private tutor on goods of the Baltic nobility.

Early faced with the plight of the rural population, he wrote the book The Latvians, especially in Livonia, at the end of the philosophical century, published in Leipzig in 1796. This book is one of the foundations of the Estonian and Latvian historiography.

Merkel studied from 1796 in Leipzig and Jena, and turned to Weimar in 1797. He then went to Frankfurt ( Oder), where he received his doctorate.

He lived from 1799 to 1806 in Berlin; was there with August von Kotzebue the frank out, however, quarreled with that, so that he soon became the lead author. With the Napoleonic occupation he had to leave Berlin. He went to Riga, from where he continued his anti-Napoleonic writings. He was a staunch opponent of serfdom. His works influenced later the Latvian national movement. Since 1808, he had the Depkinshof in Riga.

Against the Restoration, which stifled all democratic approaches after the Napoleonic Wars, he wrote about Germany, as I found it again after ten years away, he was able to publish until 1818 in Riga as a book, since it was banned in Germany.

In 1838 he was due to difficulties with the censorship on all journalistic activities.

Works

  • The Latvians. Published in 1796 in Leipzig; re-edited and annotated by Thomas Taterka, publishing Harro von Hirschheydt Wedemark 1998, ISBN 3- 7777-0007 -X.
  • Letters on Hamburg and Lübeck. Hartknopf, Leipzig 1801.
  • Sketches from my book of memories. / Representations and characteristics. First published in 1812 in Riga; re-edited and annotated by Uwe Hentschel, amber -Verlag, Bonn 2010, ISBN 978-3-939431-06-0.
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