Emil Hartwich
Encyclopedia
Emil Ferdinand Hartwich was a German
judge and promoter of sports education, remembered for his death in a duel
.
, and from 1856 to the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium in Cologne
.
In 1862 he took up study of jurisprudence
at the University of Heidelberg, where he became a member of the ancient student fraternity, the Corps Rhenania. He completed his education at the University of Berlin and in 1868 entered the Prussian Judiciary. In 1874 he became an assistant judge (Hilfsrichter) in the District Court of Düsseldorf
and in 1879 a Justice of the Peace (Amtsrichter).
In addition to his judicial work, Hartwich exerted himself in promoting the physical education of the young, published several writings on the subject and took part in founding the Association for Promotion of Personal Hygiene (Zentralvereins für Körperpflege in Volk und Schule).
Hartwich continued to pay erratic visits to Elisabeth and her husband even after the couple’s departure. While he was sojourning in Berlin during the summer of 1886, he and Elisabeth both resolved to divorce their respective spouses and to marry each other. Ardenne, however, saw his secretly harboured suspicions confirmed when he located the hiding place of the letters which his wife and Hartwich had been exchanging over the course of several years.
Thereupon he filed for divorce and challenged his rival to a duel
, an event upon which massive media coverage had been centred before it took place on 27 November 1886. Hartwich sustained severe injuries and died four days after the duel on 1 December 1886.
Although Armand von Ardenne was initially sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, his prison term was reduced to merely eighteen days not long afterwards.
The affair formed the historical background for the well-known novel "Effi Briest
" by Theodor Fontane
. Though Fontane changed the names and many of the concrete details, the affair was well-known enough for the background to be clear.
Elisabeth von Ardenne long survived her lover, living until 1952.
The Hartwichstrasse (Hartwich Street) in Düsseldorf-Oberkassel
is named after Emil Hartwich.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
judge and promoter of sports education, remembered for his death in a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
.
Early life and career
Hartwich was the son of Emil Hermann Hartwich, the building surveyor and railway engineer of the Danziger government. Hartwich's early years were characterized by considerable moving about among different parts of Germany. Having attended elementary school in Danzig, in 1853 he was sent to the Humanistische Gymnasium in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and from 1856 to the Friedrich Wilhelm Gymnasium in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
In 1862 he took up study of jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
at the University of Heidelberg, where he became a member of the ancient student fraternity, the Corps Rhenania. He completed his education at the University of Berlin and in 1868 entered the Prussian Judiciary. In 1874 he became an assistant judge (Hilfsrichter) in the District Court of Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
and in 1879 a Justice of the Peace (Amtsrichter).
In addition to his judicial work, Hartwich exerted himself in promoting the physical education of the young, published several writings on the subject and took part in founding the Association for Promotion of Personal Hygiene (Zentralvereins für Körperpflege in Volk und Schule).
Affair with Elisabeth von Ardenne and death
In the summer of 1881 Hartwich, who was suffering from the throes of his unhappy marriage, became acquainted with young Elisabeth von Ardenne, who was ten years his junior. She had recently arrived in Düsseldorf together with her husband Armand Leon von Ardenne, due to Armand's ascent within the country’s political hierarchy. Emil Hartwich and Elisabeth von Ardenne soon turned out to have many things in common, such as their love for theatre plays. The correspondence between them did not even cease when Ardenne returned to Berlin on 1 October 1884, with Elisabeth and the couple’s two young children following him.Hartwich continued to pay erratic visits to Elisabeth and her husband even after the couple’s departure. While he was sojourning in Berlin during the summer of 1886, he and Elisabeth both resolved to divorce their respective spouses and to marry each other. Ardenne, however, saw his secretly harboured suspicions confirmed when he located the hiding place of the letters which his wife and Hartwich had been exchanging over the course of several years.
Thereupon he filed for divorce and challenged his rival to a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
, an event upon which massive media coverage had been centred before it took place on 27 November 1886. Hartwich sustained severe injuries and died four days after the duel on 1 December 1886.
Although Armand von Ardenne was initially sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, his prison term was reduced to merely eighteen days not long afterwards.
The affair formed the historical background for the well-known novel "Effi Briest
Effi Briest
Effi Briest is widely considered to be Theodor Fontane’s masterpiece and one of the most famous German realist novels of all time. Thomas Mann once said that if one had to reduce one’s library to six novels, Effi Briest would have to be one of them...
" by Theodor Fontane
Theodor Fontane
Theodor Fontane was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist writer.-Youth:Fontane was born in Neuruppin into a Huguenot family. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to an apothecary, his father's profession. He became an...
. Though Fontane changed the names and many of the concrete details, the affair was well-known enough for the background to be clear.
Elisabeth von Ardenne long survived her lover, living until 1952.
The Hartwichstrasse (Hartwich Street) in Düsseldorf-Oberkassel
Düsseldorf-Oberkassel
Oberkassel is a quartier of Düsseldorf, with a population of about 17,000 inhabitants. Oberkassel lies on the left side of the river Rhine, the opposite side of the central district of Düsseldorf....
is named after Emil Hartwich.
Writings
- Woran wir leiden. Freie Betrachtung und praktische Vorschläge über unsere moderne Geistes- und Körperpflege in Volk und Schule, " (What we suffer from - consideration and practical suggestions about modern care of the mind and personal hygiene in society and school ") ,Düsseldorf 1881 - 1882
- Reden über die vernachlässigte Ausbildung unserer Jugend, ("Speeches about the neglected education of our youth"), Düsseldorf 1884.