Gustav Leutelt
Encyclopedia
Gustav Leutelt was an ethnic German poet
and writer
from the region of Bohemia
, which was then part of the Austrian Empire
but is now part of the Czech Republic
. Most of his poetry concerned the area around his birthplace of Josefsthal causing him to be described as a "poet of the Jizera Mountains
."
and he chose this craft as his life's study. In 1906, he founded a museum in Untermaxdorf in which he documented the history and economy of the Upper Kamenice
valley. After 1922 he moved as a pensioner near Gablonz an der Neiße.
As a result of the Beneš Decrees
, Leutelt, an 85-year-old, was expelled from his home in 1946. He died in 1947 in Seebergen
, Germany at the age of 86. His grave stone in the cemetery of Seebergen reads: "Here rests away his beloved forest homeland, a former champion of German art, Gustav Leutelt, poet of the Jizera Mountains, born in Josefsthal on September 21, 1860, February 17, 1947 he died in Seebergen." At the memorial is a plaque: "This memorial stone was donated by Gablonzer compatriots of the Jizera Mountains in the Sudetenland
from which the people of Thuringia
were expelled in 1945. Renewed by the Leutelt Society in Schwäbisch Gmünd
in 2002".
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
from the region of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, which was then part of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
but is now part of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. Most of his poetry concerned the area around his birthplace of Josefsthal causing him to be described as a "poet of the Jizera Mountains
Jizera Mountains
Jizera Mountains , or Izera Mountains, are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The major part is formed from granite, with some areas formed from basalt. The mountains got their name from the Jizera River, which rises at the southern base of Smrk...
."
Life
Leutelt was born the son of a teacher in Josefsthal in Jizera Mountains, northern Bohemia. He was the great grandson of the "miracle doctor" Josef Johann Kittel. Leutelt settled in Leitmeritz to train at a teacher's training college and work as a teacher at the elementary school of his father. As a senior teacher, he took over the local elementary school in the nearby town of Untermaxdorf (Dolní Maxov) first but later at the training college. At this institution he came in contact with glass workersGlassblowing
Glassblowing is a glassforming technique that involves inflating molten glass into a bubble, or parison, with the aid of a blowpipe, or blow tube...
and he chose this craft as his life's study. In 1906, he founded a museum in Untermaxdorf in which he documented the history and economy of the Upper Kamenice
Kamenice (Jizera)
Kamenice river is a tributary of the Jizera river in the Czech Republic. It rises from several source streams in the Jizera Mountains of Bohemia at Holubník...
valley. After 1922 he moved as a pensioner near Gablonz an der Neiße.
As a result of the Beneš Decrees
Beneš decrees
Decrees of the President of the Republic , more commonly known as the Beneš decrees, were a series of laws that were drafted by the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile in the absence of the Czechoslovak parliament during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II and issued by President...
, Leutelt, an 85-year-old, was expelled from his home in 1946. He died in 1947 in Seebergen
Seebergen
Seebergen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the municipality Drei Gleichen....
, Germany at the age of 86. His grave stone in the cemetery of Seebergen reads: "Here rests away his beloved forest homeland, a former champion of German art, Gustav Leutelt, poet of the Jizera Mountains, born in Josefsthal on September 21, 1860, February 17, 1947 he died in Seebergen." At the memorial is a plaque: "This memorial stone was donated by Gablonzer compatriots of the Jizera Mountains in the Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
from which the people of Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
were expelled in 1945. Renewed by the Leutelt Society in Schwäbisch Gmünd
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Schwäbisch Gmünd is a town in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 62,000, the town is the second largest in the Ostalbkreis and the whole region of East Württemberg after Aalen...
in 2002".
Quotes
"The home is not everything but rather the root system of the rising World Tree. Neither patriotism, as escapism, or the global love for the homeland of contempt are good. Home education is probably not an end in itself, but it should lead to respect from the home. And we must find a way to this, it's possible even for those who are alienated. Global love in our heart for the home is the ultimate."Awards and honors
- 1935 Joseph-Freiherr-von-Eichendorff-Preis (Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff Prize)
Works
- Schilderungen aus dem Isergebirge, 1899 (Descriptions of the Jizera Mountains, 1899)
- Die Königshäuser, 1906 (The royal, 1906)
- Das zweite Gesicht, 1911 (The Good Son, 1911)
- Hüttenheimat, 1919 (Cottage home, 1919)
- Aus den Iserbergen. (From the Iserbergen. Erzählungen, 1920 Fiction, 1920)
- Der Glaswald, 1925 (The Glass Forest, 1925)
- Das Buch vom Walde, 1928 (The book of the Grove, 1928)
- Bilder aus dem Leben der Glasarbeiter, 1929 (Images from the life of the glass workers, 1929)
- Siebzig Jahre meines Lebens, 1930 (Seventy years of my life, 1930)
- Johannisnacht. St. John's Night. Sudetendeutsche Geschichten, 1930 (Sudeten German stories, 1930)
- Doktor Kittel, 1943 (Doctor Kittel, 1943)
- Glasmacher, 1944 (Glasmacher, 1944)
- Schicksal, 1944 (Fate, 1944)
Collections
- Gesammelte Werke in drei Bänden , Karlsbad: Adam Kraft Verlag 1934-1936 (2. Aufl. 1941-1943) (Collected works in three volumes, Carlsbad: Adam Kraft Verlag 1934-1936 (2nd edition 1941-1943))
- Gustav Leutelt. Gustav Leutelt. Gesamtausgabe in zwei Bänden , hrsg. (Complete edition in two volumes, ed. v. Adalbert Schmidt. Adalbert von Schmidt. Augsburg: Adam Kraft Verlag 1953-1955 Augsburg: Adam Kraft Verlag 1953-1955)
- Gesamtausgabe in fünf Bänden , Schwäbisch Gmünd: Leutelt-Gesellschaft 1986-1990 (Complete edition in five volumes, Schwäbisch Gmünd: Leutelt Society 1986-1990 )