Heinrich Abeken
Encyclopedia
Heinrich Abeken German
theologian and Prussia
n Privy Legation Councillor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin
, was born and raised in the city of Osnabrück
as a son of a merchant, he was incited to a higher education by the example of his uncle Bernhard Rudolf Abeken
. After finishing the college in Osnabrück, he moved in 1827 to visit the University of Berlin to study theology
. He soon combined philosophical and philological studies and was interested in art and modern literature.
In 1831, Abeken acquired a licenciate of theology. At the end of the year he visited Rome
, and was welcomed in the house of Christian Karl Josias, Freiherr von Bunsen. Abeken participated in Bunsen's works, namely an evangelic prayer and hymn-book. In 1834 became chaplain to the Prussian embassy in Rome
. He married his first wife, who died soon thereafter.
Bunsen left Rome in 1838 and Abeken followed soon thereafter to Germany. In 1841, he was sent to England
to help founding a German-English evangelic episcopacy in Jerusalem. In the same year, he was sent by Frederick William IV of Prussia
to Egypt
and Ethiopia
, where he joined an expedition led by professor Karl Richard Lepsius
. In 1845 and 1846 he returned via Jerusalem and Rome to Germany. He became Legation Councillor in Berlin, later Council Referee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 1848 he received an appointment in the Prussian ministry for foreign affairs, and in 1853 was promoted to be privy councillor of legation (Geheimer Legationsrath). Abeken remained in charge for more than twenty years of Prussian politics, assisting Otto Theodor Freiherr von Manteuffel and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
. The latter was so much pleased with Abeken's work that officials started to call Abeken "the quill [i.e., the scribe] of Bismarck." Abeken married in 1866 Hedwig von Olfers, daughter of the general director of the royal museums, Privy Council von Olfers
.
He was much employed by Bismarck
in the writing of official despatches, and stood high in the favour of King William, whom he often accompanied on his journeys as representative of the foreign office. He was present with the king during the campaigns of 1866 and 1870-71. In 1851 he published anonymously Babylon und Jerusalem, a slashing criticism of the views of the Countess von Hahn-Hahn.
During the war against Austria in 1866 as well as in the wars against France in 1870 and 1871, Abeken stayed in the Prussian headquarters. A major part of the dispatches of the time have been written by him. Unfortunately his health was damaged by the endeavours of these travels, and he died after an illness of several months. Emperor Wilhelm I
described Abeken in a condolence letter to his widow: One of my most reliable advisors, standing on my side in the most decisive moments; His loss is irreplaceable to me; In him his fatherland has lost one of the most noble and most loyal men and officials.
Despite his engagement in politics, Abeken never lost his interest in theology and continued to publish and speak in this sector during all of his life. He was interested in art and archeology, and was sponsor of the Archeological Institute of Rome and member of the Archeological Society of Rome. He founded a Circle of Friends of the Greek Literature in Berlin and was member of the prize commission for the royal Schiller-Prize.
See Heinrich Abeken, ein schlichtes Leben in bewegter Zeit (Berlin
, 1898), by his widow. This is valuable by reason of the letters written from the Prussian headquarters.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
theologian and Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
n Privy Legation Councillor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin
Berlin
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...
, was born and raised in the city of Osnabrück
Osnabrück
Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. It lies in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest...
as a son of a merchant, he was incited to a higher education by the example of his uncle Bernhard Rudolf Abeken
Bernhard Rudolf Abeken
Bernhard Rudolf Abeken was a German philologist and literature historian.-Life:Abeken was born in Osnabrück. His father was a Catholic merchant, who was much religious for his family...
. After finishing the college in Osnabrück, he moved in 1827 to visit the University of Berlin to study theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. He soon combined philosophical and philological studies and was interested in art and modern literature.
In 1831, Abeken acquired a licenciate of theology. At the end of the year he visited Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and was welcomed in the house of Christian Karl Josias, Freiherr von Bunsen. Abeken participated in Bunsen's works, namely an evangelic prayer and hymn-book. In 1834 became chaplain to the Prussian embassy in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. He married his first wife, who died soon thereafter.
Bunsen left Rome in 1838 and Abeken followed soon thereafter to Germany. In 1841, he was sent to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to help founding a German-English evangelic episcopacy in Jerusalem. In the same year, he was sent by Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, where he joined an expedition led by professor Karl Richard Lepsius
Karl Richard Lepsius
Karl Richard Lepsius was a pioneering Prussian Egyptologist and linguist and pioneer of modern archaeology.-Background:...
. In 1845 and 1846 he returned via Jerusalem and Rome to Germany. He became Legation Councillor in Berlin, later Council Referee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 1848 he received an appointment in the Prussian ministry for foreign affairs, and in 1853 was promoted to be privy councillor of legation (Geheimer Legationsrath). Abeken remained in charge for more than twenty years of Prussian politics, assisting Otto Theodor Freiherr von Manteuffel and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
. The latter was so much pleased with Abeken's work that officials started to call Abeken "the quill [i.e., the scribe] of Bismarck." Abeken married in 1866 Hedwig von Olfers, daughter of the general director of the royal museums, Privy Council von Olfers
Ignaz von Olfers
Ignaz Franz Werner Maria von Olfers was a German naturalist, historian and diplomat. Olfers was born in Münster. In 1816 he travelled to Brazil as a diplomat....
.
He was much employed by Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
in the writing of official despatches, and stood high in the favour of King William, whom he often accompanied on his journeys as representative of the foreign office. He was present with the king during the campaigns of 1866 and 1870-71. In 1851 he published anonymously Babylon und Jerusalem, a slashing criticism of the views of the Countess von Hahn-Hahn.
During the war against Austria in 1866 as well as in the wars against France in 1870 and 1871, Abeken stayed in the Prussian headquarters. A major part of the dispatches of the time have been written by him. Unfortunately his health was damaged by the endeavours of these travels, and he died after an illness of several months. Emperor Wilhelm I
William I, German Emperor
William I, also known as Wilhelm I , of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor .Under the leadership of William and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the...
described Abeken in a condolence letter to his widow: One of my most reliable advisors, standing on my side in the most decisive moments; His loss is irreplaceable to me; In him his fatherland has lost one of the most noble and most loyal men and officials.
Despite his engagement in politics, Abeken never lost his interest in theology and continued to publish and speak in this sector during all of his life. He was interested in art and archeology, and was sponsor of the Archeological Institute of Rome and member of the Archeological Society of Rome. He founded a Circle of Friends of the Greek Literature in Berlin and was member of the prize commission for the royal Schiller-Prize.
See Heinrich Abeken, ein schlichtes Leben in bewegter Zeit (Berlin
Berlin
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...
, 1898), by his widow. This is valuable by reason of the letters written from the Prussian headquarters.
Publications
- A letter to the Reverend E. B. Pusey in reference to certain charges against the German Church, (1842)
- Babylon und Jerusalem (1851), letter to Countess Ida Hahn-Hahn
- Der Gottesdienst der alten Kirche (1853)
- Das religiöse Leben des Islam (1854)
- biography of Bunsen in the Jahrbuch zum Conversationslexikon (Leipzig, BrockhausBrockhausBrockhaus may refer to:* Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus , German encyclopedia publisher and editor** Brockhaus Enzyklopädie, German-language encyclopedia**Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, Russian-language encyclopedia...
), Unsere Zeit (1861) - Wolfgang Frischbier, Heinrich Abeken 1809-1872. Eine Biographie Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2008 (Otto-von-Bismarck-Stiftung. Wissenschaftliche Reihe, 9).
Sources
- Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie - online version at WikisourceWikisourceWikisource is an online digital library of free content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aims are to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, it has...