Menzel, Wolfgang (1798-1873)

Menzel, Wolfgang

WRITER, POET, CRITIC, LITERARY HISTORIAN (GERMANY)

BORN 21 Jun 1798, Waldenburg, Silesia (now: Walbrzych) - DIED 23 Apr 1873, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg
GRAVE LOCATION Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg: Hoppenlau-friedhof, Rosenbergstrasse 7

Wolfgang Menzel was the son of the physician Johann Menzel. He went to school in Breslau and studied at the universities in Jena and Bonn. He was a prominent member of the Burschenschaft and he befriended Karl Ludwig Sand and Heinrich Heine. In 1820 he was prosecuted because of his activities, and he fled to Switzerland. There he worked as a teacher in Aarau between 1820 and 1824. His first volume of poetry, "Steckverse", was published in 1823.

In 1824 he moved to Heidelberg before he settled in Stuttgart. He married Johanna Bilfinger (29/01/1806-06/05/1875) on 9 March 1826 in Cannstadt. In Stuttgart he was responsible for the "Literaturblatt", the literary part of Johann Friedrich Cotta's "Morgenblatt für gebildete Stände" from 1826 to 1848. In 1828 he published a history of literature, "Die deutsche Literatur". From 1830 to 1834 he was the mentor of Karl Gutzkow. But he denounced him after he became a nationalist and a fierce opponent of innovation in poetry. He rejected the work of Heinrich Heine strongly and he detested Goethe because his work did not fit into a strict set of morals.

From 1833 to 1838 he had a seat in the Parliament of Württemberg. After his resignation in 1838 he devoted himself to literature. His opinions were strong, and his historical works were far from objective. From 1848 to 1849 he was again a member of the parliament. His novel "Furore" was published in 1851. In 1853 he published "Geschichte Europas, 1789-1815". In 1852 the "Literaturblatt" was revived, and he edited it until 1869. Menzel died in 1873 in Stuttgart. The University of Strasbourg purchased his library of 18,000 volumes.

Related persons
• detested Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
• quarreled with Gutzkow, Karl
• was a friend of Heine, Heinrich
• criticized Heine, Heinrich
• was a friend of Sand, Karl Ludwig

Images

The grave of Wolfgang Menzel at the Hoppenlau Friedhof, Stuttgart.
Picture by Androom (31 Jan 2007)