Introduction

Biography

Friedrich was the son of Bar­on Hein­rich Ul­rich Eras­mus von Har­den­berg, di­rect­or of the Sax­on Salt Works at Weiß­en­fels.

In the fall of 1790, he entered the Uni­ver­si­ty of Je­na, then went to Leip­zig, and fin­al­ly to Wit­ten­berg. Af­ter con­clud­ing his stu­dies, he went, at the end of 1794, to Tenn­städt (near Er­furt) to learn ad­min­is­tra­tion under Kreis­amt­mann Just. In the au­tumn of 1797, he en­tered the School of Mines at Frei­berg, Saxony, and in 1799 went to Ar­tern, at the foot of the Kyff­haus­er-Berg, to work at the Salt Works there.

Soon after, he be­gan to spit blood, and while vis­it­ing Dres­den, the news of the sud­den death of his young­er bro­ther brought on a hem­or­rhage which de­stroyed all hopes of a re­cov­e­ry. In Ja­nu­ary 1801, he was moved to his par­ents’ home in Weiß­enf­els, where he died two months lat­er.

Von Har­den­berg’s hymns rose from a time of deep sor­row up­on the death of his fi­an­cée, So­phie von Kühn, when his thoughts turned to the faith of his child­hood. His par­ents were Mo­ra­vi­ans, and his ear­ly edu­ca­tion came from a Mo­ra­vi­an pastor.

Works

• Blüthenstaub, in the Athe­næ­um (Bruns­wick: 1798)
• Marienlieder
• Heinrich von Of­ter­ding­en, an un­finish­ed ro­mance
• Schriften (Ber­lin: 1802)