Stolberg, F.L. Graf von

Friedrich Leopold, Count zu Stolberg

Born at Brammstedt in Holstein (then a part of Denmark), 7 November 1750; died at Sondermühlen near Osnabrück, 5 December 1819. He belonged to the younger branch of the Stolberg family and was the son of a Danish magistrate and owner of a manorial estate. A few years after his birth, the family moved to Copenhagen and soon formed friendships with distinguished literary men, especially Klopstock. Klopstock was then at the height of his fame, and the fundamental principles which he held, devotion to God and country, made a deep impression on the young Stolberg.

Stolberg's religious ideas, it must be acknowledged, remained at first somewhat misty and confused, as his parents held to an eclectic form of Christianity and read for their own edification the most heterogeneous authors, such as Augustine and Luther, Fenelon and Saurin, Zinzendorf and Young. Together with his brother Christian, Friedrich Leopold went to the University of Halle in 1770, in order to study law. His other studies embraced the classics and various historical courses.

The Hainbund and Early Career

Two years later, the two brothers went to Göttingen, where they joined the little company called the "Hainbund", a society of young men who had high aspirations for the freedom of the country and who cultivated German poetry. Some of the poetry by the members of the "Bund" has a permanent value. However, besides Bürger, Hölty, and Voss, of all the members of the "Bund", only Stolberg has, in reality, not been forgotten, and his name continues to live less on account of his literary productions than because of his conversion to Catholicism.

After completing his studies at the university, Stolberg made a journey in Switzerland with Goethe and Count von Haugwitz in 1775. Here, besides meeting other distinguished persons, he became acquainted with Lavater, with whom he formed a lasting friendship. In 1777, he entered the service of the Protestant Prince-Bishop of Lübeck and was for a while the bishop's envoy at the Danish Court. Somewhat later, in 1781, he was chief administrator at Eutin and in 1785 magistrate at Neuenburg in the Duchy of Oldenburg.

Ambassadorial Roles and Conversion

Four years after this, he was the Danish ambassador at Berlin. In 1791, he was appointed president of the board of ecclesiastical administration of the Prince-Bishop of Lübeck, and in 1797 he was sent as ambassador to Russia. On 1 June 1800, he joined the Catholic Church in the private chapel of the Princess Gallitzin at Osnabrück, and on 22 August he resigned his various positions. After this, he lived first at Münster in Westphalia, then from 1812 at Tatenhausen near Bielefeld, and finally from 1816 at Sondermühle near Osnabrück, where he died after a short illness. He was buried in the cemetery at Stockkempen.

Personal Life and Religious Development

Stolberg was twice married. His first wife, Agnes von Witzleben, died on 11 November 1788, after six years of happy married life, leaving two sons and two daughters. Two years later, Stolberg married Countess Sophie von Redern. After their marriage, he and his wife took a long journey through Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. This tour was of great importance for his religious development, as he then made the acquaintance of the devout Catholic Freiherr von Droste-Vischering.