bavarikon4UThe estate of Friedrich von Thiersch (1784–1860) – Thierschiana I
Friedrich Wilhelm Thiersch (1784–1860) was a German philologist and teacher. After attending the famous Saxon princely school Schulpforta, Thiersch read classical studies in Leipzig, Halle and Göttingen from 1804. After receiving his doctorate, Thiersch worked as a grammar school teacher in Göttingen from the autumn of 1807. Following his habilitation in Classical Philology in 1808, Thiersch was called to Munich on the recommendation of the philologist Friedrich Jacobs (1764-1847). At first, he taught as professor at the Wilhelmsgymnasium (grammar school) and from 1811 at the Lyceum.
In Munich, Thiersch came into conflict with his superiors and with the circles attached to the lawyer and librarian Johann Christoph von Aretin (1772–1824). The core of this dispute was the increased number of appointments of Northern German scholars and artists by Bavarian kings to southern Germany in the nineteenth century. Thiersch’s conflict with Aretin and Bernhard Joseph Docen (1782–1828) culminated in a literary feud, which was largely carried out in the "Oberdeutsche Allgemeine Literaturzeitung" (Upper German Literary Newspaper), until a royal edict banned further articles on this subject. The peak of the conflict was reached on 28 February 1811 with an assassination attempt on Thiersch.
The philological seminar, founded by Thiersch in 1812 following the model of Göttingen, was first associated with the Lyceum, then with the Academy and finally with the University in 1826. Finally, it earned him the honorific title of a Praeceptor Bavariae (Teacher of Bavaria). In 1826, he became professor of philology at Munich University. Thiersch gained a special influence on Bavarian educational politics after the accession of Ludwig I to the throne. From then on, he shaped the training of secondary school teachers in Bavaria as well as the school and university system in its neo-humanist orientation. From 1848 up to two years before his death, Thiersch was president of the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften (Bavarian Academy of Sciences).
The estate includes Thiersch’s biographical documents as well as his extensive correspondence (e.g. with August Boeckh, the publisher family Cotta, Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (1756-1825), Ludwig prince zu Oettingen-Wallerstein (1791-1870), August von Platen (1796-1835), Amalie von Thiersch (1794-1878)). In addition, the collection contains manuscripts of works and lectures as well as collectibles and personalia.
Parts of the estate have been digitised for bavarikon and are available here:
>> This estate belongs to the collection of estates from the holdings of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library).