Franz Alexander von Kleist (24 December 1769 – 8 August 1797) was a German poet of the late 18th century.

Life

Franz Alexander was a member of the noble

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

n von Kleist family. He was born in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, son of General Franz Kasimir von Kleist (1736–1808) and his wife Caroline Luise Eleonore Johanne (also née von Kleist, but of the Zützen branch of the family; 1747–1780). General Friedrich Ludwig Heinrich von Kleist was his younger brother. In 1784, Franz Alexander entered the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n Infantry Regiment of the Duke of Brunswick ("Herzog von Braunschweig"). His regiment was stationed in

Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...

, where he came into close contact with Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, who because of his earlier friendship with Ewald Christian von Kleist, who fell in battle in 1759, had a particular inclination towards him. Franz Alexander is reckoned as a member of the Halberstadt Poetry Circle ("Halberstädter Dichterkreis"). He wrote several texts while he was in Halberstadt. After he left the town, he kept up a correspondence with Gleim until his early death. He took part in the campaign of 1789, then left the army and went to Berlin. Under Minister Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg he became an attaché in 1791. In January 1792, he married Albertine von Jungk (1774-1855) and left government service in the following year. He bought the estate of his deceased father-in-law, Falkenhagen near

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...

, sold it again and settled at Ringenwalde near Neudamm in the

Neumark The Neumark (), also known as the New March () or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945 except some villages o ...

, where he died before he was 28. His widow married again in 1800 to Captain Ferdinand von Waldow of Dannenwalde in Gransee.

Works

During his short life, Franz Alexander published a great deal. He was much read in his lifetime and immediately after his death, and then almost entirely forgotten. His literary legacy is preserved in the Kleist Museum in Frankfurt (Oder).

Children

By his wife Albertine, he had the following children: * Ferdinand (died young) * Karl (died young) * Adelaide (21 October 1794 – 16 August 1854); married Major General Ludwig Georg Adam von Wurmb (2 May 1788 – 28 February 1855).

Sources

* Anke Tanzer: ''"Mein theurer zweiter Kleist": Franz Alexander von Kleist (1769-1797) - Leben und Werk; mit einer umfassenden Bibliographie der Primär- und Sekundärliteratur und einer kritischen Beschreibung der Autographen.'' Igel-Verlag, Oldenburg 1998; * Karl Heinrich Jördens, ''Lexikon deutscher Dichter und Prosaisten'', vol. 6, p. 393
online at Google books

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleist, Franz Alexander Von 1759 births 1797 deaths Poets from the Kingdom of Prussia Writers from Potsdam People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg Franz Alexander German poets German male poets Writers from Brandenburg