Metta von Oberg
Encyclopedia
Anna Metta von Oberg was a German
Baron
ess and close friend to Augusta Louise zu Stolberg-Stolberg
.
Von Oberg was born in Jersbek
, and lived in the period from 1762 to 1794 in the monastery of Uetersen
. There she met Augusta Louise zu Stolberg-Stolberg. After they left the monastery, they lived together in a small apartment south of the monastery. Although Metta was 15 years the older, they were linked in a deep friendship. She also played a part in the heart of the friendship between Augusta Louise and the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
. Again and again she encouraged the young Augusta Louise in correspondence with the poet, unaware that both would feature in later literary history. Even after 1783, when Augusta Louise moved to Copenhagen
and married the Danish
Minister of State Peter Andreas Bernstorff, she remained at the side of her best friend. Metta von Oberg died at the age of 57 after years of illness in the monastery of Uetersen
.
It is thought that without Metta von Oberg, the lively exchange of letters between Augusta Louise zu Stolberg-Stolberg and the poet Goethe would not have been as valuable as it is.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
ess and close friend to Augusta Louise zu Stolberg-Stolberg
Augusta Louise zu Stolberg-Stolberg
Countess Louise Augusta zu Stolberg-Stolberg is known for a lively correspondence with the poet and thinker Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; she is known as Goethe Gustchen in the history of literature....
.
Von Oberg was born in Jersbek
Jersbek
Jersbek is a municipality in the district of Stormarn, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
, and lived in the period from 1762 to 1794 in the monastery of Uetersen
Uetersen
Uetersen ) is a city in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. south of Elmshorn, and northwest of Hamburg at the small river Pinnau, close to the Elbe river...
. There she met Augusta Louise zu Stolberg-Stolberg. After they left the monastery, they lived together in a small apartment south of the monastery. Although Metta was 15 years the older, they were linked in a deep friendship. She also played a part in the heart of the friendship between Augusta Louise and the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
. Again and again she encouraged the young Augusta Louise in correspondence with the poet, unaware that both would feature in later literary history. Even after 1783, when Augusta Louise moved to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and married the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Minister of State Peter Andreas Bernstorff, she remained at the side of her best friend. Metta von Oberg died at the age of 57 after years of illness in the monastery of Uetersen
Uetersen
Uetersen ) is a city in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. south of Elmshorn, and northwest of Hamburg at the small river Pinnau, close to the Elbe river...
.
It is thought that without Metta von Oberg, the lively exchange of letters between Augusta Louise zu Stolberg-Stolberg and the poet Goethe would not have been as valuable as it is.
Sources
- Hans Ferdinand Bubbe: Versuch einer Chronik der Stadt und des Klosters Uetersen. Band 2 Page 35-37 (1938) (de)
- Plath-Langheinrich, Elsa: Als Goethe nach Uetersen schrieb: Das Leben der Conventualin Augusta Louise Gräfin zu Stolberg-Stolberg. ISBN 3529026956 (de)