February 3, 865 Death of St. Ansgar. St. Ansgar was born on September 8, 801 in Corbie (in modern France). In 823 he became a teacher in the newly founded monastery in Corvey, Westphalia (modern Germany). In 829 he founded the first Christian church in Sweden. He returned to Germany in 831 and became the first bishop of Hamburg. He continued his … [Read more...]

February 2, 962 The Magdeburger Reiter: a tinted sandstone equestrian monument, c. 1240, traditionally intended as a portrait of Otto I (detail), Magdeburg Otto I is crowned as Augustus (Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) in Rome by Pope John XII. The empire as founded by Karl der Große (Charlemagne) had been divided after his death. Otto … [Read more...]

February 1, 1459 Birth of Conradus Celtis in Wipfeld, Germany. A very successful poet in his day, Celtis was named "Poet Laureate" by the Emperor Friedrich III at Nürnberg in 1487. In 1491 he became professor of poetry at the University of Ingolstadt. In 1497 he was appointed a professor at the University of Vienna. It was he who … [Read more...]

January 30, 1687 Birth of Balthasar Neumann (1687-1753) in Eger, Austrian Empire (now in the Czech Republic). Neumann was the leading architect of the Baroque period in Austria and Germany. In 1711 he moved to Würzburg, Germany, to work for the Bishop/Elector. In 1719 he began work on the palace of the Bishop, a work which would continue … [Read more...]

January 29, 1499 Birth of Katharina von Bora (1499-1552), wife of Martin Luther, in Lippendorf, Neukieritzsch, Germany. "Die Lutherin", as she was referred to, was sent at the age of 5 to the Benedictine cloister in Brehna in 1504 for education. At the age of 9 she moved to the Cistercian monastery Marienthron (Mary's Throne) in Nimbschen. … [Read more...]

January 28, 814 - Feast Day of St. Karl der Große (Charlemagne) (ca. 742-814) Karl der Große or Charlemagne  was the king of the Franks. (The Franks were a Germanic people who had extended their influence over parts of modern France and Belgium by this date in history.) On Christmas day of the year 800 he was crowned emperor of an empire … [Read more...]

January 27, 1701 Birth of Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim (pseudonym: Justinus Febronius) in Trier, Germany. Hontheim, a Roman Catholic priest, was a historian and theologian. He was a professor at the University of Trier and in 1748 became an auxiliary bishop of Trier. In 1763 under the pseudonym, Justinus Febronius, he published a book, De Statu … [Read more...]

January 26, 1781 Birth of Achim von Arnim (1781-1831) in Berlin, Germany. Von Arnim was one of the outstanding writers of the Romantic period of German literature. He studied at the University of Heidelberg. His best known work is a collection of folk poetry, Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1808). January 26, 1795 Death of Johann Christoph … [Read more...]

January 25, 1366 Death of Heinrich Seuse (also spelled Suso in some texts) (original name Heinrich von Berg) in Ulm, Germany. Seuse, a Dominican, was one of the outstanding mystics in German religious history. He studied under another great mystic, Meister Eckehart in Cologne. He came under criticism and attack when he held to the positions of … [Read more...]

January 24, 1076 The Holy Roman Emperor writes a letter to Pope Gregory VII condemning him as a usurper of the papacy. January 24, 1679 Birth of Christian Freiherr von Wolff in Breslau, Germany (now in Poland). Wolff was a philosopher and mathematician of the Enlightenment. He studied with Leibniz and on his recommendation was appointed to … [Read more...]