Friedrich Rückert

As a boy, Rückert was passionate about languages and studied philology with great enthusiasm at the University of Würzburg. Over his lifetime, he mastered about 44 languages, including European ones and also Old Ethiopian, Hawaiian, Sanskrit, and Gothic.

In 1826, he was appointed professor of Oriental Studies in Erlangen. Rückert’s fame, however, is mainly due to his poetry: *Amaryllis*, *German Poems*, *Eastern Roses*, *Songs on the Death of Children*...

His impact was extraordinary; he received many honors, including the Prussian Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts, the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art, and Coburg honorary citizenship in 1826. Since 1821, he lived with his family in Neuses near Coburg.