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Walter Friedensburg

German historian (1855–1938)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 5, 2026
Entity authorityQ108563 ↗
Source-derived summary

Karl Walter Friedensburg (6 March 1855 in Hamburg – 19 February 1938 in Wernigerode) was a German historian and archivist.

He studied history at the Universities of Göttingen and Breslau, obtaining his habilitation at the University of Marburg in 1878. In 1880, he served as an archivist in Marburg, later working as a university lecturer in Marburg and Göttingen. From 1888 to 1901, he was associated with the Deutsches Historisches Institut Rom (German Historical Institute in Rome).

In 1901, he was appointed director of the Staatsarchiv Stettin (National Archives in Stettin), and in 1913 succeeded Georg Winter (1856–1912) as director of the State Archives of Magdeburg. Here, he became the co-author of Geschichte des Staatsarchiv Magdeburg (History of the State Archives of Magdeburg). He entered into retirement in 1923, relocating to Wernigerode during the following year.

From 1913, he was a member of the Historischen Kommission für die Provinz Sachsen und für Anhalt (Historical Commission for the Province of Saxony and for Anhalt), serving as its chairman in 1922–23.

Written works

Friedensburg's prime area of research involved the history of the Reformation. The following are a few of his better known publications:

Der Reichstag zu Speier 1526, im Zusammenhang der politischen und kirchlichen Entwicklung Deutschlands im Reformationzeitalte, 1887 - The Diet of Speyer in 1526, in the context of political and religious development in Germany.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Walter Friedensburg” as german historian (1855–1938). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Walter, Friedensburg and German.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1855, 1938, 1878, 1880—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1855-03-06. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Walter, Friedensburg and German providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Walter Friedensburg”, the useful work is to connect “german historian (1855–1938)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q108563. VIAF identifies the subject as 69691620. The Library of Congress control number is nr90005006. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1855, 1938, 1878 and 1880.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

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  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

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  2. Expand the search: follow Walter Friedensburg primary sources, Walter Friedensburg archive and Walter research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Walter Friedensburg” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.