Heinrich Plütschau (last name also Plütschow or Plütscho; 1676,
Wesenberg,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
– 4 January 1752,
[According to the 1752 death register (archive of the Protestant Lutheran parish Beidenfleth/Holstein), Plütschau died on 4 January 1752 and not, as often assumed, in 1746/47). See Werner Raupp (Ed.): Plütschau, Heinrich, 1994 (see above Further Reading), col. 757).] Beidenfleth, Germany) was along with
Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg
Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (10 July 1682 – 23 February 1719) was a member of the Lutheran clergy and the first Pietist missionary to India.
Early life
Ziegenbalg was born in Pulsnitz, Saxony, on 10 July 1682 in a devout Christian family. His f ...
, the first
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
evangelical priest to arrive in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Life and work
Plütschau attended in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
with
Joachim Lange
Johann Joachim Lange (26 October 1670 – 7 May 1744) was a German Protestant theologian and philosopher.
Lange was born in Gardelegen and educated in Leipzig, Erfurt and Halle. He was influenced by Christian Thomasius and the pietist Augu ...
as rector and then, studied Theology at the
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...
. There he came into contact with
August Hermann Francke
August Hermann Francke (; 22 March 1663 – 8 June 1727) was a German Lutheran clergyman, theologian, philanthropist, and Biblical scholar.
Biography
Born in Lübeck, Francke was educated at the Illustrious Gymnasium in Gotha before he studie ...
, the founder of the
Francke Foundations
The Francke Foundations (Franckesche Stiftungen), also known as Glauchasche Anstalten were founded in 1695 in Halle, Germany as a Christian, social and educational work by August Hermann Francke
The Francke Foundations are today a non-profit e ...
. On a request of the Danish King
Frederick IV for potential missionaries, Plütschau and his peer Ziegenbalg, were suggested by Lange. In 1705, they travelled to the Danish colony of
Tranquebar
Tharangambadi (), formerly Tranquebar ( da, Trankebar, ), is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Kave ...
on the southeastern coast of India, known as the
Danish-Halle Mission
The Tranquebar Mission ( da, Trankebarmissionen; ta, தரங்கம்பாடி பணி) was established in 1706 by two German missionaries from Halle namely, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau. Ziegenbalg and Plütschau ...
.
The missionaries had already begun, during the voyage, to learn
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, the lingua franca and the local Indian language,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
. With increasing work, the missionaries shared their community tasks. Plütschau focused on the parishioners who spoke Portuguese and Ziegenbalg on the Tamil-speaking community because of his particular language skills. In 1711, Plütschau returned to Germany for health reasons. There he brought out
Luther's Small Catechism
''Luther's Small Catechism'' (german: Der Kleine Katechismus) is a catechism written by Martin Luther and published in 1529 for the training of children. Luther's Small Catechism reviews the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Pr ...
in Tamil and taught mission candidates in the language. In 1714, he received the pastorate of
Beidenfleth, ruled at the time by the
Danish Crown, where he worked until 1750. He died two years later.
Further reading
*
*
References
External links
*
Hans Paul: ''Heinrich Plütschau''*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071001002619/http://www.mdr.de/kultur/ausstellung/2828063.html Ausstellung ''Geliebtes Europa. Ostindische Welt - 300 Jahre interkultureller Dialog'' (MDR Kultur)Heinrich Plütschau in Missiopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plutschau, Heinrich
1676 births
1752 deaths
People from Mecklenburgische Seenplatte (district)
18th-century German Lutheran clergy
German Lutheran missionaries
Lutheran missionaries in India
German expatriates in India