Simon Dach

Simon Dach (29 July 1605 – 15 April 1659) was a Prussian German lyrical poet and writer of hymns, born in Memel (a city in the Polish fief of Ducal Prussia, now Klaipėda in Lithuania).

Early life

Although brought up in humble circumstances (his father was a poorly paid court interpreter in Memel), he received a classical education in the Domschule of Königsberg (Królewiec, now Kaliningrad), and in the Latin schools of Wittenberg, and Magdeburg, and entered the University of Königsberg in 1626 where he was a student of theology and philosophy. In 1626, he left Magdeburg to escape both the plague and the Thirty Years' War, and returned to his Prussian homeland, settling in Königsberg, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Mid life

After earning his degree, Dach was a private tutor for a time, then was appointed Kollaboralor (teacher) in 1633 and co-rector of the Domschule (cathedral school) in Königsberg in 1636. In 1639 he was appointed by Adrian Brauer to the Chair of Poetry at the Albertina University in Königsberg. This was a post he held until his death. Also, in 1640 he received a doctorate from the University.