Kristijonas Donelaitis

Kristijonas Donelaitis (Latin: Christian Donalitius;[1] 1 January 1714 – 18 February 1780) was a Prussian Lithuanian[2] poet and Lutheran pastor.

[4] Donelaitis was born at Lasdinehlen estate (now Gusevsky District) near Gumbinnen, Prussia.

[5] In 1731, Donelaitis began attending the cathedral school in Kneiphof, a section of Königsberg.

His world view was shaped by the classical curriculum, required Lithuanian studies, and the Pietism movement.

[6] He learned Greek, Latin, French, and Hebrew languages, and studied the writings of classical authors such as Homer, Hesiod, Horace, and Virgil.

[6] In 1744, Donelaitis married Anna Regina Ohlefant, widow of the school rector in Stallupönen.

In 1757, during the Seven Years' War, Donelaitis and his parishioners retreated to the Romincka Forest to hide from the advancing Imperial Russian Army.

[5] When he returned to the town, Donelaitis refused to preach praises to the Russian Tsar.

Between 1809 and 1818, Rheza collected Donelaitis's works, edited and translated them, and finally published it as Das jahr in vier Gesängen.

Donelaitis on a 1994 Lithuanian stamp
Inside the former Lutheran church of Tollmingkehmen, built by Donelaitis. In 1964, it was transformed into a memorial museum of Donelaitis.
The original first page of Spring Joys , which is considered the beginning of The Seasons