Having passed his early years at Athens and Constantinople, where his father was attached to the Prussian legation, he came in 1857 to the Kingdom of Prussia, received his early schooling at the Padagogium at Halle and the Französische Gymnasium in Berlin, and, after passing through the cadet school, became, in 1863, an officer in the Prussian Army.

Two years later Wildenbruch abandoned his military career, but was recalled to the colors in 1866 for the Austro-Prussian War.

[1] In 1876 Wildenbruch was attached to the foreign office, which he finally quit in 1900 with the title of counsellor of legation.

After publishing a volume of poems, Lieder und Balladen (1877), he produced, in 1882, the tragedy Die Karolinger.

He was twice (in 1884 and 1896) awarded the Schiller-Preis (Preußen) [de], and was, in 1892, made a doctor of philosophy honoris causa by the University of Jena.