About Georg Weissel
Lived 1590 – 1635 (aged 44–45). Georg Weissel was a parson, hymnwriter, lutheran pastor, lutheran theologian and composer.
Georg Weissel (1590 – 1 August 1635) was a German Lutheran minister and hymn writer.
Born in Domnau in Ducal Prussia, a vassal of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Weissel studied theology and music at the University of Königsberg, with the musicians Johann Eccard and Johann Stobäus, among others. After working as a rector in Friedland, he was ordained as minister of the Altrossgarten Church in Königsberg on the second Sunday in Advent 1623.
Weissel was a member of the group of poets , along with Simon Dach, Heinrich Albert, , and . Weissel died in Königsberg.
23 of his songs, written following the rules of Opitz, are extant. His most popular hymn was written on the occasion of the inauguration of the Altrossgarten Church in 1623. The Advent hymn "Macht hoch die Tür", paraphrasing Psalm 24, begins the current Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG). It is now present in most Christian hymnals including the Catholic Gotteslob (GL 218). The current Protestant hymnal has two more of his hymns, "" (EG 113) and "" (EG 346), which he wrote on the occasion of his ordination in Königsberg.
Catherine Winkworth translated the Advent hymn in 1853 as "Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates". Johann Sebastian Bach used Weissel's hymn "" in Part V of his Christmas Oratorio.
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Important facts
People in Georg Weissel's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Georg Weissel's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Georg Weissel?
Lutheran minister and hymn writer
When was Georg Weissel born?
Georg Weissel was born in 1590 in Domnovo.
When did Georg Weissel die?
Georg Weissel died on 1 August 1635 in Königsberg.
What was Georg Weissel's occupation?
Georg Weissel was a parson, hymnwriter, lutheran pastor, lutheran theologian and composer.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Georg Weissel. https://biography.guide/georg-weissel/
MLA: "Georg Weissel." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/georg-weissel/.
Chicago: "Georg Weissel." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/georg-weissel/.
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