Name Gunter Weitling | Role Author | |
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Günter Weitling (born 1935) is a Lutheran theologian, historian, and author.
Weitling was born in Hadersleben, Northern Schleswig, Denmark. After graduating from the Kathedralschule Hadersleben in 1955, he studied Theology and Eastern Studies at the Universities of Bethel/Bielefeld, Mainz, Kiel, and Copenhagen. This was followed by a study of pedagogy in Breklum and stay at the Seminary in Preetz. He then served as a Lutheran pastor from 1962 to 1963 in Jörl (a district of Schleswig-Flensburg), from 1963 to 1965 in Sonderburg (North Schleswig), and from 1965 to 1970 at the Højdevangskirke in Copenhagen. At the same time, he completed a clerkship at the gymnasium of Tårnby in religion, history and archaeology. In 1970 he received his doctorate from the University of Kiel. From 1970 to 1987, he worked as inspector at the Danish gymnasium in Sønderborg. 1987 until his retirement in 2000 he served as pastor of the Danish Church of Denmark. At the same time, he worked as a lecturer at the "Institute for the History of the Church and Ecclesiastical Archaeology" at the University of Kiel. Weitling founded the Deutsches Museum in Northern Schleswig and from 1986 to 2003 served as its Scientific Director.
Since 1971, Günther Weitling has written and edited a large number of books and treatises, dealing mainly with the history of the Church and the history of the German minority in Northern Schleswig. In 2000 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesverdienstkreuz) 1st Class, Germany's highest civilian honor.