Provenance Georg Adam Struve was born in
Magdeburg, slightly more than a year after the outbreak of the
war which in 1631 would
come close to destroying the city. His father, Berthold Struve (1588–1650), was heir to the lands of
Wanzleben and
Möllenvoigt in the
Archbishopric of Magdeburg. His mother, born Anna Margaretha Brunner (1598–1669), came originally from
Schleusingen. Both parents came from long established families. For the next forty-five years Struve pursued a twin track career, comprising both academic work at the university and his judicial duties, albeit in proportions that varied over time. A third parallel strand, involving government service, emerged only later. On 12 December 1646 he presented his dissertation "de privatis aedificiis" (
loosely, "On private buildings"), which may have been a precondition for confirmation of his professorship.
Public service On 23 March 1661, with the agreement of the necessary princes and civic luminaries, Struve took a part-time position as municipal councillor for
Braunschweig, still at that stage a relatively autonomous city. The appointment lasted for a term of three years and came with an annual remuneration amount of 300
Joachimsthalers. It also carried the obligation to travel to
Braunschweig four times each year, subject to it being necessary. The city fathers were at the time in serious dispute with the powerful
Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Sources commend Struve's effectiveness in defending the city's ancient freedoms in this context.
Weimar years In 1667, after more than twenty years of teaching at the university, Struve moved with his large and still growing family to
Weimar, where he entered into the service of the
Duke of Saxe-Weimar. They arrived on 11 December 1667 and he was sworn into his new office on 13 December. He would be away from
his alma mater for seven years. He took the position of
Hofrat (literally, "court counsellor") which involved responsibility for court administration.
Guardianship and a return to public service Duke Bernhard of Jena died in May 1678. By the time he died he had been predeceased by three of his five legitimate children and was living with his mistress of long-standing while engaged in a fruitless campaign to try and divorce
his wife, from whom he had been increasingly distanced for some years. After he died his three-year-old son,
Johann Wilhelm, was placed under the guardianship of his uncle
Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar, in accordance with the instructions included in the late Duke Bernhard's will. It was determined that the infant needed more of a full-time guardian: at the end of August 1680 Struve was appointed to take over the management of the child's
guardianship needs. He attended to Johann Wilhelm's schooling needs himself, and seems to have become something of a surrogate parent. It was observed that the young prince generally addressed his guardian as "Father". == Family ==