Heinrich Carl Wilhelm Vitzthum von Eckstädt
Count Heinrich Carl Wilhelm Vitzthum von Eckstädt (26 March 1770 – 11 October 1837) was a Saxon nobleman and public administrator who led the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and the Staatskapelle Dresden.
Born in Dresden into the Vitzthum family, he was the fourth son of Ludwig Siegfried Graf Vitzthum von Eckstädt and Auguste Erdmuthe of Ponickau. He began his career as a private financial counselor at the Dresden Court, serving the House of Wettin. In 1815 he was named Royal Saxon Court Marshal, which also made him director of the Staatskapelle and the Staatstheaters in Dresden and Leipzig.
In these roles he supported the composer Carl Maria von Weber, helping Weber become Kapellmeister in 1816. He also directed the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and, later, the Leipzig Academy of Graphic Arts, until shortly before his death.
In 1793 he married Friederike Wilhelmine Gräfin von Hopffgarten, and they had eight children, four of whom survived infancy.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 02:36 (CET).