The abiding interest in Körner is patriotic and political rather than literary. His fame as a poet rests upon his patriotic lyrics, which were published by his father under the title Leier und Schwert in 1814. These songs, which fired the poet’s comrades to deeds of heroism in 1813, bear eloquent testimony to the intensity of the national feeling against Napoleon, but judged as literature they contain more bombast than poetry. Among the best known are “Lützow’s wilde verwegene Jagd,” “Gebet während der Schlacht” (set to music by Weber) and “Das Schwertlied.” This last was written immediately before his death, and the last stanza added on the fatal morning. As a dramatist Körner was remarkably prolific, but his comedies hardly touch the level of Kotzebue’s and his tragedies, of which the best is Zriny (1814), are rhetorical imitations of Schiller’s.
His works have passed through many editions. Among the more recent are: Sämtliche Werke (Stuttgart, 1890), edited by Adolf Stern; by H. Zimmer (2 vols., Leipzig, 1893) and by E. Goetze (Berlin, 1900). The most valuable contributions to our knowledge of the poet have been furnished by E. Peschel, the founder and director of the Körner Museum in Dresden, in Theodor Körners Tagebuch und Kriegslieder, aus dem Jahre 1813 (Freiburg, 1893) and, in conjunction with E. Wildenow, Theodor Körner und die Seinen (Leipzig, 1898).
KORNEUBURG, a town of Austria, in Lower Austria, 9 m. N.W. of Vienna by rail. Pop. (1900), 8298. It is situated on the left bank of the Danube, opposite Klosterneuburg. It is a steamship station and an important emporium of the salt and corn trade. The industry comprises the manufacture of coarse textiles, pasteboard, &c. Its charter as a town dates from 1298, and it was a much frequented market in the preceding century. At the beginning of the 15th century it was surrounded by walls, and in 1450 a fortress was erected. It was frequently involved in the conflict between the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus and the emperor Frederick William III., and also during the Thirty Years’ War.
KOROCHA, a town of central Russia, in the government of Kursk, 75 m. S.S.E. of the city of Kursk, on the Korocha river. Pop. (1897), 14,405. Its inhabitants live by gardening, exporting large quantities of dried cherries, by making candles and leather, and by trade; the merchants purchase cattle, grain and salt in the south and send them to Moscow. Founded in 1638, Korocha was formerly a small fort intended to check the Tatar invasions.
KORSÖR, a seaport of Denmark, in the amt (county) of the island of Zealand, 69 m. by rail W.S.W. of Copenhagen, on the east shore of the Great Belt. Pop. (1901), 6054. The harbour, which is formed by a bay of the Baltic, has a depth throughout of 20 ft. It is the point of departure and arrival of the steam ferry to Nyborg on Fünen, lying on the Hamburg, Schleswig, Fredericia and Copenhagen route. There is also regular communication by water with Kiel. The chief exports are fish, cereals, bacon; imports, petroleum and coal. A market town since the 14th century, Korsör has ruins of an old fortified castle, on the south side of the channel, dating from the 14th and 17th centuries.