Albert Bitzius was born in Murten, the son of the reformed priest Sigmund Bitzius and his third wife Elisabeth Bitzius-Kohler. 1805, the father was transferred to the farming village Utzenstorf. Here Albert learned the peasant world of the Emmental know. The father taught Albert himself. From 1812 Albert attended Literarschule in Bern and moved in 1814 to the University of theologians. In 1817 he began the ordinary theology in Bern, where he graduated 1820th After a Vicariate with his father in Utzenstorf he continued his studies in 1821 in Göttingen continued for one year. In a subsequent study tour he visited the island of Ruegen, Berlin, Weimar, Leipzig, Dresden and Munich. In the spring of 1822 he returned to Utzenstorf. 1824 his father died and Bitzius was vicar in Herzogenbuchsee. In 1829 he came as a parish assistant to Bern at the Holy Ghost Church. 1831 he became vicar in the parish Lützelflüh in the Emmental, where he was elected pastor a year later. Soon he campaigned for the enforcement of compulsory education. Educationally he stood in the tradition of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, he had met on 28 April 1826 the Annual Meeting of the Helvetic Society in Langenthal personally. He fought against the exploitation of Verdingkinder from poor families as cheap labor and demanded measures against alcoholism. In 1833 he married in church Wynigen Henriette Zeender. Together they had three children, Henriette, Albert and Cecile. The son also became a priest and sat in many areas continued his father's efforts for social reform in the canton of Bern. 1835 Bitzius was elected school commissioner for the 18 schools in the municipalities Lützelflüh, Rüegsau, Hasle and Oberburg. After ten years he was dismissed from this office due to political differences with the government. Also in 1835 he was instrumental in the establishment of the school for poor children in Trachselwald Trachselwald Schlossgut. Until his death he advocated. A political action was denied him because of his pastorate. In his writings he criticized the ruling Bernese families, in his view, too little attended to the most vulnerable. From 1828 on, and particularly after 1831 Gotthelf operated journalistically. Until his death, he wrote around 150 mostly unmarked newspaper article in which he treated political, economic and social issues. 1836 began Gotthelf with the writing. His first novel was "The farmers Mirror". The name of the main character of this work was also the pen name of Albert Bitzius: "Jeremias Gotthelf". In the following years he was tirelessly active as a writer and published contemporary and historical novels, stories and essays. To increase the notoriety he was repeatedly advised to use idioms and terms sparingly in local Swiss dialect. The first book in High German version was "Uli servant" (1846). 1851 broke out neck and heart disease with dropsy at Albert Bitzius. 1853 could bring no relief his cough and lethargy a cure in Gurnigelbad. Jeremias Gotthelf died on 22 October 1854 of a pulmonary embolism, which occurred as a result of pneumonia.

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