He was born in Reval (Tallinn), Estonia to Otto Christian Engelbrecht von Stackelberg and Anna Gertruda Düker.
His father, an Oberst (Colonel) in the Russian Imperial corps, died six years later in 1792.
The young Otto showed an early predilection for music, unlike his brothers, who like many young men at the time were mainly interested in riding, fighting and hunting.
His mother, recognising talent in his early drawings, arranged for the German painter Reus to come to the family estate at Fähna (Vääna) to act as Otto's tutor.
 
Originally destined for the diplomatic corps, he began his studies at the University of Göttingen in 1803.
Later that same year he travelled to Zurich with two of his brothers, a journey that was to have a great impact on his life.
 There he saw pictures by Johann Caspar Lavater and Salomon Geßner and visited Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.
 After wintering in Geneva he continued with his brother Karl to Italy, where the initial  thoughts he had had at Zurich of devoting his life to the arts flourished.
A stay in Dresden to study painting followed in 1804 but the following year he continued his diplomatic studies in Moscow.
By now his mother had realized that her son was not suited for the diplomatic service and from then on Stackelberg dedicated himself to art and increasingly to archaeology.
He was born in Reval (Tallinn), Estonia to Otto Christian Engelbrecht von Stackelberg and Anna Gertruda Düker. His father, an Oberst (Colonel) in the Russian Imperial corps, died six years later in 1792. The young Otto showed an early predilection for music, unlike his brothers, who like many young men at the time were mainly interested in riding, fighting and hunting. His mother, recognising talent in his early drawings, arranged for the German painter Reus to come to the family estate at Fähna (Vääna) to act as Otto's tutor.  
Originally destined for the diplomatic corps, he began his studies at the University of Göttingen in 1803. Later that same year he travelled to Zurich with two of his brothers, a journey that was to have a great impact on his life.  There he saw pictures by Johann Caspar Lavater and Salomon Geßner and visited Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi.  After wintering in Geneva he continued with his brother Karl to Italy, where the initial  thoughts he had had at Zurich of devoting his life to the arts flourished. A stay in Dresden to study painting followed in 1804 but the following year he continued his diplomatic studies in Moscow. By now his mother had realized that her son was not suited for the diplomatic service and from then on Stackelberg dedicated himself to art and increasingly to archaeology.
Otto Magnus von Stackelberg (archaeologist)