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 in the . His mother, born Anna Margaretha Brunner (1598 - 1669), came originally from Schleusingen. Both parents came from long established families. His mother's ancestry included a number of prominent lawyers.