Heinrich Anshelm von Zigler und Kliphausen, the second son of a nobleman of the same name, belonged to one of the oldest aristocratic families of Saxony, a family whose considerable wealth was based on mining and landholding. His mother, Helena Sabina, née von Hoberg, was a Silesian noblewoman. Zigler was born on 6 January 1663 at Radmeritz, a family estate in Upper Lusatia (Oberlausitz) near the present-day Polish border. He was one of eleven children from his father's first marriage; a second marriage produced three additional children. On 28 June 1679 he began attending the gymnasium in Görlitz, where the curriculum stressed classical languages, rhetoric, and history.

As part of their training, the students were required to give public speeches and act in plays. On 5 March 1679 Zigler gave his first speech, Gratulatio specialis IIX. ad Serenissimum et Celsissimum Electoralem-Principem Johannem Georgium III. Pro-March. Lus. Sup. p. f. Clementissimum...