Caroline in Marburg – Caroline Schelling

Marburg in 1902

Marburg in 1902. Caroline lived here with her brother Fritz from the summer of 1789 to August of 1791. Her youngest daughter, Therese, died here in December 1789, an event Caroline movingly recounts in her letters.

Caroline in 1789: “Marburg has little — but it suffers neither from stultifying uniformity nor from the conceit of an imperial city. The people here are not as cultivated and are more talkative, but they are also more tolerant. I am very well liked here because my heart casts a cloak over the merits of my mind such that the expressions of both are then credited to me as something of merit.”

(1902 postcard.)

Reitgasse 14, ca. 1875

Reitgasse 14 in Marburg ca. 1875 (house on left; demolished in 1965), the oldest known picture of where Caroline, Auguste, and Therese (Röschen) resided with her half-brother, Fritz.

Caroline writes about her room: “In it are my own and my children’s beds and a night table, and all the silhouettes — surrounded by the shadow of my loved ones — the silhouette of my father with the wreath of wilted flowers hangs over my sofa, and Lotte at Werther’s grave.”

(Photo: Friedrich Küch and Bernhard Niemeyer, Die Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler im Regierungsbezirk Kassel, VIII Kreis Marburg-Stadt, Tafel 60, 2; Historische Bilddokumente, Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen [LAGIS].)

Reitgasse 14, 1910

Location of Reitgasse 14 in Marburg’s upper town, just at the corner of Marktgasse leading to the market place and town hall on one side, and overlooking the Lahn River and valley on the other. The next street to the right of Reitgasse is Pilgrimstein, whose considerably lower position, almost at river level, provides the houses on Reitgasse with a splendid view of the valley.

(Karl Baedeker, Northern Germany as far as the Bavarian and Austrian Frontiers; Handbook for Travellers, 15th ed. [Leipzig 1910].)

Marburg from the Southwest.

(Aloys Henninger, Marburg und seine Umgebungen [Marburg 1856], illustration following p. 4.)

Houses on Wettergasse in Marburg, 1849.

A remarkable street scene in Marburg in 1849 — just 60 years after Caroline lived there — just down the street from where Caroline lived. This photograph captures the street much as Caroline herself would have experienced it.

(Photograph of Wettergasse: Ludwig Hach (uncertain attribution), “Häuser in der Marburger Wettergasse,” [13 August 1849], capturing Wettergasse 42 and 43 along with Renthof 1; Historische Bilddokumente, Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen.)

Excerpt from previous image.

The house at left was that of the saddle-maker Burghard Barth; the display window contains purses, belts, and other leather wares. The middle house was that of the baker and innkeeper Peter Matthäi (the sign reads “Beer-Brewery, Coffee-Tavern”); note the table in front with bakery goods for sale.

Marburg, ca. 1600

This illustration clearly shows why the houses on the valley side of Reitgasse (here along the town wall at the bottom right) enjoyed such a splendid view. Caroline’s residence along that wall is four or five houses from the left of the covered bridge.

(Colorized illustration from Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg, Civitates orbis terrarum, vol. 1, Cologne 1593.)

Marburg, ca. 1600

Excerpt from previous illustration. Caroline’s residence along the top of the town wall at Reitgasse 14 is four or five houses to the left of the covered bridge.

Marburg, 1842

Marburg from the south, 1842, with a handsome view of the valley about which Caroline and others speak.

After visiting Caroline’s brother, Fritz Michaelis, in Marburg in September 1788 (the year before Caroline herself arrived), Wilhelm von Humboldt wrote in his diary that Fritz Michaelis “was so polite and cordial . . . that we found it difficult to accept his sincerity. I confess that generally I am not so fond of such a personality, though I can well imagine it might be quite pleasant for a stranger, and I do wish I could have spent more time around him. I was quite pleased even with his room, which is furnished with tasteful, dainty furniture, beautiful copper engravings, and especially with the magnificent landscape one can see from his windows.”

(Oil painting by Georg Michael Mades, original preserved in the Marburg Town Hall, copy in the Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, Slg. 7/c 452,1; printing: Marburger Bildermappe, Abb. 1; Historische Ortsansichten, Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen [LAGIS]).

Marburg, ca. 1800

Marburg from the west ca. 1800, looking toward the valley Caroline would have viewed from her window at Reitgasse 14.

Caroline writes on 16 December 1789, during the final days of Röschen’s illness:

“I, too, am not yet feeling well, and since you have been gone there have been very few days when I have even been able to go outside — which is why I have also essentially forgotten about the entire world, excepting my room and my valley, through which the river runs and a couple of ravens take friendly flight.”

(Etching by Johann Martin Benjamin Kessler; Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Graphische Sammlung, Inv. Nr. HO 622; Historische Ortsansichten, Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen [LAGIS].)

Ockershausen

Ockershausen just outside Marburg, whose castle is visible in the background.

Caroline writes in 1789:

“After Madam [Sophie] La Roche had tea with me, I went to Ockershausen with Philipp [Michaelis], where Madam von Malzburg gave a small souper for us and the Selchows from which we did not return until 12:00.”

(Early postcard.)

Marburg, 1804

View of Marburg from the opposite side of the valley in 1804. Caroline’s residence at Reitgasse 14 is situated in the elevated row of house at the far left.

(Friedrich Christian Reinermann; Historische Ortsansichten, Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen [LAGIS].)

Marburg’s “enchanted” Landgrave Castle

Marburg’s “enchanted” Landgrave Castle, ca. 1857 The castle dates from the eleventh century.

Caroline writes from Marburg to Friedrich Ludwig Wilhelm Meyer in Paris on 11 July 1791:

“Among the places you will be passing through on your journey to Hamburg, you mention several that are so close to my enchanted castle here that you can hardly avoid it — and yet you say nothing to me about seeing you? So am I to request it? For I really know not why you would want to avoid me.” Meyer did not visit her in Marburg.

(Philipp Hoffmeister, Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, Slg. 7/b 414 [reproduction]; Landesbibliothek und Murhardsche Bibliothek der Stadt Kassel [original]; Historische Ortsansichten, Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen [LAGIS]).

Marburg market place, early 19th century

Marburg market place, early 19th century. Caroline lived just at the corner of Reitgasse and Marktgasse, the latter a short street leading directly from Reitgasse into the market square with the town hall.

(Universitätsmuseum für Bildende Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Marburg [Original]; Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg [Druck], Slg. 7/c 452,6, Marburger Bildermappe, Abb. 6; Historische, Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen [LAGIS].)

Marburg, ca. 1826–50

View of Marburg and the Church of St. Elisabeth, ca. 1826–50. — Caroline writes to her sister Lotte from Marburg in 1789:

“Yesterday evening the Schulers and Hansteins had tea with us, and we made arrangements for several outings, one to the Church of St. Elisabeth, and St. Elisabeth’s washing fountain, and to the Frauenberg, and are also embroidering hats together.”

Elisabeth’s “washing fountain” and the Frauenberg are depicted in the following illustrations.

St. Elisabeth’s Fountain in Marburg

St. Elisabeth’s fountain. Two fountains in Marburg are associated with St. Elisabeth, nor is it clear from Caroline’s letter which one is meant (personal communication from Ulrich Hussong at the Stadtarchiv Marburg). One, whose waters a late-eighteenth-century text say St. Elisabeth used for washing, is located about 100m from the church at the corner of what is today Bahnhofsstrasse, Elisabethstrasse, and Wehrdaer Weg.

St. Elisabeth’s Fountain outside Marburg, late 18th century

St. Elisabeth’s fountain. Another fountain associated with St. Elisabeth is located in the formerly primarily wooded area outside town on the Lahnberg and just outside the village of Schröck, here in a late-eighteenth century illustration by Joseph Friedrich Engelschall, a poet, instructor in drawing, and literature professor in Marburg.

(Engraving by Christian Gottlieb Geyser, Universitätsbibliothek Marburg, Sig. VIII A 129a, [2] #K[A], Bl. 40; Historische Ortsansichten, Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen [LAGIS].)

St. Elisabeth’s Fountain, ca. 1804

St. Elisabeth’s fountain. Another contemporary view of the fountain of St. Elisabeth outside Marburg in 1804.

(Illustration accompanying K. W. Justi, “Die Erscheinung Elisabeth’s. Eine Erzählung,” Der Neue Teutsche Merkur vom Jahr 1804 [1804] 5 [Mai], 3–6; “Der Elisabeth-Brunnen unweit Marburg,” 7–20.)

Frauenberg Castle, 1788

Frauenberg Castle in 1788, with the “towering oaks” Caroline mentions two years later.

Caroline writes on 18 August 1790:

“On Sunday we enjoyed a delightful company, almost 100 people, though by a long shot not all our better society. The setting was heavenly, out in the open countryside with tall oaks towering over us at the foot of the Frauenberg castle and with a view so heavenly it simply defies description.”

(Illustration by Joseph Friedrich Engelschall and Johann Ludwig Stahl [engraver]; Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, Slg 7/c 333; Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, Slg 7/c 333; Historische Ortsansichten Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen [LAGIS]).

Frauenberg, ca. 1850

Caroline writes about her outing in August 1790:

“We ate under tents, everything free and easy and sumptuous. During the afternoon, when the farmers assembled, the girls were drawn into the dancing; the gentlemen borrowed farmers’ smocks, which fit some of them quite well, especially the diminutive Count Degenfeld. Saturnalias were celebrated that came close to being Bacchanalias, though they stopped just in time.”

Since 1903, Hotel Seebode has occupied the space at the foot of the ruins; in this picture one can see its precursor, as well as a sample of the splendid view.

(Lithography by Bommer, ca. 1850)

Reitgasse 14, 1932

Reitgasse 14 full view in 1932. It is uncertain on which floor Caroline and her children lived.

Reitgasse 14 between 1930 and 1940

Entrance to Reitgasse 14 between 1930 and 1940. Reitgasse 14 was later turned into a tavern and inn offering a broad, open dining terrace in the back overlooking the valley, whence the name on the sign out front, “Bopp Bierhalle und Terrasse.”

Bopp’s Bierhalle Terrace, ca. 1930s

The terrace of Bopp’s Bierhalle at Reitgasse 14, in a postcard ca. 1930s, essentially showing the view Caroline had from her room.

Bopp’s Bierhalle Terrace and Guests

The terrace of Bopp’s Bierhalle at Reitgasse 14, ca. 1930s; the men with caps are members of student corporations much like fraternities.

(Anonymous photographer.)

Empty lot at Reitgasse 14

The empty lot after Reitgasse 14 was demolished; photograph from 1971, showing essentially the view Caroline had from her apartment

Empty lot at Reitgasse 14 and adjoining house

The empty lot after Reitgasse 14 was demolished; photograph from 1971.