Schiller, Friedrich von (1759-1805)

Schiller, Friedrich von

PLAYWRIGHT, POET, HISTORIAN, PHYSICIAN (GERMANY)

BORN 10 Nov 1759, Marbach am Neckar, Baden-Württemberg: Nicklastorstrasse - DIED 9 May 1805, Weimar, Thüringen
BIRTH NAME Schiller, Johann Christoph Friedrich von
CAUSE OF DEATH tuberculosis
GRAVE LOCATION Weimar, Thüringen: Historischer Friedhof, Poseckscher Garten (Fürstengruft (cenotaph, skull is not his))

Friedrich von Schiller was born in the dutchy of Württemberg as the son of an army officer. After he came to the attention of Karl Eugen, Duke of Württemberg he was forced to enter a military academy, the Hohe Karlsschule, in 1773. There he studied law and medicine. He also started to writing poetry and he wrote a play, "Die Räuber" ("The Robbers"), in which he called for a fight against all tyrants and dictators. In 1780 he became a regimental doctor in Stuttgart but he didn't like the job.

He left Stuttgart without permission to attend the first premiere of "Die Räuber" at the National Theatre in Mannheim in 1782. After that his literary activities were strictly forbidden by the Duke of Württemberg. He decided to desert from the army and leave Württemberg. Schiller fled to Mannheim in September 1782 with his friend Andreas Streicher. There he lived under a false name and wrote more plays, among them "Don Carlos" (1787). Schiller was poor and often ill, but every now and then his work was published and several people assisted him. With the help of Goethe he became Professor of History in Jena in 1789. He concentrated on historical studies and he made himself a name as a historian.

There was a close friendship and some passion between Schiller and Charlotte von Kalb, but in 1790 he married Charlotte von Lengefeld. In 1792 he was awarded a honourary citizenship by the French republic, but Schiller didn't like the violence of the French Revolution. After years of distance from Goethe's side, in 1794 he and Goethe quickly became close friends. Schiller returned to writing plays. In 1799 he moved to Weimar with his family and there he wrote "Wallenstein" (1799), "Maria Stuart" (1800), "Wilhelm Tell" (1804) and other plays.

Schiller worked hard and continuously suffered from poor health. In 1805 he died of tuberculosis, aged 45. He was buried at the Kassengewölbe at the Jacobskirchhof amongst other civil servants. Despite the request of Schiller's widow in 1818, it was only in 1826 that Weimar decided to privide him with a better gravesite. But the Kassengewölbe was overcrowded and the coffins had crushed each other. Skulls and others remains were taken from the place. One of the skulls was declared to be Schiller's and on 16 December 1827 he was reburied in the Fürstengruft of the Friedhof vor dem Frauentor. Goethe would be buried there as well after his death in 1832.

In 1883 the skull was examined by Hermann Welcker (who had examined Dante's skull in 1865) and Welcker stated it wasn't Schiller's. In 1911 the Kassengewölbe was opened again and more skulls were exhumed. One of them was considered to be Schiller's real skull and put in a small box beside his coffin at the Fürstengruft. In 1959 Michail Gerasimov re-exeamined the skull in the coffin and declared the skull to be Schiller's. In 2008 a DNA-analysis finally made clear that the skull in the coffin wasn't Schiller's. The contents of the coffin were reburied in the Jacobsfriedhof and the coffin in the Fürstengruft is now empty.

There is Schiller Museum in Weimar in the house where he died and his birth house in Marburg is also a museum.

Family
• Son: Schiller, Ernst von
• Daughter: Junot-Schiller, Karoline
• Son: Schiller, Karl, Freiherr von
• Wife: Lengefeld, Charlotte von (1790-1805, Jena, Thüringen: Schillerkirche, Wenigenjena)

Related persons
• met Bode, Johann Joachim Christoph
• had work illustrated by Chodowiecki, Daniel
• met Constant de Rebecque, Benjamin
• cooperated with Dalberg, Wolfgang Heribert von
• was a friend of Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
• visited Herz, Henriette
• was a friend of Hölderlin, Friedrich
• had as physician Hufeland, Christoph Wilhelm
• knew Iffland, August Wilhelm
• was drawn by Jagemann, Ferdinand Karl Christian
• was a friend of Kalb, Charlotte von
• met Kleist, Heinrich von
• was painted by Kügelgen, Gerhard von
• met Robinson, Henry Crabb
• had work translated by Sabatier, François
• knew Schreyvogel, Joseph
• was a friend of Schröter, Corona
• was admired by Schwabe, Carl Lebrecht
• was a friend of Stein, Charlotte von
• was a friend of Streicher, Andreas
• was a friend of Wolzogen, Caroline, Baronin von

Events

13/3/1772	Premiere of Lessing's "Emilia Galotti" at the Herzogliches Opernhaus in Braunschweig. the play was baded on the myth of Verginia by Livius. Lessing attended neither the premiere nor the performances that followed. The reason was a raging toothache. Afterwards the play was performed in Vienna in July. His future wife Eva König wrote that it was a great success. The play would be an important influence to Goethe's novel "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers" (1774) as well as Friedrich Schiller's play "Kabale und Liebe" (1784). [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von][Lessing, Gotthold Ephraïm]
13/1/1782	Premiere of Schiller's "Die Räuber" at the Nationaltheater in Mannheim. It was staged after Wolfgang Heribert von Dalberg, the director of the theatre, had insisted on certain changes. A.W. Iffland was Franz Moor, Johan David Beil was Der Schweizer, Heinrich Beck was Kosinsky. Anna Toscani was Amalia and Friedrich Meyer was Hermann. Friedrich Schiller wasn't allowed to leave Württemberg but he secretly attended the premiere together with his freund Andreas Streicher. [Dalberg, Wolfgang Heribert von][Iffland, August Wilhelm][Streicher, Andreas]
22/9/1782	Friedrich Schiller flees from Stuttgart. After his first play "Die Räuber", Duke Karl Eugen of Württenberg had forbidden him to write new plays. Schiller went to Mannheim, where "Die Räuber" had been staged on 13 Jan 1782. His friend Andreas Streicher went with him. [Streicher, Andreas]
20/7/1783	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's "Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua" at the Hoftheater in Bonn. It was Schiller's second drama and he dedicated it to Jakob Friedrich Abel. He had first read it in Mannheim at the home of the director Wilhelm Christian Meyer on 27 September 1782 to actors of the Nationaltheater. The reactions were very negative and many actors left before he was finished. Part of the reason was probably his Schwabian accent and the way he proclaimed it. Meyer read it overnight and revised his opinion, concluding that it was a masterpiece.
0/9/1783	Friedrich Schiller is engaged as stage poet in Mannheim. He was contracted for the Nationaltheater for a year but it was not a success and his engagement ended after that year.
11/1/1784	Friedrich Schiller's "Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua" is performed at the Nationaltheater in Mannheim. It was the first performance in Mannheim after the premiere had taken place in Bonn.
13/4/1784	Premiere of Friedrich Schillers "Kabale und Liebe" at Schauspiel Frankfurt in Frankfurt am Main. Schiller's drama in five acts was received well. Many authors and critics praised it, but court critics were less enthousiastic. The play was banned in Stuttgart and Vienna. Schiller had originally named the play "Luise Millerin" but the actor August Wilhelm Iffland suggested the title "Kabale und Liebe". [Iffland, August Wilhelm]
9/5/1784	First meeting between Friedrich Schiller and Charlotte von Kalb [Kalb, Charlotte von]
1/7/1785	First meeting between Friedrich Schiller and Christian Gottfried Körner. They met in Kahldorf and they met again in August in Leipzig for Körner's marriage. They became friends for life.
24/7/1785	Friedrich Schiller attends a new production of his "Kabale und Liebe" at the Komödienhaus in Leipzig. Sophie Albrecht played the part of Luise. Schiller lived in Gohlis near Leipzig at the time and Sophie Albrecht and her husband lived there as well at the time and befriended Schiller.
29/8/1787	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's "Don Karlos" at the Theater in Opernhof in Hamburg. Friedrich Ludwig Schröder played the part of Philipp. Sophie Albrecht was Prinzessin Eboli. The production was praised by some critics, but according to Schiller it was also stated that it lacked unity and some actions were implausible. In the 19th century several operas were based on the play.
7/9/1788	Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller meet for the first time in Rudolstadt. Goethe kept his distance afterwards and it would take years before they became close friends. Schiller had previously witnessed Goethe in 1780 during the graduation ceremony of his own class at the Karlschule in Stuttgart. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
15/12/1788	Friedrich Schiller is appointed professorship of history in Jena. He was recommended by Goethe. In 1789 he took up this professorship. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
11/5/1789	Friedrich Schiller starts his professorship in Jena. He would hold it until August 1793.
3/8/1789	Secret engagement of Friedrich Schiller and Charlotte von Lengefeld in Bad Läuchstadt. they would marry on 20 February 1790 and their marriage was happy. [Lengefeld, Charlotte von]
28/12/1789	Wilhelm von Humboldt visits Friedrich Schiller in Jena. He visited him on 28 and 29 December. They became close friends and their friendship lasted until Schiller's death in 1805.
26/8/1792	Friedrich Schiller is inducted as a honorary citizen of France by the National Convention. The French saw him as a supporter of freedom. But Schiller's support for the French Revolution disappeared because he didn't like the excesses and the violence of the Revolution.
0/9/1793	Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Hölderlin meet [Hölderlin, Friedrich]
13/6/1794	First known letter of Friedrich Schiller to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
20/7/1794	Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe meet at the house of August Batsch and start their friendship [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
3/4/1795	Friedrich Schiller refuses a professorship in Tübingen. He had been offered to become Professor of Philosophy in that city.
25/4/1796	Jean Paul visits Friedrich Schiller in Jena [Jean Paul]
9/7/1796	Wilhelm and Caroline Schlegel visit Friedrich and Charlotte Schiller in Jena [Lengefeld, Charlotte von][Schlegel, August Wilhelm von]
17/7/1796	Goethe visits Caroline Schlegel at her home in Jena. Later that afternoon Caroline and her husband visited Friedrich and Charlotte Schiller. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von][Lengefeld, Charlotte von][Schlegel, August Wilhelm von]
12/1/1798	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's "Wallensteins Lager" at the Hoftheater in Weimar. It was the first part of the Wallenstein trilogy and it was performed on the occation of the opening of the converted Court Theatre in Weimar. Goethe was the director. Anton Genast played the Kapuziner. [Genast, Anton][Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
19/2/1798	Karl Gustav von Brinckmann visits Friedrich Schiller in Jena
30/1/1799	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's "Die Piccolomini" at the Hoftheater in Weimar. It was the second part of his Wallenstein trilogy. Goethe was the director. Heinrich Vohs was Max Piccolomini. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
20/4/1799	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's "Wallensteins Tod" at the Hoftheater in Weimar. It was the third part of his Wallenstein trilogy. Goethe was the director. Heinrich Vohs was Max Piccolomini. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
3/12/1799	Friedrich von Schiller moves from Jena to Weimar. The Duke of Saxe-Weimar had agreed to raise his salary to 400 Taler.
14/5/1800	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of Shakespeare's "MacBeth" in Weimar [Shakespeare, William]
14/6/1800	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's "Maria Stuart" at the Hoftheater in Weimar. Friederike Vohs was Maria Stuart and Heinrich Vohs was Mortimer.
11/9/1801	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's "Die Jungfrau von Orleans" at the Comödienhaus in Leipzig. Friederieke Wilhelmine Hartwig played Johanna. The play would be the drama that was the most performed on German stages until 1885. Schiller wrote to his friend C.G. Körner that Goethe had stated that it was his best work. Among those who didn't like it were Friedrich Ludwig Schröder and Clemens Brentano. [Brentano, Clemens][Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
17/9/1801	Friedrich Schiller visits the third performance of his play "Die Jungfrau von Orleans" in Leipzig. He came with his wife Charlotte, his son Karl and his friend Körner and his wife. Schiller received a standing ovation from the public. [Lengefeld, Charlotte von][Schiller, Karl, Freiherr von]
30/1/1802	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of Gozzi's "Turandot" at the Hoftheater in Weimar. Schiller translated the play and re-interpreted it in the Romantic style. It was produced by Goethe. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
29/4/1802	Friedrich von Schiller moves to a house at the Esplanada in Weimar
15/5/1802	Goethe's "Iphigenie" is staged in Weimar in an adaptation by Friedrich Schiller. Goethe's play was based on "Iphegenia in Tauris" by Euripides and it had been first performed in 1779 in Weimar. This version was adapted by Friedrich Schiller. It was staged several times but Schiller's version was lost afterwards. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
7/9/1802	Friedrich von Schiller is enobled by emperor Franz II
19/3/1803	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's "Die Braut von Messina" at the Hoftheater in Weimar. Schiller's nine year old son Karl played the role of a page. The play wasn't received well and for a long time it was considered to be one of his lesser works. It was adapted in two opera's, in 1839 by Nicola Vaccai and in 1884 by Zdenek Fibich. [Schiller, Karl, Freiherr von]
23/4/1803	First performance of Friedrich Schiller's "Die Jungfrau von Orleans" in Weimar. The premiere had taken place in 1801 in Leipzig.
0/12/1803	Friedrich von Schiller meets Madame de Staël
17/3/1804	Premiere of Friedrich Schiller's "Wilhelm Tell" at the Hoftheater in Weimar. It was the last play Schiller finished. He had been acquainted with the Tell saga since his future wife Charlotte von Lengefeld had introduced him to it in 1789. The premiere was directed by his friend Goethe. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von][Lengefeld, Charlotte von]
26/4/1804	Friedrich von Schiller travels to Berlin. He was received enthousiastically by the theatre public and he was received by queen Luise at Schloss Charlottenburg and by the royal couple at Schloss Sansssouci. Schiller received an offer to move to Berlin but he decided to stay in Weimar. [Friedrich Wilhelm III, king of Prussia][Luise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz, königin von Preussen]
1/5/1805	Last meeting between Goethe and Schiller. They met on their way to the Hoftheater in Weimar. Schiller died eight days later. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
3/8/1829	Premiere of Rossini's "Guillaume Tell" at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris. It was Rossini's last opera. The libretto was written by Étienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis based on the play by Friedrich Schiller. François Habenack was the conductor. Perfomers included Henri Bernard Dabadie, Laure Cinti-Damoreau, Adolphe Nourrit and Nicolas Levasseur. [Cinti-Damoreau, Laure][Levasseur, Nicolas-Prosper][Nourrit, Adolphe][Rossini, Gioacchino]
28/6/1896	Opening of the Goethe-Schiller Archive in Weimar. It was founded and openend by Grand Duchess Sophia. Goethe's last grandson had left all Goethe's papers to her by testament. [Goethe, Walther Wolfgang]
12/5/1945	The Coffins of Goethe and Schiller are returned to the Fürstengruft in Weimar. Gauleiter Fritz Sauckel had them transported to Jena and ordered to blow them up when the allied troops would arrive. This was avoided. [Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von]
21/8/2006	Exhumation of Schiller's sister Christophine Reinwald. A DNA investigation was conducted at the time to find out if the skull and bones at the Schiller coffin in Weimar were real. They weren't. Christophine's bones were exhumed to check if she was the aunt of Schiller's sons. She was. [Reinwald, Christophine]
20/10/2006	Exhumation of Louise Franckh-Schiller at Möckmühl. A DNA investigation was conducted at the time to find out if the skull and bones at the Schiller coffin in Weimar were real. They weren't.
19/7/2007	Exhumation of Charlotte von Langefeld's body. She was the mother of their son Ernst. A DNA investigation was conducted at the time to find out if the skull and bones at the Schiller coffin in Weimar were really his. They weren't. [Lengefeld, Charlotte von]
7/3/2008	Exhumation of Schiller's son Karl von Schiller. A DNA investigation was conducted at the time to find out if the skull and bones in the Schiller coffin in Weimar were really Schiller's. They weren't. [Schiller, Karl, Freiherr von]

Images
The coffins of Goethe and Schiller in the Fürstengruft at the Friedhof vor dem Frauentor in Weimar. Picture by Androom (30 Apr 1999)	The statue of Goethe and Schiller in Weimar. Picture by Androom (30 Apr 1999)	Schiller bust at the Stadtpark, Graz. Picture by Androom (12 Sep 2004)
The new Kassengewölbe at the Jakobskirchhof in Weimar. Schiller was originally buried in the old Kassengewölbe, located at the same spot. Picture by Androom (04 Feb 2005)	The garden house of Schiller in Jena. He bought it in March 1797 for 1050 Taler and lived there during the summers until he left for Weimar in 1799. Parts of "Wallenstein" and the beginning of "Maria Stuart" were written here. Picture by Androom (06 Feb 2005)	Statue of Schiller at the Albertplatz, Dresden. Picture by Androom (09 Feb 2005)
Bust of Schiller in Jena. Picture by Androom (06 Feb 2005)	Schiller statue at the Schillerplatz in Vienna. Picture by Androom (22 Aug 2005)	The house in Marbach where Schiller was born. Picture by Androom (01 Feb 2007)
The Schiller statue at the Schillerhöhe, Marbach. Picture by Androom (01 Feb 2007)	Schillerhaus in Leipzig-Gohlis. Schiller lived here in the summer of 1785. Picture by Androom (26 Aug 2007)	Statue of Friedrich Schiller in Frankfurt am Main. Picture by Androom (03 May 2013)
The house in Wittenberg where Napoleon I (1806 and 1813), Maxim Gorky (1903), Friedrich Schiller (1804) and Karl August von Sachsen-Weimar (1828) stayed. Picture by Androom (25 Aug 2013)	The Schiller statue in Leipzig, Sachsen. Picture by Androom (29 Aug 2013)	The statue of Goethe and Schiller in Weimar seen from behind. Picture by Androom (01 Aug 2016)
Schiller statue in Mainz. Picture by Androom (27 Jul 2018)	The Schiller monument in Wiesbaden in front of the rear of the Hessian State Theatre. It was created by Joseph Uphues on the 100th anniversary of Schiller's death. Picture by Androom (29 Jul 2022)	Bust of Friedrich Schiller at the Schillerpark in Klagenfurt, Kärnten. Picture by Androom (24 Aug 2023)
Bust of Friedrich Schiller in the Oggersheim area of Ludwigshafen, Baden-Württemberg. Picture by Androom (03 Jul 2024)	The Schillerhaus in the Oggersheim area of Ludwigshafen, Baden-Württemberg. Picture by Androom (03 Jul 2024)	Plaque at the Schillerhaus in the Oggersheim area of Ludwigshafen, Baden-Württemberg. Picture by Androom (03 Jul 2024)

Published: 01 Jan 2006 Last update: 07 Jul 2024