Kestner-Buff, Charlotte

(GERMANY)
BORN 11 Jan 1753, Wetzlar - DIED 16 Jan 1828, Hannover, Niedersachsen
BIRTH NAME Buff, Charlotte Sophie Henriette
GRAVE LOCATION Hannover, Niedersachsen: Ehemaliger Gartenfriedhof, Marienstrasse 6

Daughter of Henri Buff (1711-1795) and Madeleine Feiner (1731-1771). The chemist Heinrich Buff was her nephew. She was a friend of the young Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Wetzlar in 1772. Goethe was in love with her and when she married J.H. Kestner on 4 April 1773 he returned to Frankfurt am Main. The character of Lotte in his novel "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers" was partly based upon her.

In 1773 she moved to Hanover with her husband and in 1800 she was widowed. In 1816 she met Goethe once more during a visit to Weimar. She died in Hanover, where her children and grand children played important parts in the cultural life. Her grandson Hermann (1810-1890) was the founder of the Kestner Museum in Hanover.

Family
• Son: Kestner, Georg
• Son: Kestner, August
• Son: Kestner, Theodor

Related persons
• was a friend of Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
• is brother/sister of Ridel-Buff, Amalie

Images

The grave of Charlotte Kestner-Buff at the Ehemaliger Gartenfriedhof, Hanover.
Picture by Androom (17 Dec 2012)

 

Sources
Grosse Frauen der Weltgeschichte, Neuer Kaiser Verlag, Klagenfurt, 1987
Charlotte Buff - Wikipedia


Kets, Jacques

Published: 01 Jan 2006
Last update: 31 Jul 2023