Gutzkow, Karl (1811-1878)

Gutzkow, Karl

POET, NOVELIST, PLAYWRIGHT (GERMANY)

BORN 17 Mar 1811, Berlin - DIED 16 Dec 1878, Frankfurt am Main, Hessen: Sachsenhausen
BIRTH NAME Gutzkow, Karl Ferdinand
CAUSE OF DEATH burned
GRAVE LOCATION Frankfurt am Main, Hessen: Hauptfriedhof (Gewann D, 272a)

Karl Ferdinand Gutzkow studied theology and philosophy and wrote articles for newspapers at the same time. Wolfgang Menzel brought him to Stuttgart to work for the Literaturblatt. After he was promoted in philosophy he studied law in Munich and Heidelberg. After he quarreled with Menzel he moved to Frankfurt am Main where he worked for the magazine Phoenix.

In 1835 his short novel "Wally, die Zweiflerin" was published. It was seen as an attack on religion and he was sentenced to three months of imprisonment that he sat out in Mannheim. In prison he wrote "Zur Philosophie der Geschichte" (1836). In 1838 he moved to Hamburg and from 1846 to 1849 he worked as a dramatist for the Court Opera in Dresden. In 1850 the first part of his novel "Die Ritter vom Geiste" was published. The last part was published in 1852. Between 1858 and 1861 it was followed by the novel "Der Zauberer von Rom".

In 1862 he became secretary general of the Schiller Foundation in Weimar, but he resigned in 1864. After that he suffered a mental breakdown and he tried to commit suicide. He was cared for in at the mental institution Gilgenberg near Bayreuth. After his recovery he lived in Vevey, Kesselstadt, Bregenz, Berlin, Heidelberg and Sachsenhausen. At the end of his life he was almost blind. He died during a fire in his house.

Plays: "Nero" (1835); "König Saul" (1838); "Richard Savage" (1842); "Das Urbild des Tartüffe" (1847); "Ottfried" (1854).

Related persons
• knew Ludwig, Otto
• quarreled with Menzel, Wolfgang

Events