Elisa von der Recke was a Baltic German writer and poet.

Family

Elisa von der Recke was born in Schönberg

Schönberg

- Germany :*Schönberg, Lower Bavaria, a town in the district of Freyung-Grafenau in Bavaria*Schönberg, Upper Bavaria, a town in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria*Schönberg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, district Nordwestmecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...

, Skaistkalne parish

Skaistkalne parish

- Towns, villages and settlements of Skaistkalne parish :*...

, Courland

Courland

Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...

, the daughter of Reichsgraf

Graf

Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...

 Friedrich von Medem and his wife, Louise Dorothea von Korff. Her younger half-sister was Dorothea von Medem

Dorothea von Medem

Dorothea von Medem was born a Gräfin of the noble German Baltic Medem family and later became Duchess of Courland...

, for whom she carried out diplomatic work. In 1771 she married Kammerherr Georg von der Recke, from whom she separated in 1781.

Life

In 1787 her first book, Nachricht von des berühmten Cagliostro Aufenthalt in Mitau im Jahre 1779 und dessen magischen Operationen, made a great impact right across Europe, with Catherine the Great even granting Elisa lands in Russia in recognition of the work (making Elisa financially independent). She got to know Goethe, Schiller, Wieland

Christoph Martin Wieland

Christoph Martin Wieland was a German poet and writer.- Biography :He was born at Oberholzheim , which then belonged to the Free Imperial City of Biberach an der Riss in the south-east of the modern-day state of Baden-Württemberg...

, Herder

Johann Gottfried Herder

Johann Gottfried von Herder was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the periods of Enlightenment, Sturm und Drang, and Weimar Classicism.-Biography:...

 and other European literary figures, and intensified their relationships through prolific correspondence.

From 1798 she lived almost exclusively in Dresden, and from 1804 cohabited there with her friend Christoph August Tiedge

Christoph August Tiedge

Christoph August Tiedge was a German poet.-Biography:Tiedge was the eldest son of the rector of the Gelehrten Stadtschule in Gardelegen and his wife, and studied law in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. In 1788 he went to Halberstadt, acting for four years as secretary to the Domherr von Steder...

. Their meetings were religio-sentimentalist

Sentimentalism (literature)

Sentimentalism , as a literary and political discourse, has occurred much in the literary traditions of all regions in the world, and is central to the traditions of Indian literature, Chinese literature, and Vietnamese literature...

 in tone, with the singing of chorale

Chorale

A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....

s by Johann Gottlieb Naumann

Johann Gottlieb Naumann

Johann Gottlieb Naumann was a German composer, conductor, and Kapellmeister.- Life :...

. Her works consisted mainly of pietist

Pietism

Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...

-sentimentalist poems, journals and memoirs.

Elisa von der Recke looked after thirteen foster daughters. She died in Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

and is buried at the Inneren Neustädter Friedhof in Dresden.

Works

• Nachricht von des berühmten Cagliostro Aufenthalt in Mitau im Jahre 1779 und dessen magischen Operationen, 1787
• Johann Lorenz Blessig (Hrsg.): Leben des Grafen Johann Friedrich von Medem nebst seinem Briefwechsel hauptsächlich mit der Frau Kammerherrinn von der Recke, seiner Schwester, 1792 (Digitalisat)
• Familien=Scenen oder Entwickelungen auf dem Masquenballe, ca. 1794, published in 1826 (Digitalisat)
• Über Naumann, den guten Menschen und großen Künstler, article in Neuen Deutschen Merkur, 1803

Posthumously published

• Geistliche Lieder, Gebete und religiöse Betrachtungen, Teubner, Leipzig 1841
• Elisa von der Recke. Band 1. Aufzeichnungen und Briefe aus ihren Jugendtagen, hrsg. von Paul Rachel, 2. Auflage 1902
• Elisa von der Recke. Band 2. Tagebücher und Briefe aus ihren Wanderjahren, hrsg. von Paul Rachel, 1902
• Herzensgeschichten einer baltischen Edelfrau. Erinnerungen und Briefe, Lutz, Stuttgart 1921
• Tagebücher und Selbstzeugnisse, hrsg. v. Christine Träger, Köhler und Amelang, Leipzig / Beck, München 1984, ISBN 3-406-30196-7

External links

• Nachweis von digitalisierten Zeitschriftenbeiträgen at Litlinks
• Article on Stadtwiki Dresden about Elisa von der Recke
• Brigham Young University's Sophie Project entry on Elisa von der Recke