Zum schwarzen Ferkel
Encyclopedia
Zum schwarzen Ferkel was a tavern located at the corner of Unter den Linden
and Neue Wilhelmstraße
in Berlin
. Said once to have been frequented by Heinrich Heine
, Robert Schumann
and E. T. A. Hoffman, it was in the 1890s the meeting place for a circle of mainly Nordic writers and artists, including August Strindberg
and Edvard Munch
but also the Pole Stanisław Przybyszewski and several Germans.
The real name of the Weinstube, which was owned by a Gustav Türke, was Gustav Türkes Weinhandlung und Probierstube, but it was also known as "The Cloister". The name Zum schwarzen Ferkel was given to it by Strindberg as he thought the Armenian (or Bessarabian) wine-sack hanging over the entrance resembled a black piglet; the name was enthusiastically accepted by the owner.
Strindberg had come to Berlin from Sweden in 1892, after his divorce the previous year from his first wife Siri von Essen
, on the invitation of the Swedish writer Ola Hansson
and his wife, the critic Laura Marholm, and for the first period in Berlin he stayed with the couple in their home in Friedrichshagen
. After a while he started to refer to the place in letters as "Friedrichshölle" ("Friedrichs-Hell") and eventually moved into central Berlin, falling out with this former hosts in the process, and settling at a pension on Neue Wilhelmstrasse, close to Türke's tavern.
The story of Strindberg's discovery and naming of the tavern comes from the Finnish writer Adolf Paul
, and the circle at the Ferkel originally consisted of Strindberg, Paul, the German writer Richard Dehmel
, the physician Carl Ludwig Schleich
, the Polish journalist Stanisław Przybyszewski and a few others, all of whom had previously belonged to the group frequenting Ola Hansson's home in Friedrichshagen. Other Scandinavians arriving in Berlin would join the group. Edvard Munch
became a regular after he had arrived in Berlin in October 1892 in connection with an exhibition that was scandalously closed after only seven days. The Norwegian writer Gunnar Heiberg
became a member of the circle in November; other Norwegians included the painter couple Christian
and Oda Krohg
, the writer Axel Maurer and the poet Gabriel Finne. A quarrel between Munch and the Danish poet Holger Drachmann
caused Strindberg temporarily to leave the group. He started seeing the Austrian journalist Frida Uhl
, soon to be his second wife. After the couple had become secretly engaged and Frida Uhl had left Berlin temporarily for Munich, Strindberg returned to the Ferkel. Meanwhile Munch had introduced another female member of the group, the Norwegian music student Dagny Juel
. Several of the men were attracted by Dagny Juel, who entered into a number of brief sexual liaisons within the circle, including a three-week relationship in March 1893 with the newly engaged Strindberg while Frida Uhl was still away. Juel married Przybyszewski on 18 August 1893; she later wrote some literary pieces and was murdered by a lover in Tbilisi
in 1901. Munch, who was in love with her, felt betrayed, and he depicted her on several paintings; she is likely to be the model for his Jealousy.
The main written testimonies to come out of the Ferkel circle was Adolf Paul's Strindberg-Erinnerungen und -Briefe (1914) and Strindberg's novel Klostret ("The Cloister") which was published only posthumously in 1966.
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....
and Neue Wilhelmstraße
Wilhelmstraße
The Wilhelmstrasse is a street in the center of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Between the mid 19th century and 1945, it was the administrative centre, first of the Kingdom of Prussia and then of the unified German state, housing in particular the Reich Chancellery and the Foreign Office...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Said once to have been frequented by Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
, Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
and E. T. A. Hoffman, it was in the 1890s the meeting place for a circle of mainly Nordic writers and artists, including August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
and Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
but also the Pole Stanisław Przybyszewski and several Germans.
The real name of the Weinstube, which was owned by a Gustav Türke, was Gustav Türkes Weinhandlung und Probierstube, but it was also known as "The Cloister". The name Zum schwarzen Ferkel was given to it by Strindberg as he thought the Armenian (or Bessarabian) wine-sack hanging over the entrance resembled a black piglet; the name was enthusiastically accepted by the owner.
Strindberg had come to Berlin from Sweden in 1892, after his divorce the previous year from his first wife Siri von Essen
Siri von Essen
Siri von Essen was a Swedish-speaking Finnish noblewoman and actress. She was married to Baron Carl Gustaf Wrangel between 1872–76, with whom she had a daughter, Sigrid. After their divorce, she married the Swedish dramatist and writer August Strindberg; they were married between 1877–91...
, on the invitation of the Swedish writer Ola Hansson
Ola Hansson
Ola Hansson was a Swedish poet, prose writer, and critic.- Biography :...
and his wife, the critic Laura Marholm, and for the first period in Berlin he stayed with the couple in their home in Friedrichshagen
Friedrichshagen
Friedrichshagen is a German locality within the Berlin borough of Treptow-Köpenick. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Köpenick.-History:...
. After a while he started to refer to the place in letters as "Friedrichshölle" ("Friedrichs-Hell") and eventually moved into central Berlin, falling out with this former hosts in the process, and settling at a pension on Neue Wilhelmstrasse, close to Türke's tavern.
The story of Strindberg's discovery and naming of the tavern comes from the Finnish writer Adolf Paul
Adolf Paul
Adolf Paul was a writer in the German, Swedish, and Finnish languages...
, and the circle at the Ferkel originally consisted of Strindberg, Paul, the German writer Richard Dehmel
Richard Dehmel
Richard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer.- Life :...
, the physician Carl Ludwig Schleich
Carl Ludwig Schleich
Carl Ludwig Schleich was a German surgeon and writer who was a native of Stettin, Pomerania.He studied medicine in Zurich, Greifswald and Berlin, where he was an assistant to Rudolf Virchow . In 1887 he received his doctorate at the University of Greifswald, and stayed there as an assistant until...
, the Polish journalist Stanisław Przybyszewski and a few others, all of whom had previously belonged to the group frequenting Ola Hansson's home in Friedrichshagen. Other Scandinavians arriving in Berlin would join the group. Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
became a regular after he had arrived in Berlin in October 1892 in connection with an exhibition that was scandalously closed after only seven days. The Norwegian writer Gunnar Heiberg
Gunnar Heiberg
Gunnar Edvard Rode Heiberg was a Norwegian poet, playwright, journalist and theatre critic.-Personal life:...
became a member of the circle in November; other Norwegians included the painter couple Christian
Christian Krohg
Christian Krohg , was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist.-Life and career:...
and Oda Krohg
Oda Krohg
Oda Krohg, born Othilia Pauline Christine Lasson , was a Norwegian painter, and the wife of her teacher and colleague Christian Krohg....
, the writer Axel Maurer and the poet Gabriel Finne. A quarrel between Munch and the Danish poet Holger Drachmann
Holger Drachmann
Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann , was a Danish poet and dramatist. He is an outstanding figure of the Modern Break-Through....
caused Strindberg temporarily to leave the group. He started seeing the Austrian journalist Frida Uhl
Frida Uhl
Frida Uhl was an Austrian writer and translator, who was closely associated to many important figures in 20th-century literature. She was married to August Strindberg. She was the daughter of the well-known Friedrich Uhl, editor of the Wiener Zeitung, and Maria Uhl, a devout Catholic...
, soon to be his second wife. After the couple had become secretly engaged and Frida Uhl had left Berlin temporarily for Munich, Strindberg returned to the Ferkel. Meanwhile Munch had introduced another female member of the group, the Norwegian music student Dagny Juel
Dagny Juel
Dagny Juel-Przybyszewska was a Norwegian writer, famous for her liaisons with various prominent artists, and for the dramatic circumstances of her death. She was the model for some of Edvard Munch's paintings. She had relationships with Munch and briefly with August Strindberg. In 1893, she...
. Several of the men were attracted by Dagny Juel, who entered into a number of brief sexual liaisons within the circle, including a three-week relationship in March 1893 with the newly engaged Strindberg while Frida Uhl was still away. Juel married Przybyszewski on 18 August 1893; she later wrote some literary pieces and was murdered by a lover in Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
in 1901. Munch, who was in love with her, felt betrayed, and he depicted her on several paintings; she is likely to be the model for his Jealousy.
The main written testimonies to come out of the Ferkel circle was Adolf Paul's Strindberg-Erinnerungen und -Briefe (1914) and Strindberg's novel Klostret ("The Cloister") which was published only posthumously in 1966.