Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe are the two poets and authors who were on the forefront of establishing the reputation of Germany as the “country of poets and thinkers”. Schiller was born in Marbach in Swabia. He fell foul of the repression of the small country of Württemberg so he fled to neighbouring Baden where he had his debut play premiered in Mannheim.

So in Mannheim I found the youngest statue of Schiller, showing him when he was about 23 – and his big success “The Robbers” premiered.

The Frankfurt statue of Schiller shows him a few years older.

He lived his last years in Weimar where his contemporary Wolfgang von Goethe was established as a politician and the reigning literature god.

Goethe supported him somewhat and the two collaborated during the years they spent together in Weimar.

He died early , only 36 years old.

I’m a Fan of … #163