Rhine romanticism
The romance of the Rhine was the contemporary realization of landscape conditions and fabled history of the Rhine Valley, in the cultural-historical Romantic era, which lasted from the late 18th to the late 19th century and found expression in all art forms.
Schlegel travel as a major contribution
In response to the onset of industrialization with its perceived negative side effects turned initially to mainly writers and artists of nature and the past. Friedrich Schlegel describes the appearance of his Rhine Journey in 1806: "For me, only the areas are beautiful, which is commonly called rough and wild; because only these are raised, only raised areas can be beautiful, only that excite the thoughts of nature. [ ... ] But nothing can beautify the impression so and to reinforce as the traces of human boldness to the ruins of nature, bold castles on wild rocks -. Monuments of human heroic age, subsequently to those higher in the Heldenzeiten of nature "
Other authors
As a precursor of the Romantic Rhine who wrote in the 1770s and 80s Travel Reports by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Hölderlin and Heinrich von Kleist may apply on the Rhine. Lord Byron made the Rhine landscape narrative poem Childe popular with its Harold's Pilgrimage of 1818 in England. The German poet Adelaide of Stolterfoth created numerous Rhine seals. In the visual arts William Turner caused by its incurred on several trips images, particularly under English for attention. Not only Turner and the Roman landscape painter Salomon Corrodi, but also many painters of the Düsseldorf School turned to the romantic notions of the Rhine. The most popular romantic Rhine views that were used in reproductions of different formats, including as postcards come from Nikolai von Astudin. Germaine de Staël was one of the first writers who published their trip reports on the Rhine in France. Gérard de Nerval wrote in 1852 its atmospheric travelogue Loreley. With the title, he followed up on the romantic Loreley myth of the ballad Lore Lay of Clemens Brentano before ( 1800) and the poem The Lore - Ley by Heinrich Heine ( 1824), it became known to.
1840 Victor Hugo published his journey along the Rhine.
Between 1840 and 1843 the composer Franz Liszt created a series of works with rhine romantic implications, about the cell in Nonnenwerth, the Rhine or The Loreley. About the same time Robert Schumann composed in the cycle Dichterliebe the art song in the Rhine, in the holy stream. His Symphony No. 3, Rhenish, reflects the romantic mood on the Rhine. Schumann's wife, Clara devoted, as Friedrich Silcherstraße and Liszt, a piece of the motif Loreley. The set to music by Carl Wilhelm song Die Wacht am Rhein carries even national romantic trains by the Rhine as a " holy land mark" Germany took pithy words against France's ambitions in protection and - as Nicholas Becker, the author of the popular Rhine song - the political myth " German Rhine " sought (see also Rhine crisis). Richard Wagner created the Romantic Rhine in the form of culture located on the Rhine legend of the Nibelungenlied with its 1848-1874 composed opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, finally, a world-renowned musical monument. A late work of the Romantic Rhine delivered Zuckmayer 1925 with the play The Merry Vineyard. In a mixture with coarse - realistic and socially critical passages he was fond of the familiar topos of wine, women and song scenes in the Rhenish- folk joy.
From stopover for tourist Address
The Middle Rhine Valley has each traveled in 1787, the end of the 18th century traveler as the Italians Aurelio de ' Giorgi Bertola (first travelogue romantic ) in 1795 and the Englishman John Gardnor ( etchings ). 1802 visited Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim the valley, which developed from the transit region on the classic educational trip to Italy for tourist address of the first rank. 1845 traveled to Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, the Rhine Valley.
After Switzerland, with its harsh alpine valleys, the rocky Upper Middle Rhine Valley with its many castle ruins became a tourist "must". Many princes and wealthy private citizens began to rebuild the castle, especially the Prussian royal house, which in 1815 acquired by the Congress of Vienna in the Rhineland and to express the new state rule, where he worked in several places. as most outstanding monument of the Romantic Rhine, built by King Frederick William IV as a summer residence, pride rock applies to Koblenz. parallel let his cousin Frederick Prince of Prussia, who in as a representative of the Hohenzollern monarchy the Rhine Province was used, the ruins Vaitzburg at Trechtingshausen to Rheinstein Castle on form Rhine romantic. Even with absolute secular buildings such as tunnel entrances was built in neo-Gothic or Neo-Romanesque in the course of romance. A literary source of the romantic enthusiasm of the Prussian royal family made for the castles on the Rhine of 1813 published Knight 's novel The magic Ring by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué.
Popular Prints
Interestingly, the popular image of the romantic Rhine in the first half of the 19th century was marked less by the painting, but primarily by the pressure graph. Aquatints, lithographs and engravings illustrated the journey descriptions or adopted as a view consequences. Between 1820 and 1830, at least twelve publications with independent new views came out. The English were the leaders in the field of 1826 in London patented steel engraving process, which replaced the copper engraving technique and accurate representations and long runs allowed. The best templates provided at the time William Tombleson, and 50 Stecher they put in the 1832, first published in Views of the Rhine to the Middle Rhine in 68 representations.
A year later appeared the Traveling Sketches by Clarkson Stanfield. Steel engraving with the view of Bingen and the Rhine -Nahe -Eck from the other side of the Rhine comes from this publication. Skillfully reinforced the English artist with the help of appearing in the backlight Basilica and the reflecting water surface, the effect of the Cityscape. The geographical reality was, however, this largely sacrificed on the altar of Rhine Romanticism. The viewer looks namely due south, and the low sun or a sunset, you probably should not wait in this direction. Nevertheless, this charming view of one of the best known and most copied Binger vistas of the entire 19th century.
Among the artistic and technical challenges of these publications include the time about 1827, published by the Swiss publisher, and painter Johann Ludwig Bleuler graphic print, the whole course of the Rhine reproducing Vedutenfolge. Bleuler's major work, Voyage pittoresque aux bords du Rhin et de la Suisse, appeared around 1845. Noteworthy are also the publications of Karl Baedeker with Rhine views of Rudolf Bodmer and Christian Meichelt who stood at the beginning of the publication of the later world-famous Baedeker Guide.
Since 2002, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bingen, engraving by Abresch after Clarkson Stanfield
St. Goar with Burg Katz, engraving by Ward after Tombleson
Ruin Heimburg at Niederheimbach,
Wellmich with Burg Maus
Ruins Castle Andernach
Castle Ar ( g) enfels, Bad Hönningen
Stolzenfels 1836 shortly before the conversion to the castle
The Loreley
- Images 4-7 are originally colored engravings of Christian Meichelt for templates by Johann Adolf Lasinsky.