Droste-Hülshoff, Annette von |
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BORN 10 Jan 1797, Burg Hülshoff, Nordrhein-Westfalen (near Münster) - DIED 24 May 1848, Meersburg, Baden-Württemberg: Burg Meersburg BIRTH NAME Anna Elisabeth Franzisca Adolphina Wilhelmina Ludovica, Freiin von Droste zu Hülshoff CAUSE OF DEATH pneumonia GRAVE LOCATION Meersburg, Baden-Württemberg: Friedhof |
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Annette von Droste-Hülshoff was born into one of the oldest noble families from Westphalia. Her father was Clements August II von Droste zu Hülshoff (1760-1825) and her mother was Therese von Haxthausen (1772-1853). She had an older sister named Jenny, who painted several portraits of her. Her younger brother Werner-Constantin succeeded her father on the family estate. She was educated hy her parents, by the family chaplain and by a French nanny. During her childhood she and her siblings befriended the children of Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg (1750-1819). Annette was born prematurely, small and sickly from childhood. Her poetical talent was recognized by her father's friend Anton Matthias Sprickmann and he tutored her from 1812 to 1819. In 1813 she met the poet Katharina Sibylla Schücking (1791-1831), the mother of Levin Schücking (1814-1883). Apart from writing Annette composed songs as well. She visited the Haxthausen family at Schloss Bökenhof several times with her mother and her sister. There she met Wilhelm Grimm and she and contributed tales from Westphalia to the collection of the Grimm brothers. But Grimm did not like her behaviour that was cosidered too male and also arrogant. He even spoke of a nightmare in which she appeared. During a stay at Schloss Bökerhof in 1819-1820 she became romantically involved with the law student Heinrich Straube (1794-1847). It appears that her relatives started an intrigue that destroyed the relationship. For the next 18 years she refused to visit Schloss Bökerhof. After her father's death in 1826 she moved with her mother and sister to the small country estate Rüschhaus near Hülshoff. Her mother expected her and Jenny to continue living with her instead of marry, but Jenny escaped by marrying the 20 year older Baron Joseph von Lassberg. From 1837 Annette she was a close friend of the writer Amalie Hasenpflug, whom she had first met in 1818. Annette finally had a collection of her poetry published in 1838 but it did not sell well. Things changed after she started a literary collaboration with Levin Schücking, whom she had first met in 1831 through her acquaintance with his mother. He encouraged her to write her novella "Die Judenbuche" that was published in 1842. In 1841 she stayed with Schücking at Baron Lassberg's property Meesrsburg Castle, where Schücking was to catalogue the private library. They were very close until Schücking left Meersburg to become a private tutor. In 1844 Cotta published a collection of her poems and this book became a great success. Composer Robert Schumann praised her poetry in a letter to Hans Christian Andersen. Clara Schumann asked for a libretto for an opera by Shumann, but Annette declined. In 1843 Schücking married the novelist Baroness Louise von Gall (1815-1855). They visited Meersburg, but Annette and Louise disliked each other. She disliked Schücking's radical politics and after he sketched a critical portrait of her in his novels "Die Ritterbürtigen" and "Eine dunkle Tat" she broke with him. She bought the small villa "Fürstlenhäusle" in Meersburg in 1843 at an auction. It had to be renovated and from 1846 she lived at Meersburg Castle from 1846. She died there in 1848 from pneumonia, possibly after suffering from tuberculosis. Related persons • was a friend of Goethe, Ottilie von • knew Grimm, Wilhelm • was a friend of Hassenpflug, Amalie • was visited by Kinkel, Johanna • was written about by Scholz, Wilhelm von |
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 Bust of Annette Droste-Hülshoff outside the Old Castle in Meersburg, Baden-Württemberg. Picture by Androom (07 Feb 2026) |
 The grave of Annette Droste-Hülshoff at the cemetery in Meersburg, Baden-Württemberg. Picture by Androom (07 Feb 2026) |
