He is widely recognized as one of the best German-language poets, known for his lyrical prose and intense verse, but did you know that this famous writer was born in the capital of the Czech Republic?
Rainer Maria Rilke’s story began in the city of Prague, the glimmering capital of Bohemia (Today known as the Czech Republic), which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
He was born into a gloomy household. His parent’s marriage was strained and unhappy and Rilke’s childhood was not much happier. Rilke was an only child. His parents, both German speaking, lived in the Prague at the time of Rilke’s birth. His father, Josef Rilke, was a railway official, an occupation he chose after an unsuccessful military career, and his mother, Sophie Entz, was a socially ambitious yet overbearing woman who came from a well-to-do Prague family known as the Entz-Kinzelbergers.
Rilke as a young boy.
Rilke grew up in Prague and spent the majority of his youth there. His youth, however, was not a particularly happy one. Earlier in his parent’s marriage, before the birth of their only son, Rilke’s mother had given birth to a baby girl who had died at one week of age. Sophia Rilke’s mourning for her daughter would prove to have negative effects on her relationship with her son. She would often dress him in girl’s clothing, as if she sought to recover her deceased daughter.
“For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been given to us, the ultimate, the final problem and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
At the age of eleven, Rilke was sent off to a military boarding academy in St. Pölten, Austria. Although Rilke showed both artistic and poetic talent from a young age, his parents hoped he would become an officer. It was with this hope that they sent him to military school. But Rilke had other plans…
He was discharged from the military academy in 1891, after 5 years there, due to health problems. With the help of his uncle, who recognized Rilke’s literary gifts, he then entered a German preparatory school.
“Let everything happen to you
Beauty and terror
Just keep going
No feeling is final”― Rainer Maria Rilke
At the age of sixteen, Rilke returned to Prague. When he returned to the city of his youth, he found that, in his absence, his parents had divorced.
“We need, in love, to practice only this: letting each other go. For holding on comes easily; we do not need to learn it.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
Prague, Czech Republic.
Prague, Czech Republic.
Shortly after his return, he began receiving private instruction from a tutor which was aimed at preparing him for the entrance exams for Charles University.
During this time he published his first book of verse entitled Leben und Lieder: Bilder und Tagebuchblatter, in 1894. A year later, in 1895, he passed the entrance exam and enrolled in the philosophy program at Charles University. However, he soon grew disenchanted and unhappy with his studies. Seeking a change, he moved to Munich to study art, once more leaving behind the city of his youth.
Painting of Rilke as a young man.
In Munich, Rilke published a few poetry collections, produced several of his plays, and mingled with the city’s literary circles. During this time, he also traveled around Europe, visiting Venice and the Bavarian Alps.
“I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
His poetry deals with deeply existential themes of disbelief, solitude, and anxiety, often exploring these subjects through haunting imagery and highly lyrical prose. He is widely considered a transitional figure between traditional and modernist writers, due to the existential theme of his work.
While Rilke is most known for his contributions to German literature, many of his poems were originally written in the French language, and few people know that he was actually born in Prague, making him Czech. The city of his birth certainly had an influence on him and on his work. In his two-part story entitled Ewald Tragy, he tells the story of a boy who must leave his family and his hometown of Prague to go to Munich, where he enjoys his newfound freedom but also battles with loneliness. This autobiographical tale closely mirrors the circumstances of the author’s own youth.
“The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
A photograph of Rilke.
Many countries and cities inspired Rilke. He traveled extensively throughout his life, visiting and living in various countries and cities including Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, Italy, Switzerland, Paris, France, and Germany; but it seems that Prague is the city that would always remain in his heart, as a source of both inspiration and pain, a reminder of fond memories and past sorrows.
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