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Sidonie Nádherná of Borutín | |
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%2c_photo_from_1910.jpg) Photo of Sidonie Nádherná von Borutín in 1910 | |
| Born | Sidonie Amálie Vilemína Karolína Julie Marie Nádherná (1885-12-01)1 December 1885 |
| Died | 30 September 1950(1950-09-30) (aged 64) |
| Resting place | Vrchotovy Janovice,Czech Republic |
| Occupation | Salon hostess, correspondent |
| Language | German |
| Nationality | Bohemian |
| Spouse | Maximilian vonThun und Hohenstein (1920-1933) |
| Partner | Karl Kraus |
Baroness Sidonie Nádherná of Borutín, laterCountess Sidonie of Thun und Hohenstein (Czech:Sidonie Nádherná z Borutína; 1 December 1885 – 30 September 1950) was aBohemian noblewoman known for hosting literarysalons and her correspondence withRainer Maria Rilke andKarl Kraus.
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Born at her family residence, a castle inVrchotovy Janovice, into a family that belonged to theBohemian nobility, Sidonie Amálie Vilemína Karolína Julie Marie Nádherná von Borutín was the youngest child of a landowner, Karel Boromejský Jan Ludvík Baron Nádherný von Borutín (1849–1895), and his wife, Baroness Amalie Klein von Wisenberg (1854–1910), youngest daughter of theBohemian businessman ofGerman origin AlbertBaron Klein von Wisenberg (1807-1877).
Her older brothers were Jan Karel Ludvík Sidonius Adalbert Julius Otmar Maria (1884-1913) and Karel Maria Ludvík Hubert Adalbert Nádherný von Borutín (1885-1931).
Nádherná gained literary fame through her friendship with the poetRainer Maria Rilke, with whom she corresponded from 1906 until his death in 1926, and her friendship and later romantic relationship with the writerKarl Kraus.[1] Nádherná met Kraus on 8 September 1913, in Vienna'sCafé Imperial. Their relationship, often filled with intensity and conflict, lasted until his death in 1936.[2] Kraus would likely have married her, but Rilke objected to Kraus' "inextinguishable difference" (a reference to his Jewish heritage).[3]
In 1914, Nádherná sought to make an influential marriage to a count that could have helped hinderWorld War I. She reconciled with Kraus in 1915, who wrote much of his dramaThe Last Days of Humanity at her residence, castle inVrchotovy Janovice, but they separated again at the end of the war.
In 1920, Nádherná married the Austrian physician, Count Maximilian vonThun und Hohenstein (1887–1935) atHeiligenkreuz Abbey, but the relationship did not last.[4] They separated a year later, and divorced in 1933. Nádherná and Kraus reunited and split several more times, eventually reconciling one last time in 1927, although their relationship was no longer romantic.
Sidonie von Nádherná's correspondence with Rilke and Kraus, now published, reveals her significance as a discussion partner, "creative listener," and as a representative of late Habsburg culture.
Nádherná is not solely defined by her relationships with influential men; she was also an independent and culturally invested woman. She organized many political and cultural salons at her family's estate near Prague.
In addition to Rilke and Kraus, her circle also included the architectAdolf Loos, the writerKarel Čapek, the composerDora Pejačević, and the painterMax Švabinský.
In 1942, Janowitz Castle was seized by German troops and converted into theSS-Truppenübungsplatz Böhmen, training grounds for theWaffen-SS. After the war, Nádherná tried to reclaim her family's property, but was unsuccessful. The castle continued to be used by the army, and in 1948 was confiscated by theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia. Nádherná was briefly arrested before fleeing toGreat Britain throughBavaria.[5] In 1950 she died impoverished while still in exile.
In 1999, Nádherná's remains (which had been buried at St Mary's Church in Denham ,Buckinghamshire and where a tombstone still remains) were brought back to Janovice Castle and buried on the grounds. The castle and its surrounding lands were restored between 2000 and 2007, in a cooperative effort between theCzech Republic andGermany. Today it has become a cultural and scientific meeting place, much as it was during Nádherná's lifetime.
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