I am gladly here from the heart – Rilke's Linz Episode

What's it about?

Rainer Maria Rilke, born in Prague in 1875 and deceased in Switzerland in 1926, remains one of the most influential German-language poets worldwide to this day. The reception of the author of works such as the Duino Elegies, The Sonnets to Orpheus, The Lay of the Love and Death of Cornet Christoph Rilke, or The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge remains unbroken. Yet the contradictions in his biography, the countless relationships and affairs, and the exclusivity with which the passionate letter writer dedicated himself to his work and its dissemination continue to fascinate. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death, an exhibition at StifterHaus is dedicated to Rilke's so-called Linz Episode. After his childhood in Prague and agonizing years for him in the military schools of St. Pölten and Mährisch Weißkirchen, Rilke spent several months in Linz in 1891/92, where he attended commercial school and wrote his first poems. In 1896, he came to Salzkammergut for a summer retreat and also found inspiration there. Exhibition opening: May 5, 2026, 7:30 PM Exhibition duration: May 6, 2026 – November 5, 2026 The exhibition will be documented in an accompanying catalog.