Little House
Fürstenhäusle
The Little House seen from the southeast, at the end of a paved path.
Map location and basic information
Little House, Meersburg is located in Germany
Little House, Meersburg
Location within Germany
Little House, Meersburg is located in Baden-Württemberg
Little House, Meersburg
Little House, Meersburg (Baden-Württemberg)
General information
LocationMeersburg, Germany
Coordinates47°41′40.33″N 9°16′31.45″E / 47.6945361°N 9.2754028°E / 47.6945361; 9.2754028
OwnerBaden-Württemberg
Website
www.fuerstenhaeusle.de/en/home/

The Little House, also called the Prince's House (Fürstenhäusle), is a historic house and museum located in Meersburg, Germany, overlooking Lake Constance. It was the residence of the poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, to whom the museum is dedicated.

History

The Little House was built sometime around 1600 by Jakob Fugger,[1] a canon of the diocese of Constance and descendant of Jakob Fugger the Rich. In 1604, he became the Prince-Bishop of Constance,[2] though he continued to reside at the Little House until his death in 1626.[1][2] So did succeeding Prince-Bishops,[1] giving the residence its name (Fürstenhäusle),[3] until the Prince-Bishopric was secularized in 1803 and absorbed into the Electorate of Baden.[4] After secularization, the Little House stood empty.[5]

Over two centuries after Prince-Bishop Fugger's death, in 1797, the poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff was born. She began to find literary success at a young age, but was weighed down with familial obligations, and frequently ill. To find solace, the poet frequently spent time in Meersburg with her sister and her husband,[6] Joseph von Laßberg, at Meersburg Castle.[5] From 1841 especially, Droste-Hülshoff spent most of her time in Meersburg, where,[6] in November 1843, the Little House went to auction. Droste-Hülshoff, desiring a private residence for herself in later years, participated with little competition. Thus, the purchase came out to 400 Reichsthaler,[5] a sum supplied by her own revenue and Laßberg's annuity.[6] The poet was very fond of her purchase and wrote glowingly of it in letters to friends and family.[1][4][5] However, she had never resided there by the time she died in 1848, aged 51.[4]

Droste-Hülshoff's descendants transformed the Little House into a museum dedicated to their forebear and her works in 1923.[1] Carl von Droste-Hülshoff also added a new wing and moved the entrance.[3]

In 1947, Heinrich von Bothmer-Schwegerhoff, another descendant of Droste-Hülshoff, and his American wife, Helen von Bothmer, moved into the Little House. Bothmer operated the museum until her death in 1996 and endowed a literary prize for women poets, the Droste Prize, in 1957.[7]

Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg (SSG), the public entity that manages State properties in Baden-Württemberg, closed the Little House in late 2016 for renovations funded by proceeds from the Glücksspirale lottery. The Little House was to be reopened in September with a new exhibit dedicated to Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, a collaboration between SSG and the Droste Research Center of the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe.[8]

Grounds and architecture

Photograph image of the Swallow's Nest, a largely empty and spacious room with many windows. Under all of them is a piece of furniture.
The Swallow's nest

When Annette von Droste-Hülshoff was residing at the Little House, it consisted of a state room and a kitchen on the ground floor, which housed a staircase into a common room and bedrooms for herself and a maid. Droste-Hülshoff described the state room as a "glass case" with an oriel that contained a canapé and a tile stove. Memorabilia from the poet's time are on display here. In the alcove nearby is located Droste-Hülshoff's collection of jewels.[9] Droste-Hülshoff described the upstairs room as a "swallow's nest",[3] decorated now with copies of Droste-Hülshoff's manuscripts, miniature portraits, and family photographs.[9] Also on display here are first-edition copies of works by Droste-Hülshoff, Goethe, and Levin Schücking.[10] During her ownership of the Little House, Droste-Hülshoff had it repainted.[11]

The portion of the Little House that existed when Annette von Droste-Hülshoff purchased the house is arranged as she described it and contains an exhibit dedicated to her work.[9][12]

The wing added by Carl von Droste-Hülshoff is now the visitor's center.[3]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Little House, Meersburg.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Little House: Prince's Little House.
  2. 1 2 Little House: Jakob Fugger.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Little House: Structure.
  4. 1 2 3 Little House: Milestones.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Little House: Anecdotes.
  6. 1 2 3 Little House: Annette von Droste-Hülshoff.
  7. ↑ Little House: Helen von Bothmer.
  8. ↑ "Fürstenhäusle eröffnet im September mit neuer Ausstellung". Südkurier (in German). 24 May 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 Little House: Exhibition.
  10. ↑ Little House: Poet's works.
  11. ↑ Little House: Rooms.
  12. ↑ Little House: Personal items and nostalgia.

References

  • "Meersburg Prince's Little House". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  • "The Structure". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  • "The Rooms". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  • "Personal Items and Nostalgia". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  • "The Poet's Works". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  • "Rooms full of memories". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  • "Milestones". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  • "Jakob Fugger". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  • "Annette von Droste-Hülshoff". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  • "Helen von Bothmer". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  • "Anecdotes". Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
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