Erinnerungstafel an dem Geburtshaus von Ferdinand Raimund

Ferdinand Raimund (born Ferdinand Jakob Raimann; 1 June 1790 – 5 September 1836, Pottenstein,

Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...

) was an Austrian

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Life and work

Raimund was born in Vienna as a son of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

woodturning Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator is kno ...

master craftsman Historically, a master craftsman or master tradesman (sometimes called only master or grandmaster) was a member of a guild. The title survives as the highest professional qualification in craft industries. In the European guild#organization, gui ...

Jakob Raimann. In 1811, he acted at the

Theater in der Josefstadt The Theater in der Josefstadt is a theater in Vienna in the eighth district of Josefstadt. It was founded in 1788 and is the oldest still performing theater in Vienna. It is often referred to colloquially as simply ''Die Josefstadt''. Following ...

, and, in 1817 at the Leopoldstädter Theater. In 1823 he produced his first play, ''Der Barometermacher auf der Zauberinsel'', which was followed by ''Der Diamant des Geisterkönigs'' (1824). The still popular ''Bauer als Millionär'' (1826), ''Der Alpenkönig und der Menschenfeind'' (1828) and ''Der Verschwender'' (1834), incidental music by

Conradin Kreutzer Conradin Kreutzer or Kreuzer (22 November 1780 – 14 December 1849) was a German composer and conductor. His works include the operas ''Das Nachtlager in Granada'' and incidental music to ''Der Verschwender'', both produced in 1834 in Vienna. ...

, are Raimund's masterpieces. Raimund's comedies are still frequently performed in Germany and Austria. When Raimund was bitten by a dog, which he falsely believed to be

rabid Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...

, he shot himself on 29 August 1836 and died on 5 September 1836 in Pottenstein, aged 46. Raimund is buried in Gutenstein, which features a Raimund memorial. Raimund was a master of the Viennese

Posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

; his rich humour is seen to best advantage in his realistic portraits of his fellow citizens. The

Raimund Theater The Raimund Theater is a theatre in the Mariahilf district of Vienna, Austria. Named after the Austrian dramatist Ferdinand Raimund, the theatre was built by an association of Viennese citizens and opened on 28 November 1893 with Raimund's pl ...

in Vienna is named after him.

Works

* ', 1823 (''The Barometer-Maker on the Magic Island'' translated by Edmund Kimbell) * ', 1824 (''The Diamond of the Spirit King'' translated by Edmund Kimbell) * ', 1826 * ', 1828 * ', 1827 * ', 1828 (''The King of the Alps'' translated by

John Baldwin Buckstone John Baldwin Buckstone (14 September 1802 – 31 October 1879) was an English actor, playwright and comedian who wrote 150 plays, the first of which was produced in 1826. He starred as a comic actor during much of his career for various periods ...

br>Free full text online
* '' oder König ohne Reich, Held ohne Mut, Schönheit ohne Jugend'', 1829 * ', 1834 (''The Spendthrift'' translated by Erwin Tramer), adapted as film '' The Spendthrift'' (1953)

References

Bibliography

* ''Ferdinand Raimunds sämmtliche Werke'' (with biography by ) appeared in 4 volumes. (1837); they have been also edited by K. Glossy and A. Sauer (4 vols., 1881; 2nd ed., 1891), and a selection by E. Castle (1903). See E. Schmidt in ''Charakteristiken'', vol. I. (1886); A. Farinelli, ''Grillparzer und Raimund'' (1897); L. A. Frankl, ''Zur Biographie F. Raimunds'' (1884); and especially A. Sauer's article in the ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

''.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Raimund, Ferdinand Male actors from the Austrian Empire Biedermeier writers Dramatists and playwrights from the Austrian Empire Writers from Vienna 1790 births 1836 deaths Suicides in the Austrian Empire 1830s suicides