»Ich bin ein unsteter Mensch auf Erden.« Ein Abend für Nikolaus Lenau

Reading with music. With Dorothea Baltzer, Frank Ackermann and Frank Eisele

Nikolaus Lenau was born Nikolaus Niembsch in Csatád in the Kingdom of Hungary (Banat) in 1802. The small town, now part of Romania, has been officially named Lenauheim since 1926. At the age of 29, the poet undertook a fateful journey to Stuttgart, which was relatively liberal at the time, where he hoped to find a publisher for his poems. He was warmly welcomed into the so-called "Circle of Swabian Poets", which included Ludwig Uhland, Justinus Kerner and Gustav Schwab. The latter introduced him to the renowned Cotta publishing house. To avoid trouble with the censorship authorities of the Metternich era, the poet adopted the pseudonym Nikolaus Lenau.
The trip to Stuttgart was a turning point in Lenau's life: his "poems" were a complete success with readers and critics and made him famous in one fell swoop. Württemberg became his second home. Stuttgart is also the place where disaster struck in 1844: The poet suffered a mental breakdown and was transferred to the "lunatic asylum" in Winnenden. He died in Oberdöbling near Vienna in 1850.

Dorothea Baltzer is at home on stage as an actress, she works as a narrator for SWR and Arte and gives readings in Germany.
Frank Eisele has been a professional accordionist for over 20 years. He performs as a soloist and as an ensemble musician in various formations and styles.
Frank Ackermann is a philosopher and writer. He initiated and runs the "Philosophical Café in the Hegelhaus" and is the author of numerous books on philosophy, literature and regional history. His book "Lenau: Fifty Poems" will be published to coincide with this event.