until 05.11.2026
Rainer Maria Rilke, born in Prague in 1875 and died in Switzerland in 1926, remains one of the most influential German-language poets in the world to this day. The author’s works, such as the Duino Elegies, *Sonnets to Orpheus*, *The Ballad of Love and Death of Cornet Christoph Rilke* and *The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge*, continue to be widely read. Yet the contradictions in his biography, his countless relationships and affairs, and the exclusive devotion with which this passionate letter-writer dedicated himself to his work and its dissemination continue to fascinate. To mark the 100th anniversary of his death, an exhibition curated by Bernhard Judex focuses on Rilke’s so-called Linz episode. After a childhood in Prague and what were for him agonising years at the military schools in 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 the Salzkammergut for a summer holiday and found inspiration there as well. Photographs, letters, texts, drawings and other documents from his early years shed light on Rilke’s family and social circle and offer insights into his emergence as a writer of world renown.
“I am truly happy to be here.” Rilke’s time in Linz
until 05.11.2026
Stifterhaus
Adalbert-Stifter-Platz 1
4020 Linz
https://www.stifterhaus.at
