Nobel Prize Hermann Hesse and Basel

30 November 2021

The Hermann Hesse Festival (Corona Volente) will take place in Basel from 9 to 11 December to mark the 75th anniversary of his 1946 Nobel Prize for Literature award.

The festival’s highlight is Hermann Hesse Square, which will be inaugurated on 10 December. The programme also includes lectures, readings, meetings, concerts, and other events.

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was born in Calw (then the Kingdom of Württemberg, now the German state of Baden-Württemberg). His parents, however, were citizens of the Russian Empire due to their Baltic, Russian, and German ancestry.

His (grand)parents worked for the Basler Mission in Basel, and Hesse went to school in this city (and even learned Basel German!). After secondary school, he initially worked in a bookshop. Additionally, two of his three wives were from that city. From 1924, he was a Swiss citizen. He died in Montagnola (Canton Ticino), where he had lived since 1919.

His literary career also began in Basel, first as a journalist and later as a writer.
After Karl May (1842-1912), he is the most widely read German writer of novels. His works have been translated into more than 60 languages.

His intellectual and spiritual education was shaped by his (grand)parents and his education and stay in Basel, one of the humanist capitals of Europe. The Hermann Hesse House in Lugano commemorates this great writer.

(Source and further information: www.hermann-hesse-basel.com)