Literary treasure

Five letters by Kleist turn up in Innsbruck

Kleist letters, taken on September 13, 2024 in Innsbruck

(Bild: APA/MARTIN VANDORY)

"Find of the century" in a fruit crate: A US researcher has unearthed a medium-sized sensation in the library of the Landesmuseum in Innsbruck's Ferdinandeum. In box 142 - 289 in total - he discovered five previously unknown letters by the German writer Heinrich von Kleist.

"These were the most exciting weeks of my research life," said 87-year-old literary scholar Hermann F. Weiss on Thursday. The letters from the extensive partial estate of the Austrian diplomat Joseph von Buol-Berenberg have been in the library of the Tyrolean State Museum since 2007.

"I started my research on this in the summer of 2022," explained Weiss from the University of Michigan, who joined us from the USA, at a hybrid press conference organized by the Tyrolean State Museums, which was also attended by scientists from the Heinrich von Kleist Society in Berlin.

Largest find of Kleist autographs in over 100 years
First, "a letter turned up", which "would have been a sensation in itself", and a further four letters finally sealed the "find of the century" from the life of the famous writer, who died in 1811. It is the largest find of Kleist autographs in over 100 years.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

"The crowning achievement of my academic work"
It was simply "great to find something buried like this", said Weiss about his find in the partial estate, which had originally found its way from South Tyrol to Innsbruck to the Landesmuseum library by means of a donation agreement. "I felt like a literary detective," said the literary scholar, who approached the Landesmuseen around two years ago, describing his feelings during his journey of discovery, which ultimately led to the "culmination of my academic work".

It's simply great to find something buried like this. I felt like a literary detective.

Der Literaturwissenschaftler Hermann F. Weiss

289 fruit crates in a cellar
Roland Sila, Director of the State Museum Library, described the "bizarre circumstances in 2007" under which the partial estate came to the state capital and into his hands. "I was originally called to South Tyrol because of another estate," he reported. However, in "289 fruit crates in a cellar" there were ultimately "several thousand documents", which it was clear ad hoc that they were "of great interest".

Kleist took his own life in 1811
Sila's assessment was ultimately confirmed when Weiss began his research. The letters are dated between May 22, 1809 and January 28, 1810 and can therefore be assigned to the late life of Kleist, who committed suicide in 1811.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

What the letters say
The letters are addressed directly to the Austrian diplomat Joseph von Buol-Berenberg. Buol was at the center of a circle of patriotic-minded people who were pushing for Prussia to enter the war against Napoleon. In one letter, for example, Kleist complains that there is "no salvation for Germany" and no "hope for the publication of his political writings". The fifth and final letter remains enigmatic: in it, Kleist reports on the consequences of an unspecified failed project that took him to Frankfurt am Main.

Sila did not want to name the monetary value of this "sensational find" when asked by journalists. "As a memorial institution, we are primarily concerned with the documentary and scientific value," he emphasized. The point now is that the find is available for "scientific access" and for "further research", said Sila. The wider public also has access to it: the find will be published in the "Kleist Yearbook 2024".