Nobel Prize Hermann Hesse

30 November 2021

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

The highlight of the festival 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-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 first worked in a bookshop. In addition, two of his three wives came 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, later as a writer.
After Karl May (1842-1912), he is the most widely read German writer of novels. His works are 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.

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