"Hölderlin in Bad Homburg" Top 5 Page for this destination Bad Homburg vor der Höhe by Nemorino

Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Travel Guide: 81 reviews and 262 photos

The White Tower and Palace in Bad Homburg

Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is now an affluent suburb of Frankfurt am Main.
In the 19th century, Bad Homburg -- or just "Homburg", as it was officially called until 1912 -- was a fashionable spa for the rich and powerful, and before that it was the seat of silly little landgraviate (sort of like a minor-league duchy) called Hessen-Homburg.

Frankfurt and Bad Homburg are now connected (since June 2008) by a well-marked 22-kilometer walking and cycling trail called the Hölderlin Pfad (Hölderlin Path), named after the poet Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843), who used to walk from Bad Homburg to Frankfurt very often -- but not daily, as an exaggerated local legend asserts -- to catch a glimpse of his beloved Susette Gontard and on a good day even cop a kiss or at least exchange love letters by secretly passing them through the hedge when nobody was looking.

Susette Gontard, Hölderlin's Diotima

Susette was married to a wealthy Frankfurt merchant named Jakob Friedrich Gontard. In 1796 they hired Friedrich Hölderlin, a recent theology graduate, as a private teacher for their children. This was a common occupation for young intellectuals in those days, before they got established as professors, like Hölderlin's friend and former roommate Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, or before they drifted off into incurable insanity as Hölderlin himself eventually did.

It was love at first sight between Hölderlin and Susette, but he was well aware that as a resident teacher the worst thing he could do would be to have a love affair with the lady of the house, so he suffered in silence and started rewriting his novel-in-progress, Hyperion, to make his hero's beloved Diotima more like Susette.

This was all very well for an idealistic poet, but Susette wanted more so she soon took the initiative, passed him on the stairs at every opportunity, spoke to him, told him how she felt. Before long they were spending hours together while her husband was off at work. She soon knew she was Diotima, and read every word he wrote.

In the summer of 1796 a French army was threatening to attack Frankfurt, so Susette fled with the children -- and their teacher! -- to Bad Driburg in Westfalen, leaving her husband behind to protect his business and the family property. In Bad Driburg Susette and Hölderlin had an idyllic summer together, before returning to Frankfurt and their life of secrecy.

It took another two years before even Susette's husband realized what was going on, but then in September 1798 he finally fired Hölderlin and ordered his children never to mention their teacher's name again.

Hölderlin in Bad Homburg, by Jochen Schmidt

After losing his teaching job at the Gontards, Hölderlin moved to nearby Bad Homburg at the suggestion of his old friend Isaac von Sinclair, who lived and worked there as a minister in the government of the Landgrave of Hessen-Homburg. In the next two years Hölderlin finished the second volume of his novel Hyperion and wrote numerous poems that were not widely appreciated at the time but which later established his reputation as one of the most brilliant poets of his generation.

These two years, 1798-1800, were the years of his now-famous walks from Bad Homburg to Frankfurt and back.

Later Hölderlin returned to Bad Homburg for another two years, 1804-1806, but that was a very different time. Susette was dead, so there was no longer any reason for him to walk to Frankfurt. Hölderlin still had some lucid periods in which he wrote great poetry, but during these two years it gradually became clear that insanity was taking hold of him, and in 1806 his friend Sinclair reluctantly agreed to have him forcibly removed to an asylum in Tübingen. He lived for 37 more years, but never really recovered.

Last visit to Bad Homburg vor der Höhe: Apr 2013
Intro Updated Apr 23, 2013
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Reviews (31)

1. Signpost with the text of Hölderlin's poem - Bad Homburg vor der Höhe

The Oak Trees on the Hölderlin Path Things to Do (23)

Photos: 1. Signpost with the text of Hölderlin's poem "The Oak Trees". 2. The poem and some trees -- not only oak trees,... more travel advice

1. Bicycle route signs near the City Hall - Bad Homburg vor der Höhe

Cycling in Bad Homburg Transportation (4)

Photos: 1. Bicycle route signs near the Bad Homburg City Hall. 2. Bicycle route signs at the U2 station in... more travel advice

1. Buses at the Kurhaus in Bad Homburg - Bad Homburg vor der Höhe

Buses in Bad Homburg Transportation (4)

Photos: 1. Buses at the Kurhaus in the center of Bad Homburg. 2. In a bus in Bad Homburg. 3. Information screen in... more travel advice

1. In the suburban train S5 to Bad Homburg - Bad Homburg vor der Höhe

Trains from Frankfurt to Bad Homburg Transportation (4)

Photos: 1. In the suburban train S5 to Bad Homburg 2. Subway line U2 at Bad Homburg-Gonzenheim There are two train... more travel advice

Off The Beaten Path (4)
See All Hat Museum in the Gothic House

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Comments (35)

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XenoHumph Feb 27, 2013 at 5:57 PM

Your tips are so detailed, no need to go there myself, I have seen it all!
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lmkluque Feb 17, 2013 at 9:47 AM

Homburg hats come from Homburg? Wow! I hadn't even made the connection! Not even when I began to read about the Hat Museum! Thanks Don for pointing that out, otherwise I would still be oblivious! LOL!
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  Nemorino Feb 17, 2013 at 11:42 AM
  
  Yes, I only made that connection when I was in the museum itself. Thanks for your return visit to read more of my Bad Homburg tips.
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lmkluque Feb 12, 2013 at 8:49 AM

Thanks Don for the insights of this town! More relazing this time. Still, I need to rest before checking out your Transportation tips.
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  Nemorino Feb 13, 2013 at 3:54 AM
  
  Hi Linda, thanks for coming back to look at another batch of my Bad Homburg tips. I’m glad it was more relaxing this time, LOL.
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  lmkluque Feb 13, 2013 at 7:36 AM
  
  Hi Don, you can delete my "double entry" if you'd like. It seemed that this happened to me several times yesterday.
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lmkluque Feb 4, 2013 at 5:41 AM

Walking or even cycling The Hölderlin Path would do me in! Thanks for the experience from my wheelchair Don. I'll return after a rest.
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  Nemorino Feb 8, 2013 at 12:05 PM
  
  Thanks for your ratings and comment, Linda. One thing I'll say for the German planners is that they try to make things wheelchair-accessible whenever possible. The only part of the Hölderlin Path that would not be feasible in a wheelchair is where it goes down some steps to get under the railroad tracks. But with a slight detour those stairs and the tunnel can be avoided. Right now, though, the unpaved sections of the path must be quite muddy, after all the rain we've been getting in the past few days.
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  lmkluque Feb 9, 2013 at 1:49 PM
  
  That's interesting Don. California started many years ago making every place accessable so now almost everyplace is widened, paved and ramped. Of course, there are biking and hiking paths that haven't been adapted. Still, unless the wheelchair is motorized, it would be too difficult to endure. I can and do walk, with a cane, but even shorter walks are painful and weakens the legs. So, I appreciate that you share your experiences.
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balhannah Sep 4, 2012 at 10:01 PM

A lovely interesting page! I like the "bad" towns as there always seems to be plenty of nice buildings to visit. Love the white tower,the Palace, and those gorgeous half-timbered homes, I can't get enough of them.
How good too, to have all those cycle route notices, such a good idea in Germany where lots of the residents enjoy cycling!
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Regina1965 Aug 29, 2012 at 9:09 AM

What an interesting city with so many beautiful buildings. And what a long street name Adlerflychtstraße, eh! Interesting to read about the Fachwerkhäuser, to me they are so characteristic of Germany, I hope they find a solution to this, it is tricky.
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  Nemorino Aug 29, 2012 at 9:39 AM
  
  Hi Regina, thanks for your ratings and nice comment. I used to live just a block away from the Adlerflychtstraße, so it seems like a perfectly normal name to me. But German does have a lot of long words that are made by stringing shorter words together.
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  Regina1965 Aug 29, 2012 at 4:08 PM
  
  Hehe, yes, I know. We do the same thing in Iceland, make really long words by stringing several words together.
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kris-t Jul 11, 2012 at 4:43 AM

Interesting page! Thank you for the history of Russian Church.
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Yaqui Jun 5, 2012 at 6:27 PM

What a lovely city! Landgraves Palace and Gotisches Haus (Gothic House) is so beautiful. Yet, the city is fantastic! As always an excellent page filled with such wonderful tips and information.
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ettiewyn May 17, 2012 at 1:08 PM

What a fascinating page! I had no idea that Bad Homburg was such a beautiful and interesting place! I really enjoyed cycling along Hölderlin Pfad with you, and would love to visit the hat museum myself :-)
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MalenaN Apr 26, 2012 at 11:05 PM

Interesting story about Höldelin and Susette! Sounds to be some nice things to see in Bad Homburg. I think the Railroad Station looks lovely (at least at dusk).