Friedrich Schiller

Born in Württemberg, he is on the road all his life. His longing for freedom makes him leave his homeland, and later he becomes a citizen of Saxony-Weimar. France also grants him honorary citizenship, as Schiller proves himself an ally in the fight for freedom through his drama "The Robbers". He has many friends and patrons - otherwise his existence as a freelance writer would be too precarious. In Weimar he meets Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and the friendship between the poets leads to a fruitful collaboration that remains unique in literary history. He and his wife Charlotte share a loving marriage - not exactly a matter of course in the 18th century - from which four children are born, the youngest in the year before his death. Beethoven sets Schiller’s "Ode to Joy," which begins with "Freude, schöner Götterfunken," to music in his 9th Symphony, creating a monument to the poet.