Historical Figures

I always want everything:The life of Fanny to Reventlow

Fanny zu Reventlow was born in Husum 150 years ago. The Countess wrote witty and ironic novels, but also made a name for herself as a painter. The single mother was admired in artistic circles.

Franziska zu Reventlow was born in Husum on May 18, 1871, exactly in the year in which the German Empire was founded. When the empire fell in 1918, the countess also died. She embodied the exact opposite of what the Empire stood for.

Divided attitudes towards women in art

Zu Reventlow herself was marked by contrasts:born an aristocrat, she left her family and became a bohemian. She believed that women could not create works of art. But she wrote extremely witty and ironic novels and essays. She believed that women should have it good. But she didn't just want to be a wife, she preferred her freedom - and had to earn her own living. "I always want everything" - she notes this sentence in her diary - her wishes were simply irreconcilable.

The Reventlow Family

She was the fifth child of the Prussian district administrator Ludwig Graf zu Reventlow (1824-1893). Her mother, Emilie, was a nee Countess of Rantzau (1834-1905). Her family was friends with Theodor Storm, among others, so Fanny belonged to the original nobility of Schleswig-Holstein and to the families that have shaped the history of the country and thus also of Denmark.

The life stations of Franziska Gräfin zu Reventlow

Zu Reventlow grew up in Husum as the fifth child of the Prussian district administrator Ludwig Graf zu Reventlow (1824-1893).

Franziska Countess of Reventlow grew up in Husum. Although she described her childhood as bleak, she has longed for the North Sea all her life. When her father retired, the family moved to Lübeck. Fanny came into contact with people of the same age and like-minded people, read a lot, especially socio-critical literature. The desire to become a painter grew stronger. Finally she went to Munich to study painting. There she lived the life of a bohemian and became the center of the Schwabing art scene.

Single parent and in need of money

She gave birth to a son whose father did not reveal her. The single mother was revered in artistic circles. But her life was not easy:she suffered from a permanent lack of money, had to move several times, tried to get by with different jobs. She was often ill and had to have an operation. She also suffered from depression. She had little success as a painter, but made a name for herself as an author. There were novels like "Ellen Olestjerne", "From Paul to Pedro". She moved to Ascona and later to Switzerland. Other novels followed, such as "The Money Complex". Franziska zu Reventlow died in Switzerland on July 26, 1918 as a result of a bicycle accident.