Elisabetha Grossmann
Elisabetha Grossmann , née Elisabeth Grossmann (born December 14, 1795 in Brienz , † March 20, 1858 in Unterseen ), known as La belle batelière de Brienz ("The beautiful boatwoman of Brienz"), was a Swiss boatwoman on Lake Brienz . At the beginning of the 19th century she was considered a tourist attraction in the Bernese Oberland and was one of the most famous women there.
Life
Elisabetha Grossmann's parents were Catharina from Grindelwald and Heinrich Grossmann from Brienz. Since she was twelve years old, she had rowed tourists across Lake Brienz to supplement the family's income. The waterfalls of the Giessbach were particularly popular destinations for excursions .
When she was sixteen, the German baron Wilhelm von Balk paid her to attend an educational institute in Bern. She learned French, some piano playing, "good manners" and added the elegant-sounding A to her first name. After her stay, she should take up a well-paid position in Russia or the Baltic States, which the baron would arrange for her. After a year, at her parents' request, she returned to Brienz to take care of her younger siblings. The baron first inquired about Elisabetha by letter from time to time, but never returned to Brienz.
As a skipper, Elisabetha Grossmann became an attraction for tourists who wanted to be driven by the beautiful skipper, or pure des bâtelières ("skipper queen "), as she was called. In those years it was painted repeatedly, for example by the Swiss Gabriel Lory the Younger , the Bern genre painter Franz Niklaus König , the Lucerne costume painter Joseph Reinhardt and the Zurich Ludwig Vogel .
In July 1813, at the age of 18, Elisabetha Grossmann met Abram François Pettavel, three years older than her, son of a notary and councilor from Neuchâtel , who was teaching Greek and Latin at the grammar school there. Two years later, with numerous letters going back and forth, he returned to Brienz and asked for her hand. In April 1815 the engagement took place in the open air on the Fluhberg. The engagement was broken off under pressure from the Pettavels family, who disliked their son's inappropriate connection. Grossmann received compensation of 800 francs, had to waive further claims and return the letters she had received from him. In order to be able to keep the memory of it, she wrote it down beforehand.
On July 27, 1816, Elisabetha married the innkeeper Peter Ritter from Unterseen near Interlaken , from whom she was pregnant after going kilt . In 1818 Elisabetha and Peter Ritter took over the “Zum Gemsbock” inn in Grindelwald, and later the “Stadthaus” in Unterseen.
After ten unhappy years with the alcoholic and violent man, she filed for divorce, which she received on September 24, 1827 after three years and humiliating negotiations. Peter Ritter's license was withdrawn due to drunkenness and repeated violations of the law. Elisabetha Ritter worked as a wood carver in her brother-in-law's workshop. Despite the divorce, she was repeatedly harassed and abused by Peter Ritter. Elisabetha Ritter-Grossmann gave birth to nine children, two of whom died as infants. She also suffered numerous miscarriages.
Peter Ritter died on January 18, 1838 at the age of 48. In December 1839 Elisabetha Ritter-Grossmann married Peter Michel from Brienz, who was five years her junior. She spent twelve happy years with him until his death on New Year's Eve 1851.
Elisabetha Grossmann died after a stroke on March 20, 1858 at the age of 62. The Oberländer Anzeiger wrote on March 26, 1858: “Today the 'beautiful Brienz boatman', Elisabeth Grossmann, who used to be widely known as a girl, was buried in Unterseen. She was married twice, left behind numerous offspring, and died under less than brilliant circumstances. "
reception
- In 1827 the French playwright Eugène Scribe wrote a vaudeville play about the life of Elisabetha Grossmann; the first performance took place on December 28, 1827.
- On July 7, 2004, the play Elisabetha - the beautiful boatwoman from Lake Brienz by Markus Michel was staged on Lake Brienz .
literature
- Therese Bichsel : Beautiful skipper . On the trail of an exceptional woman. 2nd Edition. Zytglogge Verlag, Bern 1997, ISBN 978-3-7296-0558-9 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed December 14, 2020]).
- Friedrich August Volmar: Elisabetha. The beautiful skipper from Lake Brienz. The tragic fate of a once famous Swiss woman. Verlag Gute Schriften, Bern 1964.
Web links
- History Elisabetha Grossmanna (Portuguese)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Le mal du pays ou, La batelière de Brienz, tableau ( Memento from August 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ "Elisabetha - the beautiful boatwoman from Lake Brienz" almost sold out ( Memento from August 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Grossmann, Elisabetha |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Grossmann, Elisabeth (maiden name); La belle batelière de Brienz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss skipper on Lake Brienz |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 14, 1795 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brienz |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 20, 1858 |
| Place of death | Unterseen |