Maria Belli-Gontard

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Maria Belli-Gontard (born April 20, 1788 in Frankfurt am Main , as Maria Gontard ; † February 1, 1883 in Frankfurt am Main) was a German writer , translator and historiographer . She also became known as a collector of, among other things, advertisements for the “Frag- und Anzeigungs-Nachrichten” ( Frankfurter Intellektivenblatt ) and articles in the world's first newspapers.

Life

She was born as one of five siblings in the Gontard family banking house . She changed her baptismal name Marie in 1810 after marrying the Catholic Johann Peter Belli (1782-1859) in Maria , the Catholic form of the name. Occasionally she was also called Mimi or Miche . The Gontard family, a Huguenot family, emigrated from France to various cities in Germany in 1685 when the Edict of Nantes was repealed . In Frankfurt am Main , the family achieved great prosperity.

Maria's school education was provided by private teachers and stewards. Between 1796 and 1798 she was able to take part in private lessons from Friedrich Hölderlin , the tutor of Susette's son Henry , at the Weißer Hirsch , the house of her aunt Susette Gontard , several times . As a versatile woman and relieved of worry about daily life because of her parents' home, she observed the cultural aspirations of her hometown and worked as a collector of advertisements and newspaper articles in this area. She was also successful as an autograph collector .

At a young age, in poor physical condition, the trips and stays at health resorts brought her hardly any relief. It was only after her trip to Constantinople in 1845 that she began writing that had a positive effect on her health. She gained spiritual and spiritual strength so that she reached the unusually old age of almost 95 years. She remained lifelong connected to her native city of Frankfurt am Main . She traveled frequently and did not shy away from long distances. She undertook her last and furthest journey to Constantinople without her husband, only accompanied by a servant.

Maria's childhood sweetheart was Karl von Türckheim , the son of Lili Schönemann ( Goethe's Lili ). In 1810, however, Maria Belli-Gontard married Johann Peter Belli , who, as a Catholic, was not too welcome with his parents. A marriage between Protestants and Catholics was hardly possible because of the different beliefs. So that the highly respected Gontards did not lose their public reputation, the marriage was concluded under the guise of the silver wedding of Maria's parents.

On November 12, 1810, Maria Belli-Gontard gave birth to a healthy boy, and a year later, on November 27, 1811, her second son, Georg Friedrich Bernhard, was born. Her eldest succumbed to whooping cough in 1819.

At the end of May 1842, the literary critic Karl Ferdinand Gutzkow organized a reading circle at Belli-Gontard, with the participation of Henriette Herz , Niccolò Paganini and Johann Nepomuk Hummel , whose content is otherwise unknown. It lasted a few months until the end of February 1843.

Through her husband's trade connections, she was able to easily establish contacts abroad, for example to England, Amsterdam and Constantinople, and with the help of the bankers who lived there she was able to repeatedly take up letters of credit. These were good prerequisites for spa and recreational trips, which she mostly went on without her husband. She often traveled with her son Georg. The last trip she took with him was in 1846 and took her to Paris. After her husband died on October 5, 1859, a trip was out of the question because she was no longer adequately protected due to the lack of contacts.

Maria Belli-Gontard died at the age of 94 and found her final resting place in the Gruftenhalle in Frankfurt's main cemetery .

Works

  • Life in Frankfurt am Main , 1850/51, advertisement collection
  • Christian August Leißring. A picture of life , 1853, biography
  • Mrs. Rath , around 1855, fragment
  • Brief correction of some errors in Heribert Rau's cultural-historical-biographical novel: "Hölderlin" , May 8, 1862
  • Untitled article about Napoleon's passage through Frankfurt am Main on November 1, 1813, December 16, 1865
  • Correspondence between the artist and actor Moritz Rott and a lady , 1867
  • More than a hundred years ago. Strange and interesting impressions from the newspapers published all over Germany. Arranged by Maria Belli-Gontard , 1870
  • Goethe and Miss Philippine Lade , July 22, 1870
  • The hunchback's revenge. Based on a real story , around 1870, novella
  • Life memories , 1872, autobiography
  • Collection of old Frankfurt and Sachsenhausen folk songs, stories and sayings , 1875
  • List of the performing staff at the Frankfurt City Theater from the beginning of this century until the opening of the opera house, excluding the members who are still active. Compiled by M. Belli-Gontard , after 1885
  • The pearl jewelry. Freely told from a true story , 1879, novella
  • The biography of a famous actor and various poems and letters
  • Interesting letters from deceased people , 1879
  • Recipes of various dishes , 1880
  • Small poems of your own and those of other people , 1883

literature

Web links

Wikisource: Maria Belli-Gontard  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. knerger.de: The grave of Maria Belli-Gontard