Berta Fanta (née Sohr; May 19, 1865 – December 18, 1918), was a

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and intellectual figure from

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. She was at the centre of the Prague intelligentsia with a "salon" meeting at her house.

Life

Berta was born in 1865 to a well-off

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in the small town of

Libochovice Libochovice (german: Libochowitz) is a town in Litoměřice District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,400 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Dubany and Poplze are administrative parts of Libochovice. ...

(Libochowitz). Her birthplace is located near Prague, and while it was located in the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

at the time of her birth, it is currently located in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. While of Jewish descent, in her adult life, she was uninterested in

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

and lacked knowledge of traditional

Jewish customs ''Minhag'' ( he, מנהג "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. , ''minhagim'') is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, '' Nusach'' (), refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers. Et ...

. However, she spent most of her life in Prague, where her husband was a prominent pharmacist.

The salon

In Prague, Berta Fanta was the hostess of a prominent and famous literary and philosophic salon. The salon was called Cafe Louvre, the name of its first venue. Later, the salon was hosted at the Fanta's house. In the two decades before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, many prominent individuals attended Fanta's salon, including

theoretical physicist Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experime ...

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

, philosopher

Christian von Ehrenfels Christian von Ehrenfels (also ''Maria Christian Julius Leopold Freiherr von Ehrenfels''; 20 June 1859 – 8 September 1932) was an Austrian philosopher, and is known as one of the founders and precursors of Gestalt psychology. Christian von Eh ...

, writers

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

and

Max Brod Max Brod ( he, מקס ברוד; 27 May 1884 – 20 December 1968) was a German-speaking Bohemian, later Israeli, author, composer, and journalist. Although he was a prolific writer in his own right, he is best remembered as the friend and biog ...

anthroposophist Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Followers ...

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

, and philosopher

Hugo Bergmann Hugo Bergmann (Hebrew: שמואל הוגו ברגמן; December 25, 1883 – June 18, 1975) was an Israeli philosopher, born in Prague. Biography Hugo Samuel Bergmann was born and raised in Prague, Austria-Hungary. He was a member of the Pragu ...

(who became Berta's son-in-law; he was the husband of Berta's daughter Else). The various topics discussed at her salon included philosophy, science, literature, and Islam. But the meetings weren't limited only to intellectual or spiritual pursuits. Some social evenings were based around art and music. There were themed masquerades and parodies of literary works were also performed. Albert Einstein would play his violin in duets with the pianist Ottilie Nagel. The gatherings ceased around the beginning of

, when Fanta's son-in-law Hugo Bergmann was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...

into the army. In 1920 Bergman, and presumably his wife, moved to Palestine.where he was the first director of the national library.Spector, Scott. "Bergmann, Hugo." ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'' July 27, 2010. February 2, 201
link
/ref> Berta herself lectured on literary topics such as

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

, and she also went to university lectures and concerts on a regular basis along with her sister, Ida Freund (with whom Berta also traveled). She was a large fan of

German culture The culture of Germany has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular. Historically, Germany has been called ''Das Land der Dichter und Denker'' (the country of poets and thinkers). German cult ...

, especially the music of Richard Wagner and the writings of the philosopher

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

. Fanta was said to have much preferred German culture to Czech culture, however she was a fan of Czech music including DvořákCafe Louvre
circe.paris-sorbonne.fr, Retrieved February 2, 2014

Death and legacy

Fanta did not routinely publish her literary works. Although a small number of her poems and her diary were published. Desiring to be with her son-in-law Hugo, Berta decided to emigrate to Palestine. However, she died before she was able to emigrate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanta, Berta 1866 births 1918 deaths Austrian Jews Austro-Hungarian Jews Czechoslovak Jews Czech Jews People from Libochovice