The is a literary award of the city of

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, given for outstanding work in the genres of

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

and feuilleton in German. The award began with a public competition in 2000, to celebrate the (lit.: ''House of the Romantics'', the former residence of the philosopher

Johann Gottlieb Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Kan ...

) opening as a museum for literary culture. Starting from 2002, the award has been given once every three years. There is a main prize (: €5,000) and a secondary prize for early-career entrants (: €2,500). The prize money of €7,500 is funded by an anonymous private patron. Romantikerhaus Jena

Naming

The award is named for the notable German freethinker

Caroline Schlegel Caroline Schelling, née Michaelis, widowed Böhmer, divorced Schlegel (2 September 1763 – 7 September 1809), was a noted German intellectual. She was one of the so-called '' Universitätsmamsellen'', a group of five academically active women d ...

(1763–1809), a member of the

Jena Romantics Jena Romanticism (german: Jenaer Romantik; also the Jena Romantics or Early Romanticism (''Frühromantik'')) is the first phase of Romanticism in German literature represented by the work of a group centred in Jena from about 1798 to 1804. The move ...

and daughter of Göttingen professor and theologist

Johann David Michaelis Johann David Michaelis (27 February 1717 – 22 August 1791) was a Prussian biblical scholar and teacher. He was member of a family that was committed to solid discipline in Hebrew and the cognate languages, which distinguished the University ...

. She contributed to the

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

, an important magazine for early Romanticism founded by Friedrich Schlegel and his brother August Wilhelm Schlegel, to whom she was married for a time. They divorced after his move to Berlin, allowing her to marry philosopher

Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (; 27 January 1775 – 20 August 1854), later (after 1812) von Schelling, was a German philosopher. Standard histories of philosophy make him the midpoint in the development of German idealism, situating him be ...

in 1803. Thus, she is most often referred to in current times with the surname Schelling, but the award chose to use the surname Schlegel, which is most associated with her time in Jena.

Criteria and Jury

The award is selected by an independent jury for an essay that achieves the experimental spirit of early

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

in the 21st century and shows both a high level of style and significant literary merit. While typically adhering to the format of one main prize and one secondary prize, the jury has complete discretion over how the award is given out. There is no age limit or explicit criteria for who counts as early-career for the secondary award; again, the jury has discretion. The competition is open to submissions by the author or publisher of the work and by recommendations of "literary institutions and associations." Past jurors include author

Gisela Kraft Gisela Kraft (28 June 1936 - 5 January 2010) was a German author and poet. She also undertook extensive work as a literary translator from Turkish to German. Gisela Kraft formed her own judgements and lived by them. One adjective that repea ...

and scholars from

Friedrich Schiller University Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

Awardees

* 2000 subsidiary award essay:

Juli Zeh Juli Zeh (, Julia Barbara Finck, née Zeh; born 30 June 1974 in Bonn) is a German writer and former judge. Biography Her first book was ''Adler und Engel'' (translated into English as ''Eagles and Angels'' by Christine Slenczka), which won the ...

; secondary award feuilleton/journalism: * 2002 main award:

Burkhard Spinnen Burkhard Spinnen (born December 28, 1956 in Mönchengladbach) is a German author. Education and early life Spinnen grew up in Mönchengladbach as the only child of Willy and Cornelia Spinnen. After completing his secondary education and his mil ...

for his essay ''Skandal'' (''Scandal''); subsidiary award: Kai Agthe * 2005 main award: Sonja Hilzinger * 2008 main award:

Thomas Hürlimann Thomas Hürlimann (born 21 December 1950) is a Swiss playwright and novelist. Biography Hürlimann was born in Zug, Switzerland. He is a son of the former government and federal councilor (Minister) Hans Hürlimann. He studied philosophy in Züric ...

for his essay ''Über die Treppe'' (''Up the Staircase'') from his book ''Der Sprung in den Papierkorb'' (''The Jump into the Dustbin''); subsidiary award: Dietmar Ebert * 2011 main award: Ina Hartwig for her essay ''Die absolute Freiheit der Sinne'' (''The Absolute Freedom of the Senses'');Caroline-Schlegel-Preis für Dr. Ina Hartwig
secondary awards: Christina Müller-Gutowski and Nadja Mayer * 2014 main award:

Andreas Dorschel Andreas Dorschel (born 1962) is a German philosopher. Since 2002, he has been professor of aesthetics and head of the Institute for Music Aesthetics at the University of the Arts Graz (Austria). Background Andreas Dorschel was born in 1962 ...

for his essay ''Ein verschollen geglaubter Brief der Korinther an Paulus'' (''A Supposedly Lost Epistle of the Corinthians to St Paul''); secondary award: Nancy Hünger * 2017 main award: Christoph Dieckmann for his essay ''Mein Abendland'' (''My Occident''); secondary award: Ronya Othmann * 2020 main award: for her essay ''Neue Jahre'' (''New Years''); secondary award: Lara Rüter

References

External links

*
Caroline-Schlegel-Preis der Stadt Jena
German non-fiction literary awards 2000 establishments in Germany Awards established in 2000 {{Germany-lit-award-stub