Caroline von Humboldt (23 February 1766 in

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the greatest town between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district (''Kreis'') of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detm ...

– 26 March 1829 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

), née ''Carolina Friederica von Dacheröden'', was a German

salonnière A salon is a gathering of people held by an inspiring host. During the gathering they amuse one another and increase their knowledge through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "e ...

and art historian.

Life

She was the daughter of Karl Friedrich von Dacheröden (died 20 November 1809), chamber-president of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

, and his wife Ernestine Friderike, countess of Hopfgarten (died 1 May 1774). She grew up in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

and her parents' estates in Burgörner and

Auleben Auleben is a village and a former municipality in the Nordhausen district, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 December 2010, it is part of the town Heringen Heringen (Werra) is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany l ...

, where she befriended the von Lengefeld sisters,

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

(later one of her best friends) and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

(later wife of the playwright

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

). On 29 June 1791 she married the linguist and prussian statesman

Wilhelm von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt (, also , ; ; 22 June 1767 – 8 April 1835) was a Prussian philosopher, linguist, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin, which was named after ...

in Erfurt. Their marriage was an unconventional one and both allowed each other many freedoms. Until 1797 they lived in

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 ...

next door to Schiller but they later lived apart for several years until from 1819 they shared Wilhelm's family home at

Schloss Tegel The Schloss Tegel or Humboldt-Schloss is a country house in Tegel, part of the Reinickendorf district of the German capital Berlin. The brothers Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt spent much of their childhood in a former schloss on the site and o ...

. Caroline's only brother Ernst died childless in 1806. Caroline and Wilhelm had eight children: * Caroline (1792–1837) * Wilhelm (1794–1803) * Theodor (1797–1871) * Adelheid (1800–1856) *

Gabriele Gabriele is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Surname *Al Gabriele, American comic book artist *Angel Gabriele (1956–2016), American comic book artist * Corrado Gabriele (born 1966), Italian polit ...

(1802–1887) * Louise (1804) * Gustav (1806–1807) * Hermann (1809–1870) Due to Wilhelm's diplomatic work they spent prolonged periods in Paris (1797–1801, 1804), Rome (1802–1803, 1805–1810, 1817–1819) and Vienna (1810–1814), where their house became known as a social and cultural hub. She took her three children on a 7-month trip from Paris to Spain, where she catalogued and wrote about Spanish artworks – her works on the topic were praised by

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 treat ...

, who published some of them. Her favourite city was Rome, where she was in contact with several German and Danish artists living in the city (

Gottlieb Schick Christian Gottlieb Schick (15 August 1776 – 7 May 1812) was a German Neoclassical painter. His history paintings, portraits, and landscapes are characterized by romantic tendencies. Of these, he is best known for his portraits. Life and w ...

Christian Friedrich Tieck Christian Friedrich Tieck (14 August 1776 – 24 May 1851), often known only as Friedrich Tieck, was a German sculptor and a occasional artist in oils. His work was primarily figurative and includes both public statuary and private commissions ...

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...

Wilhelm von Schadow Friedrich Wilhelm von Schadow (7 September 1789 – 19 March 1862) was a German Romantic painter. Biography He was born in Berlin, the second son of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow, who gave him his first lessons in drawing. He then turne ...

Karl Wilhelm Wach Karl Wilhelm Wach (also Carl Wilhelm or Wilhelm Wach) (11 September 1787 – 24 November 1845) was a German painter. Life Wach was born in Berlin in 1787, studied art at the Prussian Academy of Arts and was a pupil of painter Karl Kretschmar. ...

), financially supporting them and buying several of their works. She had a particularly intense friendship with the sculptor

Christian Daniel Rauch Christian Daniel Rauch (2 January 1777 – 3 December 1857) was a German sculptor. He founded the Berlin school of sculpture, and was the foremost German sculptor of the 19th century. Life Rauch was born at Arolsen in the Principality of ...

, whilst

Angelika Kauffmann Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, ...

and Louis I of Bavaria also stayed in her house. She also ran a form of literary

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

in Berlin, where politicians, scientists and writers met. She was also in extensive correspondence with major figures, through which she took part in the currents of the day and played a major role in her husband's writings.

Namesakes

*''Caroline-von-Humboldt-Preis'' at the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

* Caroline-von-Humboldt-Weg, Berlin-Mitte * ''Caroline-von-Humboldt-Gymnasium'' in Minden, affiliated to the

Herder-Gymnasium Minden The Herder-Gymnasium is a gymnasium in the German city of Minden. It is one of three gymnasium schools in the city. Founded in 1964 as the ''Städtischen neusprachlichen Gymnasiums für Jungen und Mädchen'', it was renamed three years later af ...

in 1988

Bibliography (in German)

* Dagmar von Gersdorff: ''Caroline von Humboldt. Eine Biographie.'' Insel, Frankfurt a. Main 2011, . * Hermann Hettler: ''Karoline von Humboldt. Ein Lebensbild aus ihren Briefen gestaltet.'' Koehler & Amelang, München 2001, . * Hazel Rosenstrauch: ''Wahlverwandt und ebenbürtig. Caroline und Wilhelm von Humboldt.'' Eichborn, Frankfurt am Main 2009.Besprechungen: Judith von Sternburg
''Buch über das Ehepaar Humboldt. Die Geschichte von Bill und Li.''
In: ''

Frankfurter Rundschau The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (FR) is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. It is published every day but Sunday as a city, two regional and one nationwide issues and offers an online edition (see link below) as well as an e-pa ...

'', 29. Oktober 2009; Ulrike Baureithel
''Ehepaar Humboldt. Ein Forum der Liebe.''
In: ''

Der Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, s ...

'', 23. Juli 2009. * Beate Neubauer: Schönheit, Grazie und Geist: Elisabeth, Caroline, Gabriele und Constanze. Die Frauen der Familie von Humboldt. Ebersbach & Simon, 2007, .

External links (in German)

*
Umfassende Literaturübersicht
in ''Lexikon Westfälischer Autorinnen und Autoren''.

* Astrid Reuter

In: Verein für die Geschichte Berlins (ed.): ''Mitteilungen'', Ausgabe April 2002. * Dorothee Nolte
''Caroline von Humboldt. Die schillernde Gattin des Universitätsgründers.''
In: ''

'', 2. August 2011. * Hazel Rosenstrauch
''Caroline von Humboldt.''
In: ''FemBio des Instituts für Frauen-Biographieforschung'' (biography, literature and sources)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humboldt, Caroline von German art historians 1766 births 1829 deaths People from Minden Prussian nobility German salon-holders Humboldt family German women historians