The Rainer Maria Rilke Foundation (in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Fondation Rainer Maria Rilke'') was established in 1986 in

Sierre Sierre (; german: Siders, ; frp, Siérro, ) is the capital municipality of the district of Sierre, located in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It has a population of 16,332. Sierre is nicknamed City of the Sun (french: Cité du Soleil) for i ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, on the

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of the municipality. Its goal is to promote the knowledge of

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

's works, through a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

, exhibitions, lectures, conferences, publications and a festival. The famous poet spent the five last years of his life in the city, living in the Château de Muzot, a 13th-century fortified manor on the edge of town. Since 1987, the foundation installed the museum in the ''Maison de Courten'', built in 1769, located at the ''rue du Bourg 30'' in Sierre.

Festival Rilke

Since 2000, the foundation organises every three years a ''Festival Rilke'' which takes place in the ''Château Mercier'' and its gardens. The program is made up of theater performances, readings, conferences, concerts, and dialogues between writers and readers. A writing workshop for children is also featured. The last festival theme, in August 2006, was "The Russian friendship : Rilke- Tsvetaïeva- Pasternak".

External links

Fondation Rainer Maria Rilke
{{coord, 46.294, N, 7.537, E, type:landmark_region:CH-VS, display=title Museums in Valais Biographical museums in Switzerland Sierre Poetry museums Museums established in 1986 1986 establishments in Switzerland Rainer Maria Rilke