''Der Rütli'' (or: ''Das Rütli'', ''Rytly'', or ''Rytli'') was a German literary group, named after the famous Swiss meadow. It was founded on 9 December 1852 by members of the ''

Tunnel über der Spree ''Tunnel über der Spree'' was a German literary society based in Berlin, founded on 3 December 1827 by Moritz Gottlieb Saphir. Most active between 1840 and 1860, it acquired 214 members and influenced literary life in Berlin for more than seventy y ...

'' as "a kind of subsidiary tunnel" ("''eine Art Nebentunnel''" —

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language Literary realism, realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he i ...

) with a more intimate atmosphere, in contrast to the ceremonial and public nature of the larger group's activities. They met weekly at one another's homes. One major difference between meetings of the Tunnel and meetings of the Rütli was that members' wives were admitted, albeit only after the "work" of the gathering was completed. The members can be divided into the founders, or ''Ur-Rütlionen'', and the ''Späteren''. At first, the anniversary of the group's founding was celebrated each 9 December, but as this conflicted somewhat with the Tunnel's ''Stiftungsfest'' on 3 December, the date was moved to 5 February. The group entertained many guests like

Berthold Auerbach Berthold Auerbach (28 February 1812 – 8 February 1882) was a German poet and author. He was the founder of the German "tendency novel", in which fiction is used as a means of influencing public opinion on social, political, moral, and religiou ...

, Friedrich von Bodenstedt, Eduard Devrient and others. By 1892, only three members still attended meetings; on 5 January 1897 Fontane wrote to Lazarus that "the Rütli's current slumber is a blessing; for years it's been in a tragic way."

Members

Works

* ''Argo. Belletristisches Jahrbuch für 1854''. Edited by Theodor Fontane / Franz Kugler, Dessau 1854. * ''Literatur-Blatt des deutschen Kunstblattes''. Redacted by Friedrich Eggers, volume of the 1st year (Part of the 5th years volume of the ''Deutsches Kunstblatt''), 1854; 2nd vol., 1855; 3rd vol. 1856; 4th vol. 1857. * ''Argo. Album für Kunst und Dichtung''. Edited by Friedrich Eggers / Theodor Hosemann / Franz Kugler, Breslau 1857; Edited by Friedrich Eggers / Theodor Hosemann / Bernhard von Lepel, ibid. 1858. * ''Literatur-Blatt des Deutschen Kunstblattes'', 5th vol. (part of the 9th vol. of the ''Deutsches Kunstblatt''), 1858. * ''Argo. Album für Kunst und Dichtung''. Edited by Friedrich Eggers / Theodor Hosemann / Bernhard v. Lepel, Breslau 1859; Edited by Friedrich Eggers / Theodor Hosemann / Bernhard v. Lepel, ibid. 1860.

Bibliography

* Roland Berbig / Wulf Wülfing: Art. ''Rütli I

erlin Erlin may refer to: Places *Erlin, Changhua, a township in Taiwan * Erlin, Ohio, an unincorporated community in the United States People *Robbie Erlin Robert Joseph Erlin (born October 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher w ...

'. In: Wulf Wülfing / Karin Bruns / Rolf Parr (eds.): ''Handbuch literarischer Vereine, Gruppen und Bünde 1825-1933''. Stuttgart / Weimar: Metzler 1998 (Repertorien zur Deutschen Literaturgeschichte 18), p. 394-406. (cf. also: Roland Berbig: Art. ''Rütli

', ibid., p. 392 f.). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutli Literary circles