Bismarck, Otto v.
Kleist, Heinrich v.
Ossietzky, Carl v.
Schinkel, Karl Friedrich
Varnhagen von Ense, Rahel
b. May 19, 1771, Berlin, Prussia
d. March 7, 1833, Berlin
German literary hostess from early in the 19th century whose soirees were attended by
many of the Romantics, notably Heinrich Heine.
Rahel was from a wealthy Jewish family of Berlin. Her brother Ludwig Robert was a
minor playwright. Literary salons presided over by such women as Henriette Herz and
Rahel Levin became the centres of social activity for writers and their followers in
Berlin. A sudden loss of fortune in 1806 interrupted Rahel's salon activity, but she was
able to resume it after she met Karl August Varnhagen von Ense, a minor writer and
literary personality, in 1808. They were married in 1814. In 1819 he was dismissed
from the diplomatic service because of his liberal politics, and the family returned to
Berlin, where Rahel's salon regained its prominence. Many of Rahel Varnhagen's
letters were published in 1967. Her husband brought out a collection of her writings,
Rahel: Ein Buch des Andenkens für ihre Freunde, 3 vol. (1834, reprinted 1971;
"Rahel: A Book of Memories for Her Friends").
"Varnhagen von Ense, Rahel" Encyclopædia Britannica Online.