Her face has already adorned the 20-mark note and now also the face of the 20-euro collector's coin made of sterling silver. Annette von Droste-Hülshoff was denied this recognition during her lifetime.
The picture side shows the portrait of the poet, based on the painting by Johann Joseph Sprick from 1838. The earrings, her carefully braided hairstyle and the clothing reduced to a stiff collar make it clear that she came from a wealthy background. Your gaze wanders into the distance. She seems absent and lost in thought. However, a few strands of hair come loose from the strict hairstyle in the wind and in the background you can see the silhouette of a mountain range over which a bird is flying. These motifs are the connection to Annette's second home and the place where she died in 1848: Meersburg on Lake Constance. They show the view from Meersburg over the Obersee with the mountains behind Bregenz and on the Swiss side. The open space symbolizes the water, the space and the freedom that she sought and found here and in nature.
Born on January 12, 1797, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff grew up in a well-protected place at Hülshoff Castle near Münster in an aristocratic family and began writing as a young girl. The ideas of her family and society contradicted her literary ambitions; only in the last years At the age of 23 she fell in love with a law student. The relationship failed due to an intrigue; from then on she spent the happiest days of her life at Lake Constance, where she died on May 24, 1848 .
In many of her works, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff expressed a great connection to nature. “The Droste” also had a close bond with her homeland of Westphalia, which was reflected, for example, in the novella “Die Judenbuche”. This is a portrait of social milieus in a village world. Annette von Droste-Hülshoff had a keen sense of the social and political upheavals of the early 19th century. Her texts also demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of science, language, law, economics and society.
“I don’t like or want to be famous now, but after a hundred years I want to be read.”
This wish came true. During the culture war of the 1870s, the pious but also doubtful writer gained considerable fame as a protagonist of the Catholic spirit, after being denied recognition for her work for large parts of her life. The 20 euro collector's coin honors her on her 225th birthday.
