12 Facts About Gottfried Keller

Gottfried Keller was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature.

Gottfried Keller's father was Rudolf Keller, a lathe-worker from Glattfelden; his mother was a woman named Elisabeth Scheuchzer.

The couple had six children, four of whom died, meaning Keller only had his sister Regula left.

Gottfried Keller later gave a good rendering of his experiences in this period in his long novel, Der grune Heinrich.

Gottfried Keller's mother seems to have brought him up in as carefree a condition as possible, sparing for him from her scanty meals, and allowing him the greatest possible liberty in the disposition of his time, the choice of a calling, etc.

Gottfried Keller returned to Zurich in 1842 and, although possessing artistic talent, took up writing.

Jacob Wittmer Hartmann characterizes these six years at Zurich as a time of almost total inactivity, when Gottfried Keller inclined strongly toward radicalism in politics, and was subject to too much temptation and indulged himself.

Gottfried Keller published his first collection of short stories, Seldwyla Folks.

Gottfried Keller returned again to Zurich and became the First Official Secretary of the Canton of Zurich in 1861.

In 1872, Gottfried Keller published Seven Legends, which dealt with the early Christian era.

The Gottfried Keller Foundation became though an important collection institution for art, but the feminist concerns of Lydia Escher were not met.

The 200th anniversary of Gottfried Keller's birth was celebrated in 2019 with a substantial biography by Ulrich Kittstein.