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All Switzerland Raron Grave of Rainer Maria Rilke

Grave of Rainer Maria Rilke

The gravestone of a famous poet features a fittingly poetic epitaph chosen by the writer himself.

Raron, Switzerland

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christianmoccia
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Rainer Maria Rilke’s Gravestone   Wikipedia
Rainer Maria Rilke’s Gravestone   Wikipedia
St. Romanus castle church, above the village of Raron   Aksel / Atlas Obscura User
Road from Raron to the St. Romanus castle church, through vineyards.   Aksel / Atlas Obscura User
Grave of Rainer Maria Rilke   Aksel / Atlas Obscura User
St. Romanus castle church   Aksel / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Rainer Maria Rilke was known for his "mystical" poetry that dealt with beautifully obtuse metaphors for life and love, so it's little surprise that the epitaph he chose before he died is just as abstract. 

Born in 1875, Rilke enjoyed a stintingly successful writing career right up until his unfortunate death of leukemia in 1926. The poet passed away in a sanitarium which he had been staying in due to bouts of extreme depression. Prior to his death, Rilke wrote his own epitaph which reads (translated from the German):

Rose, oh pure contradiction, delight of being no one's sleep under somany lids.

The short, poetic lines adorn his headstone, located in a Raron, Switzerland churchyard, to this day. The simple headstone is surrounded by a short-walled rose garden, as the popular myth exists that Rilke pricked his finger on a rose and it was this tiny wound that contracted an incurable infection which would in turn ravage his entire body. A fittingly poetic story about one of poetry's greats. 

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Literature Gravestones Graves

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Added By

christianmoccia

Edited By

bdnchr, cjklever, EricGrundhauser, Aksel

  • bdnchr
  • cjklever
  • EricGrundhauser
  • Aksel

Published

December 3, 2012

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  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_Maria_Rilke#Death_and_burial
  • http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2190
Grave of Rainer Maria Rilke
Raron, 3942
Switzerland
46.3107, 7.80324

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