In our third look at classic literary figures in destinations on river cruises, we’re focusing on one of Vienna’s most famous playwrights – Franz Grillparzer. Grillparzer’s play, Konig Ottokars Gluck premiered on this day in 1825, amid all the pomp and ceremony of Vienna in its heyday of music and theatre. Today, river cruises make the perfect way to see this magnificent city – and give you the chance to see Grillparzer’s legacy, and the extent to which this city reveres his life’s work.

Vienna – Franz Grillparzer

“Human life, old and young, takes place between hope and remembrance. The young man sees all the gates to his desire open, and the old man remembers – his hopes.”

Considered Austria’s most famous playwright, Grillparzer wasn’t the sort of character to base a warm, endearing biopic on. To most he seemed cold, hard and distant; although to his close friends he was known for a sarcastic sense of humour and an animated enthusiasm for the written word. Grillparzer worked as a tutor and later a civil servant for the Vienna Royal Exchequer, the Hofkammer, eventually becoming master of archives. However he only saw his work at the exchequer as a means to financial independence, so that he could pursue his real interests in literature and theatre – and though the wait for success was long and hard, when Grillparzer’s poetry and plays gained popularity, they did so in spectacular style.

His success came after penning The Ancestress, a stage tragedy; followed by Sappho and later The Golden Fleece. He would go on to become the official playwright of the Burgtheater, the palatial white landmark which has stood in the heart of Vienna since the mid-eighteenth century. His initial fame would later suffer a backlash, however, since the philosophical ambition in his later plays was poorly received by audiences. After the failure of his comedy, Woe to Him Who Lies, Grillparzer gave up on the theatre and turned instead to poetry and the writing of a short story, Der arme Spielmann. It was only after his death that his true worth was appreciated, when manuscripts for dramas like Libussa were discovered amongst his unseen writings.

Grillparzer’s posthumous fame won him recognition as one of Austria’s greatest names in literature, and river cruises through Vienna today will reveal the magnificent marble Franz Grillparzer Monument in the heart of the Volksgarten. The playwright even had a cake named after him – so if you’re heading around Vienna’s many coffee houses, why not try a chocolatey slice of Grillparzertorte while you’re there?

River cruises are a fantastic way to discover the cultural figures of your destinations. Why not take a look at our river cruise deals for the rest of Europe too?

Article images courtesy of M. Daffinger and Georges Jansoone, WikiCommons.