Marie Luise Schniewind (1820-1858) @museum.de

Marie Luise Schniewind

born 1820 – died 1858

Trip along the Rhine 1841

Marie Luise Schniewind, daughter of a silk merchant in the town of Elberfeld, boarded the steamer JOHN COQUERILLE in Cologne with her group of travellers. The destination of their trip along the Rhine was Mainz. Including a night in Coblenz, it was due to take two days. Those two days of travel provide the title of her diary, though the entire excursion from Elberfeld to Frankfurt and Hanau took more than three weeks, and she recorded her progress daily.

14th of May 1841

“The morning was glorious, my mood exceedingly happy and cheerful, the company quite pleasant. Overall, nothing was lacking that entitled me to expect a happy day replete with enjoyment. The sky was even more glorious than the day before, yet more Arcadian scenery unfolded before our eyes, an even more beautiful destination than yesterday beckoned us today. Our swift vessel sliced through the clear, silvery river. Such a magnificent panorama quickly proved capable of replacing our sober-mindedness with the very great interest one takes in all things that affect people so sublimely, so joyfully and yet so mightily, so profoundly. Herr Strauch (from Osnabrück, I believe), an excellent violinist, was a member of our pleasant company of travellers. He spent most of his time, I almost want to say, wholly engrossed in his violin, in the pavilion, where he soon had most of the company gathered around him.

Herr Triey, an Italian, accompanied his extremely dolorous, glorious notes with a strong voice so exceedingly poignant and delightful, so delicately and yet firmly expressive, that only the strange resounding echo at the Loreley rock was capable of curtailing our enthusiasm.”