Georg Trakl Plaque
Kraków Artists: Writers and Poets
A commemorative plaque in the Krowodrza district dedicated to Georg Trakl (1887-1914), an Austrian poet born in Salzburg, a representative of Expressionism. The subject of his poetry is the meaning of existence, death, destruction and transience. Treated in a military hospital in Kraków, he died here on 3 November 1914. For several years after the war his grave was in the Rakowicki Cemetery, and after exhumation his remains were taken to Austria.
History
Georg Trakl was born on 3 February 1887 in Salzburg and went down in history as one of the poets of Austrian Expressionism. His poems keep returning to questions about the meaning of existence, death, destruction and transience; readers saw in the tone of his poetry a foreboding of the fall of the Habsburg monarchy. In 1910 he completed his pharmacy studies and worked in the profession at a hospital in Innsbruck.
When the First World War broke out, he was called up and sent to the front. The sight of badly wounded and dying soldiers plunged him into deep depression. He was treated at the military hospital in Kraków, located at what is now Wrocławska Street 1-3. The buildings, designed by the military engineer Maksymilian Hoffman and opened in 1911, have many Art Nouveau features. During the Great War Austrian soldiers, including Polish legionnaires, and German soldiers were treated here. It was here, on 3 November 1914, that Trakl died at the age of twenty-seven.
For several years after the war the poet's grave was in Rakowicki Cemetery; after exhumation his remains were taken to Austria. A commemorative plaque at the hospital keeps his memory alive.
Did you know?
Trakl's poems have inspired many composers, and since 1952 his home town has awarded the Georg Trakl Prize.