Eduard von Bauernfeld Commemorative Plaque

Life and Work

Eduard von Bauernfeld (1802 - 1890)

Although almost entirely forgotten today, Eduard von Bauernfeld was once Austria’s most successful comedy writer. By 1912, his 43 plays were performed at the Viennese Hofburgtheater over 1,200 times!

After participating in the March Revolution of 1848, he was dismissed from the civil service (he was an employee of the lottery commission), when he then worked as freelance writer. The following plays are works by him, the master of the Viennese conversation comedy: Bourgeois and Romantic (Bürgerlich und Romantisch, 1835),  Full-aged (Großjährig, 1846)  The Republic of the Animals (Die Republik der Tiere, 1848), From Old and New Vienna (Aus Alt- und Neu-Wien, 1872).  

Reference to Ischl

Bauernfeld was one of the most loyal summer guests in the period from 1826 to 1889, the year before his death. As such, he was able to witness the development of a small spa resort to a sophisticated imperial town. Many of his works were written in Ischl during the summer months, and were on the stage program in Ischl.