Weimar, 1805

Why is there a lock of hair at the Raetian Museum belonging to the famous German writer? It came into the possession of Elise Bauer via Schiller’s sister-in-law, wife of museum founder Peter Conradin von Planta. He wrote that he handed it over to the collection as a «precious relic».

Schiller’s hair lock shows that collecting during the initial years was guided by a broad educational interest. Whether an object bore a relation to Graubünden still played a secondary role. Thus the museum acquired many curiosities such as this lock of hair. Today such objects are fascinating testimonies of a changing collection history.