Heinrich Heine
Last years: the "mattress-grave"

In May 1848, Heine, who had not been well, suddenly fell paralyzed and had to be confined to bed. He would not leave what he called his "mattress-grave" (Matratzengruft) until his death eight years later. He also experienced difficulties with his eyes. It had been suggested that he suffered from multiple sclerosis or syphilis, although in 1997 it was confirmed through an analysis of the poet's hair that he had suffered from chronic lead poisoning. He bore his sufferings stoically and he won much public sympathy for his plight. His illness meant he paid less attention than he might otherwise have done to the revolutions which broke out in France and Germany in 1848. He was sceptical about the Frankfurt Assembly and continued to attack the King of Prussia.

When the revolution collapsed, Heine resumed his oppositional stance. At first he had some hope Louis Napoleon might be a good leader in France but he soon began to share the opinion of Marx towards him as the new emperor began to crack down on liberalism and socialism. In 1848 Heine also returned to religious faith. In fact, he had never claimed to be an atheist. Nevertheless, he remained sceptical of organised religion.

He continued to work from his sickbed: on the collections of poems Romanzero and Gedichte (1853 und 1854), on the journalism collected in Lutezia, and on his unfinished memoirs. During these final years Heine had a love affair with the young Camille Selden, who visited him regularly. He died on 17 February 1856 and was interred in the Paris Cimetière de Montmartre.

His tomb was designed by Danish sculptor Louis Hasselriis. It includes Heine's poem Where? (German: Wo?) engraved on three sides of the tombstone.

Wo wird einst des Wandermüden Letzte Ruhestätte sein? Unter Palmen in dem Süden? Unter Linden an dem Rhein? Werd ich wo in einer Wüste Eingescharrt von fremder Hand? Oder ruh ich an der Küste Eines Meeres in dem Sand? Immerhin! Mich wird umgeben Gotteshimmel, dort wie hier, Und als Totenlampen schweben Nachts die Sterne über mir.

Where shall I, the wander-wearied, Find my haven and my shrine? Under palms will I be buried? Under lindens on the Rhine? Shall I lie in desert reaches, Buried by a stranger's hand? Or upon the well-loved beaches, Covered by the friendly sand? Well, what matter! God has given Wider spaces there than here. And the stars that swing in heaven Shall be lamps above my bier. (translation in verse by L.U.)

His wife Mathilde survived him, dying in 1883. The couple had no children.
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