Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Why did Friedrich Schiller flee from Stuttgart in 1782?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller, painting by Anton Graff, c. 1785.
Friedrich Schiller fled Stuttgart in 1782 to escape the oppressive control of Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg.1
Schiller had traveled to Mannheim without the Duke's permission to attend the premiere of his first play, Die Räuber. Upon learning of this unauthorized trip, the Duke sentenced the poet to a fortnight of detention and issued a strict prohibition against him writing any further plays. Finding this situation intolerable, Schiller fled the city at night to seek refuge and support from the director of the Mannheim theatre.1