In 1936 philosopher and graphologist Ludwig Klages (1872-1956) submits a report to The German Academy, in which he has been elected as a member of honour, about his visit to the Northern countries. This report (Klages, Ludwig, Verschiedenes. Autobiographisches. Kurzer Bericht über meine Nordlandreise November 1935 4 Bl. / Klages, Ludwig an München, Deutsche Akademie, 1936 / A: Klages, Ludwig Zug.Nr.: 61.6284/7) currently is at The Klages Archive which is kept in Marbach am Neckar (Das Deutsche Literaturarchiv Marbach (DLA)).
In this typescript version of the report, Klages describes his lecture tour in which he visits Copenhagen, Odense, Lundu, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Oslo, Uppsala, Turku, Helsinki, Tallinn, Tartu, and Riga.
In Riga (29.-30.XI) Klages gives a lecture on graphology and character, as well as on Nietzsche’s success in psychology. In his trip review, he particularly emphasizes the assistance from the rector of Herder Institute (HI) Wilhelm Klumberg and HI associate baron von Campenhausen during the visit to Riga and he also describes the relations between Baltic Germans and Latvians in the context of the situation at that time.
DLA also keeps a manuscript in Klages handwriting in which he describes the places and events of his trip to the Northern countries in more detail, giving descriptions of cities and locations. It is intended to involve the report and extended handwritten manuscript in research of HI activity in several aspects: (1) as a testimony about HI contacts – eminent philosophers and scientists, who arrive in Riga, (2) as a testimony about German Baltics contribution to education in the context of relations between German Baltics and Latvians, (3) as a testimony about HI contacts with different scientific, literary and social institutions outside Latvia, (4) as a testimony about views of representatives of Germans and other nations of cultural policy and social situation in Latvia.
HeInRi research group express their gratitude to the president of Klages Community, Heinz-Siegfried Strelow, and the Communities secretary Katrine Tripele for the assistance in the identification of documents in the archive.