Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Although Dürrenmatt spent 38 years of his life in Neuchâtel, to some extent a language gap separated the German-speaking author from this French-speaking town. In the long run, however, the town paid tribute on several occasions to the world-renowned author they ended up adopting as one of their own.

For quite some time, Dürrenmatt’s art, in which he had indulged already at a very young age, remained unknown to the public. His “dramaturgical” works are often reinterpretations of mythological or religious themes. The Dürrenmatt Collection comprises about 1000 original works of art and several sketchbooks.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s voluminous literary estate has been entrusted to the Swiss Literary Archives in Berne, while the author’s private collection and works of art remain in Neuchatel’s Centre Dürrenmatt.