A view of Davos: Health reasons brought Kirchner there, where a hut on the Stafelalp eventually became his home. (Photo: © Günter Schenk)
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April 2026
In Davos, the grave of the artist couple Kirchner touches the soul. The story of the Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's life, marked by both highs and lows.
Two rough stones are stuck in the simple flowerbed, which is replanted depending on the season. It is the grave of the world-famous painter Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Erna, his partner, who only officially became his wife after Kirchner's death. Four dates mark her life – birth and death dates. In between, the struggle for a life together.
The Kirchners' lives were only as harmonious as the family grave appears in one of Switzerland's most beautiful forest cemeteries. seltenBut in their homes on the outskirts of Davos, they eventually grew a little closer. From there, the art hermit discovered worlds that remained hidden from him in the metropolis of Berlin. Mountains and farmers For example, which took on entirely new forms in his works. The Kirchner Museum in Davos bears witness to this. Paintings and sculptures as well as many thousands of drawings from his rich body of work.
Kirchner 1880 in Aschaffenburg Born in 1905, he joined the [organization/institution] after studying architecture. Dresden artists' group "Brücke" on, which later also included painters like Emil Nolde. "The Spirit shapes, not the eye, Imagination and inspiration are at the beginning of every artistic work. and are a mystery and a puzzle,” Kirchner once formulated his artistic ambition, which made him one of the style-defining actors of Expressionism made.
Because he was involved with his art, but could barely live, Kirchner moved in 1911 nach berlin, where he Erna Schilling he met her, who was working as a dancer in a nightclub. It was love at first sightAs Kirchner once wrote towards the end of his life, Ernst Ludwig and Erna were two people who needed each other. She became his lover, most important person in his life and his role model on trips they took together to the Baltic Sea, where he repeatedly painted and drew her naked. Her slender, almost angular body fascinated him.Without them" he once confessed, "My pictures would only be half".
After failed artists' community with the painters of the bridge Erna provided him new zest for life, as a comrade with an appreciation for his artistic work. When Kirchner volunteered for the transport service shortly before the Second World War, their relationship was on the verge of collapse. first major challengeBecause he suffered a nervous breakdown even during his training.
Our preview of alcohol, sleeping pills and drugs He tried in vain to find support. The result was... Detoxification treatments, the museum staff and Erna with the The sale of his paintings financedHealth reasons prevented Kirchner from continuing his studies. to Davos, where a hut on the Stafelalp – in a small settlement at 1894 meters above sea level – eventually became his home. Mountain farmers life there was shaped by them. Their weather-beaten faces, like the alpine landscape to the center of his work.
Im Late summer 1918 he rented a room in the house "In the larches" a building that still exists today in Davos district FrauenkirchThis is where he wanted to be. After the turmoil of the First World War, he reunited with Erna, who, from Berlin, promoted Kirchner's works and suffered from their estrangement. To help her... Moving to Switzerland To convince her, he carved, among other things, a bed for her, which is now in the Kirchner Museum stands.
But the fresh start for their relationship wasn't easy. After all, Ernst Ludwig had a young woman in Zurich. dancer met whom he as Nude model to oneself invited to FrauenkirchThe impending three-way relationship didn't fit into Erna's worldview at all. Nevertheless, she gave the Berlin apartment including studio up and moved to Davos, where old conflicts flared up again because Erna was on a quick marriage urged – also for residency reasons. But Kirchner smart opposes any marriage.
As their landlord own use When Kirchner registered, he had to look for a new home. 1923 the two referred to the so-called Wildbodenhaus am SertigalIn his diary, he called it a "true joy for us."
Even in their new home, Erna continued to press for marriage, which Ernst Ludwig still refused. In a Double portrait made of Swiss pine wood When the two merged into such an unequal pair in 1932, Ernst Ludwig's head was almost twice the size of Erna's. It was Kirchner's artistic expression of their relationship.
Life in the Wildbodenhaus was not easyNo electricity, a bathtub in the kitchen, separate bedrooms. Plagued by loneliness and the again morphine-addicted life partner Erna fought with DepressionInstead of resolving their relationship problems, Ernst Ludwig sent his partner on various trips for years, where she had to take care of them. Sales of his works and new exhibitions should take care of it.
In the Wildbodenhaus, Ernst Ludwig and Erna also became a seemingly inseparable coupleThey replaced the cats with cats. missing children. For Ernst Ludwig, Erna had long been his wife, whom he referred to in his first will in 1936. equal heir alongside his two brothers. A year later, he suffered greatly at the hands of the German National Socialists, who some of his works in a defamatory exhibition about "Degenerate Art" It was shown to over three million viewers across Germany.
Plagued by the fear that Hitler's Germany might annex Switzerland after Austria, the Kirchners finally applied for conscription on June 9, 1938. MarriageBut for Ernst Ludwig it was more of a act of desperationHowever, just three days later he withdrew his marriage proposal. Three days after that, he allegedly tried to marry Erna. to the double suicide to persuade, but this refused.
The following morning, the couple got caught in a last loud argument"In ten minutes," he is said to have angrily replied to her in conclusion, "you'll be Miss Schilling again." Then he went outside his house and shot himselfBy refusing to die with him, Erna Schilling, who had always considered herself Mrs. Kirchner, but had since to draw a line under it under the common life drawnIt was the final farewell by Ernst-Ludwig Kirchner, whose last painting still on the easel: one in bright yellow flock of sheep in front of the dark house on Wildboden.
Three days later He was buried. Erna continued to live in the Wildboden house until she He died of breast cancer in Davos in 1945.Her death certificate was issued on "Erna Kirchner" exhibited, their stand with "widowed" Marked. Davos showed her its best side at the end. In the picturesque forest cemetery not far from her former home, Erna and Ernst Ludwig now lie side by side, just as they were. as if there had never been a fight between the two.
InformationThe forest cemetery on Friedhofstraße is easily accessible by car or on foot from Frauenkirch train station in just under 15 minutes. Behind the cemetery lies the Wildbodenhaus. The Kirchner Museum (EL Kirchner Platz, Promenade 82) is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 18 p.m. It presents rotating exhibitions of his works.
🔗 www.davos.ch
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