Thomas Mann (1875 – 1955) – the World-famous Author in Zurich

Thomas Mann visited Zurich for the first time in 1905 while on honeymoon with his wife, Katja. He stayed at the Baur au Lac, which at that time was the only hotel by the lake with a view of the Alps on the horizon. Whenever the couple returned to the Baur au Lac, they always tried to stay in the same room and dine at the same table. When Katja was diagnosed with tuberculosis, they traveled to Davos, where Katia stayed for some time at the sanatorium. Mann’s novel, “Der Zauberberg” (The Magic Mountain) is closely associated with this stay.

In 1929, Thomas Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Four years later, the Manns left Germany and spent several periods living in Zurich and the surrounding area. After his death in 1955, Thomas Mann was buried at the cemetery in Kilchberg. Shortly before, the Swiss Federal College of Technology (ETH) bestowed on him the title of honorary doctor.

The author left his works in his will to the Thomas Mann archive at the ETH Zurich.