Thomas Mann`s summerhouse, Nida

I dread the thought that I should ever become so famous that people in the centuries to come turn my summerhouse into a tourist attraction. I would be downright embarrassed, and the thought alone makes me put all too much thought into what the house I live in says about my character. Or not to mention, what my summerhouse says about my character.

 

Thomas Mann`s summerhouse in Nida

Well, Thomas Mann did have a summerhouse in Lithuania for a couple of years, but was unable to return there from the early 1930s and onwards. In other words, the things that tie Thomas Mann to Lithuania are rather limited. On the other hand, there are not many buildings in the world that act as a place of remembrance to Thomas Mann. And the man clearly deserves to be remembered, even though his writings must be said to have been aimed at the educated few.

A plaque honouring the Nobel Prize winning Author who spent a couple of summers i Nida

Regardless of whether these educated few mostly seem preoccupied with discussing just to what extent his writings were riddled with flaws. If you enjoy such debates, and can handle intellectual discussions in German, I encourage you to visit Thomas Mann’s summerhouse during the festival held there each year in his honor. I guarantee that you will feel like a citizen of the world. 

 

The view from Thomas Mann`s summerhouse

Remember to bring a pipe, so that you can have your picture taken while leaning towards Thomas Mann’s fireplace in historically correct contemplation. That way, you can sparkle up later intellectual conversation by saying such things as “You know, It occurred to me once…while I was leaning towards Thomas Manns fireplace in deep thought, with the shifting dunes of the Curonian spit outside the window, that…”. Or the more everyday phrase “You know, once a visiting professor at the Thomas Mann festival in Nida gave me some very useful advice…”.

 

In case you are lost, this sign will eliminate all doubt

In other words, a place well suited for gathering cultural capital. Those looking for a deeper understanding of why Mann wrote the way he did will on the other hand most likely be disappointed. The place holds no explanation to why his books were so long, why he obsessed about Beethoven being unable to write a proper fuge, and why he could never get to the point. No more than my holiday home in Litlelindås will give visitors any deeper understanding of my personality.