There are several monuments and denominations remembering the poet Heinrich Heine in Düsseldorf where he was born. The Riven Heine Monument (southern part of Schwanenmarkt) however resembles his "mattress tomb" and suffering as a chronic patient. This walkable bronze sculpture is based on Heinrich Heine's death mask, drafted by Bert Gerresheim and inaugurated in 1981. In his works and correspondence, Heine made frequent allusions to his illness. Although his cause of death has been described as an overdosis prescribed by a deputy doctor, the complexity of disease(s) he suffered from since 1848 is thoroughly researched and still a riddle.
More info on the monument, here (in German)
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Bibliography
- Christoph auf der Horst, Die Krankheiten Heinrich-Heines - zur Theorie und Methodologie der Pathographie, Habil.-Schr. Univ. Düsseldorf 2016
- Christoph auf der Horst, Alfons Labisch: "Hatte Heinrich Heine die Syphilis?", in: Der Hautarzt 57 (2006), 1126-1132
- Henner Montanus, Der kranke Heine, Metzler, Stuttgart 1995