The letters were addressed to someone at K. - most scholars have interpreted this as Karlsbad, where the Brentanos were staying and where Beethoven himself went to join them on July 25th. However I think there are other possibilities such as Klosterneuberg 10k north of Vienna, or numerous other towns in the Czech republic beginning with K. When Beethoven wrote his letter to the beloved stating, “we shall probably see each other soon,” he had no intention of going to Karlsbad himself three weeks later. That is evident in the letter he wrote to a young child called Emilie on July 17th. He also wrote to the Archduke Rudolph on August 12. “....however, my physician, Staudenheim, commanded me to go to Karlsbad and from there to here (Franzenbad) ---- What excursions! and yet but little certainty touching an improvement in my condition.”. At the time Beethoven actually wrote his letter his plans were stay in Teplitz till the middle of August. So when he wrote, “we shall probably see each other soon,” he more likely meant that his beloved would be coming to Teplitz to see him, not that he was going to meet her.

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Beethoven's destination on leaving Vienna (June 28/29) was Teplitz where he was to meet Goethe. On July 1st he arrived in Prague. On the 2nd he had a meeting with Karl Varnhagen von Ense who was negotiating his annuity settlement. On the 3rd, the Brentanos arrived in Prague en route for Karlsbad and Beethoven failed to attend a pre-arranged meeting with Varnhagen that evening. He left Prague on the morning of July 4th and arrived in Teplitz at 4 a.m on July 5th. On the 6th and 7th the three famous letters were written to the 'eternally beloved'. Between the 19th and 25th Beethoven was with Goethe, but left Teplitz soon after to stay in the same guest house as the Brentanos at Karlsbad. On August 6th Beethoven and the violinist Polledro gave a benefit concert in aid of victims of a fire in Baden. He went with the Brentanos from Karlsbad to Franzensbad on the 7th August. On September 8th Beethoven returned alone to Karlsbad and again met with Goethe. On September 16th Beethoven was back again in Teplitz where he fell ill, and was tended by the singer Amalie Sebald. In October Beethoven visited his brother in Linz and complained to the police about his brother's immoral relationship with his housekeeper. In response, his brother promptly married her! In November the Brentanos left Vienna to settle in Frankfurt and Beethoven returned to Vienna.

THE LETTERS

July 6, in the morning
My angel, my all, my very self - Only a few words today and at that in pencil (yours) - I shan't be certain of my rooms here until tomorrow - what an unnecessary waste of time is all this - Why this deep sorrow when necessity speaks - can our love endure without sacrifices, by not demanding everything from one another; can you alter the fact that you are not wholly mine, I not wholly yours - Oh God, look at nature in all her beauty and calm your heart with that which must be - Love demands all and rightly so - thus it is for me with you, for you with me - But you forget so easily that I must live for me and for you; if we were wholly united you would feel this pain as little as I do - My journey was a dreadful one and I did not reach here until 4 o'clock yesterday morning. As there were few horses the mail coach chose another route, but what an awful one; at the stage before the last I was warned not to travel at night; attempts were made to frighten me about a forest, but that only tempted me to proceed - and I was in the wrong. The coach broke down of course on the wretched road, no more than a country track. Without those two postilions I had with me I should have been stranded on the way - Esterhazy, who took the normal road here, met the same fate with eight horses that I had with four - Yet I got some pleasure out of it, as I always do when I successfully overcome difficulties - Now let me turn quickly from outer to internal experiences. No doubt we shall meet soon; and today also time prevents me from sharing with you the thoughts I have had during these last few days about my life - If our hearts were always closely united, I would entertain no such thoughts. My heart is full of so many things to tell you - oh - there are moments when I feel that speech is quite inadequate - Be cheerful - remain my faithful, one and only treasure, my all as I am yours. The gods must send us the rest, what for us must and shall be -
Your faithful LUDWIG

Evening, Monday, July 6
You are suffering, you, my most precious one - I have noticed this very moment that letters must be posted very early on Monday - or on Thursday - the only days when the mail-coach goes from here to K. - You are suffering - Oh, where I am, you are with me - I will see to it that you and I, that I can live with you. What a life!!!! as it is now!!!! without you - pursued by the kindness of people here and there, a kindness that I think - that I wish to deserve just as little as I deserve it - man's homage to man - that pains me - and when I consider myself in the setting of the universe, what am I and what is that man - whom one calls the greatest of men - and yet - on the other hand therein lies the divine element in man - I weep when I consider that you will probably not receive the first news of me until Saturday - However much you love me - my love for you is even greater - But do not ever conceal yourself from me - good night - As I am taking the baths I must go to sleep - Dear God - so near! so far! Is not our love truly founded in heaven - and what is more, as strongly cemented as the firmament of heaven? -

Good morning, on July 7
Even though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear our prayer - To face life I must live altogether with you or never see you - Yes, I am resolved to be a wanderer abroad until I can fly to your arms and say that I have found my true home, and enfolded in your arms can let my soul be wafted to the realm of blessed spirits - alas, unhappily it must be so - You will become composed, the more so as you know that I am faithful to you; No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be separated from her who is so dear. Yet my life in V at present is a miserable life - Your love has made me the happiest and the unhappiest of mortals - At my age I need stability and regularity in my life - can that coexist with our relationship? - Angel, I have just heard that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once - Be calm; for only by calm consideration of our lives can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - Today - yesterday - what tearful longing for you - for you - you - my life - my all - all good wishes to you. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your lover.
ever yours
ever mine
ever ours

L.

The Candidates

The women listed below have all been considered possible candidates at one time or another - it is possible that the Immortal beloved was none of these.

Antonia Brentano neé von Birkenstock (1780-1869)

The portrait on the left (Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Collection H.C. Bodmer) was found amongst Beethoven's possesions. Toni (as she was known) married Franz Brentano in 1798 and according to Maynard Solomon, She was the 'Immortal beloved'. She was living in Vienna from 1809-1812 and had met Beethoven in 1810 and a strong friendship developed between them. Toni Brentano was in Prague with her husband and daughter from July 1st to July 4th 1812 at exactly the same time as Beethoven. The Brentanos were also in Karlsbad from July 5th onwards. Toni is the only woman who meets the requirement of arriving in Karlsbad shortly after Beethoven's arrival in Teplitz. Beethoven arrived in Karlsbad on July 25th and stayed in the same guesthouse as the Brentanos. There are a number of other clues that point towards Antonie Brentano. 'An die Geliebte' (To the Beloved) WoO 140, was composed by Beethoven in December 1811; in the corner of the manuscript, in Antonie's writing are the words "Requested by me from the author on March 2nd, 1812". After Beethoven's death, two portraits were discovered in his desk - One is of the Countess Giuletta Guicciardi and the other was previously thought to be Countess Erdody but is now considered to be Antonie Brentano.

The argument against her being the Immortal beloved is that Beethoven would have had to have been carrying on this affair right under her husband's nose - Franz Brentano was present throughout at Prague and Karlsbad with Antonie, along with their daughter. Beethoven had the greatest respect (as did Antonie) for Franz and he regarded him as a personal friend - is it likely that he would have written to him in 1817 "I greatly miss your company and that of your wife and your dear children" if he had been having an affair with his wife? Nor could Beethoven have been discussing the prospect of marriage with her since the Austrian government would not have granted a divorce - her husband had no criminal convictions, and their is no evidence of adultery in either case. Having children made it even more unlikely they would have received a divorce. Beethoven is also known to have condemned adultery on many occasions and is surely unlikely to have regarded the affair as "truly founded in heaven - and what is more, as strongly cemented as the firmament of heaven" if it were adulterous? In the first letter Beethoven also says "remain my faithful, one and only treasure, my all as I am yours" - how was this possible when she was already married?

Josephine Von Brunsvik (1779-1821)

Beethoven first became acquainted with the Brunsvik family in May of 1799. After the death of her first husband Count Deym in 1804, Josephine continued living in Vienna until the summer of 1808. During this period, her friendship with Beethoven intensified, and the composer became very much in love with her and probably entertained hopes of marriage. In 1949, 13 previously unknown letters from Beethoven to Josephine were discovered - written in 1807, they are of a passionate nature similar in style to the letters to the 'Immortal Beloved', however there is one important difference; throughout the letters to Josephine, the formal 'Sie' instead of the intimate 'Du' (used in the 'Immortal beloved' letters of 1812) is used. For a long time Josephine was considered (and still is by some) to be the 'Immortal Beloved' - the fact that 9 months after the 'Immortal beloved' letters were written, Josephine gave birth to a daughter, Minona on 9th April 1813 ( who later turned out to be a fine musician and piano teacher) added fuel to the speculation. Josephine had however remarried in 1810 to Count Von Stackelberg, but the marriage was disastrous and the couple separated in 1813.

Therese Von Brunsvik (1775-1861)

(Picture: Beethoven-Haus, Bonn) She too was considered a candidate to be the 'Immortal beloved'. However, she wrote in her diary 12 July 1817 : 'Josephine must suffer remorse on account of Luigi's sorrow - his wife ! What could she not have made of this hero !' and much later on 4th Feb 1846 : '...Beethoven! It seems like a dream that he was the friend, the intimate of our house - a stupendous spirit! Why did not my sister J., as the widow Deym, accept him as her husband ? She would have been much happier than she was with St[ackelberg]. Maternal love caused her to forgo her own happiness.' Therese never married and her own diaries imply that she considered her sister Josephine to be the Immortal beloved.

Countess Giulietta Guicciardi (1784-1856)

(Picture: Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Collection H.C. Bodmer). A cousin of the Brunsvik's , Giulietta was 17 when she became for a time a pupil of Beethovens, and he fell in love with her. He dedicated the 'Moonlight' sonata to her, but it was not actually written with her in mind, so not too much emphasis should be placed on that. She married Count Gallenberg in 1803 and disappeared from Beethoven's life - though he never forgot her, as an amusing entry in the conversation books many years later proves. She is not considered to be the Immortal beloved today, though until the date of the letters (1812) was properly established, she was indeed thought to be a strong candidate - Schindler claimed that the letters had been written to her at a Hungarian spa in 1801.

Baroness Dorothea Von Ertmann (1781-1849) neé Graumann

(Picture: Beethoven-haus, Bonn) She was a gifted pupil of Beethoven's from 1803. He referred to her as Dorothea Caecilia and she was a particularly fine interpreter of his works - she received the dedication to the sonata Op.101 in A (1816). She had married Baron Stephan Von Ertmann in 1798, and they left Vienna in 1824 to settle in Milan.

Countess Anna Marie Erdödy neé Niczky (1779-1837)

She married the Hungarian count Peter Erdödy in 1796. She was an excellent pianist and admirer of Beethoven's works. She gave private concerts in her apartment in the Krugerstrasse at which his works were constantly performed; for a time in the Autumn and winter of 1808/9 Beethoven had rooms in this apartment. Beethoven often visited the Erdödy family country estate at Jedlersee (nr. Vienna) . The countess settled in Croatia in 1815 and then Padua in 1816, after 1820, she appears to have left Austria for good. Beethoven dedicated the 2 piano trios Op.70 and the 2 'cello sonatas Op.102 to her.

Amalie Sebald (1787-1846)

She was a singer from Berlin and had met Beethoven at Teplitz in 1811 and 1812 - they developed a friendship and several letters to her are in existence. One dated 16th Sept 1812 is completely different in tone to the Immortal beloved letters, he simply signs himself as your friend, Beethoven.

Therese Malfatti (1792-1851)

Her father was the cousin of Dr.Giovanni Malfatti (who had become a friend of Beethoven's in 1808 and treated him in his final illness of 1827). It is possible that Beethoven had hoped to marry Therese in 1810 and that the famous piece 'Fur Elise' was written for her. There were strong objections to the union from her family and she later married Baron Von Drosdick in 1816.

The Spa towns

The use of mineral waters for treatment of various ailments goes back to ancient times, when the Romans developed places for taking a cure around existing mineral springs. In the Middle Ages kings and princes rediscovered the benefit of drinking waters with therapeutic properties to cure various ailments. In the 18th and 19th centuries the aristocracy developed resorts around the sources of these waters at which they gathered to relax and meet each other. Some of the oldest spas in continous existence are located in Central Europe, in present day Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary.

TEPLICE - (Teplitz) Czech Republic

The district town of Teplice, which today is home to more than 53,000 people, is an historic spa town in the Podkrusnohori ("Under the Ore Mountains") Region. Teplice is the oldest spa in Bohemia.
The most valuable possession of the city is its thermal Pravridlo ("Old Spring") spring, with a temperature of 42 degree Celsius . The beneficial effects of the water, which contains radon, have been used in treatments for more than eight centuries. Pravridlo has been endangered several times and even stopped gushing once, after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake.
The Teplice spa experienced its greatest boom during the first half of the nineteenth century, when it was sometimes called the "social salon of Europe". The beautiful Classical and Empire style spa buildings helped to attract the likes of Goethe, Beethoven, Paganini, Jungmann, Palacky, and Neruda.

Every year, a varied cultural program is prepared for the spa's guests and for tourists. A highlight is the annual festival celebrating Ludwig van Beethoven that takes place in September and October.
Among the historical monuments of interest to tourists are: the chateau church (built in the sixteenth century in the pseudo-Gothic style and reconstructed between 1798-1806), the Church of St. John the Baptist (built in the Baroque style between 1700-1703, with interior tombs dating from between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries), and the Teplice Chateau (constructed on the ruins of a Benedictine Order monastery which had a three-naved Roman basilica). Construction of the chateau began between 1585-1634 and it was subsequently reconstructed several times during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Today the castle houses the regional museum that has environmental and spa collections, a history of Teplice, and the Ludwig van Beethoven Commemorative Hall.

KARLSBAD - (Karlovy Vary) Czech Republic

Karlovy Vary, better known by its German name, Karlsbad, is the most famous Bohemian spa. Situated on the Tepla river, it was named after the Bohemian king and German and Holy Roman emperor Charles (Karl) IV who allegedly found the springs in 1358 during a hunting expedition. In the 19th century, royalty came here from all over Europe for treatment. Among the famous who visited Karlsbad are Goethe, Schiller, Beethoven, Chopin, and Karl Marx. More than 60 hot springs have been found here and 12 are used in spa treatment. The springs, which vary in temperature from 34 to 73 degrees C, are used in drinking cures and for baths.

FRANZENSBAD - (Františkovy Lázne) Czech Republic

Franzensbad has its origin near the former free city of Eger, called Cheb today. The medicinal springs were already known since the 15th century. At that time the citizens of Eger - usually the women - took the medicinal water from the Eger fountain and brought it in earthenware jars to the town, where the spa guests lived. In 1791 the Dr. Bernard Vinzenz Adler had a fountain built around the medicinal springs, thus limiting the free taking out of the water. Since the "fountain women" saw their right infringed to scoop the water, they destroyed the fountain. Only when Dr. Adler complained to Emperor Leopold II who was in Prague at that time and the Emperor intervened in this affair, the municipal authorities decided to found a health resort. All plots of land were raffled, and many inhabitants started to develop the area. It was at that time "Franzensdorf" experienced its first season as a spa. In 1807 it was named "Kaiser Franzensbad" after Emperor Franz I from Austria.

BADEN - Austria

Only 26 kilometers south of Vienna, Baden offers a rich variety of baths and springs, parks and coffeehouses. It was the favourite summer residence of Beethoven, and he stayed there many times over the years. Mozart had also frequented the spa. The origin of Baden lies in the healing powers of the sulphur springs. The Romans experienced and enjoyed the waters, calling the place "Aquae". Its thermal water, which emerges from the springs at a temperature of 36°C, is rich in valuable minerals.
Every day, about 4 million litres of superior thermal sulphur water are used in Baden. After the devastating fire of 1812, Baden was rebuilt in the Biedermeier style.