Wittgenstein’s retreat

insert-sideviewWittgenstein placed his remote home where everyone could see it. He was an oddly ostentatious recluse

Several factors conspired to make that first visit to Wittgenstein’s retreat magical. One was an element of serendipity. We hadn’t gone to Norway to visit Skjolden. But then neither had Wittgenstein. In October 1913, when he arrived at the Norwegian port of Bergen, he was looking for peace and isolation in which to work. It’s not clear where exactly he aimed to go, but the hotel he had in mind was closed for the winter. The Austrian-Hungarian consul then sent him to Skjolden, where he had business contacts. So it was by chance that Wittgenstein stumbled across the place that he would make a home away from home.

Sam Dresser’s lovely essay

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