Lesya Ukrainka Celebrated in Berlin

Photo of Ukrinform-UATV

According to Ukrinform, a ceremony honoring the 147th birthday of the famous Ukrainian dramaturge and interpreter, Lesya Ukrainka, took place in Berlin on February 25. Both Ukrainians and local representatives gathered in her memory, bringing flowers and commemorating her oeuvre.

Larysa Petrivna Kosach-Kvitka – the author’s real name – stayed in in Germany in January of 1899 for medical reasons. The Ukrainian dramaturge suffered bone tuberculosis and was treated by Ernst von Bergmann, a professor of the Berlin University, who performed a surgery on the 27-year-old woman – after which she spent almost half a year in Berlin.

It was during that time that she interpreted the works of German author Heinrich Heine. She also used this opportunity to write a few of her own works in German.