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Many consider Sigmund Freud, the founder of a new therapy – psychoanalysis, to have been a Viennese because we know that he lived almost his entire life in Vienna.
We also know that in 1933, the Nazis burned his books in Berlin. Freud said: “What progress we are making! In the Middle Ages, they would have burned me, today they are content to burn my books.”
Well, we also know that in 1938, Freud left Vienna and moved to London, where he died the following year.
But do you know where Sigmund Freud was born?
His birthplace is Příbor – a small town (almost 9,000 inhabitants) in the Moravian-Silesian region (Czechia). When Freud was born here in 1856, the town was called Freiberg.
Good news: the house of his birth still stands!
Wool merchant Jacob Freud was already 40 years old and married for the third time. His wife Amalia was much younger.
The Freuds lived on the first floor of this two-story house.
On May 6, 1856, a son was born to them, whom they named Sigismund (he later changed it to Sigmund), in addition: Schlomo – after his grandfather and Simcha, which means “joy” in Hebrew, which is exactly what Freud means in German. A year later, another son, Julius, was born, dying tragically the following year. The wool business was not doing too well either, so the situation forced the family to move first to Leipzig and from there to Vienna.
The Freud family had lived in Příbor for only three years, but Freud nostalgically remembered his birthplace throughout his life. Of course, only in a good way, as it happens when you remember your childhood. He mainly remembered the dandelion meadows, the babysitter Monika Zajícová and the alleys where he used to play. His words are well-known: “I am sure deeply buried within me still lives the happy child of Freiberg, the first-born son of a youthful mother, who received his first indelible impressions from this air and this soil.”
One more important memory tied him to this town. Freud corresponded with his friend Emil Fluss, the son of a rich factory owner. When he was 16 years old, he spent his holidays with this family, and of course, he fell in love here for the first time (with his friend’s sister Gisela). However, he never returned to his hometown…
Today, this house is a museum. When I was here a few years ago, there was an exhibition created with typical Czech humour. Not only Freud’s quotes were displayed on the small chairs, but also caricatures of Vladimír Jiránek, a Czech animator, artist and caricaturist, illustrating the relationship between humour and the unconscious.
When I came here in 2024, I was surprised by a new exhibition. All the more so because the author, a British conceptual sculptor, is Freud’s great-granddaughter Jane Mc Adam Freud (1958-2022), i.e. the daughter of Freud’s grandson Lucian. As she says, her great-grandfather collected sculptures (he had almost 3000 antiques in his collection), and she creates them.
With her installations, she seems to have tried to create a museum of our minds. Its concept is based on three phases of our life when we are: child or infant (infantile) – ID, adult (rational) – EGO and parent (critical) – SUPEREGO.
The installation Forgotten Memory caught my attention the most. An egg – inside, there should be a child’s shoe. I tried to see it at the tangle, but I could not. Because even our memories become blurry over time…
However, you will not find the original couch that was part of psychoanalytic therapy here. You will not even find it in the house in Vienna where Freud lived for 47 years. After the occupation of Austria by fascist Germany in 1938, the Freud family moved with all their furniture to London, where Freud died a year later.
But do not despair, in front of the house in Příbor, you can at least lie on a copy for a while. You do not even have to worry that this piece of furniture will break under the weight of all those problems, sleepless nights and worries because it is made of copper. And believe me, everyone will lie down on that couch for a moment, at least for one photo, even in winter, when they risk freezing their backside to the cold metal. At the same time, you can think about the inscription: Sit down and meditate – stand up and act.
What else can be seen in Příbor?
The first written mention of Příbor is from 1251, it was declared a town in 1294. If Czech cities were to compete for the most famous native, then Příbor would definitely take the top spot.
The first memorial plaque on the house of his birth was unveiled in 1931 on the occasion of Freud’s 75th birthday. Freud’s youngest daughter Anna also took part in the festive event. Freud’s deteriorating health did not allow him to come. He apologized in a letter to the mayor of the city.
Not far from the house of Sigmund Freud’s birth, in the park behind the town hall, you will find a monument with his bust from 1969 by the sculptors František Navrátil and Zdeněk Makovský.
If you come here, you can also visit the nearby tourist information center and taste “Příborská freudovka” liqueur. The production of herbal liqueurs has a long tradition in this region, one manufactory was near the house where he was born and it is quite possible that Freud’s father tasted some of the liqueur as well…
In the town, you can also visit the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, probably as old as the town. It was surrounded by walls, and even today you can still see a wall with chapels.
If you go to Vienna, be sure to visit the Sigmund Freud Museum. For now, you can read about it in my article: Berggasse 19
Text: © Copyright Ingrid, Travelpotpourri
Fotos: © Copyright Ingrid, Travelpotpourri
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