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Berta Zuckerkandl (1864-1945)
Alma´s friend
Berta Szeps-Zuckerkandl was one of the most remarkable personalities
of Viennese society during the last decades of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire and up until the darkest hours of history during the
Second World War. Due to the unique position of her father,
Moriz Szeps, boss of the newspaper »Neues Wiener Tagblatt«
and closest advisor to the unfortunate Crown Prince Rudolf,
who committed suicide in Mayerling, it was not hard for her
to establish contacts within European high society. Her marriage
to Emil Zuckerkandl, a famous anatomist of the Viennese School,
opened the door for her into the world of science. Berta Zuckerkandl
was active for almost half a century as a novelist, journalist
and writer, but what she truly loved was modern art. Her salon
was a meeting place for countless artists, literati and academics,
and her circle of friends included Auguste Rodin, Gustav Klimt,
Josef Hoffmann, Gustav Mahler and Max Reinhardt. On one of
the rare occasions when Mahler attended such a social event
at Zuckerkandl´s salon, in November 1901, he met Alma
Schindler, who was known throughout Vienna for her beauty.
He fell in love with her immediately and married her just
a few months later. For many years, Berta was Alma´s
closest friend, someone to whom Alma did not merely owe the
meeting with her first husband.
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