Mapping Wittgenstein’s World
This interactive map illustrates Wittgenstein’s World by tracing locations mentioned in his published correspondence. It also offers glimpses into his inner world through selected quotes. The earliest surviving letter originates from the Hochreith in 1897, sent by the young Ludwig. The final letter was written in Cambridge in 1951, just days before his death.
Methods, Disclaimer, Sources
This map is based on a systematic review of the Complete Correspondence [Gesamtbriefwechsel] of Ludwig Wittgenstein (Innsbrucker Electronic Edition, 2nd Release, 2011), the family letters (McGuinness and Schweitzer, 2018), and his correspondence with Ben Richards (Schmidt, 2023; Citron and Schmidt, 2026). It includes published correspondence – letters, postcards, greeting cards, telegrams, etc. – either written by Wittgenstein or addressed to him, provided that a specific place of residence is explicitly mentioned in the letterhead, the body of the text, or the postmark.
A total of 1,033 items of correspondence meeting the defined selection criteria were recorded from the reviewed publications, originating from 93 locations across 55 distinct places (used here to refer to cities, towns, and other settlements) in 14 countries. These materials document correspondence involving 86 individuals over a period of 43 years.
Country names on this map refer to present-day borders and names in order to facilitate geographic orientation and filtering. Country designations without further specification (e.g., “Italy”) were not considered, as for a meaningful map representation, a more specific place had to be named. Priority was given to Wittgenstein’s own indication of his location in the letterhead or text. Editorial notes by the editors, such as references to the presumed or biographically documented stay from a certain date, were generally not taken into account for reasons of methodological clarity, with a few justified exceptions. In individual cases, the location was inferred from the letter content, provided that the location and date could be plausibly reconstructed. A few entries with low reliability (e.g., war-time imprisonment; selected letters from David Pinsent and Francis Skinner) were nevertheless included for documentary reasons.
Dates were standardized according to defined criteria: in the case of formulations such as “between,” the earliest possible date was used; for “after,” the following day; for “before,” the previous day. Vague indications such as “beginning,” “end,” or “summer” were standardized as the first or last day of the month or as July, respectively. As a prerequisite for inclusion, at least the year and month had to be specified (with the exception of the very first documented letter form 1897). If the exact day was missing, the first day of the relevant month was used.
In addition to locations and dates, selected quotes from the letters were included that either contribute to the localisation or are considered relevant to the understanding of Wittgenstein’s biography and work.
Disclaimer:
Despite great care taken in processing the data, minor inaccuracies cannot be entirely ruled out. Feedback and comments are welcome: martin@wittgensteinswelt.org
Sources:
- Citron, G., & Schmidt, A. (Eds.) (2026). I Think of You Constantly with Love: The Letters of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Ben Richards. Bloomsbury.
- Lobis, U. & Schmidt, A. Erster Brief Ludwig Wittgensteins in der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek. Zum Briefwechsel der Familie Wittgenstein mit Johann Victor Krämer. Mitteilungen aus dem Brenner-Archiv. https://ulb-dok.uibk.ac.at/download/pdf/1744561.pdf [26.3.2026]
- McGuinness, B., & Schweitzer, S. (Eds.) (2018). Wittgenstein. Eine Familie in Briefen. Haymon Verlag.
- Schmidt, A. (Ed.) (2023). „I think of you constantly with love …“: Briefwechsel Ludwig Wittgenstein – Ben Richards 1946–1951. Haymon Verlag.
- Wittgenstein: Gesamtbriefwechsel/Complete Correspondence (2nd Release) (2011). Innsbrucker Electronic Edition. InteLex.
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