Stuttgart  - The German poet, dramatist and philosopher Friedrich Schiller is closely linked to the eastern German city of Weimar where he spent many years.

However, Schiller was born in present-day Baden-Wurttemberg in south-western Germany and spent his childhood and youth in the region of Swabia.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of his birth and fans of the great thinker, who are considering visiting the staging posts of his early life, will find more than just the classic sights to see.

Schiller's birth place of Marbach is easily reached by commuter train from Stuttgart. The house in which he was born is being restored and the nearby Schiller Museum is also being renovated.

"By the time the project has been completed, about 2.3 million euros (3.05 million dollars) will have been donated by private individuals to restore the Schiller Museum which was built in 1903," said Frank Druffner from the Deutschen Literaturarchiv in Marbach.

The museum is due to reopen on November 10, the 250th anniversary of Schiller's birth. Until then, the Modern Literature Museum a few metres away, is open to the public with information on Schiller.

The reopening of Schiller's birth house in Niklastorstrsse 31 with a new exhibition on the poet's life began earlier this year. It has details of Schiller's family life and an overview of how he is appreciated around the world.

After spending two years in nearby Lorch, west of Stuttgart, the Schiller family moved to Ludwigsburg. The town's Baroque castle was the location for the first performance of a Schiller play. But in 1777, the dramatist obeyed an order by Duke Karl Eugen to enter the military academy in Castle Solitude.

The castle was built as a hunting lodge in 1763/1764 near Stuttgart and it is now the home to an international art academy.

The military academy, which Schiller described as an "unbearable and stupid institution", was moved to Stuttgart in 1775. Nothing remains of that historic building which was destroyed in the World War II. Instead in 1961, it became the seat of Baden-Wurttemberg's state parliament. In fact very little remains of the buildings Schiller would have known during his time in Stuttgart.

The house in which he lived and the pubs where he drank and earned him a reputation as a drinker were all destroyed during the war. It was in Stuttgart that Schiller wrote, The Robbers, which is probably his most famous drama. He skipped attendance at the military academy to see the play's premier in Mannheim and sneaked into the theatre on January 13, 1782. Mannheim theatre premiered Schiller's Maid of Orleans on January 6 and is due to perform Don Carlos on June 19.

Schiller's trip to see The Robbers landed the poet in prison and he was forbidden by Karl Eugen from writing more plays.

In late 1782, he escaped the prison and travelled to Frankfurt, Mannheim and then Oggersheim before heading to Thuringen where he found asylum.

Internet: www. schillerjahr2009. de. (dpa)