To mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, the ULB is commemorating the local and dialect poet with a selection of his publications.

In the tradition of Ernst Elias Niebergall (author of the dialect farce ‘Datterich’), he closely observed ‘his Heiner’ (the inhabitants of Darmstadt) and incorporated his experiences into poems and stories. With his publication ‘Wie de Datterich in de Himmel kumme is’ (How Datterich got to heaven), he continued the story of Datterich. The Hessische Spielgemeinschaft 1925 e. V. theatre company added the play to its repertoire and most recently performed it as the ‘Darmstadt Christmas fairy tale’ in 2024 at the Staatstheater Darmstadt.

Growing up in the old town, he was close to the Heiners. Under the pseudonym ‘Bienchen Bimbernell’, he portrayed social and political life in Darmstadt and the world in the Darmstädter Tagblatt newspaper from February 1924 onwards in his incomparably humorous, poignant style. With the political changes of the 1930s, different times dawned in Darmstadt, and Robert Schneider was banned from writing in 1933.

On 18 May 1945, Robert Schneider died by suicide. His grandson Robert Stromberger (screenwriter, director and actor) continued his love for the Hessian dialect and Darmstadt in many of his works – 'Bei uns dehaam – Aus dem Leben einer hessischen Familie' (At Home – From the Life of a Hessian Family) or 'Diese Drombuschs'.

His hometown has commemorated him with Robert-Schneider-Straße in Watzeverdel (Martinsviertel) and the Robert Schneider monument on Schlossgartenplatz.