Franziska von Reitzenstein

Von Reitzenstein was born the daughter of a judicial counselor (Oberappellations-Gerichtsrat) in Castle Härdenstein in Swabia.

In 1849 she married the royal Bavarian Rittmeister Freiherr von Reitzenstein.

After her husband died in 1853, she travelled to several places of Italy and was inspired to write by Karl Gutzkow.

She randomized her male pen name "Franz" in a topographical, statistical lexicon, whereas Nemmersdorf was the former name of a settlement in East Prussia, today Mayakovskoye.

She wrote also for journals and newspapers, amongst them the "Allgemeine Zeitung" in Augsburg, the "Münchener Zeitung" (literally: Munich's newspaper) as well as the appending "Unterhaltungsblatt" (entertainment paper), also Keil's „Die Gartenlaube“ and several papers in Vienna.