Rudolf Steiner was born on 27 February 1861 in Kraljevec, former Hungary, today Croatia (in the picture, standing with his younger sister). He spent his childhood in Pottschach. His father worked there as a telegrapher for the Austrian Southern Railways. The family, joined over the years by a sister and a brother, lived in the station building right next to the railway tracks. This environment allowed him to experience the polarity of nature and technology.

At the age of 18, Rudolf Steiner began studying at the Technical University of Vienna. There he initially studied biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. However, his inner questions focused on the nature of man and he increasingly turned to philosophy. The phenomenon of "I-consciousness" became one of his central studies.

At the age of 29, Rudolf Steiner joined the Goethe-Schiller-Archive in Weimar. In addition to Goethe's scientific writings, he publishes the complete edition of Schopenhauer and Jean Paul (published by Cotta), writes four books, including "The Philosophy of Freedom", and begins his activity as a lecturer. He meets personalities such as Ernst Haeckel, Hermann Grimm and Friedrich Nietzsche.

During his stay in Berlin, he worked as editor of the magazine Magazin für Literatur (Magazine for Literature) and as a teacher at the Arbeiter-Bildungsschule (School for Vocational Training). He became chairman of the circle "Die Kommenden" (The Coming Ones), where he met weekly with the contemporary artistic and cultural scene. His lectures in theosophical circles formed the basis of his Anthroposophical Society, founded in 1913.

With the move to Dornach and the construction of the Goetheanum, anthroposophy began to become visible in the world. Steiner turned many things around in many areas of life and set new things in motion. He gave a new impetus to education, medicine, agriculture, art, religion and politics, which still has an impact today.

During this time, he became very interested in the inner concerns of other people and was in contact with many famous contemporaries, such as Else Lasker Schüler, Rainer Maria Rilke, Andrej Belyi, Ernst Haeckel and Hermann Grimm. At the age of 33 he wrote his main philosophical work, The Philosophy of Freedom, the foundation of anthroposophical spiritual science, which he deepened and expanded in some thirty subsequent publications. He also published numerous articles, essays and reviews on cultural and contemporary history.

Among his best-known works are:

• Reincarnation and Karma.
• The nature of man.
• Reincorporation of the spirit and destiny.
• Realisation of karma.
• Esoteric observations on karmic connections.

Steiner disembodied on 30 March 1925 in his studio at the Goetheanum in Dornach.