Förster-Nietzsche was two years younger than her brother. Their father was a Lutheran pastor in the German village of Röcken bei Lützen. The two children were close during their childhood and early adult years. Her brother took to calling her Llama throughout their lives because he felt that the description of the load bearing, saliva spitting, stubborn animal fit her well. However, they grew apart in 1885 when Elisabeth married Bernhard Förster, a former high school teacher who had become a prominent German nationalist and antisemite.The wedding occurred on May 22nd, 1885 so that they could be married on the birthday of close friend Richard Wagner. Notably, Fredrich Nietzsche was not at the wedding.