Leipzig is a city dear to my heart. In the two books about the Schönau family, it’s not only the story’s location but almost one of the characters, as it plays such a large role there and develops and suffers just like the human characters. It is an extraordinarily beautiful city, one that never ceases to amaze me. It has the cozy and picturesque Gohlis, the effortless elegance of the Waldstraße District, the lively yet pleasantly un-hectic center, as well as a variety of wonderful cafés and restaurants. In addition, the people there are genuinely cordial. If you’ve never been to Leipzig, go there.
Leipzig is steeped in history. (If you stop reading now because you’re not interested in history: go to Leipzig anyway! It has a lot more to offer than history.) – It has one of the oldest trade fairs in the world, the second oldest university in Germany, the first daily newspaper of the world (!) was published here in 1660 and one of the first opera houses in Europe was opened here in 1693. It was home to some of Germany’s most impressive artists, such as Goethe, Bach, Mendelssohn Batholdy and Schiller. And it was the place where the revolutionary events of the „Wende“, the opening of the inner-German border and the reunification began.
Here is an overview of (in my personal opinion) the most important events in Leipzig’s history.
Goethe doesn’t do much studying (1765 – 1768)
In 1765, sixteen-year-old Goethe arrives in Leipzig to begin his law studies. It wasn’t his decision, he wanted to study history and poetry, but his father insisted that young Johann Wolfgang learn something decent. Goethe has no choice if he wants to take advantage of his father’s generous financial support, but he secretly resolves to use his time in Leipzig for his own interests. Goethe is surprised by the lively, modern city – and also a little overwhelmed. He goes through a bit of culture shock, not only because of the sudden jump into such a different environment (his hometown of Frankfurt was still quite medieval at the time), but also because of the dialect. However, he quickly overcomes this initial culture shock and enjoys life to the fullest. At the beginning he even shows up at the university from time to time and writes appreciatively that Leipzig is so cultured and refined that it even affects the behavior of the students. He finds this remarkable because apparently the students in nearby Jena and Halle were rude and abrasive. (I can’t say anything about Halle students, but the Jena students behave impeccably these days. I know it, I was one of them.)
Goethe does not stress himself with his studies. After getting fashionable clothes (he wasn’t quite up to date when he arrived), he makes many friends, attends poetry lectures and writes poems. In front of the Old Stock Exchange you can see the Goethe statue which was unveiled in 1903. His face is turned toward the university, but his right foot speaks a different language, pointing toward Auerbach’s Keller, a wine bar (now a restaurant) where Goethe liked to hang out.
The avid Faust readers among you will recognize Auerbach’s Keller as the place where Mephisto took Faust to have some really great drunken fun. It is the only place from „Faust“ that exists in reality and has been in existence as a business for at least 500 years (that’s what I call a successful business concept!). There are murals here that show the old Faust legend (the story has been around since the 16th century). Goethe sees these pictures and that’s it – he is inspired to create his most famous work. The two scenes shown in these pictures (Faust drinks with the students and then rides out of the wine bar in style on a wine barrel) can be found in Goethe’s „Faust“. The pictures can still be seen today in Auerbach’s basement. You have to take part in the tour, but it’s worth it. The tour also takes you to the historic barrel cellar from 1525, which is tiny, with a barrel-shaped ceiling, historic murals, an authentic old wine barrel and a huge sculpture of a witch ride hanging from the ceiling. The main restaurant seems – at first glance – rather bland, but you should note the walls, which are covered with pictures from Leipzig’s history.
There is a statue of Faust and Mephistopheles in front of Auerbach’s cellar. Here too it is worth paying attention to a foot, this time Faust’s left foot. You can see that the top is much brighter than the rest of the statue. Touching the foot is said to bring good luck. I was even told that it ensures that you will return to Leipzig and so of course I never miss doing that.
In addition to partying and poetry, Goethe begins his lifelong tradition of falling in love quickly. There are two girls he fancies in Leipzig: Käthchen Schönkopf and Friederike Oser, both of whom are immortalized in poems. However, all of these extracurricular activities were too strenuous for Goethe. In 1768 he collapses, is close to death and rushes back to Frankfurt, where he recovers for a year. He will return to Leipzig several times, but only for visits.
Schiller does a lot of writing (1785)
We turn the clock forward to 1785 and another famous writer sets foot on Leipzig soil. However, it wasn’t actually Leipzig at that point, but rather its own village – Gohlis, today predominantly a residential area and the place where the Gohlis Castle is located (now a restaurant, where a friend and I were once greeted by a heated argument in the kitchen and otherwise completely ignored when we wanted to order coffee and cake. From what I hear, the service hasn’t improved much since then. The castle itself is very pretty though).
Schiller doesn’t come to Gohlis for coffee and cake. He is not well – he has no job, no money and is in poor health, as he unfortunately will be for most of his life. Friends invite him to Leipzig. The joy and gratitude that Schiller feels and expresses about this is touching. He is already a well-known author and in Leipzig he is well looked after and allowed to take part in a lively social life. After some time in the city, Schiller moves to Gohlis, at that time a village with 450 inhabitants. Here he lives in two rooms of a farmhouse and enjoys the peaceful, rural atmosphere and the many new friends nearby. Nevertheless, Schiller is not lazy, he writes a lot during these months, such as Act 2 of „Don Carlos“ and the first version of his famous „Ode to Joy“ (though to be precise, he wrote this during a short visit to Dresden while he lived in Gohlis).
The house in which he lived has been a museum since the mid-19th century. It is not only the oldest literary monument in Germany, but also the oldest still existing farmhouse in the Leipzig area. It is tiny, sparsely furnished and gives a vivid impression of the humble circumstances in which Schiller lived. One room shows a model of Gohlis from Schiller’s time, and in the Schiller Room you can see a bust of the famous author. (It’s fascinating how attractive Schiller always looks on statues and busts. In real life he wasn’t quite as handsome).
The Schillerhaus also hosts regular events. As we were walking along there one evening, a gentleman in 18th century clothing more or less jumped in front of us, held a tray in our faces and asked: „Fish sandwich?“ (I don’t think that happens in front of many literary monuments). He then told us about an event that was currently taking place. But even without an event, the small house is worth a visit.
Napoleon gets a tremendous beating (1813)
In 1813, Napoleon is considered quite a nuisance throughout most of Europe because he had conquered most of it. However, he is already on the decline. 1812 wasn’t really his year. Conquering Russia was not as easy as he thought, and although he ruthlessly sacrificed most of his soldiers, he was eventually driven out of the country by the Russian winter and the Russian army. Prussia, Austria, and several other German kingdoms, duchies and the like kept a close eye on events in Russia and probably opened a bottle or two of champagne when they heard the news. But some were also Napoleon’s allies – either because they had no other choice or because they benefited from it.
Now they all see the opportunity to send the annoying little man back to France once and for all. Prussia tells Napoleon where he can put his bicorn hat and concludes an alliance with Russia. England, Sweden and Austria join. Napoleon knew that he was not exactly flavor of the month (or the decade), but so far no one had been able to oppose him. Now he faces a powerful alliance. He still has a few German countries on his side, including Saxony, in which the battles between Napoleon and his enemies are now taking place. The summer of 1813 was not exactly fun for Napoleon, whose troops were defeated several times.
The big showdown will take place in Leipzig in October. The Battle of the Nations takes place from October 16th to 19th and the fighting takes place in several places around the city and the surrounding villages. The battle is brutal and bloody. Never before have so many soldiers (almost 550,000) fought in a battle. Napoleon is outnumbered and then his ally Saxony decides it is better off without him and switches sides. The battle was decided on October 18th. Finally, in the early morning of October 19th, Napoleon retreats, which is not that easy, because he never made any plans to retreat and never even considered defeat (you can blame him for a lot, but certainly not for a lack of self-consciousness).
The Battle of the Nations ends Napoleon’s rule over Germany (or the area we now call Germany). Two years later, the Battle of Waterloo ends his plans altogether. October 18th, the decisive day of the Battle of the Nations, will remain a day of celebration for many years to come. Small monuments throughout Leipzig serve as reminders of the various locations of the battle. On October 18, 1913, one hundred years after the Battle of the Nations, the Völkerschlachtdenkmal, the Battle of the Nations Memorial, was inaugurated by Emperor Wilhelm II and the Saxon King Friedrich August III (my attentive readers know: this is the beginning of „A Citizen of All Times“).
It is worth a visit, not only as a reminder of the battle, but also as an example of the monumental architecture of the last years of the German Empire. The monument is 91 meters (almost 300 feet) high and is made almost entirely of concrete. It looks impressive, a little intimidating. In front of the monument is a large pool of water – a symbol of the tears shed for the many victims of the battle.
The monument is guarded by the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of German soldiers, who is appropriately depicted in a martial manner.
Inside there are three „floors“. At the bottom, the crypt. A bronze stone on the ground serves as a symbolic grave for those who lost their lives in battle. It is surrounded by sculptures of soldiers standing guard, the soldiers standing in front of huge mourning faces.
Above the crypt there is a gallery, the so-called Pantheon. Four statues, each almost ten meters high, represent the virtues of the German people in the fight against Napoleon – courage, faith, fertility and willingness to sacrifice.
Outside, on top of the monument, ten huge statues stand guard, symbols of attention and defense.
Aside from the powerful symbolism, the monument offers wonderful views over Leipzig and the surrounding area. An elevator (or many, many, many steps) takes you to the top. The tip of the monument can only be reached via steps; 500 steps have to be climbed along the entire length of the monument in a narrow, round staircase. And no, I didn’t climb them all. High heels and a low fitness level are simply not suitable for that.
The People Fight for Freedom (1989)
Some time ago I stood at a window and looked down at the Nikolai Church (Nikolaikirche) and the Nikolai churchyard. It was a quiet evening, the end of a warm, sunny day. The churchyard was almost deserted, only a few people strolled past on their way home. I tried to imagine what this square looked and sounded like in those heady weeks in October 1989, when demonstrations in Leipzig and other East German cities ultimately led to the opening of the inner-German border. There are few photos or videos of these demonstrations – the government did not want anyone documenting the events.
How did it all start? In 1982, weekly peace prayers are started in Leipzig’s Nikolaikirche. They not only offer an opportunity to pray for peace in times of nuclear armament, but also provide a reasonably safe environment for discussions and exchange of views – something that was not a given in the GDR. Needless to say, the government is not happy about these peace prayers. The priest in charge is regularly interrogated, although in the first few years not many people even attend these prayers. Access to the Nikolaikirche is made difficult by police barriers as early as 1984. Stasi employees attend church meetings and so these peace prayers are not a regular church visit – they can get you into trouble. Still, people attend. Increasingly. At the end of 1988, when the East Germans express their dissatisfaction more publicly, the number of participants in the peace prayers increases significantly. After the prayers, many people continue their discussions in the adjacent churchyard. During the spring of 1989, the gatherings develop into peaceful demonstrations of 300-500 people.
In September, more than 1,000 people take part in the peace prayers. The church is almost overflowing. The government is becoming increasingly nervous and is reacting with arrests and further barriers. The number of participants in the peace prayers and the subsequent Monday demonstrations (they are regular events in Leipzig and other East German states by September) rises to 5,000 in Leipzig. On October 2: 20,000 people. The state is retaliating with terrible violence and at this point no one can say what will happen next. The Tiananmen Square massacre in China in June 1989 is still fresh in the memory. Would something different happen here?
In West Germany, the demonstrations were not initially widely reported, but in September they were in the headlines every day. We also wondered what the GDR government would do – it was like a TV series with a daily cliffhanger (but of course much more serious).
On Monday, October 9, 1989, the police, army and hospitals are on standby. Train connections to Leipzig are becoming more difficult and the atmosphere is tense. Nevertheless, 70,000 people gather in and around the Nikolai churchyard. An appeal for non-violence is read out in the Nikolaikirche. The miracle happens – for the first time the state does not respond to the demonstration with violence. Apparently the government is simply overwhelmed and surprised by the incredible number of participants. Police and soldiers are ordered to retreat. The people have broken the state power. It is the miracle of Leipzig.
Erich Honecker resigns on October 18, 1989. Does October 18th sound familiar? Then just take another look at the Battle of the Nations section …
From now on, the number of participants in the weekly demonstrations increases continuously, with up to 400,000 people demonstrating in Leipzig on November 6th – the last demonstration before the border opens.
The Nikolaikirche shows a small exhibition about the events of 1989. The church itself is breathtakingly beautiful – bright, with a charming color combination of soft green and light pink. The churchyard is decorated with one of the columns that can also be found in the church – a memorial to the peaceful demonstrations. That’s almost all – there are no elaborate monuments for the 1989 events in Leipzig. Nevertheless, there are many places of remembrance, such as the large (100 x 30 m) mural depicting the demonstration on October 9th and the events that followed. The Runde Ecke, the former Stasi office, now houses a museum that shows how frighteningly thorough the Stasi spied on citizens.
So in a single day you can walk in Goethe’s footsteps, see where Schiller worked, commemorate the victory over Napoleon and remember how courageously the citizens of Leipzig and other East German cities stood up for their rights. So – off to Leipzig. It is worth it …
Heike Wolf - Historische Romane 