Advent, Advent .... Happy Birthday, Leipzig!

Advent, Advent .... today, December 20, is not only my birthday, but also the birthday of Leipzig, the German city that was the home of Johann Sebastian Bach, Martin Luther, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Richard Wagner, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Clara and Robert Schumann, and Erich Kästner (among many other musicians and writers). Leipzig has turned" one thousand years on December 20, 2015. This is how our book Leipzig: One Thousand Years of German History, by Sebastian Ringel, describes the first mentioning:

"December 20, 1015, was probably a rather uncomfortable Wednesday in the middle of the Middle Ages and all in all not much different from most other days at the time. No one likely even suspected the day would become an important one. Thietmar, the bishop of Merseburg recorded the date in his Chronicle, however, but not because he wanted to mention Leipzig for the first time. One of his colleagues had died. “Then the valiant Bishop Eido was taken ill after returning from Poland with splendid gifts,” he wrote, “and his faithful spirit returned to Christ in the urbs Libzi on December 20.”

So, granted, Leipzig MUST have existed before December 20, because otherwise, how could Thietmar have talked about it, but this is how city birthdays are celebrated. So, here is you gift: If you buy the book on our website, you will get 5 dollars off. And, as always, if you sign up for our newsletter, you will get a free ebook.

And, of course, you will also get a picture....sadly, we don't have one of Thietmar, since selfies were not commonplace in 1015, but here is a pic of Dietrich the Oppressed, who governed Leipzig in 1217 (and who was not so much an opressee than an opressor).

Your Publisher, Eva C. Schweitzer