Grimma
Where it all starts
New to this substack? Find out more about Johann Gottfried Seume.
I buckled on my knapsack in Grimma, and we set off1
Johann Gottfried Seume set out from Grimma in December 1801. More than two hundred years later, in early January 2026, I flew from London to Berlin, caught a train to Leipzig and another to Grimma. It was late when I arrived. I remember the eerie quiet of the streets, the ornate villas on Leipziger Straße, the medieval Rathaus illuminated in the town square, the pedestrian bridge over the dark, icy river Mulde, the warmth of my Airbnb.
The morning was cold and sunny. I enjoyed a coffee and cake at the Café Florian where I also picked up a schnitzel roll for lunch.
Leaving Grimma, I followed Seume’s route crossing the bridge over the Mulde and took a path climbing up the valley and over a ridge in the direction of the village of Döben.
Perhaps it was on this path where Seume recited his travellers prayer.
That Heaven might grant me honest, kindly hosts and courteous gatekeepers from Leipzig all the way to Syracuse…
I reached Döben just before midday, looking forward to seeing the splendid interior of village’s 12th century Evangelical Lutheran church. Sadly the church was locked-up. I wandered around admiring the exterior for a while, hoping someone would take pity on me and appear with a key but alas that was not to be.
Luckily I found an article online by Thomas Gatzemeier about the church that includes some excellent photos of the interior, Thomas has kindly permitted me to use some of them here.
It was at Döben that I parted ways for now with Seume; he to trudge eastwards in the direction of Meissen and Dresden while I followed the ridge along the Mulde valley through woods of crunchy snow. Eventually ascending to the river, I crossed back over on to the west bank and made my way beside the river until reaching the outskirts of Grimma and my Airbnb for a nap.
In the evening I had a hugely enjoyable meal at the Gaststätte Vogels Ballhaus, a very traditional locals’ restaurant where I enjoyed a schnitzel and a couple of beers. To my right was a stammtisch2 table where four men were enjoying a game of cards, Seume would have liked this place.
In the morning on the way to the train station I noticed an empty plinth set in a small park. On closer inspection I saw it was a Soviet war memorial and the plinth had almost certainly once held a tank.
Once at home I was able to confirm my assumption.3
The irony is that the U.S. First Army took Grimma in April 1945, not the Soviets.
I settled into my seat as the train pulled out of Grimma in the direction of Meissen where I would next catch up with Seume.
My grand stroll to Syracuse had begun!
Seume’s companions (at least as far as Dresden) were Veit Hanns Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1764–1841), a Leipzig artist and a certain ‘Großmann’ whose identity remains unclear. They were also joined by an Englishman who Seume does not mention, this omission is something of a mystery, or perhaps the Englishman was ‘Großmann’? I’ll be looking into this in a future post.
A corner table in a bar or restaurant where a group of friends gather at the same time every day or week.
Image used with thanks from the Saxon Digital Museum.
Looks like some good eating at Vogels Ballhaus. I think I'd have the Klöße for supper.
I meet with a group of friends in a Dorchester pub most Tuesdays and, creatures of habit that we are. Last week when my earliest friend arrived a complete stranger was sitting at our usual table, so he sat elsewhere. This stranger then approached my friend and offered to swap tables as it was Tuesday and so “all your friends will be turning up soon”. Gratefully accepted this kind offer, but also realised that we have become an expected fixture, without even realising it! Best of luck with your “stroll”, keep the reports coming!