FAUST - The Rock Opera in Auerbachs Keller - Tourist Guide

Auerbachs Keller Auerbachs Keller is located in the middle of Leipzig, at the entrance to the Mädler-Passage, at Grimmaische Straße 2-4.
The logo shows Mephisto with the hanging sword, next to Faust. The grapes are symbolic of the oldest wine bar in Leipzig, which was already mentioned in 1438.

The “Große Keller” was converted into a restaurant in 1912 what was the largest wine cellar in Germany at that time. This is a historic building that can accommodate 600 guests. The facility consists of the central corridor and the two side wings.

There are also the four historic wine taverns (Fasskeller, Goethe-Keller, Luther-Stübchen, Alt-Leipzig) and the Hexenküche (witch’s kitchen) hidden away.

The trademark of Auerbachs Keller is the “legendary barrel ride”. According to the legend of the historical Faust, in 1525 the scholar Dr. Faustus left the restaurant astride a flying wine barrel.

The Event

The Auerbachs Keller team offers you a very special event:

  1. Delicious 2-course menu for the afternoon performances.
  2. Exquisite 3-course menu at the evening performances. Meals are taken in the side wings of the Große Keller.
  3. Rock opera FAUST with original texts by Goethe and the legendary barrel ride. The show takes place in the middle corridor.
  4. The show consists of two halves of 65 minutes each. During the break you will be served a special drink, a diabolical  “Rocktail“.

The event seats 200 spectators. The rock opera consists of 27 songs and was created by librettist and composer Dr. Rudolf Volz. The program guide gives an overview of the individual songs with the corresponding story line.

The rock opera was expanded to include the student scene especially for Auerbachs Keller. It contains the well-known quote:

I praise my Leipzig!

It’s a little Paris and educates its people.

Already at the first performance in 2009, Faust and Mephisto left the student scene with the “legendary barrel ride”. The legend was performed for the first time after 484 years and is therefore a very special event.

The mdr television report on the premiere on January 16, 2009 describes the overall experience in an impressive way. 

Historical

Auerbachs Keller was mentioned as early as 1438 and is said to be the oldest wine tavern in Leipzig. In 1519 Heinrich Stromer bought a plot of land on which he built Auerbachs Hof. He set up a wine cellar in the existing cellar. The adjoining wine cellars were considered to be the largest in all of Germany.

The name Auerbach goes back to Stromer’s birthplace of Auerbach in der Oberpfalz. Stromer was only called Dr. Auerbach and worked in 1508 as rector of the university.

The most famous visitor to Auerbach’s Cellar was the reformer Martin Luther, who made his first visit there in 1521.

The picture by Volker Pohlenz shows Heinrich Stromer (left) having an intensive conversation with Luther. At that time, Luther was an “outlaw” and had disguised himself as Junker Jörg.

A documentation on this is available on Leipzig-Lese.

Johann Georg Faust (1480-1541) is considered the historical Faust. He was a wandering philosopher, faith healer, alchemist and soothsayer. However, many saw him only as a swindler and imposter. He was also called a black artist. He experienced particular hostilities from the clergy.

Faust is said to have died in an explosion while trying to make gold. His body was found in “horribly deformed condition”. It was concluded that the devil himself had taken possession of his soul.

There are a total of 9 sources relating to the historical Faust. This is an overview of the most important locations:

  • 1480  Born in Knittlingen. There is a Faust museum there. The birthplaces Helmstedt and Roda are also mentioned in literature.

  • 1506  In Gelnhausen he worked as a demonstrator of magical tricks and horoscope maker.
  • 1507  In Kreuznach he boasted of his perfection in alchemy. There is also a Faust museum there.
  • 1516  Kloster Maulbronn.
  • 1520  Position of the horoscope for the bishop in Bamberg.
  • 1528  Kloster Rebdorf
  • 1528  Ingolstadt, where he was banished after a short time.
  • 1541  Staufen im Breisgau. Faust is said to have died in an explosion while trying to produce gold.
  • In Wittenberg, Faust is said to have earned his doctorate in theology.
  • In Erfurt he boasted in the pub and is said to have tapped wine from a table top.

In 1525 the following is said to have happened in Auerbach’s Cellar in Leipzig according to the legend of the historical Faust: 
Many servants were unable to bring the heavy wine barrel up from the cellar. They used lifting booms and winches to do this. Faust came with his students and made fun of them. After a heated argument, he made a bet with the wine merchant:


   In the devil’s name, get the barrel up by yourself
   and if you can do it, you can keep it.

Faust went down from the cellar and sat astride the barrel. The barrel moved like a horse and floated up the stairs. Faust won the bet to great cheers. He drank the good wine with many people until the barrel was empty. In older depictions, Faust can be seen riding on the barrel alone, without Mephisto. There is detailed documentation of this on the Goethezeitportal.

In 1587, Johann Spies published the book  Historia von D. Johann Fausten / dem weitbeschreyten Zauberer und Schwarzkünstler.

It tells of Faust’s studies in theology and medicine and his involvement with magic. Of particular importance is his alliance with the devil, who ultimately takes Faust to hell. The author’s Christian attitude is clearly evident. Overall, a negative image of Faust is conveyed and an admonition to live a godly life.

The book is considered a popular book and became very well known. The material reached England and was adapted into a drama by Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) under the title Doctor Faustus. This was the first positive twist on the Faust character.

Goethe came into contact with the Faust material in early childhood. In 1765, at the age of 16, he began studying law at the University of Leipzig. 

The painting by Volker Pohlenz from 2015 shows Goethe (front right) in his student bar Auerbachs Keller. Since 1625 the bar had had the two murals of the flying barrel and the students’ drinking party. 

These inspired Goethe to create the Auerbachs Keller scene and the student scene in his later Faust. The dog in the front symbolizes Mephisto as “the core of the poodle” or the “the crux of the matter”. There is detailed documentation of this on Leipzig-Lese.

At the beginning of the student scene, Faust is rather bored. So Mephisto shows off his magic and performs the wine miracle. He drills four holes in the table and plugs them with wax. When the plugs are pulled out, each student’s favorite wine sprouts. There is detailed documentation of this on the Goethezeitportal.
The scene contains the central sentence:

The wooden table can also give wine.

This refrain was used to create a new song for the rock opera in 2009.

Auerbach’s Cellar has become nationally known through Goethe’s Faust.

The city of Leipzig has erected a monument to Goethe, which depicts him as a student and is only 100 m  away from Auerbach’s Cellar.

Goethe probably experienced Auerbachs Hof as a student, as shown in the picture from 1780.

The importance of Auerbachs Hof is testified to by the Saxon proverb from the 17th century:

Whoever traveled to Leipzig for the fair,
Without visiting Auerbach’s Hof,
Should remain silent, for it proves:
They have not seen Leipzig.

The antique postcard shows the Fassflug and the Goethe-Zimmer. Top left is the entrance to the Faust Cellar. All this testifies to the historical connection between

  1. Auerbachs Keller
  2. Faust
  3. Flying barrel
  4. Goethe

In Goethe’s Faust, the students are enchanted by Mephisto at the end of the scene. One of the students sees the barrel flight and says:

I saw him with these eyes upon a wine-cask riding –

Out of the cellar-door, just now..

At the premiere of the rock opera on January 16, 2009, Faust and Mephisto left the student scene with the “legendary barrel flight”. This was the first time that the phenomenon was performed at the original location, 484 years after the legend’s origins and 244 years after Goethe’s inspiration”

Arrival

The Deutsche Bahn will take you to the main station in Leipzig. On some trains there was a notice in Ihr Reiseplan about this event.

There are many hotels close to Auerbachs Keller.

Auerbachs Keller is located
in the center of Leipzig,
in the Mädler-Passage, 
Grimmaische Straße 2-4.


From the main train station, an 800 m footpath leads past the Goethe monument to Auerbachs Keller.

Appendix

According to an American study, Auerbachs Keller is currently ranked 5th among the most famous restaurants in the world after

  1. Münchner Hofbräuhaus, Munich
  2. Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas
  3. Café Sacher, Vienna
  4. Hard Rock Café, L.A.
  5. Auerbachs Keller, Leipzig

The entrance to Auerbachs Keller is in the Mädler-Passage. There are two staircases leading to the Große Keller.

The two groups of sculptures by Mathieu Molitor stand opposite each other as a striking symbol. They were erected to mark the opening of the renovation in 1913.

The two groups of sculptures are cast in bronze and demonstrate the events at the end of the student scene in Goethe’s Faust.

One group (left) demonstrates Mephisto and Faust. Mephisto is enchanting the students.

The other group depicts three enchanted students pulling out knives and grabbing each other’s noses.

The premiere on January 16, 2009 was announced by a decorated tram.

FAUST – The Rock Opera celebrated a big anniversary on January 17, 2015. It was the 500th performance since the premiere on September 27, 1997.

The many niches in the Great Cellar are decorated with 3 to 4 m wide paintings with motifs from FAUST I and FAUST II. This expresses the connection between the location and the work of Goethe.

There is a compilation of the individual pictures.

The trademark of Auerbachs Keller is the legendary “ride on the barrel” or the “flying wine barrel”.

At the entrance to the Große Keller there is a huge wine barrel on which Faust and Mephisto ride like on a horse, delighting the tourists.

Next to the entrance to Auerbachs Keller is the Mephisto Bar.

This is the only part of the historic restaurant that is above ground. The outdoor seating area is under the roof of the Mädler-Passage and can be used in any weather and at any time of year.

Inside the bar there are sculptures of Mephisto, which constantly surprise with their magical tricks.

There is a 4-CD box set of FAUST I + II and a DVD of FAUST I available on the market. Both products include a detailed booklet.

Besides Auerbach Keller, the Brocken in the Harz Mountains is another location to which a scene in FAUST was dedicated.

With 800 performances, “FAUST – The Rock Opera” is the most-performed version of Goethes FAUST.

Falko Illing is the actor of Mephisto. He done all performances since the premiere in 1997.

 

Music, Libretto, Staging and Translation in English of  “FAUST – The Rock Opera” by
Dr. Rudolf Volz

Additional Composing and Arrangements by
Michael Wagner, Matthias Kohl, Uwe Rodi, Uwe Rublack

Sources: All texts and images are either own or originate from the linked websites.

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