 Old View of Jena |
A very lively impression of the October days of this year can be gained by reading Sigrid Damm's inen sehr lebendigen Eindruck der Oktobertage dieses Jahres vermittelt uns Sigrid Damms "Recherche" Christiane und Goethe which was published in 1998 by Insel, Frankfurt and Leizpig.
In it, Damm reports that in August, 1806, Goethe still spend a few pleasant days with his life companion, Christiane Vulpius, in the circle of friends:
 Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe |
 Christiane Vulpius |
"Diese Tage sind wohl die letzten unbeschwerten im Jahr 1806. Hiesigen Orts sind die meisten Menschen voll Furcht vor den Franzosen; ganz unnötig, da uns die nähren Preußen schützen. Erst gestern sind wieder Fuseliers an uns vorbei ins Coburgsche gegangen. In Eisenach sind auch Preußen, schreibt Riemer" (Damm: 324;
-- Damm writes that these days were probably the last pleasant days of that year and that, as Riemer reported, "here, most people are afraid of the French; quite unnecessarily, since the nearby Prussians will protect us. Only yesterday, the marched by us towards Coburg. In Eisenach, there are also Prussians").
As Damm further reports, Goethe retreated to his "cloisterly castle rooms" at Jena. From there, however, he had to go to Weimar, to attend the Duke's birthday celebrations at the "R0÷mische Haus", and noted himself, on the 16th:
"Abends bey Serenissimo wegen einiger Besorgungen in dessen Abwesenheit. Am 17: Bey Serenissimo zum Abschiede" (Damm: 324-325; --
-- "With the Serenissimus in the evening, on account of some errands in his absence. On the 17th: With the Serenissimus for his farewell").
As Damm reports, Duke Carl August went to Niederroßla, in the role of a Prussian General, with respect to which, on September 24th, Goethe noted:
"Mittags in Niederroßla bey Serenissimo im Haupt Quartier" (Damm: 325; --
-- "At noon in Niederroßla, with the Serenissimus, in the headquarters").
As Damm reports, on September 26th, Goethe went to Jena with Christiane's brother, where he, however, already on October 1st, had to give up his rooms at the castle, for the commander of the Prussian Army at Jena, Prince Hohenlohe. On October 3rd, according to Damm, Goethe wrote in his diary:
"Visiten. Prinz Louis (Ferdinand von Preußen). Beym Fürsten Honenlohe zur Tafel" (Damm: 325; --
-- "Visis: Prince Louis (Ferdinand of Prussia). With Prince Hohenlohe at the table").
According to Damm, on October 6th, Goethe returned to Weimar and there, on Ocotber 10th, noted in his diary:
"Starker Truppenmarch durch die Stadt und die Gegend" (Damm: 325; --
-- "Vigorous march of the troops through the city and the area").
On October 11th, according to Damm, Goethe received news that the leader of the Prussian corps, Prince Louis Ferdinand, had died in battle, near Saalfeld.
 Prince Louis Ferdinand |
In this context, we might also recall that Beethoven met this Prince during his 1796 visit to Berlin and that he valued this extremely talented lay musician very highly.
As Damm reports, on October 13th, Goethe noted:
"Ging ich mit Hendrich das Lager zu sehn" (Damm: 325; --
-- "I went to see the military camp, with Hendrich").
As Damm reports, they were accompanied by Koes, a Danish philologist who noted in his diary:
"Spaziergang mit Goethe und dem Major Hendrich neben dem großen Lager. Der König steht jetzt hier mit 95 000 Mann; gestern schlugen die Sachsen bei Jena ein Lager auf. So weit wir über die Berge umher sehen konnten, standen Zelte; die Soldaten kochend Kohl und Kartoffeln, andere Holz umhauend aus den Alleen, andere Ochsen oder Kühe schlachtend, die nachher stückweise auf Pfählen ins Lager getragen wurden. Marketenderinnen mit Branntwein und Kaffee, Feldwachen, Hauptwache, Kavallerieregimenter defilierten vorbei, ringsherum stieg Rauch aus dem Lager herauf. Es war ein schöner Herbsttag. Goethe ist ein ansehnlicher Mann, herrliche Augen; doch schien sein Gemüt niegergedrückt durch die kritischen Umstände" (Damm: 325-326; --
-- "Walk with Goethe and Major Hendrich, to the military camps. Here, the King as gathered 95,000 men; yesterday, the Saxons set up camp near Jena. As far as we can see from the nearby mountains, there were tents everywhere; the soldiers were cooking cabbage and potatoes, others were chopping wood in the alleys, others were slaughtering oxen or cows and then carried them to the camp on poles; sutler women with brandy and coffee; camp guards, main guard post; cavalry regiments went by, all around, smoke went up. It was a beautiful fall day. Goethe is an attractive man, wonderful eyes; however, he seemed depressed on account of the critical situation" .
As Damm further reports, the next day, on October 14th, the decisive battles were fought at Jena and Auerstedt, where Marshal Davout was victorious over the Prussians. She describes this victory as the strategically far more important one, while Napoleon, however, who was at Jena, also claimed the Auerstedt victory as his. According to Damm, the battle at Jena began at 6 o'clock in the morning and ended at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, so that Weimar's citizens first saw the Prussian retreat and then the invasion by the French who looted the city and set it on fire. As Damm reports, on October 14th, Goethe wrote in his diary:
"Früh Kanonade bei Jena, darauf Schlacht bei Kötschau. Deroute der Preußen. Abends um 5 Uhr flogen die Kanonenkugeln durch die Dächer. Um 12 6 Einzug der Chasseuers. 7 Uhr Brand, Plünderung, schreckliche Nacht" (Damm: 326; --
-- "Early canon fight near Jena, then battle near Kötschau, deroutiing by the Prussiants. In the evening at 5 o'clock, canons flew through the rooftops. At five thirty, invasion by the chasers. At 7 o'clock, fire, looting, terrible night").
As Damm reports, every citizen of Weimar had to fear for his life and for his property. Althought it is not certain, as she further states, whether Christiane Vulpius' brave standing up for her household saved Goethe's life, an immediate result of this night was that, only a few days later, Goethe married her.
As Damm reports, in Weimar, not even 10 houses, including the palace, were safe from looting.
To read up on these battles, we might wish to take a look at the information Wikipedia has to offer:
As we can see, the English-language Wikipedia page provides good basic information with respect to these battles. However, since Wikipedia depends on volunteer efforts and resources that are available in the language-areas in which each version is created, the German equivalent to this page still offers more detailed information on the direct 'local' aftermath of these battles, with respect to Prussia and Saxony. For those of you who read German fairly well, we also offer a link to that page:
As we can learn from the above link, on October 27, 1806, Napoleon marched into Berlin. With respect to Beethoven and his stay at Grätz near Troppau, we are familiar with the fact that Prince Lichnowsky had to entertain French officers, there, at the end of October, and how Beethoven reacted to being asked to play for them.
From these considerations, it might become easier to consider a Leipzig publisher's situation during this time and why he might have to pass up Beethoven's offer on account of the worsened economic situation due to the military activities of this fall.