Florian Illies: Träume aus Feuer. Der Alchemist von der Pfaueninsel

In the organizer's words:

The alchemist from Peacock Island. The new book by the bestselling author and "great storyteller" (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

Moderation: Henry Bernhardt (Deutschlandfunk)

Let's immerse ourselves in the great dreams of a great man: Johannes Kunckel is a magician and alchemist who believes he can conjure up gold. The Prussian king gives him the Peacock Island between Potsdam and Berlin so that he can secretly create a new world from fire in his magic workshop. In the end, a glass emerges from his furnace that no human eye had ever seen before: as red as a ruby. It quickly becomes one of the most sought-after luxury goods in Europe.
In the middle of the Baroque era, Johannes Kunckel took the step from magic to chemistry. And made history in the process.
Florian Illies now retells it in his inimitable way - full of atmosphere, full of empathy for the past, full of poetry and wit.

Florian Illies, born in 1971, was head of the features section of the FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE SONNTAGSZEITUNG, managed the Grisebach auction house and is co-editor of DIE ZEIT. Illies founded a new genre with his worldwide success 1913: DER SOMMER DES JAHRHUNDERTS. His most recent bestsellers are ZAUBER DER STILLE about Caspar David Friedrich and WENN DIE SONNE UNTERGEHT. FAMILY MANN IN SANARY.

Admission: 20 €
Tickets at the Peterknecht bookshop, all Ticket Shop Thüringen advance booking offices and at www.peterknecht.de

Photo © Mathias Bothor