EuroLife: Day 113

Things You Can Learn in Leipzig
(Or online)

• The largest Nineteenth Century European battle took place at Leipzig. In 1813 Napoleon and 190,000 French, Italian, and Polish soldiers faced off against 330,000 Prussians, Russians, Austrians, and Swedes. In a daring move that the Italians would perfect in the 20th century, the Saxons managed to fight on both sides. Seeing which way the wind was blowing, they left the little Emperor in lurch. This "Battle of the Nations," as it is often called, was about three times the size of the Battle of Gettysburg, which involved 94,000 Union soldiers and 72,000 Confederates. However, the largest battle of the century award goes to China for the "Third Battle of Nanking." The third time really is the charm. This battle may have involved more than 1,000,000 people, though everyone was moving around too much so it was hard to count. (This constant motion also spoiled the group picture.)
• Bach, who spent his days knocking around Leipzig (and Weimar) fell into relative obscurity after his death. He was "rediscovered" by Felix Mendelssohn who performed Bach's St. Mathew's Passion in 1829 in Berlin. Hegel, who was in attendance at the concert, later described Bach as a "grand, truly Protestant, robust and, so to speak, erudite genius which we have only recently learned again to appreciate at its full value." How right you are, sir, how right you are.
• The first European to figure out how to make porcelain (not China, thank you) was Johann Bottinger, a famed but failed alchemist. He did it in 1710, in Meissen, a small town near Dresden.