Marion Wenzel Freyburg / Unstrut . wine festival to mark the 40th anniversary of the GDR

Freyburg / Unstrut . wine festival to mark the 40th anniversary of the GDR
Freyburg / Unstrut . wine festival to mark the 40th anniversary of the GDR Freyburg / Unstrut . wine festival to mark the 40th anniversary of the GDR

The houses of the small town are grey. Colour hues and the outlines of everything visible are toned with this grey. The streets are empty, almost as if the wine festival is taking place elsewhere. The town is like an empty stage, with just a few earthly objects scattered here and there. On the papier-maché wine bottles, twice the height of a man, sneer three devils. They fail to dispel the air of gloom, everything is an overflowing void, everything is needy. In front of the tribune on the marketplace a few people are seated, the obligatory speech has -already been delivered. Although barely midday, everything somehow looks withered. One word withering after another. Here and there people are drinking wine from the bottle. The -devils leer. And there is no inkling that a local sparkling wine company, years later, will successfully market high spirits to a united Germany. The steps of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn memorial hall are covered with sleepers. More of them on the lawns, not the fortunate, it appears. Under the democratic blanket of sleep the image transforms into a peaceful still life, an ideal circumstance of silent equality. It is time to bid farewell to many things. On the drive back to Leipzig, the following Monday looming, a picture by Pieter Brueghel the Elder comes to mind. Arriving home, we consult an English illustrated book. Three men lay oblivious, dreaming of the land of plenty. The picture is titled “Fool’s Paradise”.