Auerbach’s Keller

Going back more than 500 years, Auerbach’s Keller in the basement of Madler Passage, is possibly Leipzig’s oldest and best known restaurant. It seems nothing much from outside with only a few massive sculptures marking its entrance. But go down the steps from the main passageway and you will be greeted by a large and low-ceilinged restaurant, all dark furniture and white tablecloths. But there are many smaller rooms with old wooden arches, paintings and paraphernalia that point to the ancestry of the place. According to legend, it was a watering hole and played host of many musical greats including Bach and Beethoven, at a time when going to public houses was done on the sly. But more importantly, it is one of these rooms that Goethe wrote Faust and is the setting for the first place that Mephisto takes Faust to after they sign the contract.