Germany. A Winter’s Tale by Heinrich Heine. Short summary

5 seconds

The poet returns to Germany after thirteen years in exile and describes his impressions of the country and its political life. He looks into the future, but it does not look good.

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After a long absence, the author returns home to Germany from France. After wandering around Aachen, he admires the cathedral and the Rhine in Cologne in the evening of the same day. On the square the poet meets a ghost who calls himself the executor of his thoughts. Next, Heine travels to Hagen. He perceives the bad weather and road dirt as part of his beloved homeland and confesses his love for German cuisine.

On the way to Paderborn in the forest, the author addresses the wolves, calling himself one of them. The predators do not touch him. The poet recalls the songs and legends he heard as a child from his nanny. Hannover surprises the traveler with luxury and grandeur. His son meets his mother in Hamburg. After a fire the city has changed.

The writer meets the goddess Gammonia, patroness of the city, and shares his longing for his homeland with her. The goddess shows him the future of Germany — hideous and stinky, but asks him to keep silent about what he has seen. Heine, addressing the king, asks him to honor the dead poets and not to offend the living, who could also exile the king to hell.