Café Zimmermann
The Café Zimmermann, or Zimmermannsche Kaffeehaus was the coffeehouse of Gottfried Zimmermann in Leipzig which formed the backdrop to the first performances of many of Bach's secular cantatas, e.g. the Coffee Cantata, and instrumental works.
In 1723, the year Bach moved to Leipzig, it was largest and best-appointed Kaffeehaus of Leipzig and a centre for the middle classes and gentlemen. While women were forbidden from frequenting coffeehouses, they could attend public concerts at Zimmermann's. The coffeehouse was located at 14 Katharinenstrasse, then the most elegant street of Leipzig, connecting the Brühl to the market place. The name of the street had been taken from the old St. Catherine's Chapel which had been demolished in 1544. In Telemann's and Bach's day only the name of the street remained.
The four-and-a-half-storey Baroque building was constructed by Doering around 1715. It consisted of two adjoining rooms, one approximately 8 × 10 metres, the other approximately 5.5 × 10 metres. It was destroyed during an air raid on Leipzig in December 1943.
Zimmermann also ran a coffee garden, as a summer venue.
From 1720 the cafe hosted the Collegium Musicum founded by Georg Philipp Telemann as a law student in 1702 and later directed by Johann Sebastian Bach between 1729 and 1739. Zimmermann charged the Collegium Musicum no fee for hosting their concerts, nor were the audience charged a fee; Zimmermann's expenses were repaid by sales of coffee. The concerts ended with Zimmermann's death in 1741.
A French classical music ensemble named Café Zimmermann is named after this coffeehouse.
Coordinates: 51°20′30″N 12°22′30″E / 51.34176°N 12.37509°E
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