Then the tram moved on so that the view was clear and Emil saw the man hesitate for a moment and then walk up the stairs to the terrace of an outdoor cafe.
Now he must again be very careful, like a detective catching fleas. Emil took in the situation at a glance, saw a newspaper-stand at the corner of the road and ran behind it as fast as his legs would carry him. His hiding-palce was excellent for he stood between the newspaper-stand and an advertisement board ….
The man had seated himself on the terrace, close to the railing. He was smoking a cigarette and looked very pleased with himself. Emil was disgusted to realize that a thief could enjoy himself, and that the person who had been robbed was the one who had to be depressed. Emil did not know what to do next ….
What good did it do him to know that the man was sitting in the Café Josty in the Kaiser Avenue drinking light beer and smoking a cigarette?
Erich Kästner, Emil and the Detectives (Jonathan Cape 1931)
In its heyday the Café Josty was the meeting place for authors, artists and other bohemian types. The literary salon of Berlin, if you will. So when Kästner set a pivotal scene there, he was using a prime Berlin landmark. The original Café was closed in 1930 and the building destroyed during World War II. What remained of Potsdamer Platz was completely flattened during the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
An investment of over $2 billion has helped Potsdamer Platz to transform once more. This is a shot taken from the same place as the above in 2008.
Tucked in amongst the breathtaking skyscrapers is a new landmark, The Sony Centre. Yet another architectural marvel within the new Berlin. Inside is complex of cinemas, museums, and tourist watering holes including a reincarnated Café Josty.
No longer any newspaper stands or advertisement boards. But can’t you just imagine Emil hiding behind that leafy palm tree to the right? A walk through the front door to the back of the café takes you back in time to the nineteenth century as you enter the reconstructed Kaisersaal – the Emperor’s Hall of the former Grand Hotel Esplanade. Looking just as it did when Theodor Fontane (King of the German nineteenth century novel) was living in the city and frequenting the Café Josty.
Where better to read his novels in the twenty-first century?
This visual record is so interesting – thanks for sharing. It is a lifelong ambition to go to Berlin but somehow one yet to be achieved despite my having been to several other German cities.
While history interests me, I’ve never been that interested in the changing faces of cities. I suspect, however, that this trip to Berlin has changed all that. I’m now on the lookout for a visual history of the city. All recommendations, welcome.
Thanks for this, Lizzy, great visual record and also reminds me that I have never read Emil and the Detectives and now want to more than ever! Must read more Fontane too – I didn’t go to the Cafe Josty on my recent (first) visit to Berlin, but will do so next time, and will take Fontane with me.
What wonderful pictures! Thank you, and thanks for the introduction to Emil and the Detectives.
Lizzy, I keep meaning to tell you about Jeff Cotton’s Fictional Cities website. Do you know it? It’s brilliant. I tend to follow it for the Venice recommendations. But he’s got a new section about novels set in Berlin, which you may be interested in.
http://www.fictionalcities.co.uk/berlin.htm
Thanks Kim. What a great idea for a site!
Hello,
Is there a book that describes the pre-Nazi Berlin coffee shop scene including such places as Josty, Romanisches Cafe, etc.
Thank you.
richard
My name is Steven Josty and I am a descendent of the founders of the cafe. I live in Wales but hope to visit the new cafe one day. Interesting article. Kind regards S Josty.
Lizzy, have you seen the Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire? It was filmed in 1987 in Berlin, and in one scene an old Jewish scholar wanders the barren area next to the Wall trying to remember where Cafe Josty was. It’s a haunting scene.
I’m working on an essay about nostalgia and the changing faces of cities, and was looking for an outdoor picture of the modern version of Cafe Josty, which is how I found this. Thanks!
This piece of writing is really a fastidious one it assists new net viewers, who are wishing in favor of blogging.