"Traum aus Feuer" - Florian Illies Reads at Mainz Cathedral

With elegance and erudition, Florian Illies-the "great storyteller" (Süddeutsche Zeitung)-transforms past epochs into vivid present-day reality. In the heart of the Baroque era, Johannes Kunckel takes a step from magic to chemistry, thereby writing himself into history. Florian Illies retells this story in his own way-full of atmosphere, empathy for the past, poetry, and wit.

The Great Elector in Potsdam dreams that Johannes Kunckel, perhaps the most famous alchemist of his time, can make gold. Instead, he grinds gold ducats into dust and creates from them a glass that glows in a deep red hue unlike anything before.

This transition into a new world is the subject of "Traum aus Feuer." Florian Illies lets the events surrounding Johannes Kunckel heat slowly, like ruby glass in his furnace, until a grandiose finale sets everything ablaze.

On 09.09.2026 at 19:00, Florian Illies reads at Mainz Cathedral. The focus of the reading will be his latest book "Traum aus Feuer."

The event is organized by the Episcopal Chapter and the Literaturfreunde agency.