Salzwedel

"The inhabitants of Salzwedel, especially the women, are a particular human type. They are deeply fond of their town, sometimes shy towards strangers, with incredible interest in each other, full of memories, gossipy; but also movingly ready to help and sacrifice for each other. The social contrasts between the notables, the merchants and the petty bourgeoisie are of a very mild nature. This must have been the case in the past too, as my father's stories show me. They are interested in each other, notables and not, large and small; they gossip about each other; but they are also joined in a double thread. They are surprised if someone asks questions about their conditions, which, in their opinion, he should naturally know. Their intellectual life, apart from their lively interests and musical joys, is sometimes a little indolent; and men are of a somewhat material and coarse nature. But their life as a whole, framed by their gardens, has an involuntary poetry. (Friedrich Meinecke)"