Café Zimmermann

The Café Zimmermann, or Zimmermannsches 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 (Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht), and instrumental works.

[1] The coffeehouse was located at 14 Katharinenstrasse, then the most elegant street of Leipzig, connecting the Brühl to the market place.

[2] During the summer months, Zimmermann also ran an outdoor coffee garden in the Grimmaischer Steinweg [de] outside the city walls, near the East Gate.

From 1720 the café hosted the Collegium Musicum founded by Georg Philipp Telemann as a law student in 1702.

The concerts directed by Bach lasted about two hours and consisted of German and Italian opera, chamber music, secular cantatas, and works for orchestra.