I'm already a bit of a magician - Otfried Preußler's narrative worlds

An exhibition entitled "I'm already a bit of a magician..." invites visitors to embark on a journey into Preußler's fantastic narrative worlds and at the same time follow in the footsteps of his life. Because if you want to understand Otfried Preußler's books, you also need to know his origins: Born in 1923 in Reichenberg (now Liberec) in northern Bohemia, he grew up with the legends, fairy tales and ghosts of the Jizera Mountains. Grandmother Dora told him many of the stories of his childhood. They became the source of his literature.
Be it The Little Ghost or the dark forces in Krabat - they all have their origins in the rich mythology of his homeland. Preußler was a master at transforming these motifs into modern, child-friendly stories. His works are more than just children's books:
The exhibition shows Otfried Preußler's life journey: from a boy growing up with fairy tales, myths and legends, to a teacher in Rosenheim who speaks his stories into a dictaphone on long walks, to a celebrated author. His works have been translated into over 55 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Many of them can be seen on the theatre and puppet stage as well as in animated cartoons and cinema films or as records and audio books on DVD.
"Children need stories" is written on Otfried Preußler's gravestone († 2013). It was his conviction - and his legacy. His books are sometimes cheerful, sometimes scary, but always full of humanity and poetry. They show: Imagination is a treasure that must be preserved.

Last edited on 08.05.2025