Loreley

THE STORY:

A group of tourists go on board a river boat in order to visit the famous Loreley, who is sitting on top of a high rock overlooking the river Rhine. There, the captain begins to recite Heinrich Heine's famous ballad of the beautiful Loreley, who is combing her long, golden shimmering hair, thereby distracting the passing skippers below. For them the Rhine turns into a deadly trap and swallows seaman and boat. The tourists are fascinated by this poem, lost in a daydream before returning to reality.

THE AUTHOR:

Heinrich Heine (*1797 in Düsseldorf, †1856 in Paris) is one of Germany's great authors. He wrote the "Loreley" at the age of 27. But then, his revolutionary thinking got him into trouble with the German government. In 1831, he left for Paris. And since in 1835 Germany even banned his writings, Paris became his final refuge, where he wrote unforgettable prose and lyrics. After a longterm illness he passed away in Paris at the age of 58.

THE ARTIST:

Aljoscha Blau (*1972 in Leningrad) studied illustration and grafic design at the Academy of Art in Hamburg. He now works as a freelance artist, mostly illustrating children's books. He already received several awards, among them the "Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis" (2003) and the "Bologna Ragazzi Award" (2006). Aljoscha Blau lives with his family in Berlin.