Robin Hood of Wurzen

World cinema has about a dozen plots that never get old. One of them is the comedy heist. A handsome, devilishly charming thief comes to a disgustingly greedy rich man — and takes everything. And we sit there and rejoice: good for him, that greedy bastard deserved it.

Robin Hood of Wurzen

In the early 19th century, there was no cinema. But there were newspapers. And stories about noble robbers also found their way into them, sometimes with details so vivid you could turn them into a screenplay right now.

Take, for example, this story, reprinted in 1818 by the Sanktpeterburgskie Vedomosti from some unknown European newspaper.

Recently, in the Saxon town of Wurzen, a theft of government funds took place, about which the public papers report the following:

«Recently, in the Saxon town of Wurzen, a theft of government funds took place, about which the public papers report the following:

“A poor man, unable to pay a debt of 300 thalers, was awaiting the police officers who were to take him to prison. As he sat in grief with his wife over a meager supper, a stranger suddenly entered and announced that he had been instructed to give them 100 thalers — if that sum would suffice for their needs. But upon learning that this amount was insufficient to pay off the debt, he immediately left, soon returned, handed them 300 thalers, accepting neither gratitude nor a promissory note, saying only with a laugh: ‘If they ask where you got the money, you can say you received it from a swindler.’ After that, he asked them to prepare supper for him and two of his friends the following day, specifying exactly what dishes to make, threw a louis d’or on the table, and added: ‘If anything is missing, I’ll pay the rest later.’

The poor man thought it necessary to inform the city court of this the next day. The members of the court, upon hearing this strange story, withdrew and ordered the man and his wife to keep quiet about it and to prepare the supper, while they themselves — along with all their servants and gendarmes — hid in the house. They waited for the guests for a long time, but they never showed up. Instead, the burgomaster’s maid came running with the news that thieves had broken into the room where the judges were sitting and stolen the government treasury, which contained 5,000 thalers.

Only then did they realize that the supper ordered by the thieves had merely been a ruse to clear all the people out of the town hall, so that they could steal the treasury more easily and without interference. However, the thieves were tracked down in Leipzig…”»

Sanktpeterburgskie Vedomosti

There is no confirmation of this story. Not a single document, not a single newspaper clipping from Leipzig — nothing except this note in the Sanktpeterburgskie Vedomosti. Maybe it’s true, maybe not. But you’ll agree — the story is amusing and clever.

Wurzen

Glossary:

Wurzen — a small town in Saxony, between Leipzig and Dresden.

Thaler — a silver coin used as currency in Germany during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Louis d’or — a French gold coin; the name means “golden Louis.”

Town hall (Rathaus) — the seat of the city government.

Gendarmes — not ordinary police, but a militarized constabulary.

Saxon newspapers — publications such as the Leipziger Zeitung, Dresdner Anzeigen, or Wurzener Wochenblatt, from which the Saint Petersburg Gazette might have reprinted this story.

Sanktpeterburgskie Vedomosti

Wurzen Mulde Original Stahlstich Thümling 1862