Ludwig van Beethoven, Brief an die Gebrüder Offenheimer, Wien, vermutlich 31. Juli oder 1. August 1811, Autograph

Beethoven wrote this letter shortly before his departure to Bohemia, where he was to visit a spa. On account of his bad hearing he did not want to be alone there (he was worried about problems arising from contact with strangers) and had persuaded his friend Franz Oliva to accompany him. Oliva was an accountant at Offenheimer & Herz, a bank and house of commerce. Oliva and Beethoven did not, however, leave Vienna together as Oliva was already in Reichenberg in Bohemia. The journey from Vienna to Teplitz was via Prague and took two days. Before he leaves, Beethoven asks the Offenheimer brothers about Reichenberg's exact location as he might possibly go there to pick up Oliva