Beethoven was notoriously mistrustful of his servants. He was particularly worried that they might be stealing from him. This is why he obliged his housekeeper to keep a record of each item purchased and its cost in a housekeeping ledger, together with the date purchased. In pencil he then worked out the total ("kommt heraus") and the difference with the housekeeping money ("bleiben"; the abbreviation "geg" is short for "gegeben"). Once he had completed his check Beethoven put a large X through the column in question.
We use cookies to optimize our website and provide you with the best possible service. You can choose which cookies to allow. Your preferences can be changed at any time in the privacy section.
We use cookies to enable the use of our website and to guarantee that certain features work. These cookies are required and can not be rejected.
This website uses Matomo, an open-source web analytics software, to collect anonymized data about website usage. This helps us improve our services. Your IP address is anonymized. You can opt out of data collection at any time.
We use external media to display video content or social media embeds. These services set cookies and transmit, in rare cases, personal data outside the EU.
YouTubeThis website uses the YouTube embedding function to display and play videos from the provider YouTube, which is part of Google Ireland Limited. » Google Privacy policy
