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Dr. Johannes Faust was a German astrologer and magician. Little is known about the historical Faust, but he probably lived from about 1480 to 1540. People of the time considered him a fraud and a criminal; Martin Luther believed that he had devilish powers. A crude biography appeared in 1587. The unknown author borrowed many sensational legends about other magicians. In 1588 Christopher Marlowe wrote a tragedy based on that biography. The greatest literary version of the Faust story was a radically-changed drama by Goethe, in 1808 and 1832. The historical Faust is believed to have lived in Knittlingen, Wuerttemberg, where there is a Dr. Johannes Faust House. This house was later occupied by Alexander Dürrwächter (1798-1862), a carpenter. He was my second great-granduncle.
Photographs of the Fault House and its Dürrwächter connection courtesy of Jörg Dürrwächter
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