The German at St George's
A very unlikely story from Dublin's northside about a lodger there who connects Dublin with Mozart, Greenland Adventures, and Goethe. A fascinating figure (who even has a mineral named after him), Giesecke's life is here recalled by the brilliant literary actor Val O'Donnel.
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Giesecke had quite a time in Greenland, going for 2 years but getting trapped and staying for 7. Giesecke established friendly relations with the Eskimo inhabitants and learned to travel in the umiak, the vessel used by the Eskimo women. According to one source Giesecke "was frugal and spent his time 'hewing and cleaving stones from morning to nightfall. The Napoleonic wars were the source of many of his troubles: Back home in Copenhagen, Giesecke's existing collections were destroyed when the British fleet bombarded the city. In 1806, Giesecke shipped a large collection of materials aboard the Danish ship Freuhlin, headed for Copenhagen. The ship was taken as a prize of war by the Royal Navy, and the collection was auctioned off in Edinburgh in 1808. When the British captured the Danish fleet, Giesecke was unable to get home. His eventual return to Europe in August 1813 was picturesque; according to Dent "he landed at Hull, looking probably rather like Papageno, for his European clothes had worn out, and he was dressed as an Eskimo in fur and feathers."
