Visiting the Town Hall: «LeoZeit: Schatten» for Lord Mayor Tobias Degode

LEONBERG — On Tuesday, 22 September 2026, we went to Leonberg town hall and presented Lord Mayor Tobias Degode with «LeoZeit: Schatten» — the novel that is set in his town.

First the painting, now the book

Last December we had already given him «Wächter Leo»: Vitalii Kostiuk’s painting of the Leonberger puppy who accompanies young Alicia in LeoZeit. This time we brought the book in which Leo lives. Anyone who calls Leonberg home will recognise their own town in it: the castle, the narrow lanes on the slope, the Pomeranzengarten behind the walls.

With a foreword by the Deputy Mayor

After the handover we were joined by Josefa von Hohenzollern-Emden, the Deputy Mayor of Leonberg. She wrote the foreword to «LeoZeit: Schatten»; it comes right at the front of the book, even before the prologue:

“When I first held this book in my hands, I was touched by how lovingly it speaks of Leonberg. A family that has found a new home with us is giving our city a story—that is a beautiful gift.”

A book from Leonberg

For us, things have now come full circle. Last November, in the same town hall, we presented «Sonja und die Mondfee», and Lord Mayor Degode was with us then as well. It means a great deal to us that the novel has now reached him too.

A heartfelt thank you to Tobias Degode and Josefa von Hohenzollern-Emden for the time they gave us. We are glad that Leonberg welcomes us and our stories so openly.