13 audiobooks of German classics, from Grimm's fairy tales to Kafka's Die Verwandlung, recorded in full by LibriVox volunteers. Open any of them in the SparkAI reader to follow the text chapter by chapter as you listen.
B12 audiobooksThe clearer, simpler texts: a good first step into real books.
Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Auswahl)· Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, 1857
Thirty of the Grimms' best-known fairy tales in the brothers' final text: Hänsel und Gretel, Rotkäppchen, Aschenputtel, Rumpelstilzchen, Frau Holle. Simple storytelling, a few old forms (daß, ward, sprach).
B16 h 1430 recordings
Listen9 min · read by Ariphron, Bernd Ungerer, derFragwuerdige and others
Heidi, an orphan, goes to live with her gruff grandfather high on a Swiss mountain, then is taken to the city of Frankfurt. The first Heidi book; plenty of dialogue, Swiss words (Alm-Öhi, Geißenpeter), modern spelling in this edition.
B16 h 0014 recordings
Listen30 min · read by Consi, Igor Teaforay, Kalynda and others
B23 audiobooksRicher vocabulary and longer sentences.
Die Verwandlung· Franz Kafka, 1915
Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning transformed into a giant insect, and his family must live with him. Clear, precise sentences about a nightmare; old spelling (daß).
Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte· Adelbert von Chamisso, 1814
Peter Schlemihl sells his shadow to a mysterious man in grey for a bottomless purse of gold, and finds he cannot live without it. A short fantastic tale in eleven chapters; old spelling (daß).
Märchen-Almanach auf das Jahr 1826· Wilhelm Hauff, 1826
Merchants crossing the desert tell each other stories: Kalif Storch, the ghost ship, the severed hand, Little Muck, the false prince. Oriental fairy tales framed by the caravan's journey; old spelling (daß).
C16 audiobooksLiterary German: longer sentences and an older, more formal style.
Der Schimmelreiter· Theodor Storm, 1888
On the North Sea coast, the stubborn dike-reeve Hauke Haien builds a new dike against the storms, and the villagers whisper about his white horse. Storm's last novella, told within a ghost story; some Low German words.
Seventeen-year-old Effi marries a much older baron and moves to a gloomy town on the Baltic, where a brief affair will catch up with her years later. Fontane's great novel of Prussian society, in witty conversations; old spelling.
In a remote Westphalian village, young Friedrich Mergel grows up among poachers and violence; a Jewish trader is murdered under a beech tree. A dark crime story based on a true case; old spelling (daß).
Nathanael believes the barometer seller Coppola is the Sandman who haunted his childhood, and falls in love with Olimpia, a strangely perfect young woman. The classic German tale of horror, in letters and narration; old spelling.
Josef K. is arrested one morning without having done anything wrong, and spends a year trying to find out what he is accused of. Kafka's novel, in its first edition (1925); old spelling (daß).
The ageing Casanova, longing to return to Venice, stops at a friend's country house and becomes obsessed with the young Marcolina. A psychological novella in elegant, ironic prose; old spelling (daß).
C14 h 279 recordings
Listen25 min · read by ekyale, Gesine, Markus Wachenheim and others
C22 audiobooksDemanding classics in the German of their time.
Die Leiden des jungen Werther· Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1774
Young Werther writes to his friend about nature, books and his hopeless love for Lotte, who is engaged to another man. The novel in letters that made Goethe famous; 18th-century prose, old spelling (daß).
The clumsy student Anselmus falls in love with a little green-gold snake in an elder bush in Dresden and is drawn into a world of salamanders and witches. Hoffmann's fairy tale of modern times, in twelve night-watches; old spelling.
Yes. LibriVox volunteers recorded these out-of-copyright German books and released the recordings into the public domain. They play on this page with no sign-up.
Can I read the text while I listen?
Yes. Each of these books is in the SparkAI reader as well; open a chapter there and its recording sits at the top, with tap-to-translate on every word.
What level do I need?
These are original, unsimplified texts, so most suit intermediate learners and up. Below that, read and listen to the graded stories for your level first.
Who reads them?
LibriVox volunteers, often several per book, one chapter each, so you hear a range of voices and accents.
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