Up until the age of thirty-four, Robert spent his life in Zwickau and Leipzig, proximate municipalities in Saxony with utterly different commercial and cultural offerings in the first half of the nineteenth century. This chapter outlines the development of Zwickau and Leipzig up to ca. 1850 and Robert’s life and work in them. Born in Zwickau in 1810, Robert spent his childhood and youth here; he also received his first musical training in this town. After graduating from high school in 1828, he went to Leipzig to study law. From the confines of provincial Zwickau, he had come to a major city. While he initially looked forward to living there, he soon felt uncomfortable. Despite the significance of Leipzig and the opportunities it offered, Robert’s aversion to the city endured for a long time. Later, however, he viewed it as his ‘home’, the centre of his life.