“In cities people think that it is good manners not even to know who lives in the same building.”

—  Adolph Freiherr Knigge

In Städten glaubt man, es gehöre zum guten Tone, nicht einmal zu wissen, wer in demselben Hause wohnt.
Quoted in Der kleine Rechthaber: Wem gehört die Parklücke und andere juristische Überraschungen (2008) by Claus Murken, p. 79.

Original

In großen Städten gehört es leider zum guten Tone, nicht einmal zu wissen, wer mit uns in demselben Hause wohne.

Zweites Buch, 8. Kapitel, Haus, Hausgenossen, Nachbarn, Wirt und Gast. hg. von Karl Goedeke. 16. Ausgabe. Hannover: Hahn, 1878. Seite 203 http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Image%3A%C3%9Cber_den_Umgang_mit_Menschen.djvu&page=219
Über den Umgang mit Menschen
Variant: In Städten glaubt man, es gehöre zum guten Tone, nicht einmal zu wissen, wer in demselben Hause wohnt.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Adolph Freiherr Knigge photo
Adolph Freiherr Knigge 20
German writer and Freemason 1752–1796

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