Etymology
Name
The name Leipzig is derived from the Slavic word ', which means "settlement where theHistory
Origins
Leipzig was first documented in 1015 in the chronicles of Bishop19th century
The Leipzig region was the arena of the 181320th century
With the opening of a fifth production hall in 1907, the21st century
Nowadays, Leipzig is an important economic centre in Germany. Since the 2010s, the city has been celebrated by the media as a hip urban centre with a very high quality of living. It is often called "The new Berlin". Leipzig is also Germany's fastest growing city. Leipzig was the German candidate for theGeography
Location
Leipzig lies at the confluence of the riversSubdivision
Since 1992 Leipzig has been divided administratively into ten ''Stadtbezirke'' (boroughs), which in turn contain a total of 63 ''Ortsteile'' (localities). Some of these correspond to outlying villages which have been annexed by Leipzig.Neighbouring communities
Climate
Like many cities in Eastern Germany, Leipzig has anPolitics
Mayor
The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Hinrich Lehmann-Grube of theCity council
The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 171,423 , 21.4 , 2.8 , 15 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,Bundestag
Leipzig is represented in theDemographics
Leipzig has a population of about 600,000. In 1930, the population reached its historical peak of over 700,000. It decreased steadily from 1950 to about 530,000 in 1989. In the 1990s, the population decreased rather rapidly to 437,000 in 1998. This reduction was mostly due to outward migration andCulture, sights and cityscape
In the last decade, Leipzig has become known for its numerous cultural and nightlife institutions, earning the nickname ''Hypezig'', earning the city comparisons to 1990s and early 2000s Berlin. The affordability, diversity and openness of the city have attracted many young people from across Europe, leading to a trendsetting alternative atmosphere, resulting in an innovative music, dance and art scene that has developed in the 2010s. Young people, musicians,Architecture
The historic central area of Leipzig features a Renaissance-style ensemble of buildings from the sixteenth century, including the old city hall in the marketplace. There are also severalTallest buildings and structures
The tallest structure in Leipzig is the chimney of the Stahl- und Hartgusswerk Bösdorf GmbH with a height of . With . The tallest building in Leipzig is theMuseums and the arts
One of the highlights of the city's contemporary arts was theMain sights
*Churches
* St. Thomas's Church (Thomaskirche): Most famous as the place whereParks and lakes
Leipzig is well known for its large parks. The ''Leipziger Auwald'' (Music
Annual events
*Auto Mobil International (AMI)Food and drink
*An all-season local dish isSports
More than 300 sport clubs in the city represent 78 different disciplines. Over 400 athletic facilities are available to citizens and club members.Football
TheIce hockey
Since the beginning of the 20th century,Handball
American football
Other sports
From 1950 to 1990 Leipzig was host of the Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur (DHfK, German College of Physical Culture), the national sports college of the GDR. Leipzig also hosted theEducation
University
Visual arts and theatre
The Academy of Visual Arts (''University of Applied Science
TheLeipzig Graduate School
The privateResearch institutes
Leipzig is currently the home of twelve research institutes and theOthers
Leipzig is home to one of the world's oldest schools, ''Economy
The city is a location for automobile manufacturing by BMW andSocio-ecological infrastructure
Leipzig has a dense network of socio-ecological infrastructures. Worth mentioning in the food sector are the ''Fairteiler'' of foodsharing and the numerousMedia
* MDR, one of Germany's public broadcasters, has its headquarters and main television studios in the city. It provides programmes to various TV and radio networks and has its own symphony orchestra, choir and a ballet. *''Leipziger Volkszeitung'' (''LVZ'') is the city's only daily newspaper. Founded in 1894, it has published under several different forms of government. The monthly magazine ''Kreuzer'' specializes in culture, festivities and the arts in Leipzig. Leipzig was also home to the world's first daily newspaper in modern times. The "Einkommende Zeitungen" were first published in 1650. *Leipzig has one daily or semi-daily English-language publication, ''The Leipzig Glocal''. It is an online-based magazine and blog that caters to an international as well as local audience. Besides publishing pages on jobs, doctors and movies available in English and other languages, the site's team of authors writes articles about lifestyle, arts & culture, politics, entertainment, Leipzig events, etc. *Once known for its large number of publishing houses, Leipzig had been called ''Buch-Stadt'' (book city), the most notable of them being branches of Brockhaus andQuality of life
In December 2013, according to a study byTransport
Founded at the crossing ofRailways
Opened in 1915,Suburban trains
Leipzig is the core of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland line network. Together with the tram, six of the ten lines form the backbone of local public transport and an important link to the region and the neighbouring Halle. The main line of the S-Bahn consists of the underground S-Bahn stations Hauptbahnhof, Markt, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz andTramway and buses
TheBicycle
Like most German cities, Leipzig has a traffic layout designed to beRoad
Several federal motorways pass by Leipzig: the A 14 in the north, the A 9 in the west and the A 38 in the south. The three motorways form a triangular partial ring of the double ring Mitteldeutsche Schleife around Halle and Leipzig. To the south towards Chemnitz, the A 72 is also partly under construction. The federal roads B 2, B 6, B 87, B 181 and B 184 lead through the city area. The ring road (Innenstadtring), which corresponds to the course of the old city fortification, surrounds the city centre of Leipzig, which today is largely traffic-calmed. Leipzig has a dense network ofLong-distance buses
Since March 2018 there has been a central bus station directly east of Leipzig Central Station. In addition to a large number of national lines, several international lines also serve Leipzig. The cities of Bregenz, Budapest, Milan, Prague, Sofia and Zurich, among others, can be reached without having to change trains. Around 30,000 journeys and 1.5 million passengers a year are expected at the new bus station. Some lines also use Leipzig/Halle Airport, located at the A 9/A 14 motorway junction, andAir
Water
In the first half of the 20th century, the construction of the Elster-Saale canal,Quotations
''Mein Leipzig lob' ich mir! Es ist ein klein Paris und bildet seine Leute.'' (I praise my Leipzig! It is a small Paris and educates its people.) – Frosch, a university student in Goethe's ''Twin towns – sister cities
Leipzig is twinned with: *Notable people
Politicians
*Nikolaus Krell (1551–1601), chancellor of the Electorate of Saxony, elector of Saxony. *Friedrich Karl Biedermann (1812–1901), a professor, politician, and publisher. *Louise Otto-Peters (1819–1895), suffragette, founded the German Women's Association *August Bebel (1840–1913), socialist politician, co-founder of Germany's SDP. *Philosophers and Theologians
*Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), philosopher and scientist, mathematician, diplomat. *Johann Friedrich Mayer (theologian), Johann Friedrich Mayer (1650–1712), Lutheran theologian *Christian Thomasius (1655–1728), a jurist and philosopher. *Wilhelm Abraham Teller (1734–1804), a Protestant theologian with a rational approach. *Franz Delitzsch (1813–1890), a Lutheran theologian and Hebraist. *Christian Daniel Beck (1757–1832), a philologist, historian, theologian and antiquarian. *Georg Benedikt Winer (1789–1858), a Protestant theologian, known for linguistic studies of the New Testament. *Christian Hermann Weisse (1801–1866), Protestant theologian and philosopher.Writing & Arts
*Johann Albert Fabricius (1668–1736), a classical scholar and bibliographer. *Science & Business
*Michael Ettmüller (1644–1683), a physician. *Augustus Quirinus Rivinus (1652–1723), physician and botanist *Carl Gustav Carus (1789–1869), doctor, painter and natural philosopher. *Wilhelm Hofmeister (1824–1877), a biologist and botanist. *Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1841–1880), chemist *Karl Wittgenstein (1847–1913), entrepreneur *Sibylle Kemmler-Sack (1934-1999), chemistWar figures
*Elfriede Rinkel (1922–2018), warden of a concentration camp during the Nazi dictatorship *Karl Eberhard Schöngarth (1903–1946), SS officer and war criminal, executed in Hamelin *Wilhelm Souchon (1864–1946), admiral in World War ISport
*Marvin Kirchhöfer (born 1994), racing driver *René Müller (born 1959), footballer *Kristin Otto (born 1966), swimmer, six-time Olympic gold medalist, sports journalist *Rita Wilden (born 1947), sprinterSee also
*Battle of Breitenfeld (1642) *Hugo Schneider AG *Leipzig Human Rights Award *Leipzig Jewish community *Leipzig University Library *List of mayors of Leipzig *Ubiquity Theatre Company – English speaking theatre projects in LeipzigReferences
Further reading
External links