Leipzig ( , ;

Upper Saxon Upper Saxon (german: Obersächsisch, ; ) is an East Central German language spoken in much of the modern German state of Saxony and in adjacent parts of southeastern Saxony-Anhalt and eastern Thuringia. As of the early 21st century, it's mostl ...

: ) is the most populous city in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the

larger urban zone The larger urban zone (LUZ), or functional urban area (FUA), is a measure of the population and expanse of metropolitan and surrounding areas which may or may not be exclusively urban. It consists of a city and its commuting zone outside it. Th ...

) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as well as the second most populous city in the area of the former

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

after (

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

)

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Together with

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the Germany, German States of ...

, the city forms the polycentric Leipzig-Halle Conurbation. Between the two cities (in

Schkeuditz Schkeuditz () is a Große Kreisstadt in the district of Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the White Elster river, 12 km northwest of Leipzig. Leipzig/Halle Airport is located in Schkeuditz. The letter processing center for ...

) lies

Leipzig/Halle Airport Leipzig/Halle Airport (German: ''Flughafen Leipzig/Halle'') is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. It is Germany's 14th largest airport by passengers and ...

. Leipzig is located about southwest of Berlin, in the southernmost part of the

North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Balti ...

(known as

Leipzig Bay The Leipzig BayDickinson (1964), p. 29.White Elster River (progression: ) and two of its tributaries: the

Pleiße The Pleiße is a river of Saxony and Thuringia, Germany. The Pleiße has its source southwest of Zwickau at Ebersbrunn, then flows through Werdau, Crimmitschau, Altenburg, and other towns and villages in Saxony and Thuringia, before flowing fr ...

and the

Parthe The Parthe is a river in Saxony, Germany, right tributary of the White Elster. Its total length is . The Parthe originates in northern Saxony, between Colditz and Bad Lausick. It flows northwest through Parthenstein, Naunhof, Borsdorf and Taucha ...

. The name of the city and those of many of its boroughs are of Slavic origin. Leipzig has been a trade city since at least the time of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. The city sits at the intersection of the

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History Origins The ...

and the

Via Imperii Via Imperii (Imperial Road) was one of the most important of a class of roads known collectively as imperial roads (''german: Reichsstraßen'') of the Holy Roman Empire. This old trade route ran in a south–north direction from Venice on the Ad ...

, two important medieval trade routes. Leipzig's trade fair dates back to 1190. Between 1764 and 1945, the city was a center of

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and during the period of the German Democratic Republic (

) Leipzig remained a major urban centre in East Germany, but its cultural and economic importance declined. Events in Leipzig in 1989 played a significant role in precipitating the

fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

, mainly through

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...

starting from St. Nicholas Church. The immediate effects of the

reunification of Germany German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

included the collapse of the local economy (which had come to depend on highly polluting

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

), severe unemployment, and urban blight. Starting around 2000, however, the decline was first arrested, then reversed, and since then Leipzig has seen many significant changes, including the restoration of major historical buildings, the demolition of derelict properties, and the development of new industries and a modern transport infrastructure. Leipzig is home to one of the oldest universities in Europe (

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

). It is also one of two seats of the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

, as well as the seat of the German Federal Administrative Court. Leipzig was rated as the most

livable Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

city in Germany in 2013 by the

GfK GfK (originally german: GfK-Nürnberg Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung e.V., lit=Nuremberg Society for Consumer Research, label=none) is a provider of data and intelligence to the consumer goods industry. It is headquartered in Nuremberg, German ...

marketing research institution.

Leipzig Zoo Leipzig Zoological Garden, or Leipzig Zoo (german: link=no, Zoologischer Garten Leipzig) is a zoo in Leipzig`s district Mitte, Germany. It was first opened on June 9, 1878. It was taken over by the city of Leipzig in 1920 after World War I and now ...

is one of the most modern zoos in Europe and ranks first in Germany (2013) and second in Europe (2015). Since

Leipzig City Tunnel The City Tunnel is a twin-bore railway tunnel for the city-centre S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland, S-Bahn in Leipzig. It links Leipzig Hauptbahnhof with the central Leipzig Markt station, Markt station, Leipzig Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz railway station, Wi ...

came into operation in 2013, Leipzig forms the centrepiece of the

S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland represents an enlargement of the previous Leipzig-Halle S-Bahn. It is an electric rail public transit system operating in the metropolitan area of Leipzig-Halle, Germany. This S-Bahn (German abbreviation for ''Stadtschnel ...

public transit system. Leipzig was in 2020 listed as a "Sufficiency" level global city by the

Globalization and World Cities Research Network The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershi ...

, Germany's "Boomtown" and was the 2019 Academy of Urbanism European City of the Year. Leipzig has long been a major centre for music, including classical and modern

dark wave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

. The

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...

(English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig), a boys' choir, was founded in 1212. The

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

, established in 1743, is one of the oldest symphony orchestras in the world.

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

are two of several well-known composers who lived and worked in Leipzig. The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" was founded in 1843. The

Oper Leipzig The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Singspi ...

, one of the most prominent opera houses in Germany, was founded in 1868. During a stay in

Gohlis Gohlis is an area in the north of the city of Leipzig, Germany. Once a village outside the city, it is known as the place where Friedrich Schiller wrote the first version of his ''Ode to Joy'' in 1785. It urbanised during the ''Gründerzeit'' per ...

, which is now part of the city,

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

wrote his poem "

Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" (German language, German: , literally "To heJoy") is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller and published the following year in ''Thalia (magazine), Thalia''. A slightl ...

Etymology

Name

The name Leipzig is derived from the Slavic word ', which means "settlement where the

linden trees ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they ...

(British English: lime trees; U.S. English: basswood trees) stand". An older spelling of the name in English is . The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name was also used. The name is cognate with () in Russia and in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

In 1937 the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

government officially renamed the city ' (Reich Trade Fair City Leipzig). Since 1989 Leipzig has been informally dubbed "Hero City" (), in recognition of the role that the Monday demonstrations there played in the fall of the East German regime – the name alludes to the honorary title awarded in the former Soviet Union to certain cities that played a key role in the victory of the Allies during the Second World War. The common usage of this nickname for Leipzig up until the present is reflected, for example, in the name of a blog for local arts and culture, ''Heldenstadt.de''. More recently, the city has sometimes been nicknamed the "Boomtown of eastern Germany", "Hypezig" or "The better

" and is celebrated by the media as a hip urban centre for its vibrant lifestyle and creative scene with many

startups A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses t ...

History

Origins

Leipzig was first documented in 1015 in the chronicles of Bishop

Thietmar of Merseburg Thietmar (also Dietmar or Dithmar; 25 July 9751 December 1018), Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian (Saxon) dynasty. Two ...

as ' (, VII, 25) and endowed with city and market privileges in 1165 by Otto the Rich.

Leipzig Trade Fair The Leipzig Trade Fair (german: Leipziger Messe) is a major trade fair, which traces its roots back for nearly a millennium. After the Second World War, Leipzig fell within the territory of East Germany, whereupon the Leipzig Trade Fair became o ...

, started in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, has become an event of international importance and is the oldest surviving trade fair in the world. There are records of commercial fishing operations on the river

that, most likely, refer to Leipzig dating back to 1305, when the

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

Dietrich the Younger granted the fishing rights to the church and convent of St Thomas. There were a number of

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

in and around the city, including a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

monastery after which the (Barefoot Alley) is named and a monastery of Irish monks (, destroyed in 1544) near the present day (the old '). The

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

was founded in 1409 and Leipzig developed into an important centre of German law and of the publishing industry in Germany, resulting, in the 19th and 20th centuries, with the

Reichsgericht The Reichsgericht (, ''Reich Court'') was the supreme criminal and civil court in the German Reich from 1879 to 1945. It was based in Leipzig, Germany. The Supreme Court was established when the Reichsjustizgesetze (Imperial Justice Laws) came in ...

(Imperial Court of Justice) and the

being located here. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, two battles took place in , about outside Leipzig city walls. The first Battle of Breitenfeld took place in 1631 and

the second ''The Second'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in October 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, " Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the origin ...

in 1642. Both battles resulted in victories for the Swedish-led side. On 24 December 1701, an oil-fueled

street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...

ing system was introduced. The city employed light guards who had to follow a specific schedule to ensure the punctual lighting of the 700 lanterns.

19th century

The Leipzig region was the arena of the 1813

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

between

Napoleonic France The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eur ...

and an allied coalition of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, Russia, Austria and Sweden. It was the largest battle in Europe before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the coalition victory ended

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's presence in Germany and would ultimately lead to his first exile on

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National ...

. The

Monument to the Battle of the Nations The Monument to the Battle of the Nations (german: Völkerschlachtdenkmal, sometimes shortened to ''Völki'' or ''Schlachti'') is a monument in Leipzig, Germany, to the 1813 Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations. Paid for mo ...

celebrating the centenary of this event was completed in 1913. In addition to stimulating German nationalism, the war had a major impact in mobilizing a civic spirit in numerous volunteer activities. Many volunteer militias and civic associations were formed, and collaborated with churches and the press to support local and state militias, patriotic wartime mobilization, humanitarian relief and postwar commemorative practices and rituals. When it was made a terminus of the first German long-distance

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

(the capital of Saxony) in 1839, Leipzig became a hub of

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

an railway traffic, with

Leipzig Hauptbahnhof Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (Leipzig main station, ) is the central railway terminus in Leipzig, Germany, in the district Mitte. At , it is Europe's largest railway station measured by floor area. It has 19 overground platforms housed in six iron train ...

the largest

terminal station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

by area in Europe. The railway station has two grand entrance halls, the eastern one for the

Royal Saxon State Railways The Royal Saxon State Railways (german: Königlich Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen) were the state-owned railways operating in the Kingdom of Saxony from 1869 to 1918. From 1918 until their merger into the Deutsche Reichsbahn the title 'Royal' was d ...

and the western one for the

Prussian state railways The term Prussian state railways (German: ''Preußische Staatseisenbahnen'') encompasses those railway organisations that were owned or managed by the State of Prussia. The words "state railways" are not capitalized because Prussia did not have a ...

. In the 19th century, Leipzig was a centre of the German and Saxon liberal movements. The first German labor party, the

General German Workers' Association The General German Workers' Association (german: Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiter-Verein, ADAV) was a German political party founded on 23 May 1863 in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony by Ferdinand Lassalle. It was the first organized mass working-class ...

(''Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein'', ADAV) was founded in Leipzig on 23 May 1863 by

Ferdinand Lassalle Ferdinand Lassalle (; 11 April 1825 – 31 August 1864) was a Prussian-German jurist, philosopher, socialist and political activist best remembered as the initiator of the social democratic movement in Germany. "Lassalle was the first man in Ger ...

; about 600 workers from across Germany travelled to the foundation on the new railway. Leipzig expanded rapidly to more than 700,000 inhabitants. Huge ''

Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...

'' areas were built, which mostly survived both war and post-war demolition. Leipzig um 1900

20th century

With the opening of a fifth production hall in 1907, the

Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei The Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei (''Leipzig Cotton Mill'') is an industrial site in Leipzig, Germany. Parts of this 10-hectare site in the district of Lindenau are used today by art galleries, studios and restaurants. Founded in 1884, the busine ...

became the largest

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...

company on the continent, housing over 240,000 spindles. Yearly production surpassed 5 million kilograms of yarn. During the 1930s and 1940s, music was prominent throughout Leipzig. Many students attended Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy College of Music and Theatre (then named Landeskonservatorium.) However, in 1944, it was closed due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It re-opened soon after the war ended in 1945. On 22 May 1930,

Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (; 31 July 1884 – 2 February 1945) was a monarchist conservative German politician, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime. He opposed some anti-Jewish policies while he held office and was ...

was elected mayor of Leipzig. He later became an opponent of the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He resigned in 1937 when, in his absence, his Nazi deputy ordered the destruction of the city's statue of

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

. On

Kristallnacht () or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...

in 1938, the 1855

Moorish Revival Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th centur ...

Leipzig synagogue, one of the city's most architecturally significant buildings, was deliberately destroyed. Goerdeler was later executed by the Nazis on 2 February 1945. Several thousand forced labourers were stationed in Leipzig during the Second World War. Beginning in 1933, many Jewish citizens of Leipzig were members of the

Gemeinde Gemeinde (; plural: Gemeinden) is a German word translating to "community", "town", "parish", or "municipality". Gemeinde may refer to: * An administrative division encompassing a single village, town, or city: ** Gemeinde (Austria) ** Gemeinde (G ...

, a large Jewish religious community spread throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In October 1935, the

helped found the Lehrhaus (English: a house of study) in Leipzig to provide different forms of studies to Jewish students who were prohibited from attending any institutions in Germany. Jewish studies were emphasized and much of the Jewish community of Leipzig became involved.Willingham, Robert, and Crew, David F. ''Jews in Leipzig: Nationality and Community in the 20th Century'', 2005, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Pgs. 1-148 Like all other cities claimed by the Nazis, Leipzig was subject to

aryanisation Aryanization (german: Arisierung) was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. I ...

. Beginning in 1933 and increasing in 1939, Jewish business owners were forced to give up their possessions and stores. This eventually intensified to the point where Nazi officials were strong enough to evict the Jews from their own homes. They also had the power to force many of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

living in the city to sell their houses. Many people who sold their homes emigrated elsewhere, outside of Leipzig. Others moved to Judenhäuser, which were smaller houses that acted as ghettos, housing large groups of people. As with other cities in Europe during

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

, the Jews of Leipzig were greatly affected by the

Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (german: link=no, Nürnberger Gesetze, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of th ...

. However, due to the

and the international attention it garnered, Leipzig was especially cautious about its public image. Despite this, the Leipzig authorities were not afraid to strictly apply and enforce anti-semitic measures. Shortly before

Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lo ...

living in the city were expelled. On 20 December 1937, after the Nazis took control of the city, they renamed it Reichsmessestadt Leipzig, meaning the "Imperial Trade Fair City Leipzig". In early 1938, Leipzig saw an increase in

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

through Jewish citizens. Many of these

Zionists Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Jew ...

attempted to flee before deportations began. On 28 October 1938,

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

ordered the deportation of Polish Jews from Leipzig to Poland. On 9 November 1938, as part of

, in Gottschedstrasse, synagogues and businesses were set on fire. Only a couple of days later, on 11 November 1938, many Jews in the Leipzig area were deported to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. As

came to an end, much of Leipzig was destroyed. Following the war, the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

(

: ''Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands'', ''KPD'') provided aid for the reconstruction of the city. Fotothek df roe-neg 0002629 002 Trümmerbeseitigung

In 1933, a census recorded that over 11,000 Jews were living in Leipzig. In the 1939 census, the number had fallen to roughly 4,500, and by January 1942 only 2,000 remained. In that month, these 2,000 Jews began to be deported. On 13 July 1942, 170 Jews were deported from Leipzig to

Auschwitz Concentration Camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. On 19 September 1942, 440 Jews were deported from Leipzig to

Theresienstadt Concentration Camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the Schutzstaffel, SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German occupation of Czechoslovakia, German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstad ...

. On 18 June 1943, the remaining 18 Jews still in Leipzig were deported from Leipzig to

. According to records of the two waves of deportations to Auschwitz there were no survivors. According to records of the Theresienstadt deportation, only 53 Jews survived. During World War II, Leipzig was repeatedly struck by Allied bombing raids, beginning in 1943 and lasting until 1945. The first raid occurred on the morning of 4 December 1943, when 442 bombers of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF) dropped a total amount of almost 1,400 tons of explosives and incendiaries on the city, destroying large parts of the city centre. This bombing was the largest up to that time. Due to the close proximity of many of the buildings hit, a firestorm occurred. This prompted firefighters to rush to the city; however, they were unable to control the fires. Unlike the firebombing of the neighbouring city of Dresden, this was a largely conventional bombing with high explosives rather than incendiaries. The resultant pattern of loss was a patchwork, rather than wholesale loss of its centre, but was nevertheless extensive. The Allied ground advance into

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

reached Leipzig in late April 1945. The U.S. 2nd Infantry Division and U.S. 69th Infantry Division fought their way into the city on 18 April and completed its capture after fierce urban action, in which fighting was often house-to-house and block-to-block, on 19 April 1945. In April 1945 the SS Gruppenführer/Mayor of Leipzig Bruno Erich Alfred Freyberg, his wife and daughter; the Deputy Mayor/Treasurer of Leipzig, Ernest Kurt Lisso, his wife, daughter, and a

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

Major Walter Dönicke committed suicide in Leipzig City Hall. The United States turned the city over to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

as it pulled back from the

line of contact The Line of Contact marked the farthest advance of American, British, French, and Soviet armies into German controlled territory at the end of World War II in Europe. In general a "line of contact" refers to the demarcation between two or m ...

with Soviet forces in July 1945 to the designated occupation zone boundaries. Leipzig became one of the major cities of the German Democratic Republic (

). Following the

end of World War II End of World War II can refer to: * End of World War II in Europe * End of World War II in Asia World War II officially ended in Asia on September 2, 1945, with the surrender of Japan on the . Before that, the United States dropped two atomic ...

in 1945, Leipzig saw a slow return of Jews to the city. They were joined by large numbers of German refugees who had been expelled from Central and Eastern Europe. VölkerschlachtdenkmalLeipzig1

In the mid-20th century, the city's trade fair assumed renewed importance as a point of contact with the

Comecon The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (, ; English abbreviation COMECON, CMEA, CEMA, or CAME) was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc along wi ...

economic bloc, of which

was a member. At this time, trade fairs were held at a site in the south of the city, near the

. The planned economy of the German Democratic Republic, however, was not kind to Leipzig. Before the Second World War, Leipzig had developed a mixture of industry, creative business (notably publishing), and services (including legal services). During the period of the German Democratic Republic, services became the concern of the state, concentrated in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

; creative business moved to

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

; and Leipzig was left only with heavy industry. To make matters worse, this industry was extremely polluting, making Leipzig an even less attractive city to live in. Between 1950 and the end of the German Democratic Republic, the population of Leipzig fell from 600,000 to 500,000. In October 1989, after

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

s for peace at St. Nicholas Church, established in 1983 as part of the peace movement, the Monday demonstrations started as the most prominent mass protest against the East German government. The

, however, was at first not good for Leipzig. The centrally planned heavy industry that had become the city's speciality was, in terms of the advanced economy of reunited Germany, almost completely unviable, and closed. Within only six years, 90% of jobs in industry had vanished. As unemployment rocketed, the population fell dramatically; some 100,000 people left Leipzig in the ten years after reunification, and vacant and derelict housing became an urgent problem. Starting in 2000, an ambitious (and subsequently much-praised ) urban-renewal plan first stopped Leipzig's decline and then reversed it. The plan focused on saving and improving as much as possible of the city's urban structure, especially its attractive historic downtown area and various architectural gems, and attracting new industries, partly through infrastructure improvement.

21st 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 the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, but was unsuccessful. After ten years of construction, the

opened on 14 December 2013. Leipzig forms the centrepiece of the

public transit system, which operates in the four German states of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

Geography

Location

Leipzig lies at the confluence of the rivers

White Elster The White Elster
Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central

and

, in the

Leipzig Bay The Leipzig BayDickinson (1964), p. 29.North German Plain The North German Plain or Northern Lowland (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland) is one of the major geographical regions of Germany. It is the German part of the North European Plain. The region is bounded by the coasts of the North Sea and the Balti ...

, which is the part of the

North European Plain The North European Plain (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland – North German Plain; ; pl, Nizina Środkowoeuropejska – Central European Plain; da, Nordeuropæiske Lavland and nl, Noord-Europese Laagvlakte ; French : ''Plaine d'Europe du Nor ...

in Germany. The site is characterized by swampy areas such as the

Leipzig Riverside Forest Leipzig Riverside Forest (German: ''Leipziger Auenwald'') is one of the largest lowland Riparian forests in Central Europe, which lies mostly within the city limits of Leipzig city in Germany. The natural reserve is partially covered with hardwo ...

, though there are also some limestone areas to the north of the city. The landscape is mostly flat though there is also some evidence of

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

and

drumlins A drumlin, from the Irish word ''droimnín'' ("littlest ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated ...

. Although there are some forest parks within the city limits, the area surrounding Leipzig is relatively unforested. During the 20th century, there were several open-cast mines in the region, many of which are being converted to use as lakes. Also see:

Neuseenland Neuseenland is an area south of Leipzig, Germany, where old open-cast mines are being converted into a huge lake district. The region's name is a marketing concept and it means "New Lakeland" in German. It should not be confused with the German ...

Leipzig is also situated at the intersection of the

ancient road Historic roads (historic trails in USA and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient trackways ...

s known as the

(King's highway), which traversed Germany in an east–west direction, and the

(Imperial Highway), a north–south road. Leipzig was a walled city in the Middle Ages and the current "ring" road around the historic centre of the city follows the line of the old city walls.

Subdivision

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. Verwaltung Leipzig

Neighbouring communities

Climate

Like many cities in Eastern Germany, Leipzig has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Cfb'' close to a ''Dfb'' US isotherm">United_States.html" ;"title=" °C United States">US isotherm, with significant continental climate">continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (al ...

influences due to its inland location. Winters are cold, with an average temperature of around . Summers are generally warm, averaging at with daytime temperatures of . Precipitation in winter is about half that of the summer. The amount of sunshine differs significantly between winter and summer, with an average of around 51 hours of sunshine in December (1.7 hours a day) compared with 229 hours of sunshine in July (7.4 hours a day).

Politics

Mayor

The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Hinrich Lehmann-Grube of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SPD), who served from 1990 to 1998. The mayor was originally chosen by the city council, but since 1994 has been directly elected.

Wolfgang Tiefensee Wolfgang Tiefensee (born 4 January 1955) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He was the Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development in the grand coalition cabinet led by Angela Merkel between 2005 and ...

, also of the SPD, served from 1998 until his resignation in 2005 to become federal Minister of Transport. He was succeeded by fellow SPD politician

Burkhard Jung Burkhard Jung (born 7 March 1958 in Siegen) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been the 21st lord mayor (''Oberbürgermeister'') of Leipzig (Saxony) since March 29, 2006. In addition, he has been president of th ...

, who was elected in January 2006 and re-elected in 2013 and 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 2 February 2020, with a runoff held on 1 March, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Sebastian Gemkow Sebastian Gemkow (born 27 July 1978) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as State Minister of Science (since 2019) and as State Minister of Justice (2014–2019) in the governments of ...

, align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 72,427 , 31.6 , 107,611 , 47.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

, align=left,

, 68,286 , 29.8 , 110,965 , 49.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Franziska Riekewald , align=left, The Left , 31,036 , 13.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Katharina Krefft , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...

, 27,481 , 12.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christoph Neumann , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...

, 19,854 , 8.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Katharina Subat , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazin ...

, 5,467 , 2.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Marcus Viefeld , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 2,739 , 1.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ute Elisabeth Gabelmann , align=left,

Pirate Party Germany The Pirate Party Germany (german: Piratenpartei Deutschland), commonly known as Pirates (), is a political party in Germany founded in September 2006 at c-base. It states general agreement with the Swedish Piratpartiet as a party of the informat ...

, 2,089 , 0.9 , 7,542 , 3.3 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 229,379 ! 99.6 ! 226,118 ! 99.5 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 822 ! 0.4 ! 1,235 ! 0.5 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 230,201 ! 100.0 ! 227,353 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 469,225 ! 49.1 ! 469,269 ! 48.4 , - , colspan=7, Source
Wahlen in Sachsen

City 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,

(Grüne) , 165,683 , 20.7 , 5.7 , 15 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 140,585 , 17.5 , 7.5 , 13 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 119,616 , 14.9 , 8.5 , 11 , 7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 99,022 , 12.4 , 5.9 , 9 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 38,481 , 4.8 , 1.9 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(PARTEI) , 30,764 , 3.8 , 2.7 , 2 , 2 , - , , align=left, Voters Association Leipzig (WVL) , 20,369 , 2.5 , 0.7 , 1 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Piraten) , 11,512 , 1.4 , 0.5 , 1 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Leipzigers for Basic Income , 4,297 , 0.5 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 274,916 ! 98.7 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 3,751 ! 1.3 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 278,667 ! 100.0 ! ! 70 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 466,442 ! 59.7 ! 17.9 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
Wahlen in Sachsen

Bundestag

Leipzig is represented in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

by three

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

;

Leipzig I Leipzig I is an electoral constituency (German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 152. It is located ...

Leipzig II Leipzig II is an electoral constituency (German language, German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 15 ...

and

Leipzig-Land Leipzig-Land is an electoral constituency (German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 154. It is locate ...

Demographics

Leipzig (Rathausturm, Neues Rathaus) 11 ies

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 and

suburbanisation Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urb ...

. After almost doubling the city area by incorporation of surrounding towns in 1999, the number stabilised and started to rise again, with an increase of 1,000 in 2000. , Leipzig is the fastest-growing city in Germany with over 500,000 inhabitants. The growth of the past 10–15 years has mostly been due to inward migration. In recent years, inward migration accelerated, reaching an increase of 12,917 in 2014. In the years following German reunification, many people of working age took the opportunity to move to the states of the former West Germany to seek employment opportunities. This was a contributory factor to falling birth rates. Births dropped from 7,000 in 1988 to less than 3,000 in 1994. However, the number of children born in Leipzig has risen since the late 1990s. In 2011, it reached 5,490 births resulting in a RNI of −17.7 (−393.7 in 1995). The unemployment rate decreased from 18.2% in 2003 to 9.8% in 2014 and 7.6% in June 2017. The percentage of the population from an immigrant background is low compared with other German cities. , only 5.6% of the population were foreigners, compared to the German national average of 7.7%. The number of people with an immigrant background (immigrants and their children) grew from 49,323 in 2012 to 77,559 in 2016, making them 13.3% of the city's population (Leipzig's population 579,530 in 2016). The largest minorities (first and second generation) in Leipzig by country of origin as of 31.12.2018 are:

Culture, 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,

artists An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, the ...

designers A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

and entrepreneurs continued to settle in the city and made Leipzig a growing cultural center in Germany and Europe recalling the larger Berlin. The growing cultural performance of the city was underscored by the city's population has grown by more than 50,000 people over the last five years alone, many of whom are young people in the

creative class The creative class is the posit of American urban studies theorist Richard Florida for an ostensible socioeconomic class. Florida, a professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of To ...

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 several

baroque period The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

trading houses and former residences of rich merchants. As Leipzig grew considerably during the economic boom of the late-nineteenth century, the town has many buildings in the historicist style representative of the ''

'' era. Approximately 35% of Leipzig's flats are in buildings of this type. The new city hall, completed in 1905, is built in the same style. Some 64,000 apartments in Leipzig were built in

Plattenbau (plural: , german: Platte + Bau, lit=panel/slab' + 'building/ construction) is a building constructed of large, prefabrication, prefabricated concrete slabs. The word is a compound of (in this context: panel) and (building). Such buildings ...

buildings during Communist rule in East Germany. and although some of these have been demolished and the numbers living in this type of accommodation have declined in recent years, at least 10% of Leipzig's population (50,000 people) are still living in Plattenbau accommodation. Grünau, for example, has approximately 40,000 people living in this sort of accommodation. The St. Paul's Church was destroyed by the Communist government in 1968 to make room for a new main building for the university. After some debate, the city decided to establish a new, mainly secular building at the same location, called Paulinum, which was completed in 2012. Its architecture alludes to the look of the former church and it includes space for religious use by the faculty of theology, including the original altar from the old church and two newly built organs. Many commercial buildings were built in the 1990s as a result of tax breaks after German reunification.

Tallest 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 the

City-Hochhaus Leipzig City-Hochhaus is 36-story skyscraper in Leipzig, Germany. At , it is the tallest multistory building in Leipzig and is located proximately of the eastern part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's district Mitte. The tower was designed by a ...

. From 1972 to 1973 it was Germany's tallest building.

Museums and the arts

One of the highlights of the city's contemporary arts was the

Neo Rauch Neo Rauch (born 18 April 1960, in Leipzig, East Germany; ) is a German artist whose paintings mine the intersection of his personal history with the politics of industrial alienation. His work reflects the influence of socialist realism, and owes ...

retrospective opening in April 2010 at the Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts. This is a show devoted to the father of the

New Leipzig School The New Leipzig School (german: Neue Leipziger Schule) is a movement in German painting, centred in the city of Leipzig after the German reunification. The usage and origins of this term are debated. History and characteristics The Leipzig School ( ...

of artists. According to ''The New York Times'', this scene "has been the toast of the contemporary art world" for the past decade. In addition, there are eleven galleries in the so-called Spinnerei. The

Grassi Museum The Grassi Museum is a building complex in Leipzig, home to three museums: the Ethnography Museum, Musical Instruments Museum, and Applied Arts Museum. It is sometimes known as the "Museums in the Grassi", or as the "New" Grassi Museum (to di ...

complex contains three more of Leipzig's major collections: the

Ethnography Museum Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

, Applied Arts Museum and Musical Instrument Museum (the last of which is run by the University of Leipzig). The university also runs the

Museum of Antiquities The Museum of Antiquities was an archaeological museum at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1960 and in 2009 its collections were merged into the Great North Museum: Hancock. History The museum was originally op ...

. Founded in March 2015, the

G2 Kunsthalle G, or g, is the seventh letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''gee'' (pronounced ), plural ''gees''. History The ...

houses the Hildebrand Collection. This private collection focuses on the so-called

. Leipzig's first private museum dedicated to contemporary art in Leipzig after the turn of the millennium is located in the city centre close to the famous St. Thomas Church on the third floor of the former GDR processing centre. Other museums in Leipzig include the following: *The

German Museum of Books and Writing The German Museum of Books and Writing (german: Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum (DBSM)) in Leipzig, Germany, founded in 1884 as ''Deutsches Buchgewerbe-Museum'', is the world's oldest museum of its kind, dedicated to collecting and preserving o ...

is the world's oldest museum of its kind, founded in 1884. *The Egyptian Museum of the University of Leipzig comprises a collection of about 7,000 artefacts from several millennia. *The Schillerhaus is the house where Schiller lived in summer 1785. *The

Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig The Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig (English: ''Forum of Contemporary History'') is a museum of contemporary German history. The museum was opened in 1999 and focuses on the history of the German division, everyday life in the communist dictator ...

(Forum of Contemporary History) shows the history of the German division and the everyday life in the socialist German Democratic Republic. *

Naturkundemuseum Leipzig The Natural History Museum in Leipzig (german: Naturkundemuseum Leipzig) is a natural history museum in the city of Leipzig, Germany, located at the northwest corner of the Inner City Ring Road. The museum contains the insect collection of Alex ...

is the city's natural history museum. *The

Leipzig Panometer The Leipzig Panometer is an attraction in Leipzig, Germany. It is a visual panorama displayed inside a former gasometer, accompanied by a thematic exhibition. The current theme is "Carolas Garten". The Panometer was created in 2003 by the Aus ...

is a visual panorama displayed inside a former gasometer, accompanied by a thematic exhibition. *The "Museum in der Runden Ecke" is the best known museum in the city. It deals with the operation of the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...

State Security of former East Germany. *

lived from 1723 until his death in Leipzig. The

Bach Archive The Bach-Archiv Leipzig or Bach-Archiv is an institution for the documentation and research of the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Bach-Archiv also researches the Bach family, especially their music. Based in Leipzig, the city where ...

is an institution for the documentation and research of his life and work. * Mendelssohn House, home of Felix Mendelssohn from 1845 until his death in 1847. * Schumann House, home of Robert and Clara Schumann from 1840 to 1844. File:DNB2012.JPG, German Museum of Books and Writing File:Ägyptisches Museum Leipzig 099.jpg, Exhibits of the Egyptian Museum File:Leipzig-Grassi-Museen.jpg, Grassi Museum File:LE-Connewitz Gasometer I Arena-02.jpg, Inside Gasometer, next to the Panometer File:Runde Ecke Leipzig.jpg, Museum in der Runden Ecke File:Museum der bildenden Künste.JPG, Museum of Fine Arts File:Baumwollspinnerei.jpg, Baumwollspinnerei

Main sights

Leipzig Zoological Garden Leipzig Zoological Garden, or Leipzig Zoo (german: link=no, Zoologischer Garten Leipzig) is a zoo in Leipzig`s district Mitte, Germany. It was first opened on June 9, 1878. It was taken over by the city of Leipzig in 1920 after World War I and no ...

is one of the most modern zoos in Europe, with approximately 850 different animal species. It houses the world's largest zoological facilities for

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s (Pongoland). Gondwanaland is the world's largest indoor rainforest hall. *

(''Völkerschlachtdenkmal'') (

Battle of the Nations The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

Monument): one of the largest monuments in Europe, built to commemorate the victorious battle against Napoleonic troops. *

Bundesverwaltungsgericht The Federal Administrative Court (german: Bundesverwaltungsgericht, ) is one of the five federal supreme courts of Germany. It is the court of the last resort for generally all cases of administrative law, mainly disputes between citizens and t ...

: Germany's federal administrative court was the site of the

, the highest state court between 1888 and 1945. * New City Hall: the city's administrative building was built upon the remains of the ''Pleissenburg'', a castle that was the site of the 1519 debate between

Johann Eck Johann Maier von Eck (13 November 1486 – 13 February 1543), often anglicized as John Eck, was a German Catholic theologian, scholastic, prelate, and a pioneer of the counter-reformation who was among Martin Luther's most important inter ...

and

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

. It is also Germany's tallest town hall. *''Old City Hall'' on Marktplatz: the old city hall was built in 1556 and houses a museum of the city's history. *

: built in 1972, the city's tallest building is one of the top 25 tallest buildings in Germany. *The

Augusteum An Augusteum (plural ''Augustea'') was originally a site of imperial cult in ancient Roman religion, named after the imperial title of Augustus. It was known as a Sebasteion in the Greek East of the Roman Empire. Examples have been excavated in ...

and Paulinum at

Augustusplatz The Augustusplatz is a square located at the east end of the city centre of Leipzig, borough Leipzig-Mitte. It is the city's largest square and one of the largest (and, prior to almost all its buildings being destroyed in bombing in the Second Wor ...

form the new main campus of the

. *

centre in the north of the city is home to the world's largest levitated glass hall. *

is the world's largest railway station by floor area and a shopping destination. *

Auerbach's Cellar Auerbachs Keller (, Auerbach's Cellar in English) is the second oldest restaurant in Leipzig, Germany. Already one of the city's most important wine bars by the 16th century, it owes its worldwide reputation to Goethe's play ''Faust'' as the firs ...

: a young

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

ate and drank in this basement-level restaurant while studying in Leipzig; it is the venue of a scene from his play ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

''. *The Old Leipzig bourse at Naschmarkt with a monument of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

. * South Cemetery (Südfriedhof) is, with an area of 82 hectares, the largest cemetery in Leipzig. *The

has two locations, one of them in Leipzig. *

Leipzig Bayerischer Bahnhof Leipzig Bayerischer Bahnhof (''Leipzig Bavarian station'') is Germany's oldest preserved railway station, located in Leipzig, Germany, in the southeastern part of the district Mitte. The station was first opened in 1842 for the Leipzig–Hof rai ...

is Germany's oldest preserved railway station. *Gohliser Schlösschen * Leipzig Synagogue was destroyed in 1938. Now a memorial stands on the same spot. Where the pews once were, 140 bronze chairs now take their place. File:Panoràmma de Leipzig.jpg,

File:Leipzig - Zoo - Gondwanaland in 14 ies.jpg, Inside Gondwanaland at Leipzig Zoological Garden File:VölkerschlachtdenkmalLeipzig1.jpg, Monument to the Battle of the Nations File:Leipzig (Rathausturm, Neues Rathaus) 18 ies.jpg,

Federal Administrative Court of Germany The Federal Administrative Court (german: Bundesverwaltungsgericht, ) is one of the five federal supreme courts of Germany. It is the court of the last resort for generally all cases of administrative law, mainly disputes between citizens and t ...

File:Neues Rathaus Leipzig jpg8.jpg, New city hall File:Old city hall of Leipzig (5).jpg, Old city hall at market square File:Rainbowflash 2013 Leipzig (4).jpg, City-Hochhaus File:Uni Leipzig Paulinum Universitätskirche St. Pauli 216-cvh.jpg, New Augusteum of the University of Leipzig File:Messe Pano DRI.jpg, Leipzig Trade Fair File:Bahnhof Leipzig von Panorama Tower 2013.jpg, Leipzig main station File:Schilder an Auerbachs Keller 2013.jpg, ''Auerbachs Keller'' in the Mädlerpassage File:Ehemaliges Messehaus.jpg, Riquethaus (former Tradehouse) File:Goethe Statue Naschmarkt Leipzig.jpg, Old Leipzig bourse File:Suedfriedhof Leipzig.jpg, Südfriedhof File:BibLeipzigaussen.JPG, German National Library File:City-Tunnel Leipzig - Station Bayerischer Bahnhof 01 (Zugang 1).JPG, Leipzig Bayerischer Bahnhof File:Leipzig Gohliser Schloesschen.jpg, Gohliser Schlösschen File:Synagogue Memorial (Leipzig) (3).jpg, Leipzig Synagogue Memorial File:Yadegar Asisi Panorama EVEREST.jpg, 'Everest' at

Churches

* St. Thomas's Church (Thomaskirche): Most famous as the place where

worked as a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

and home to the renowned boys choir ''

''. A monument to

stands in front of this church. Destroyed by the Nazis in 1936, the statue was re-erected on 18 October 2008. * St. Nicholas's Church (Nikolaikirche), for which Bach was also responsible. The weekly ''Montagsgebet'' (Monday prayer) held here became the starting point of peaceful Monday demonstrations against the

DDR DDR or ddr may refer to: *ddr, ISO 639-3 code for the Dhudhuroa language *DDr., title for a double doctorate in Germany *DDR, station code for Dadar railway station, Mumbai, India *' (German Democratic Republic), official name of the former East ...

regime in the 1980s. * St. Peter's has the highest tower of any church in Leipzig, at . *The new Propsteikirche, opened in 2015. *The Continental Reformed Church of Leipzig (''Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche'') is one of the most prominent buildings on the Leipzig Innercity ring. *The Russian Church of Leipzig is the Russian Orthodox church of Leipzig. *St. Michael's Church is one of the landmarks of Gohlis district. File:Nicolaikirche Leipzig.jpg, St. Nicholas Church. File:Saint Thomas church in Leipzig (18).jpg, St. Thomas Church. File:Peterskirche Leipzig easyHDR.jpg, St. Peter's Church. File:Neue Propsteikirche St. Trinitatis Leipzig.jpg, Propsteikirche in May 2015, New Town Hall in the background File:Evangel.-Reform. Kirche (3668182160).jpg, Continental Reformed church of Leipzig. File:Leipzig Russische Gedaechtniskirche.jpg, Russian Church of Leipzig. File:Michaelis-SWL.jpg, St. Michael's Church with the headquarters of ''Stadtwerke Leipzig'' to the right.

Parks and lakes

Leipzig is well known for its large parks. The ''Leipziger Auwald'' (

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink or reservoir. Etymology The term riparian comes from the Latin word '' ...

) lies mostly within the city limits.

is an area south of Leipzig where old open-cast mines are being converted into a huge lake district. It is planned to be finished in 2060. *

Leipzig Botanical Garden The Leipzig Botanical Garden (german: Leipziger Botanische Gärten, Botanischer Garten der Universität Leipzig) is a 3.5-hectare botanical garden maintained by the University of Leipzig and is located at Linnéstraße 1, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. ...

is the oldest of its kind in Germany. It contains a total of some 7,000 plant species, of which nearly 3,000 species comprise ten special collections. *Johannapark and Clara-Zetkin-Park are the most prominent parks in the Leipzig city centre (

Leipzig-Mitte Leipzig-Mitte is one of 10 boroughs (''Stadtbezirke'') of Leipzig, located in the center of the city. It includes numerous architectural monuments. Most of them are located in the subdivision "Zentrum", which is sited inside the Inner City Ring Ro ...

). *'' Leipziger Auwald'' covers a total area of approx. 2,500 hectares. The Rosental is a park in the north of the forest and borders Leipzig Zoo. *Wildpark in Connewitz, showing 25 species. File:SDC11449 - Epipedobates anthonyi.JPG, Inside Leipzig Botanical Garden File:Johannapark Leipzig.JPG, Johannapark File:Leipziger Auenwald April 2014 005.JPG, ''Leipziger Auwald'' File:Sonnenaufgang Rosental Leipzig.jpg, Rosental in the morning File:Leipzig Friedenspark.jpg, Friedenspark File:Markkleeberger See Strand.jpg,

Markkleeberger See Markkleeberger See is a lake in Saxony, Germany, next to Markkleeberg, a suburb on the south side of Leipzig. At an elevation of 112.5 m, its surface area is 2.52 km². It is a former open-pit coal mine, flooded in 1999 with groundwater and ...

File:Cospudener See (1) 2005-09-09.JPG,

Cospudener See The Cospudener See (sometimes translated as'' Lake Cospuden'') is an artificially constructed lake situated south of Leipzig, Germany. It is on the site of a former open cast mine. The lake has become highly popular with the local population, wit ...

Music

spent the longest phase of his career in Leipzig, from 1723 until his death in 1750, conducting the

(St. Thomas Church Choir), at the St. Thomas Church, the St. Nicholas Church and the Paulinerkirche, the university church of Leipzig (destroyed in 1968). The composer

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

was born in Leipzig in 1813, in the Brühl.

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

was also active in Leipzig music, having been invited by

when the latter established Germany's first musical

conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

in the city in 1843.

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

was second conductor (working under

Artur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of Br ...

) at the

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Singspi ...

from June 1886 until May 1888, and achieved his first significant recognition while there by completing and publishing

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

's opera

Die Drei Pintos ' ( Anh 5, ''The Three Pintos'') is a comic opera of which Carl Maria von Weber began composing the music, working on a libretto by Theodor Hell. The work was completed about 65 years after Weber's death by Gustav Mahler. It premiered on 20 Januar ...

. Mahler also completed his own 1st Symphony while living in Leipzig. Today the conservatory is the

University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

. A broad range of subjects are taught, including artistic and teacher training in all

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l instruments, voice, interpretation, coaching, piano

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, orchestral conducting, choir conducting and

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

in various musical styles. The drama departments teach acting and

scriptwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...

. The

Bach-Archiv Leipzig The Bach-Archiv Leipzig or Bach-Archiv is an institution for the documentation and research of the life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Bach-Archiv also researches the Bach family, especially their music. Based in Leipzig, the city where ...

, an institution for the documentation and research of the life and work of Bach (and also of the

Bach family The Bach family refers to several notable composers of the Baroque music, baroque and Classical period (music), classical periods of music, the best-known of whom was Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). A family genealogy was drawn up by Johann ...

), was founded in Leipzig in 1950 by

Werner Neumann Werner Neumann (21 January 1905, Königstein, Saxony, Königstein – 24 April 1991, Leipzig) was a German musicologist. He founded the Bach-Archiv Leipzig on 20 November 1950 and was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second editio ...

. The Bach-Archiv organizes the prestigious

International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (german: Internationaler Bach Wettbewerb Leipzig, links=no) is a music competition in Leipzig, Germany, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from 1 ...

, initiated in 1950 as part of a music festival marking the bicentennial of Bach's death. The competition is now held every two years in three changing categories. The Bach-Archiv also organizes performances, especially the international festival

Bachfest Leipzig The Bachfest Leipzig (Leipzig Bach Festival) is a music festival which takes place annually, in the month of June, in the city of Leipzig, where J. S. Bach worked as the Thomaskantor from 1723 until his death in 1750. The current artistic director ...

( de) and runs the Bach-Museum. The city's musical tradition is also reflected in the worldwide fame of the

, under its chief conductor

Andris Nelsons Andris Nelsons (born 18 November 1978) is a Latvian conductor who is currently the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the ''Gewandhauskapellmeister'' of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He has previously served as music dire ...

, and the Thomanerchor. The

MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra The MDR-Sinfonieorchester (in English, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra) is a German radio orchestra based in Leipzig. It is the radio orchestra of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, the public broadcaster for the German states of Thuringia, Saxony a ...

is Leipzig's second largest symphony orchestra. Its current chief conductor is

Kristjan Järvi Kristjan Järvi (, alternate (U.S.) spelling: Kristian Järvi) (born 13 June 1972, Tallinn) is an Estonian American conductor, composer and producer born in Estonia, younger son of the conductor Neeme Järvi and brother of conductor Paavo Järv ...

. Both the Gewandhausorchester and the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra make use of in the

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The fi ...

concert hall. For over sixty years Leipzig has been offering a "school concert" programme for children in Germany, with over 140 concerts every year in venues such as the Gewandhaus and over 40,000 children attending. As for contemporary music, Leipzig is known for its independent music scene and subcultural events. Leipzig has for twenty years been home to the world's largest Gothic festival, the annual

Wave-Gotik-Treffen The Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT; ) is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds (gothic rock, gothic metal, EBM, industrial, noise, darkwave, neo-folk, neo-cl ...

(WGT), where thousands of fans of gothic and dark styled music from across Europe and the world gather in the early summer. The first Wave Gotik Treffen was held at the Eiskeller club, today known as

Conne Island Conne Island is a music venue and self-managed social centre in the Connewitz district of Leipzig, Germany. Conne Island is a stronghold and well-known meeting point for the radical left. Outside, there is a large skate park. History The buil ...

, in the Connewitz district.

Mayhem Mayhem most commonly refers to: * Mayhem (crime), a type of crime Mayhem may also refer to: People * Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress * Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter * Mayhem Miller (dra ...

's notorious album

Live in Leipzig ''Live in Leipzig'' is a live album by the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. It was recorded at the Eiskeller club in Leipzig, Germany on 26 November 1990 but not released until 1993. The songs performed during the concert were from the ''Pure ...

was also recorded at the Eiskeller club. Leipzig Pop Up is an annual music trade fair for the independent music scene as well as a music festival taking place on

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

weekend. Its most famous indie-labels are Moon Harbour Recordings (House) and Kann Records (House/Techno/Psychedelic). Several venues offer live music on a daily basis, including the

Moritzbastei The Moritzbastei is the only remaining part of the ancient town fortifications of Leipzig. Today it is widely known as a cultural centre. History of the building The Moritzbastei was built as a bastion in between 1551 and 1554 under the super ...

which was once part of the city's fortifications, and is one of the oldest

student club A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university or a college institution, whose membership typically consists ...

s in Europe with concerts in various styles. For over 15 years "Tonelli's" has been offering free weekly concerts every day of the week, though door charges may apply Saturdays. ''

Die Prinzen Die Prinzen ("The Princes") is a German band, that is made up of former members of the Thomanerchor (the choir of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany, where Johann Sebastian Bach was music director for many years) and a former member of the Dr ...

'' ("The Princes") is a German band founded in Leipzig. With almost 6 million records sold, they are one of the most successful German bands. The cover photo for the

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

band's 2005 album

Gulag Orkestar ''Gulag Orkestar'' is the debut album of Beirut. It was recorded in 2005 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Gulag was a Soviet government agency administering criminal justice, while ''orkestar'' is the Croatian word for "orchestra". It is written ...

, according to the sleeve notes, was stolen from a Leipzig library by Zach Condon. The city of Leipzig is also the birthplace of

Till Lindemann Till Lindemann (; born 4 January 1963) is a German singer, songwriter and poet. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein and solo project Lindemann. Rammstein has sold over 25 million records w ...

, best known as the lead vocalist of

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...

, a band formed in 1994. File:Opernhaus Leipzig Abend Nacht.jpg,

File:AUGUSTUSPLATZ-014.jpg, View over

with the Gewandhaus. File:Leipzig - Universitätsstraße - Moritzbastei 05 ies.jpg,

is the largest student club in Germany and is famous for its atmosphere and large number of cultural and music events. File:Johann Sebastian Bach Denkmal Leipzig.jpg, Monument of

File:Wahren3.jpg,

Haus Auensee Haus Auensee is a concert hall located in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Leipzig Auensee is a frequently used concert venue for national and international artists in Leipzig. The capacity is about 3,600 people. The house is named after the nearby l ...

, a concert hall

Annual events

*Auto Mobil International (AMI)

motor show An auto show, also known as a motor show or car show, is a public exhibition of current automobile models, debuts, concept cars, or out-of-production classics. It is attended by automotive industry representatives, dealers, auto journalists a ...

*AMITEC, trade fair for vehicle maintenance, care, servicing and repairs in Germany and Central Europe *

A cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

: vocal music festival, organized by the

Ensemble amarcord amarcord is a German male classical vocal ensemble based in Leipzig, founded in 1992 by five former members of the Thomanerchor. They primarily perform Medieval music, Renaissance music as well as collaborating with contemporary composers. Unt ...

*'' Bach-Fest'':

festival *Christmas market (since 1767) *''

Dok Leipzig DOK Leipzig is a documentary film festival that takes place every year in Leipzig, Germany. It is an international film festival for documentary and animated film founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Doc ...

'': international festival for documentary and animated film *Jazztage, contemporary jazz festival *Ladyfest Leipzig (August) Emancipatoric, feminist punk and electro festival *

Leipzig Book Fair The Leipzig Book Fair (german: Leipziger Buchmesse) is the second largest book fair in Germany after the Frankfurt Book Fair. The fair takes place annually over four days at the Leipzig Trade Fairground in the northern part of Leipzig, Saxony. I ...

: the second largest German book fair after Frankfurt *, festival celebrating the demonstrations leading up to the collapse of the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

regime *OPER unplugged with Music Dance Theatre by

Heike Hennig Heike Hennig (born 8 November 1966) is a German dancer, choreographer and director of the opera and dance ensemble "Heike Hennig & Co". Life Heike Hennig had her first dance lessons at the age of 5 years in Leipzig of East Germany, studied moder ...

& Co *''Stadtfest'': city festival *''

'' at

: world's largest goth or "dark culture" festival *Leipzig Pop Up *

Chaos Communication Congress The Chaos Communication Congress is an annual conference organized by the Chaos Computer Club. The congress features a variety of lectures and workshops on technical and political issues related to security, cryptography, privacy and online ...

File:Leipzig Messe Kongresszentrum Glashalle.jpg, Leipzig Trade Fair File:Leipziger Buchmesse 2015.jpg, Leipzig Book Fair 2015 File:2016 WGT 002 Belantis.jpg, Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2016,

Belantis Belantis is an amusement park next to Leipzig, Germany. Covering 27 hectares, the park offers over 60 attractions, including four roller coasters. History The park was bought by Parques Reunidos Parques Reunidos (meaning "Reunited Parks") i ...

park in the background File:Leipziger Weihnachtsmarkt Eingang.jpg, Leipzig Christmas market entrance File:Dokwoche.jpg, DOK Leipzig

Food and drink

*An all-season local dish is

Leipziger Allerlei Leipziger Allerlei is a regional German vegetable dish that may be served as a main or side course. It is named after the city of Leipzig and consists of a mixture of various vegetables such as young peas, carrots, green beans, asparagus heads, mo ...

, a stew consisting of seasonal vegetables and

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

. *

Leipziger Lerche The Leipziger Lerche is a pastry of Leipzig. The name originates from the coveted delicacy popular in the Leipzig area until the 1870s. The dish used the actual songbird lark Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmo ...

is a

shortcrust pastry Shortcrust pastry is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken ...

dish filled with crushed almonds, nuts and strawberry jam; the name ("Leipzig lark") comes from a lark pâté which was a Leipzig speciality until the banning of songbird hunting in Saxony in 1876. *

Gose Gose () is a warm fermented beer that originated in Goslar, Germany. It is usually brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Dominant flavours in gose include a lemon sourness, a herbal characteristic, and a strong saltin ...

is a locally brewed top-fermenting

sour beer Sour beer, also known as Sours, is beer which has an intentionally acidic, tart, or sour taste. Traditional sour beer styles include Belgian lambics, gueuze and Flanders red ale, and German gose and Berliner Weisse. Brewing Unlike modern brewing, ...

that originated in the

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...

region and in the 18th century became popular in Leipzig. File:Leipziger Lerchen.jpg,

n File:Goseflasche Pressglas.jpg, Historical

bottle (c. 1900)

Sports

More than 300 sport clubs in the city represent 78 different disciplines. Over 400 athletic facilities are available to citizens and club members.

Football

The

German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...

(DFB) was founded in Leipzig in 1900. The city was the venue for the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

draw, and hosted four first-round matches and one match in the round of 16 in the central stadium. VfB Leipzig won the first national

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

championship in 1903. The club was dissolved in 1946 and the remains reformed as SG Probstheida. The club was eventually reorganized as football club 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig in 1966. 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig has had a glorious past in international competition as well, having been champions of the 1965–66 Intertoto Cup, semi-finalists in the

1973–74 UEFA Cup The 1973–74 UEFA Cup was the third season of the UEFA Cup since its inception in 1971. It was won by Dutch side Feyenoord who defeated English side Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham ( ...

, and runners-up in the

1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1986–87 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup was won by Ajax in the final against Lokomotive Leipzig. The young Ajax side, which included the likes of Marco van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Dennis Bergkamp, was guided to victory by its coac ...

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

entered the local football in May 2009, after having previously been denied the right to buy into

FC Sachsen Leipzig FC Sachsen Leipzig was a German football club from the Leutzsch district of Leipzig, Saxony. The club continued the traditions of BSG Chemie Leipzig. The club officially dissolved in 2011. Although several successor sides were established, onl ...

in 2006. The newly founded

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bu ...

declared the intention to come up through the ranks of German football and to bring

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

football back to the region. RB Leipzig was finally promoted to the top level of the Bundesliga after finishing the

2015–16 2. Bundesliga The 2015–16 2. Bundesliga was the 42nd season of the 2. Bundesliga. Teams A total of 18 teams participated in the 2015–16 2. Bundesliga. These include 14 teams from the 2014–15 2. Bundesliga, together with SC Freiburg and SC Paderborn, w ...

season as runners-up. The club finished runners-up in its first ever Bundesliga season and made its debut in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

in 2017 and the Semi-Final in 2020. List of Leipzig men and women's football clubs playing at state level and above: Note 1: The RB Leipzig women's football team was formed in 2016 and began play in the 2016–17 season.
Note 2: The club began play in the 2008–09 season.

Ice hockey

Since the beginning of the 20th century,

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

has gained popularity, and several local clubs established departments dedicated to that sport.

Handball

SC DHfK Leipzig SC DHfK Leipzig e. V. ''(Sportclub Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur Leipzig e. V.)'' is a sports club in Leipzig, Germany. Until the closure of the sports university DHfK, the club was part of the DHfK. Established was the club in 1954 as ...

is the men's handball club in Leipzig and were six times (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965 and 1966) the champion of East Germany handball league and was winner of

EHF Champions League The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...

in 1966. They finally promoted to

Handball-Bundesliga The Handball-Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. From 2007 onwards, the league was sponsored by Toyota and has officially been called the ''Toyota Handball-Bundesliga''. This lasted until 2012 when the Deutsche K ...

as champions of 2. Bundesliga in 2014–15 season. They play in the

Arena Leipzig The Arena Leipzig is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Leipzig, Germany. The capacity of the arena is 8,000 people for sporting events and up to 12,200 for shows and concerts. It is part of the Sportforum Leipzig, which also contains Red Bu ...

which has a capacity of 6,327 spectators in Handball-Bundesliga, HBL games but can take up to 7,532 spectators for handball in maximum capacity. Handball Club Leipzig, Handball-Club Leipzig is one of the most successful women's handball clubs in Germany, winning 21 domestic championships since 1953 and 2 Women's EHF Champions League, Champions League titles. The team was however relegated to the third tier league in 2017 due to failing to achieve the economic standard demanded by the league licence.

American football

Leipzig Kings is an American football team playing in the European League of Football (ELF), which is a planned professional league, that is set to become the first fully professional league in Europe since the demise of NFL Europe. The Kings will start playing games against teams from Germany, Spain and Poland in June 2021. They play their home games at Alfred-Kunze-Sportpark.

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 the Fencing World Cup in 2005 and hosts a number of international competitions in a variety of sports each year. Leipzig made a bid to host the

. The bid did not make the shortlist after the International Olympic Committee pared the bids down to 5.

is a new lake next to Markkleeberg, a suburb on the south side of Leipzig. A former Coal mining, open-pit coal mine, it was flooded in 1999 with groundwater and developed in 2006 as a tourist area. On its southeastern shore is Germany's only pump-powered artificial whitewater slalom course, Markkleeberg Canoe Park (Kanupark Markkleeberg), a venue which rivals the Eiskanal in Augsburg for training and international canoe/kayak competition. Leipzig Rugby Club competes in the German Rugby Bundesliga but finished at the bottom of their group in 2013. Leipzig hosted the 2015 Men's Indoor Hockey World Cup, Indoor Hockey World Cup in 2015. All matches were played in Leipzig Arena, with the Netherlands coming out victorious in both the men's and women's tournaments.

Education

University

, founded 1409, is one of Europe's oldest universities. Karl Bücher, a German economist, founded the ''Institut für Zeitungswissenschaften'' (Institute for Newspaper Science) at the University of Leipzig in 1916. It was the first institute of its kind to be established in Europe, and it marks the commencement of academic study of media communication in Germany. Gottfried Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, a philosopher and mathematician, was born in Leipzig in 1646, and attended the university from 1661 to 1666. Nobel Prize laureate Werner Heisenberg worked at the university as a physics professor (from 1927 to 1942), as did Nobel Prize laureates Gustav Ludwig Hertz (physics), Wilhelm Ostwald (chemistry) and Theodor Mommsen (Nobel Prize in literature). The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine went to Svante Pääbo, an honorary professor at the university. Other former university staff include mineralogist Georg Agricola, writer Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, philosopher Ernst Bloch, founder of psychophysics Gustav Theodor Fechner, and founder of modern psychology, Wilhelm Wundt. The university's notable former students include writers Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Erich Kästner, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, political activist Karl Liebknecht, and composer

. Angela Merkel, former German chancellor, studied physics at Leipzig University. The university has about 30,000 students. A part of Leipzig University is the German Institute for Literature which was founded in 1955 under the name "Johannes R. Becher-Institut". Many noted writers have graduated from this school, including Heinz Czechowski, Kurt Drawert, Adolf Endler, Ralph Giordano (writer), Ralph Giordano, Kerstin Hensel, Sarah Kirsch (poet), Sarah and Rainer Kirsch, Angela Krauß, Erich Loest, and Fred Wander. After its closure in 1990 the institute was refounded in 1995 with new teachers.

Visual arts and theatre

The Academy of Visual Arts (''Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst'') was established in 1764. Its 600 students () are enrolled in courses in painting and graphics, book design/graphic design, photography and media art. The school also houses an Institute for Theory. The University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, University of Music and Theatre offers a broad range of subjects ranging from training in orchestral instruments, voice, interpretation, coaching, piano chamber music, orchestral conducting, choir conducting and musical composition to acting and scriptwriting.

University of Applied Science

The Leipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK) has approximately 6,200 students () and is () the second biggest institution of higher education in Leipzig. It was founded in 1992, merging several older schools. As a university of applied sciences (German: ''Fachhochschule'') its status is slightly below that of a university, with more emphasis on the practical parts of education. The HTWK offers many engineering courses, as well as courses in computer science, mathematics, business administration, librarianship, museum studies, and social work. It is mainly located in the south of the city.

Leipzig Graduate School

The private HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Leipzig Graduate School of Management, (in German ''Handelshochschule Leipzig (HHL)''), is the oldest business school in Germany. According to The Economist, HHL is one of the best schools in the world, ranked at number six overall.

Research institutes

Leipzig is currently the home of twelve research institutes and the Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Max Planck Society: Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Fraunhofer Society institutes: Fraunhofer IZI and Fraunhofer IMW. Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research :de:Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum, Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum – DBFZ Leibniz Association: :de:Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung, Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research, :de:Leibniz-Institut für Oberflächenmodifizierung, Leibniz-Institute IOM, :de:Leibniz-Institut für Geschichte und Kultur des östlichen Europa, Leibniz-Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe, :de:Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde, Leibniz-Institute IfL, Leibniz-Institute Jewish history.

Others

Leipzig is home to one of the world's oldest schools, ''Thomasschule zu Leipzig'' (St. Thomas' School, Leipzig), which gained fame for its long association with the

of musicians and composers. The Lutheran Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church (Germany), Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Leipzig. The seminary trains students to become pastors for the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church or for member church bodies of the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference.

Economy

The city is a location for automobile manufacturing by BMW and Porsche in large plants north of the city. In 2011 and 2012 DHL Express, DHL transferred the bulk of its European air operations from Brussels Airport to

. Kirow Leipzig, Kirow Ardelt AG, the world market leader in Crane (railroad), breakdown cranes, is based in Leipzig. The city also houses the European Energy Exchange, the leading energy exchange in Central Europe. VNG – Verbundnetz Gas AG, one of Germany's large natural gas suppliers, is headquartered at Leipzig. In addition, inside its larger metropolitan area, Leipzig has developed an important petrochemical center. Some of the largest employers in the area (outside of manufacturing) include software companies such as Spreadshirt and the various schools and universities in and around the Leipzig/Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle region. The University of Leipzig attracts millions of euros of investment yearly and celebrated its 600th birthday in 2009. Leipzig also benefits from world-leading medical research (Leipzig Heart Centre) and a growing biotechnology industry. Many bars, restaurants and stores in the downtown area are patronized by German and foreign tourists. Leipzig Main Train Station is the location of a shopping mall. Leipzig is one of Germany's most visited cities with over 3 million overnight stays in 2017. In 2010, Leipzig was included in the top 10 cities to visit by ''The New York Times'', and ranked 39th globally out of 289 cities for innovation in the 4th Innovation Cities Index published by Australian agency 2thinknow. In 2015, Leipzig have among the 30 largest German cities the third best prospects for the future. In recent years Leipzig has often been nicknamed the "Boomtown of eastern Germany" or "Hypezig". it had the highest rate of population growth of any German city. Companies with operations in or around Leipzig include: *Amazon.com, Amazon *Blüthner: piano-manufacturing *BMW Central Building, BMW *DHL Express, DHL *Porsche *Siemens *Future Electronics File:Porsche Diamond.jpg, Porsche Diamond, the customer center building of Porsche Leipzig File:BMW Leipzig MEDIA Download Luftaufnahme 3 max.jpg, BMW production facility in Leipzig File:Amazon.de Versandhaus Leipzig.jpg, Amazon.com, Amazon in Leipzig File:EAT LEJ Hangar.jpg, Leipzig is the hub of DHL Express, DHL. File:Lzg. Löhrs Carré 1.jpg, Headquarters of the Sparkasse Leipzig bank File:Markkleeberger See Bootsanlegestelle.jpg,

. File:Höfe am Brühl 20120928-3.jpg, Brühl (Leipzig), Höfe am Brühl shopping mall, situated on the former route of

, an ancient trade road.

Socio-ecological infrastructure

Leipzig has a dense network of socio-ecological infrastructures. Worth mentioning in the food sector are the ''Fairteiler'' of Foodsharing.de, foodsharing and the numerous Community-supported agricultures, in the textile sector the ''Umsonstladen'' in Plagwitz, in the bicycle self-help workshops the ''Radsfatz'', in the computer sector the Hackerspace ''Die Dezentrale'' and in the repair sector the ''Café kaputt''.

Media

*Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, 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 and Insel Verlag. Few are left after the years of economic decline during the German Democratic Republic, during which time Frankfurt developed as a much more important publishing center. Reclam, founded in 1828, was one of the large publishing houses to move away. Leipzig still has a book fair, but Frankfurt's is far bigger. *The German Library (Deutsche Bücherei) in Leipzig is part of German National Library, Germany's National Library. Its task is to collect a copy of every book published in German.

Quality of life

Leipzig - Thomasgasse + Thomaswiese + Thomaskirche 01 ies

In December 2013, according to a study by

, Leipzig was ranked as the most livable city in Germany. In 2015/2016, Leipzig was named by the consumer portal verbraucherzentrale.de as the second-best city for students in Germany (after Munich). In a 2017 study from the Institut für Handelsforschung Köln, the Leipzig inner city ranked first among all large cities in Germany due to its urban aesthetics, gastronomy, and shopping opportunities. According to HWWI/Berenberg-Städteranking, since 2018 it also has the second-best future prospects of all cities in Germany, second to Munich in 2018 and

in 2019. According to a 2017 Global Least & Most Stressful Cities Ranking by Zipjet, a London-based online laundry service, Leipzig was one of the least stressful cities in the World. It was ranked 25th out of 150 cities worldwide and above Dortmund, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Berlin. Leipzig was named European City of the Year at the 2019 Urbanism Awards. According to the 2019 study by Forschungsinstitut Prognos, Leipzig is the most dynamic region in Germany. Within 15 years, the city climbed 230 places and occupied in 2019 rank 104 of all 401 German regions. Leipzig was one of 52 places to go in 2020 by ''The New York Times'' and the highest-ranking German destination.

has been ranked the best railway station in Germany and the third-best in Europe in a consumer organisation poll, surpassed only by St Pancras railway station and Zürich Hauptbahnhof.

Transport

Founded at the crossing of

and

, Leipzig has been a major interchange of inter-European traffic and commerce since medieval times. After the Reunification of Germany, immense efforts to restore and expand the traffic network have been undertaken and left the city area with an excellent infrastructure.

Railways

Opened in 1915,

(lit. ''main station'') is the largest overhead railway station in Europe in terms of its built-up area. At the same time, it is an important supra-regional junction in the Intercity-Express (ICE) and Intercity (Deutsche Bahn), Intercity network of the Deutsche Bahn as well as a connection point for S-Bahn and regional traffic in the Halle/Leipzig area. In Leipzig, the Intercity Express routes (Hamburg-)Berlin-Leipzig-Nuremberg-Munich and Dresden-Leipzig-Erfurt-Frankfurt am Main-(Wiesbaden/Saarbrücken) intersect. Leipzig is also the starting point for the intercity lines Leipzig-Halle (Saale)-Magdeburg-Braunschweig-Hannover-Dortmund-Köln and -Bremen-Oldenburg(-Norddeich Mole). Both lines complement each other at hourly intervals and also stop at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The only international connection is the daily EuroCity Leipzig-Prague. Most major and medium-sized towns in Saxony and southern Saxony-Anhalt can be reached without changing trains. There are also direct connections via regional express lines to Falkenberg/Elster-Cottbus, Hoyerswerda and Dessau-Magdeburg as well as Chemnitz. Neighbouring Halle (Saale) can be reached via three S-Bahn lines, two of which run via Leipzig/Halle Airport. The surrounding area of Leipzig is served by numerous regional and S-Bahn lines. The city's railway connections are currently being greatly improved by major construction projects, particularly within the framework of the German Unity transport projects. The line to Berlin has been extended and has been passable at 200 km/h since 2006. On 13 December 2015, the high-speed line from Leipzig to Erfurt, designed for 300 km/h, was put into operation. Its continuation to Nuremberg followed in December 2017. This integration into the high-speed network considerably reduced the journey times of the ICE from Leipzig to Nuremberg, Munich and Frankfurt am Main. The Leipzig-Dresden railway line, which was the first German long-distance railway to go into operation in 1839, is also undergoing expansion for 200 km/h. The most important construction project in regional transport was the four-kilometer-long City-Tunnel (Leipzig), City Tunnel, which went into operation in December 2013 as the main line of the

. There are freight stations in the districts of Wahren and Engelsdorf. In addition, a freight traffic centre has been set up near the Schkeuditzer Kreuz junction for goods handling between road and rail, as well as a freight station on the site of the DHL hub at Leipzig/Halle Airport.

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 and Bayerischer Bahnhof leading through the City Tunnel as well as the above-ground station Leipzig MDR. There are a total of 30 S-Bahn stations in the Leipzig city area. Endpoints of the S-Bahn lines include Wurzen, Zwickau, Dessau and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Two lines run to Halle, one of them via Leipzig/Halle Airport. With the timetable change in December 2004, the networks of Leipzig and Halle were combined to form the Leipzig-Halle S-Bahn. However, this network only served as a transitional solution and was replaced by the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland on 15 December 2013. At the same time, the main line tunnel, marketed as the Leipzig City Tunnel, went into operation. The tunnel, which is almost four kilometres long, crosses the entire city centre from the main railway station to the Bavarian railway station. The S-Bahn stations are up to 22 metres underground. This construction was the first to create a continuous north–south axis, which had not existed until now due to the north-facing terminus station. The connection to the south of the city and the federal state will thus be greatly improved.

Tramway and buses

The Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe, existing since 1 January 1917, operate a total of 15 tram lines and 47 bus lines in the city. The total length of the tram network is , making it the largest in Saxony ahead of Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe, Dresden () and the second largest in Germany after Trams in Berlin, Berlin (). The longest line in the Leipzig network is line 11, which connects Schkeuditz with Markkleeberg over 22 kilometres and is the only tram line in Leipzig to run in three tariff zones of the Central German Transport Association. Night bus lines N1 to N9 and the night tram N17 operate in the night traffic. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays the tram line N10 and the bus line N60 also operate. The central transfer point between the bus and tram lines as well as to the S-Bahn is Leipzig Central Station.

Bicycle

Like most German cities, Leipzig has a traffic layout designed to be bicycle-friendly. There is an extensive cycle network. In most of the one-way central streets, cyclists are explicitly allowed to cycle both ways. A few cycle paths have been built or declared since 1990. Since 2004 there is a bicycle-sharing system. Bikes can be borrowed and returned via smartphone app or by telephone. Since 2018, the system has enabled flexible borrowing and returning of bicycles in the inner city; in this zone, bicycles can be handed in and borrowed from almost any street corner. Outside these zones, there are stations where the bikes are waiting. The current locations of the bikes can be seen via the app. There are cooperation offers with the Leipzig public transport companies and car sharing in order to offer as complete a mobility chain as possible.

Road

Several federal motorways pass by Leipzig: the Bundesautobahn 14, A 14 in the north, the Bundesautobahn 9, A 9 in the west and the Bundesautobahn 38, 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 Bundesautobahn 72, A 72 is also partly under construction. The Bundesstraße, federal roads Bundesstraße 2, B 2, Bundesstraße 6, B 6, Bundesstraße 87, B 87, Bundesstraße 181, B 181 and Bundesstraße 184, 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 of carsharing stations. Additionally, since 2018 there is also a stationless car sharing system in Leipzig. Here the cars can be parked and booked anywhere in the inner city without having to define a specific car or period in advance. Finding and booking is done via a smartphone app. Leipzig is one of the few cities in Germany with vehicle for hire services that can be booked via a mobile app. In contrast to taxicab services, the start and destination must be defined beforehand and other passengers can be taken along at the same time if they share a route.

Long-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, and Leipziger Messe for a stop. Passengers can take the S-Bahn from there to the city centre.

Air

is the international commercial airport of the region. It is located at the Schkeuditzer Kreuz junction northwest of Leipzig, halfway between the two major cities. The easternmost section of the new Erfurt-Leipzig/Halle line under construction gave the airport a long-distance railway station, which was also integrated into the ICE network when the railway line was completed in 2015. Passenger flights are operated to the major German hub airports, European metropolises and holiday destinations, especially in the Mediterranean region and North Africa. The airport is of international importance in the cargo sector. In Germany, it ranks second behind Frankfurt am Main, fifth in Europe and 26th worldwide (as of 2011). DHL uses the airport as its central European hub. It is also the home base of the freight airlines Aerologic and European Air Transport Leipzig. The former military airport near Altenburg,

called Leipzig-Altenburg Airport about a half-hour drive from Leipzig was served by Ryanair until 2010.

Water

Leipzig - Elsterflutbett + Palmengartenwehr 01 ies

In the first half of the 20th century, the construction of the Elster-Saale canal,

White Elster The White Elster
Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central

, and

) in the city have largely artificial river beds and are supplemented by some channels. These waterways are suitable only for small leisure boat traffic. Through the renovation and reconstruction of existing mill races and watercourses in the south of the city and flooded disused open cast mines, the city's navigable water network is being expanded. A link between Karl Heine Canal and the disused Lindenauer port was opened in 2015. Still more work was scheduled to complete the Elster-Saale canal. Such a move would allow small boats to reach the Elbe from Leipzig. The intended completion date has been postponed because of an unacceptable cost-benefit ratio. File:Leipzig NGT12-LEI Waldplatz defekt.jpg, Tram of Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe File:Leipzig Georg-Schumann-Strasse.jpg, Tramsystem at the Georg-Schumann-Straße File:S-Bahnhof Leipzig Markt.jpg,

, part of Leipzig's new S-Bahn network File:S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland. Talent 2,027, Innenansicht Sitze.jpg, Inside the S-Bahn train

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 ''Goethe's Faust, Faust, Part One'' ''Ich komme nach Leipzig, an den Ort, wo man die ganze Welt im Kleinen sehen kann.'' (I'm coming to Leipzig, to the place where one can see the whole world in miniature.) – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing ''Extra Lipsiam vivere est miserrime vivere.'' (To live outside Leipzig is to live miserably.) – Carpzov, Benedikt Carpzov the Younger ''Das angenehme Pleis-Athen, Behält den Ruhm vor allen, Auch allen zu gefallen, Denn es ist wunderschön.'' (The pleasurable Pleiss-Athens, earns its fame above all, appealing to every one, too, for it is mightily beauteous.) – Johann Sigismund Scholze

Twin towns – sister cities

Plaque at 2-37 Leipzig Street, Kiev, Ukraine

Leipzig is Sister city, twinned with: * Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2004) * Birmingham, United Kingdom (1992) * Bologna, Italy (1962, renewed in 1997) * Brno, Czech Republic (1973, renewed in 1999) * Frankfurt, Germany (1990) * Hanover, Germany (1987) * Herzliya, Israel (2010) * Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2021) * Houston, United States (1993) * Kraków, Poland (1973, renewed in 1995) * Kyiv, Ukraine (1961, renewed in 1992) * Lyon, France (1981) * Nanjing, China (1988) * Thessaloniki, Greece (1984) * Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2003)

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. *Karl Liebknecht (1871–1919), socialist, co-founded the Communist Party of Germany *

(1884–1945), mayor, a lead conservative resistance against Hitler *Paul Frölich (1884–1953), politician, KPD co-founder, biographer of Rosa Luxemburg *Walter Ulbricht (1893–1973), Communist politician, GDR Chairman of the Council of State, 1960–1973 *Ruth Fischer (1895–1961), communist politician and journalist, co-founder of the CPA *Annemarie Renger (1919–2008), politician, President of the Bundestag, 1972 to 1976

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

Andreas Staub - Clara Schumann (Pastell 1838)

*Johann Albert Fabricius (1668–1736), a classical scholar and bibliographer. *

(1685–1750), composer. *Johann Gottfried Donati (1706–1782), composer *Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788) a Classical period musician and composer. *Johann Christian Bach (1735–1782), composer, youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach *Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus (1772–1823), publisher, originated the Brockhaus encyclopedia. *Johann Gottfried Jakob Hermann (1772–1848), a classical scholar and philologist. *Karl Wilhelm Dindorf (1802–1883), a classical scholar. *

(1809–1847), composer, pianist, organist and conductor. *

(1810–1856), composer and music critic. *Roderich Benedix (1811–1873), a dramatist and librettist. *Theodor Bergk (1812–1881), a philologist, an authority on classical Greek poetry. *

(1813–1883), composer, theatre director and conductor. *Clara Schumann (1819–1896), pianist and composer. *Carl Johann Lasch (1822–1888), painter *Carl Reinecke (1824–1910), composer, conductor, and pianist. *Max Beckmann (1884–1950), expressionist painter, professor at art academies and schools *Wilhelm Backhaus (1884–1969), pianist *Karl Alfred Pabst (1884–1971), painter, graphic artist and lithographer *Hanns Eisler (1898–1962), composer of the national anthem of East Germany, the GDR *Bruno Apitz (1900–1979), writer *Wolfgang Weber (journalist), Wolfgang Weber (1902–1985), photojournalist *Hans Mayer (1907–2001), literary scholar *Kurt Masur (1927–2015), conductor of the

*Herbert Blomstedt (born 1927), conductor of the

*Werner Tübke (1929–2004), painter *Hans-Joachim Schulze (born 1934), Bach scholar *Riccardo Chailly (born 1953), conductor of the

(born 1960), painter *

(born 1963), vocalist *Simone Thomalla (born 1965), actress *Matthias Weischer (born 1973), painter *Oskar Lenz (1848–1925), explorer and travel writer *Hans Meyer (geologist), Hans Meyer (1858–1929), geographer, Africanist and mountaineer *Martin Broszat (1926–1989), historian, head of Institut für Zeitgeschichte in Munich *Ruth Pfau (1929–2017), nun, physician and writer *Christian Gottfried Körner (1756–1831), jurist and writer *Sebastian Krumbiegel (1966-), singer and musician *Tobias Künzel (1964-), singer and musician

Science & Business

Carl Gustav Carus Gemälde von Johann Carl Rössler

*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), chemist

War 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 I

Sport

*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), sprinter

References

External links

The city's official website
*
Leipzig as virtual city 408 Points of Interest – English

The Leipzig Glocal
English language webzine and blog publishing regularly
Ubiquity Theatre Company
– English language theatre projects in Leipzig *
Leipzig Zeitgeist
', an English magazine about Leipzig
This is Leipzig
an English web site for Leipzig
LostInLeipzig
Get lost in Germany's best city
Events in Leipzig
��Music festivals in Leipzig * {{Authority control Leipzig, Cities in Saxony

Etymology

Name

History

Origins

19th century

20th century

21st century

Geography

Location

Subdivision

Neighbouring communities

Climate

Politics

Mayor

City council

Bundestag

Demographics

Culture, sights and cityscape

Architecture

Tallest buildings and structures

Museums and the arts

Main sights

Churches

Parks and lakes

Music

Annual events

Food and drink

Sports

Football

Ice hockey

Handball

American football

Other sports

Education

University

Visual arts and theatre

University of Applied Science

Leipzig Graduate School

Research institutes

Others

Economy

Socio-ecological infrastructure

Media

Quality of life

Transport

Railways

Suburban trains

Tramway and buses

Bicycle

Road

Long-distance buses

Air

Water

Quotations

Twin towns – sister cities

Notable people

Politicians

Philosophers and Theologians

Writing & Arts

Science & Business

War figures

Sport

See also

References

Further reading

External links