Leipzig - Universitätsstraße - Moritzbastei 05 ies

The Moritzbastei is the only remaining part of the ancient town fortifications of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. Today it is widely known as a cultural centre.

History of the building

The Moritzbastei was built as a

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

in between 1551 and 1554 under the supervision of the mayor

Hieronymus Lotter Hieronymus Lotter (* around 1497 in Nuremberg; † 22 July 1580 in Geyer / Ore Mountains) was a merchant and several times mayor of Leipzig, construction manager for important sovereign building projects in Saxony and the driving force behind e ...

, who was also responsible for Leipzig's Altes Rathaus (old town hall) which is one of the most important

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

buildings in

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 ...

. Elector Moritz of

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 ...

directed the reconstruction of the town fortifications of Leipzig after it became largely destroyed during the Smalkaldic War between German Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

and the

Smalkaldic League The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...

. After being stormed for the first time in the

Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...

, the Moritzbastei lost its military function in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. Henceforth it served as a store for trade goods and workplace for a bell founder and a book printer. In the period 1796–1834, the first public school (1. Bürgerschule) was built over the basement of the Moritzbastei by architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe. It was the first school in Germany without confessional segregated classes and was destroyed in 1943 during

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 ...

. From 1974 the Moritzbastei was rebuilt under the supervision of

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 ...

. More than 30,000 students were engaged in the reconstruction of the bastion, among them the future

Chancellor of Germany The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Oppo ...

. From 1982 onward the Moritzbastei was the official

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 ...

of Leipzig University.

Moritzbastei as a student club

In 1973 or 1974 students discovered the remains of the Moritzbastei and persuaded the university and city of

to allow it to be rebuilt. Subsequently, it was run by the

Free German Youth The Free German Youth (german: Freie Deutsche Jugend; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant ...

as a venue for encounter and cultural events. Since 1992 the Moritzbastei is no longer part of

and became a legally independent (commercial) foundation. It is still linked to the university through its board of directors which is headed by the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Leipzig University while a second board member has to be an elected student representative.

Moritzbastei since 1993

Since 1993 the Moritzbastei has been run in the form of a GmbH under licence of the Moritzbastei foundation as a well known cultural centre. Its main purpose being to foster and sustain the student and academic culture in Leipzig. The Board of Trustees, which oversees the work of the foundation without institutional subvention, consists of one representative of the city of

, the Free State of

and the student body. In recent years artists from all over the world have been guests of the Moritzbastei.

External links

Moritzbastei
{{Coord, 51.3372, N, 12.3792, E, source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Buildings and structures in Leipzig Tourist attractions in Leipzig