The Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei (''Leipzig Cotton Mill'') is an industrial site in

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 ...

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 ...

. Parts of this 10-hectare site in the district of Lindenau are used today by art galleries, studios and restaurants. Founded in 1884, the business developed into the largest cotton mill in continental Europe over the next quarter century. During this time, an entire industrial town with over 20 factories, workers' housing, kindergartens and a recreational area, grew in western Leipzig. The mill reached its maximum extent in 1907, with 240,000

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...

s processing cotton across a working area of about . Up to 4,000 people worked there, until production of thread was halted in 1993 following the reunification of Germany several years earlier. Subsequently, the area was repopulated by a mixture of people including craftsmen, self-employed, and above all artists, many belonging to the so-called "

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 Alte Leipziger ...

". More than half of the available space has since been rented out again for new purposes. Ten galleries, a communal arts center (''Halle 14''), and around 100 artists (including

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 ...

, Jim Whiting, Hans Aichinger, and Matthias Weischer) have all settled at the site, as well as restaurants, fashion designers, architects, printers, a goldsmith, a pottery, a film club, a porcelain manufacturer, and an arts supply store. The site contained several platform interchanges from a now-disused railway between Lindenau and Plagwitz. Parts of the platforms are still intact.

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Pinsel statt Spule
Nina Apin, '' Die Tageszeitung'', 6 April 2005.
'The hottest place on earth'
Gordon Burn, ''

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'', 1 February 2007
'Wunderbar! The best of Germany'
Andrew Eames and Barbara Geier, ''

'', 19 March 2011.
Mit vielen Wassern gewaschen: Leipzigs neue Ufer
Beatrice Härig, Monumente Online, February 2008.

Sigrun Hellmich,

Goethe Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

, July 2009. * {{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Germany Buildings and structures in Leipzig Tourist attractions in Saxony Textile mills in Germany Cotton mills