Leipzig - Universitätsstraße - Moritzbastei 05 Ies

Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the eighth-largest city in Germany and is part of the Central German Metropolitan Region. The name of the city is usually interpreted as a Slavic term meaning ''place of linden trees'', in line with many other Slavic placenames in the region.

Leipzig is located about southwest of Berlin, in the southernmost part of the North German Plain (the Leipzig Bay and its tributaries Pleiße and Parthe. The Leipzig Riverside Forest, Europe's largest intra-city riparian forest, has developed along these rivers.

Leipzig is at the centre of Neuseenland (''new lake district''). This district has several artificial lakes created from former lignite open-pit mines.

Leipzig has been a trade city since at least the time of the Holy Roman Empire. Via Regia and the Via Imperii, two important medieval trade routes, intersected here, marking the city's economic importance. Leipzig's trade fair dates to 1190. Between 1764 and 1945, the city was a centre of publishing. After the Second World War and during the period of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Leipzig continued as a major urban centre in East Germany. But overall, because of isolation behind the Iron Curtain, its cultural and economic importance declined.

Events in Leipzig in 1989 played a significant role in precipitating the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, mainly through demonstrations starting from St. Nicholas Church. The immediate effects of the reunification of Germany included the collapse of the local economy (which was dependent on the highly polluting heavy industry), severe unemployment, and urban blight.

By the early 2000s the decline had reversed, and since then Leipzig has undergone some significant changes. It has had urban and economic rejuvenation, and modernisation of the transport infrastructure.

Leipzig is home to one of the oldest universities in Europe (Leipzig University). It is the main seat of the German National Library (the second is Frankfurt), the seat of the German Music Archive, as well as of the German Federal Administrative Court. Leipzig Zoo is one of the most modern zoos in Europe and as of 2018 ranks first in Germany and second in Europe.

Leipzig's late-19th-century Gründerzeit architecture consists of around 12,500 buildings. The city's central railway terminus Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is, at 83,460 square metres (898,400 sq ft), Europe's largest railway station measured by floor area. Since Leipzig City Tunnel came into operation in 2013, it has formed the centrepiece of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland (''S-Bahn Central Germany'') public transit system, Germany's largest S-Bahn network, with a system length of 802 km (498 mi).

Leipzig has long been a major centre for music, including classical and modern dark wave. The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig), a boys' choir, was founded in 1212. The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, established in 1743, is one of the oldest symphony orchestras in the world. Several well-known composers lived and worked in Leipzig, including Johann Sebastian Bach (1723 to 1750), Felix Mendelssohn (1835 to 1847), and Richard Wagner, born in 1813. The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" was founded in 1843. The Oper Leipzig, one of the most prominent opera houses in Germany, was founded in 1693. During a stay in Gohlis, which is now part of the city, Friedrich Schiller wrote his poem "Ode to Joy".

Names

A once common English spelling of the city's name was , among many variants. The Latin name was also used in many languages and in the academic publications of the city's university.

Etymology

The name ''Leipzig'' is commonly held to derive from ''lipa'', the common Slavic designation for linden trees, making the city's name etymologically related to Lipetsk, Russia. Based on medieval attestations like ''Lipzk'' (c. 1190), the original Slavic name of the city has been reconstructed as ''*Lipьsko'', which is also reflected in similar forms in neighbouring modern Slavic languages (Sorbian/Polish ''Lipsk'', Czech ''Lipsko''). This has, however, been questioned by more recent onomastic research based on the very oldest forms like ''Libzi'' (c. 1015).

Epithets

Due to the etymology mentioned above, ''Lindenstadt'' or ''Stadt der Linden'' (City of Linden Trees) are common poetic epithets for the city.

Another, somewhat old-fashioned epithet is ''Pleiß-Athen'' (Athens on the Pleiße River), hinting at Leipzig's long academic and literary tradition, as the seat of one of the oldest German universities and a centre of the book trade.

It is also referred to as "Little Paris" (''Klein-Paris'') after a line from Goethe's ''Faust I'', which is partly set in the famous Leipzig restaurant ''Auerbachs Keller''.

In 1937 the Nazi government awarded the city the epithet ' (Reich Trade Fair City Leipzig).

In 1989 Leipzig was dubbed a Hero City (''Heldenstadt''), a title that the Soviet Union awarded to some of its cities for their key role in World War II. In Leipzig's case, though, this was an informal allusion to its role in the fall of the East German regime (through the Monday demonstrations).

More recently, the city has sometimes been nicknamed ''Hypezig'', the "Boomtown of eastern Germany", or "The better Berlin" (''Das bessere Berlin'') and is celebrated by the media as a hip urban centre for its vibrant lifestyle and creative scene with many startups.

Geography

Location

Leipzig is located in the Leipzig Bay, which is the part of the North European Plain in Germany. The city sits on the White Elster, a river that rises in the Czech Republic and flows into the Saale south of Halle. The Pleiße and the Parthe join the White Elster in Leipzig, and the large inland delta-like landscape the three rivers form is called ''Leipziger Gewässerknoten''. The site is characterized by swampy areas such as the Leipzig Riparian Forest (''Leipziger Auenwald''), 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 and drumlins.

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-pit mines in the region, many of which have been converted to lakes.

Leipzig is also situated at the intersection of the ancient roads known as the Via Regia (King's highway), which traversed Germany in an east–west direction, and the Via Imperii (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.

Neighbouring communities

Climate

Like many cities in Eastern Germany, Leipzig has an oceanic climate (Köppen: ''Cfb''), with significant continental 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 per day) compared with 229 hours of sunshine in July (7.4 hours per day).

History

Origins

Leipzig was first documented in 1015 in the chronicles of Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg as ' (, VII, 25) and endowed with city and market privileges in 1165 by Otto the Rich. Leipzig Trade Fair, started in the Middle Ages, has become an event of international importance and is the oldest surviving trade fair in the world. This encouraged the growth of the Leipzig merchant bourgeoisie.

There are records of commercial fishing operations on the river Pleiße that, most likely, refer to Leipzig dating back to 1305, when the Margrave Dietrich the Younger granted the fishing rights to the church and convent of St Thomas.

There were a number of monasteries in and around the city, including a Franciscan monastery after which the Barfußgäßchen (Barefoot Alley) is named and a monastery of Irish monks (, destroyed in 1544) near the present day (the old ').

The University of Leipzig 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 (Imperial Court of Justice) and the German National Library being located here.

During the Thirty Years' War, two battles took place in , about outside Leipzig city walls. The first Battle of Breitenfeld took place in 1631 and the second in 1642. Both battles resulted in victories for the Swedish-led side.

On 24 December 1701, when Franz Conrad Romanus was mayor, an oil-fueled street lighting 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 between Napoleonic France and an allied coalition of Prussia, Russia, Austria and Sweden. It was the largest battle in Europe before the First World War and the coalition victory ended Napoleon's presence in Germany and would ultimately lead to his first exile on Elba. The Monument to the Battle of the Nations 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. While over half of the Kingdom of Saxony was formally ceded to Prussia, Leipzig remained part of King Frederick Augustus I.

When it was made a terminus of the first German long-distance railway to Dresden (the capital of Saxony) in 1839, Leipzig became a hub of Central European railway traffic, with Leipzig Hauptbahnhof the largest terminal station by area in Europe. The railway station has two grand entrance halls, the eastern one for the Royal Saxon State Railways and the western one for the Prussian state railways.

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 (''Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein'', ADAV) was founded in Leipzig on 23 May 1863 by Ferdinand Lassalle; about 600 workers from across Germany travelled to the foundation on the new railway. Leipzig expanded rapidly to more than 700,000 inhabitants. Huge areas were built, which mostly survived both war and post-war demolition.

20th century

With the opening of a fifth production hall in 1907, the Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei became the largest cotton mill company on the continent, housing over 240,000 spindles. Yearly production surpassed 5 million kilograms of yarn.

During World War I, in 1917, the American Consulate was closed, and its building became a temporary place of stay for Americans and Allied refugees from Serbia, Romania and Japan.

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. It re-opened soon after the war ended in 1945.

On 22 May 1930, Carl Friedrich Goerdeler was elected mayor of Leipzig. He later became an opponent of the Nazi regime. He resigned in 1937 when, in his absence, his Nazi deputy ordered the destruction of the city's statue of Felix Mendelssohn. On Kristallnacht in 1938, the 1855 Moorish Revival 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, a large Jewish religious community spread throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In October 1935, the Gemeinde 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. 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 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.

The Jews of Leipzig were greatly affected by the Nuremberg Laws. However, due to the Leipzig Trade Fair 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.

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 through Jewish citizens. Many of these Zionists attempted to flee before deportations began. On 28 October 1938, Heinrich Himmler ordered the deportation of Polish Jews from Leipzig to Poland. The Polish Consulate sheltered 1,300 Polish Jews, preventing their deportation.

On 9 November 1938, as part of Kristallnacht, 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 World War II came to an end, much of Leipzig was destroyed. Following the war, the Communist Party of Germany provided aid for the reconstruction of the city.

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. On 19 September 1942, 440 Jews were deported from Leipzig to Theresienstadt concentration camp. On 18 June 1943, the remaining 18 Jews still in Leipzig were deported from Leipzig to Auschwitz. 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 the German invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, in September 1939, the Gestapo carried out arrests of prominent local Poles, and seized the Polish Consulate and its library. In 1941, the American Consulate was also closed by order of the German authorities. During the war, Leipzig was the location of five subcamps of the Buchenwald concentration camp, in which over 8,000 men, women and children were imprisoned, mostly Polish, Jewish, Soviet and French, but also Italian, Czech and Belgian. In April 1945, most surviving prisoners were sent on death marches to various destinations in Saxony and German-occupied Czechoslovakia, whereas prisoners of the Leipzig-Thekla subcamp who were unable to march were either burned alive, shot or beaten to death by the Gestapo, SS, ''Volkssturm'' and German civilians in the Abtnaundorf massacre. Some were rescued by Polish forced laborers of another camp; at least 67 people survived. 84 victims were buried on 27 April 1945, however, the total number of victims remains unknown.

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 (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 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 Mayor of Leipzig, SS-''Gruppenführer'' Alfred Freyberg, his wife and daughter, together with Deputy Mayor and City Treasurer Ernest Kurt Lisso, his wife, daughter and ''Volkssturm'' Major and former Mayor Walter Dönicke, all committed suicide in Leipzig City Hall.

The United States turned the city over to the Red Army as it pulled back from the line of contact with Soviet forces in July 1945 to the designated occupation zone boundaries. Leipzig became one of the major cities of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

Following the end of World War II 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 in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement.

In the mid-20th century, the city's trade fair assumed renewed importance as a point of contact with the Comecon Eastern Europe economic bloc, of which East Germany was a member. At this time, trade fairs were held at a site in the south of the city, near the Monument to the Battle of the Nations.

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; creative business moved to West Germany; 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 prayers 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 reunification of Germany, however, was at first not good for Leipzig. The centrally planned heavy industry that had become the city's specialty 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 urban-renewal plan first stopped Leipzig's population decline and then reversed it. The plan focused on saving and improving the city's attractive historic downtown area and particularly its early 20th century building stock, and attracting new industries, partly through infrastructure improvement. However, the renewal has led to gentrification of parts of the city and has not arrested the decline of Leipzig-East.

21st century

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, but was unsuccessful. After ten years of construction, the Leipzig City Tunnel opened on 14 December 2013. Leipzig forms the centrepiece of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland public transit system, which operates in the four German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Brandenburg.

Politics

Mayor

The first freely elected mayor after German reunification was Hinrich Lehmann-Grube of the Social Democratic Party (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, also of the SDP, served from 1998 until his resignation in 2005 to become federal Minister of Transport. He was succeeded by fellow SPD politician Burkhard Jung, 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
, align=left, Christian Democratic Union
, 72,427
, 31.6
, 107,611
, 47.6
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Burkhard Jung
, align=left, Social Democratic Party
, 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
, 27,481
, 12.0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Christoph Neumann
, align=left, Alternative for Germany
, 19,854
, 8.7
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Katharina Subat
, align=left, Die PARTEI
, 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
, 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 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2, Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
, 173,343
, 18.9
, 1.4
, 13
, 0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, The Left (Die Linke)
, 160,490
, 17.5
, 3.9
, 12
, 3
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD)
, 155,506
, 17.0
, 2.1
, 12
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)
, 137,614
, 15.0
, 5.7
, 11
, 4
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD)
, 110,520
, 12.1
, 0.3
, 8
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW)
, 88,146
, 9.6
, New
, 7
, New
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Die PARTEI (PARTEI)
, 31,933
, 3.5
, 0.3
, 2
, 0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP)
, 24,898
, 2.7
, 2.1
, 2
, 1
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Free Voters Leipzig (FW)
, 10,106
, 1.1
, 1.4
, 1
, 0
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Pirate Party Germany (Piraten)
, 9,759
, 1.1
, 0.3
, 1
, 0
, -
, bgcolor=009332,
, align=left, Free Saxons (FS)
, 8,965
, 1.0
, New
, 1
, New
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, Volt Germany (Volt)
, 2,391
, 0.3
, New
, 0
, New
, -
, bgcolor=,
, align=left, dieBasis
, 914
, 0.1
, New
, 0
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Garden 24
, 829
, 0.1
, New
, 0
, New
, -
,
, align=left, Our Human Rights in Focus
, 223
, 0.0
, New
, 0
, New
, -
! colspan=2, Valid votes
! 915,637
! 100.0
!
!
!
, -
! colspan=2, Total
! 318,541
! 100.0
!
! 70
! ±0
, -
! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout
! 472,669
! 67.4
! 7.7
!
!
, -
, colspan=7, Source
Wahlen Leipzig

State Landtag

In the Landtag of Saxony, Leipzig is divided among eight constituencies. After the 2024 Saxony state election, the composition and representation of each was as follows:

Bundestag

In the Bundestag, Leipzig constitutes two constituencies. In the 20th Bundestag, the composition and representation of each was as follows:

Demographics

Leipzig has a population of about 620,000. 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. 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 December 2021 are:

Culture, sights and cityscape

In the 2010s, Leipzig was often referred to as ''Hypezig'', as overblown comparisons were made 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.

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 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 90,000 apartments in Leipzig were built in buildings during Communist rule in East Germany. Although some of these have been demolished and fewer people live in this type of accommodation in recent years, a significant number still live in Plattenbau apartments. Grünau, for example, had about 43,600 people living in this sort of accommodation in 2016.

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. 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 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 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 complex contains three more of Leipzig's major collections: the Ethnography Museum, 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.

Founded in March 2015, the G2 Kunsthalle houses the Hildebrand Collection. This private collection focuses on the so-called New Leipzig School. 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. Also dedicated to the contemporary art is the Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig.

Other museums in Leipzig include the following:
*The German Museum of Books and Writing is the world's oldest museum of its kind, founded in 1884.
*The Bach Museum at the St. Thomas Church Square.
*The Egyptian Museum of the University of Leipzig located in the Kroch High-rise 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 (Forum of Contemporary History) shows the history of the German division and the everyday life in the socialist German Democratic Republic.
*Naturkundemuseum Leipzig is the city's natural history museum.
*The Leipzig Panometer 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 State Security of the former East Germany.
*Johann Sebastian Bach lived from 1723 until his death in Leipzig. The Bach Archive 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.
* The Saxon Psychiatric Museum is a small museum dealing with the history of lunatic asylums and psychiatry.

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
File:Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst.jpg, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst

Main sights

*Leipzig Zoological Garden is one of the most modern zoos in Europe, with approximately 850 different animal species. It houses the world's largest zoological facilities for primates (Pongoland). Gondwanaland is the world's largest indoor rainforest hall.
*Monument to the Battle of the Nations (''Völkerschlachtdenkmal'') (Battle of the Nations Monument): one of the largest monuments in Europe, built to commemorate the victorious battle against Napoleonic troops.
*Bundesverwaltungsgericht: Germany's federal administrative court was the site of the Reichsgericht, the highest state court between 1888 and 1945.
* New Town 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 and Martin Luther. It is also Germany's tallest town hall.
* Old Town Hall on the Market square: the old city hall was built in 1556 and houses a museum of the city's history.
*City-Hochhaus Leipzig: built in 1972, the city's tallest habitable building is one of the top 25 tallest buildings in Germany.
*The Augusteum and Paulinum at Augustusplatz form the new main campus of the University of Leipzig.
*Leipzig Trade Fair centre in the north of the city is home to the world's largest levitated glass hall.
* Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is the world's largest railway station by floor area and a shopping destination.
* Auerbach's Cellar: a young Goethe imbibed in this basement-level restaurant while studying in Leipzig; it features as the location of a scene from his play ''Faust''.
*The Old Leipzig bourse at Naschmarkt with a monument of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
* South Cemetery (Südfriedhof) is, with an area of , the largest cemetery in Leipzig.
*The German National Library has two locations, one of them in Leipzig.
*Leipzig Bayerischer Bahnhof is Germany's oldest preserved railway station.
*Gohlis Palace (Gohliser Schlösschen)
* Leipzig Synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis in 1938. Now a memorial of 140 bronze chairs stands where the pews once were.

File:Panoràmma de Leipzig.jpg, Augustusplatz
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
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, Gohlis Palace (Gohliser Schlösschen)
File:Synagogue Memorial (Leipzig) (3).jpg, Leipzig Synagogue Memorial
File:Yadegar Asisi Panorama EVEREST.jpg, 'Everest' at Leipzig Panometer

Churches

* St. Thomas's Church (Thomaskirche): most famous as the place where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor and home to the renowned boys choir ''Thomanerchor''. A monument to Felix Mendelssohn 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 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 Memorial 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) lies mostly within the city limits. Neuseenland 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 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).
*'' 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.
*The Leipzig Wildlife Park in Connewitz, showing 25 species.
*The Lene Voigt Park on the refurbished site of the former train station Leipzig Eilenburger Bahnhof opened in 2004.

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

Music

Baroque to Modern

Johann Sebastian Bach spent the longest phase of his career in Leipzig, from 1723 until his death in 1750, conducting the Thomanerchor (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 was born in Leipzig in 1813, in the Brühl. Robert Schumann was also active in Leipzig music, having been invited by Felix Mendelssohn when the latter established Germany's first musical conservatoire in the city in 1843. Gustav Mahler was second conductor (working under Artur Nikisch) at the Leipzig Opera from June 1886 until May 1888, and achieved his first significant recognition while there by completing and publishing Carl Maria von Weber's opera Die Drei Pintos. Mahler also completed his own 1st Symphony while living in Leipzig.

Today the conservatory is the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. A broad range of subjects are taught, including artistic and teacher training in all orchestral instruments, voice, interpretation, coaching, piano chamber music, orchestral conducting, choir conducting and musical composition in various musical styles. The drama departments teach acting and scriptwriting.

The Bach-Archiv Leipzig, an institution for the documentation and research of the life and work of Bach (and also of the Bach family), was founded in Leipzig in 1950 by Werner Neumann. The Bach-Archiv organizes the prestigious International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition, 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 and runs the Bach-Museum.

The city's musical tradition is also reflected in the worldwide fame of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, under its chief conductor Andris Nelsons, and the Thomanerchor.

The MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra is Leipzig's second largest symphony orchestra. Its current chief conductor is Kristjan Järvi. Both the Gewandhausorchester and the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra make use of in the Gewandhaus 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.

Contemporary

Leipzig is known for its independent music scene and subcultural events. Leipzig has for thirty years been home to the (WGT), which is currently the world's largest Gothic festival, where thousands of fans of goth music gather in the early summer. The first Wave Gotik Treffen was held at the Eiskeller club, today known as Conne Island, in the Connewitz district. Mayhem's notorious album Live in Leipzig was also recorded at the Eiskeller club.

Leipzig Pop Up was an annual music trade fair for the independent music scene as well as a music festival taking place on Pentecost weekend. Its most famous indie-labels are Moon Harbour Recordings (House) and Kann Records (House/Techno/Psychedelic). Several venues offer live music frequently, including the Moritzbastei, Tonelli's, and Noch Besser Leben.

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

The cover photo for the Beirut band's 2005 album ''Gulag Orkestar'', 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, best known as the lead vocalist of Rammstein, a band formed in 1994.

File:Opernhaus Leipzig Abend Nacht.jpg, Leipzig Opera
File:AUGUSTUSPLATZ-014.jpg, View over Augustusplatz with the Gewandhaus
File:Leipzig - Universitätsstraße - Moritzbastei 05 ies.jpg, Moritzbastei 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 Johann Sebastian Bach
File:Wahren3.jpg, Haus Auensee, a concert hall

Annual events

*Auto Mobil International (AMI) motor show
*AMITEC, trade fair for vehicle maintenance, care, servicing and repairs in Germany and Central Europe
*''A cappella'': vocal music festival, organized by the ensemble amarcord
*'' Bachfest'': Johann Sebastian Bach festival
* Leipzig Christmas Market (since 1458)
*''Dok Leipzig'': international festival for documentary and animated film
*Jazztage, contemporary jazz festival
*Ladyfest Leipzig (August) Emancipatoric, feminist punk and electro festival
*Leipzig Book Fair: the second largest German book fair after Frankfurt
*, festival celebrating the demonstrations leading up to the collapse of the East German regime
*OPER unplugged with Music Dance Theatre by Heike Hennig & Co
*''Stadtfest'': city festival
* at Pentecost: world's largest goth or "dark culture" festival
*Leipzig Pop Up
*Chaos Communication Congress

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 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, a stew consisting of seasonal vegetables and crayfish.
* Leipziger Lerche is a shortcrust pastry 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 is a locally brewed top-fermenting sour beer that originated in the Goslar region and became popular in 18th-century Leipzig.

File:Leipziger Lerchen.jpg, Leipziger Lerchen
File:Goseflasche Pressglas.jpg, Historical Gose bottle ()

Sports

There are more than 300 sport clubs in the city, representing 78 different disciplines. Over 400 athletic facilities are available to citizens and club members.

Football

The German Football Association (DFB) was founded in Leipzig in 1900. The city was the venue for the 2006 FIFA World Cup draw, and hosted four first-round matches and one match in the round of 16 in the central stadium.

VfB Leipzig