Waldstraßenviertel
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Waldstraßenviertel (English: Forest Street Quarter/Neighbourhood), is a neighbourhood in the north west of Leipzig's borough
Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...
in
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It is considered one of the largest complete areas of
Gründerzeit The (; ) was a period of Economic history of Europe (1000 AD–present), European economic history in mid- and late-19th century German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary between Industrialization in Germany, industrialization and the great P ...
buildings in Europe and is therefore considered of important cultural and heritage status. Many of its buildings are therefore protected or listed.


Statistics

On 30 June 2023, the neighbourhood Waldstrassenviertel which correlates with the subdivision of ''Zentrum-Nordwest'' counts 10,878 inhabitants. It covers an area of .


History

Originally this area was forest and grassland.
Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...
settlements probably arose very early in the
Elster Elster may refer to: Places * Black Elster (''Schwarze Elster''), a river in Germany * White Elster (''Weiße Elster''), a river in Germany and the Czech Republic ** Elster Viaduct, a railway bridge over the White Elster ** Elster Viaduct (Pirk ...
and Pleisse areas. The
Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the Historic roads, historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History ...
, along today's Ranstädter Steinweg and Jahnallee, was an old trade route that was protected by royal privileges. Hiberno-Scottish missionaries used the Via Regia as early as the 7th century and founded the St. Jacob's Chapel, the first chapel in what later became the city of Leipzig. In the period from the 10th to the 12th century, numerous
river regulation River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and b ...
measures took place, for example the ''
Elstermühlgraben The Elstermühlgraben (litt.: ''Elster mill race'' or ''Elster mill ditch'') is an approximately long, now partially underground mill race, mill canal in the city of Leipzig, Germany, which has existed as an artificial tributary of the White Elst ...
'' (Elster mill ditch) was built 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 ...
was moved to the north. This made further settlement of the area possible. As early as the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, the Via Regia was lined with two rows of houses on the Ranstädter Steinweg, the Mühlgrabensiedlung (mill ditch settlement) was built to the north and the Jacobsviertel or St. Jacob
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
to the south next to the St. Jacob's Chapel. Another small settlement of fishermen named ''The Naundörfchen'' was located south of the Jacobsviertel and was first mentioned in a document in 1295. From these settlements, the Ranstädter Vorstadt or Rannische Vorstadt emerged in the 12th century, which was closed off at the level of the current Leibnizstrasse by the Outer Ranstädt Gate. Because of the two mill ditches, butchers, tanners, dyers and fishermen lived in the Rannische Vorstadt. The Jacobsmühle (Jacob's Mill, later Angermühle) stood near the St. Jacob's Chapel. To the north of it, the Hospital St. Georg (1212-1631) was built between Elstermühlgraben and Pleisse on the edge of the
Rosental The Rosental is a , park-like part of the northern Leipzig Riverside Forest, Leipzig floodplain forest in Leipzig, Germany. It is bordered by the Elstermühlgraben (Elster mill ditch) to the south and west, the small river Parthe to the north and ...
in 1212 at the behest of
Theodoric I, Margrave of Meissen Theodoric I (11 March 1162 – 18 February 1221), called the Oppressed (''Dietrich der Bedrängte''), was the Margrave of Meissen from 1198 until his death. He was the second son of Otto II, Margrave of Meissen and Hedwig of Brandenburg. Bi ...
. Outside the Outer Rannish Gate, north of the Via Regia, was the Leipzig Council Brickworks. In the area of today's Funkenburgstrasse, a large
folwark ''Folwark'' is a Polish word derived from the German ''Vorwerk''. A Folwark or Vorwerk is an agricultural estate or a separate branch operation of such an estate, historically a serfdom-based farm and agricultural enterprise (a type of latif ...
, the ''Große Funkenburg'', was built around the year 1600 with a large garden, two lakes and several outbuildings. It served, among other things, as a restaurant and was a popular Leipzig excursion destination. Around 1830, the city's population grew rapidly again, so that further development in the Waldstrasse district became necessary. However, the annual spring floods made this almost impossible and construction could only begin after further regulatory measures. From around 1830, the Lortzingstrasse/Rosentalgasse area emerged from the buildings that still exist today. This was followed from around 1860 by the Leibnizstrasse area, the Waldplatz and the southern part of the Waldstrasse with its side streets up to Fregestrasse. Mückenschlösschen 1896.jpg, Mückenschlösschen (Mosquito castle) on Waldstrasse, around 1900 Mueckenschloesschen Leipzig-2.jpg, Mückenschlösschen (Mosquito castle) in 2010 Autohaus Waldstraße.jpg, Modern architecture of a car dealership on Waldstrasse (2024) After the ''Große Funkenburg'' was demolished in 1897, the remaining area in the area of Funkenburgstrasse and Tchaikovskystrasse was also included in the rectangular street pattern and the district was expanded northwards to Christianstrasse. The northern part, from Fregestrasse onwards, was built in open block perimeter buildings, often in the now modern architectural style of
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
. Architects from the turn of the century such as Paul Möbius, Emil Franz Hänsel and Raymund Brachmann created striking residential buildings. At the northern end of the district, the Waldstrasse bridge was built over the Elstermühlgraben and a garden restaurant and café was built in 1892/93, which is called Mückenschlösschen (Mosquito castle) because of the area that was once full of mosquitoes. After the
Jewish emancipation Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It included efforts withi ...
in Saxony, the proportion of the Jewish population in the neighbourhood increased. This was particularly evident in the trading city of Leipzig, where the majority of the traders were Jews from Eastern Europe. Many of them settled in what is now the Waldstrasse district, where almost 20 % of the population was of Jewish origin. Various Jewish social institutions emerged, such as the Eitingon Hospital or the Ariowitsch Foundation as a
retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home, old folks' home, or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – or rest home, is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Ty ...
. The Jews of the Waldstrasse district were mainly employed in the fur trading center around Brühl Street. By
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
, around 2,500 Jewish people lived in the Waldstrasse district. The area between Christianstrasse and Goyastrasse was the last construction phase to be built from around 1925 until the 1960s. In addition to residential buildings, there is also the former Jewish (Eitingon) hospital on the street of the same name. During the period of industrial housing construction from the 1970s onwards, the building structure, some of which was severely damaged, was neglected, so that the houses continued to deteriorate. After reunification, the
Gründerzeit The (; ) was a period of Economic history of Europe (1000 AD–present), European economic history in mid- and late-19th century German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary between Industrialization in Germany, industrialization and the great P ...
style houses were gradually renovated. In the area between Goyastrasse and Elstermühlgraben, after 1990, in addition to individual residential buildings, a car dealership, the Goyastrasse municipal
nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...
''(Städtisches Altenpflegeheim Goyastrasse)'' and a new building for the Leipzig secondary school for sports ''(Sportoberschule Leipzig)'' were built. The city received a gold medal in the 1994 federal competition from the German Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building for its strategy to preserve the Waldstrasse district. On the other hand, several well-preserved and listed buildings were demolished after 2000, for example the late classicist small Funkenburg and the residential and commercial building at Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse 81 a/b, primarily for traffic planning reasons, which led to massive public protests.


Public facilities

In this district there is the ''Lessing-Grundschule'' (Lessing elementary school) and the Sportoberschule as well as the Leipzig Natural History Museum in the building of a former secondary school. The building of the former ''Höhere Israelitische Schule'' (Higher Israelite School) on Gustav-Adolf-Strasse houses the German Central Library for the Blind.


Famous People

Numerous famous people have lived in the Waldstraßenviertel, many of whom were musicians. Examples are: Albin Ackermann-Teubner,
Samuel Agnon Shmuel Yosef Agnon (; August 8, 1887 – February 17, 1970) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Israeli novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew literature. In Hebrew, he is known by the pseudonym Shai A ...
,
August Bebel Ferdinand August Bebel (; 22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist activist and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Bebel, a woodworker by trade, co-founded the Sa ...
,
Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, drawing, draftsman, printmaker, sculpture, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the m ...
, Georg Bötticher,
Hans Driesch Hans Adolf Eduard Driesch (28 October 1867 – 17 April 1941) was a German biologist and philosopher from Bad Kreuznach. He is most noted for his early experimental work in embryology and for his neo-vitalist philosophy of entelechy. He has also ...
,
Bernard Katz Sir Bernard Katz, FRS (; 26 March 1911 – 20 April 2003) was a German-born British physician and biophysicist, noted for his work on nerve physiology; specifically, for his work on synaptic transmission at the nerve-muscle junction. He share ...
, Heinrich August Marschner, Georg Trexler,
Auguste Schmidt Auguste Schmidt, full name Friederike Wilhelmine Auguste Schmidt (3 August 1833 – 10 June 1902) was a German pioneering feminist, educator, journalist and women's rights activist. Life Schmidt was born on 3 August 1833 in Breslau, German Empir ...
. Bb046512.jpg, Lortzing's garden house (before 1897) Leipzig Gustav Mahler Wohnhaus.jpg, Gustav Mahler's home (2009) Gustav Mahler Gedenktafel.jpg, Memorial plaque on Mahler's home, Gustav-Adolf-Str. 12 (2022) In 1827/1828 the composer Heinrich Marschner lived in the house named ''Goldene Laute'' (Ranstädter Steinweg 8) and completed his opera
Der Vampyr '' Der Vampyr '' (''The Vampire'') is a Romantic opera in two acts by Heinrich Marschner. The German libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück (Marschner's brother-in-law) is based on the play ''Der Vampir oder die Totenbraut'' (1821) by Heinrich Lu ...
here .
Albert Lortzing Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French ''opéra comique'', which ...
composed his opera
Zar und Zimmermann ''Zar und Zimmermann'' (''Tsar and Carpenter'') is a comic opera in three acts, music by Albert Lortzing, libretto by the composer after Georg Christian Römer's ''Der Bürgermeister von Saardam, oder Die zwei Peter'', itself based on the French p ...
(Tsar and Carpenter) in a garden houseLortzing-Haus, in: Ringel (2023), p. 209 in the Funkenburg.
Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, 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 ...
lived from 1887 to 1888 in number 12 Gustav-Adolf-Strasse and wrote his Symphony No. 1 there among others. Since 2014, a memorial plaque at Hinrichsenstrasse 32 commemorates
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
, who lived there during several stays.


Accessibility

The main streets of the Waldstrassenviertel are the ''Jahnallee'' which continuates the ''Ranstädter Steinweg'' coming from the city center and the ''Waldstrasse'' after that the neighbourhood is named. At the crossroads is a place named ''Waldplatz''. In the main streets are tracks of the Leipzig tram with several tram stops: * Leibnizstrasse (Line 3, 4, 7, 15) * Waldplatz (Line 3, 4, 7, 8, 15) * Feuerbachstrasse (Line 4) * Am Mückenschlösschen (Line 4)


References


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links


''Das Leipziger Waldstraßen- und Bachstraßenviertel. Eine Dokumentation der städtebaulichen Erneuerung im Förderprogramm Städtebaulicher Denkmalschutz'', Broschüre der Stadt Leipzig, Dezernat Stadtentwicklung und Bau, Leipzig 2017 (in German)



Residents club of Waldstraßenviertel (in German)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waldstrassenviertel Boroughs and quarters of Leipzig