From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leipzig Völkerschlachtdenkmal – Battle of the Nations Monument Leipzig Coordinates 51°20′0″N 12°23′0″E / 51.333333°N 12.383333°E / 51.333333; 12.383333 Administration Country Germany State Saxony Admin. region Leipzig District Urban district Lord Mayor Burkhard Jung (SPD) Basic statistics Area 297.60 km2 (114.90 sq mi) Population 515,459  (31 January 2009)  - Density 1,732 /km2 (4,486 /sq mi) Other information Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Licence plate L Postal codes 04001-04357 Area code 0341 Website www.leipzig.de Location of the town of Leipzig within Saxony

A map from Meyers Encyclopedia depicting the Battle of Leipzig on 18 October 1813

Leipzig Old City

Atrium of the Academy of Visual Arts

Porsche Diamond, the customer centre building of Porsche Leipzig

MDR, one of Germany's public broadcasters

City-Hochhaus Leipzig

Johanna Park

New Trade Fair

Palais Roßbach, one of the many Gründerzeit-buildings in Leipzig

Inside Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (Central Railway Station)

The Federal Administrative Court of Germany at night Leipzig Neues Rathaus

Leipzig (German pronunciation: [ˈlaɪptsɪç]  ( listen), also called Leipsic in English; Upper Sorbian: Lipsk) is, with a population of 515,459,^[1] the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. It was after East Berlin the largest city in East Germany before German reunification.

History

Origins

Leipzig's name is derived from the Slavic word Lipsk, which means "settlement where the lime trees stand".^[2]

First documented in 1015 in the chronicles of Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg and endowed with city and market privileges in 1165 by Otto the Rich, Leipzig has fundamentally shaped the history of Saxony and of Germany. Leipzig has always been known as a place of commerce. The Leipzig Trade Fair, which began in the Middle Ages, is the oldest remaining trade fair in the world. It became an event of international importance.

The foundation of the University of Leipzig in 1409 initiated the city's development into a centre of German law and the publishing industry, and towards being a location of the Reichsgericht (High Court), and the German National Library (founded in 1912). The philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was born in Leipzig in 1646, and attended the university from 1661–1666.

On 24 December 1701 an oil-fueled street lighting system was instituted. The city employed light guards who had to follow a specific schedule to ensure the punctual alighting of the 700 lanterns.

The 19th century

The Leipzig region was the arena of the Battle of the Nations, which ended Napoleon's run of conquest in Europe, and led to his first exile on Elba. In 1913, the Völkerschlachtdenkmal monument celebrating the centenary of this event was completed.

A terminal 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 the renowned Leipzig Central Station, the largest terminal station by area in Europe.

Augustusplatz with Leipzig Opera House, around 1900

Leipzig expanded rapidly towards one million inhabitants. Huge Gründerzeit areas were built, which mostly survived both war and post-war demolition.

Leipzig became a centre of the German and Saxon liberal movements. The first German labour 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 line.

The 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. Daily production surpassed 5 million kilograms of yarn.^[3]

The city's mayor from 1930 to 1937, Carl Friedrich Goerdeler was a noted opponent of the Nazi regime in Germany. 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, one of the city's most architecturally significant buildings, the 1855 Moorish Revival Leipzig synagogue was deliberately destroyed.

The city was also heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II. American troops of the 69th Infantry Division captured the city on 20 April 1945. The U.S. turned over the city to the Red Army as it pulled back from the line of contact with Soviet forces in July 1945 to the pre-designated occupation zone boundaries. Leipzig became one of the major cities of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

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.

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 regime.^[4][5]

Leipzig was the German candidate for the 2012 Summer Olympics, but did not make it to the short list.

Culture

Main sights

• St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche): Most famous as the place where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a cantor and home to the renowned boys choir Thomanerchor
• In front of this church stands a monument to Felix Mendelssohn. Destroyed by the Nazis in 1936, it was rebuilt on October 18, 2008.
• Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Battle of the Nations Monument): the largest monument in Europe, built to commemorate the victorious battle against Napoleonic troops
• Gewandhaus: home to the famous Gewandhaus Orchestra, it is the third building of that name
• Altes Rathaus: the old city hall was built in 1556 and houses a museum of the city's history
• Neues Rathaus: the new city hall was built upon the remains of the Pleißenburg, a castle that was the site of the 1519 debate between Johann Eck and Martin Luther in 1519
• City-Hochhaus Leipzig: built in 1972, it was once part of the university and is the city's tallest building
• Auerbachs Keller: a young Goethe ate and drank here while studying in Leipzig; it is the venue of a scene from his Faust
• Städtisches Kaufhaus (municipal department store): the world's first sample fair building and today home to offices, retail stores, restaurants and interim classrooms for the University of Leipzig (its name is misleading, as it is privately owned)
• Bundesverwaltungsgericht: Germany's federal administrative court was the site of the Reichsgericht, the highest state court between 1888 and 1945
• The Leipzig Botanical Garden is the oldest botanical garden in Germany

Among Leipzig's noteworthy institutions are the opera house and the Leipzig Zoo, the latter of which houses the world's largest facilities for primates. The St. Nicholas Church (Nikolaikirche) was the starting point of peaceful Monday demonstrations for the reunification of Germany. Leipzig's international trade fair in the north of the city is home to the world's largest levitated glass hall. Leipzig is also known for its passageways through houses and buildings.

Music and Arts in Leipzig

see also Category:Music from Leipzig

Johann Sebastian Bach worked in Leipzig from 1723 to 1750, at the St. Thomas Lutheran church, and Richard Wagner the composer 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 Theater from June 1886 until May 1888, and achieved his first great recognition while there by completing and publishing Carl Maria von Weber's opera Die Drei Pintos, and Mahler also completed his own 1st Symphony while living there.

This conservatoire is today the University of Music and Theatre. A broad range of subjects can be studied, both artistic and teacher training, in all orchestral instruments, voice, interpretation, coaching, piano chamber music, orchestral conducting, choir conducting and musical composition. Musical styles include jazz, popular music, musicals, early music and church music. The drama departments teach acting and dramaturgy. Advanced students may, after a test, stand in for members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. As at 2006, approximately 900 students were enrolled at the school.

The city's musical tradition is also reflected in the worldwide fame of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the choir of the St. Thomas Church.

The city’s arts highlight is 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" in the past decade. Further there are eleven galleries in the so-called Spinnerei, a former cotton mill that attracts all kinds of independent artists.

Leipzig is known for its independent music scene and subcultural events. Its most famous indie-labels are Moon Harbour Recordings and Kann Records.

Tom Kaulitz and Bill Kaulitz - the founding members of modern rock band Tokio Hotel - also originate from Leipzig, although no longer live there.

Till Lindemann, vocalist for the Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, also hails from Leipzig.

As for contemporary music, Leipzig has for more than 10 years been home to the world's largest electronic music festival, the annual Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT), where thousands of electro fans from across Europe gather in the early summer.

Annual events

• Auto Mobil International (AMI) motor show^[6]
• AMITEC, trade fair for vehicle maintenance, care, servicing and repairs in Germany and Central Europe^[7]
• A capella: vocal music festival
• Bachfest: Johann Sebastian Bach-festival
• Christmas market (since 1767)
• Dokfestival: international festival for documented and animated film
• GC - Games Convention: video game & developers convention
• Jazztage: contemporary jazz festival
• Ladyfest Leipzig: (August) Emancipatoric, feminist Punk & Electro Festival
• Leipzig Book Fair: the second largest German book fair
• Stadtfest: city festival
• Wave-Gotik-Treffen at Pentecost: world's largest goth or "dark culture" festival
• Pop-Up: independent music trade fair and festival

Sport

More than 300 sport clubs exist around town exercising in 78 different kinds of disciplines. Over 400 sport facilities are available to citizens and club members^[8].

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 last 16th round in the Zentralstadion. Leipzig also hosted the Fencing World Cup in 2005 and hosts a number of international competitions in a variety of sports each year.

Leipzig Arena

Since the beginning of the 20th century Icehockey gained popularity and several local clubs established departments dedicated to that sport^[9]. Today the Blue Lions Leipzig is the most famous Icehockey club in town.

VfB Leipzig, now 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig, won the first national football championship in 1903.

From 1950 to 1990 Leipzig was host of the Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur (DHfK), the national sport university of the GDR. It's sportclub, the SC DHfK Leipzig, is the world's most successful sportclub in numbers of Olympic and World Cup Medals.

Handball-Club Leipzig is one of the most successful Women's Handball clubs in Germany, winning 20 domestic championships since 1956 and 3 Champions League titles.

Two-time World Cup Uneven Bars Champion and Olympic Medalist (1976, 1980) in gymnastics, Steffi Kraker was born in Leipzig.

In 2004, Leipzig made a bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The bid did not make the final cut after the IOC paired the bids down to 5, which eventually was won by London. It was the first Summer Olympic bid by Germany since 1993 when Berlin's bid to host the 2000 Summer Olympics were awarded to Sydney.

Markkleeberger See is a new lake next to Markkleeberg, a suburb on the south side of Leipzig. A former 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, the Kanupark Markkleeberg, a venue which rivals the Eiskanal in Augsburg for training and international canoe/kayak competition.

In June 2009 Red Bull made a second attempt to enter the local football market after being denied to buy itself into FC Sachsen Leipzig in 2006. The newly founded RB Leipzig now attempts to climb through the ranks of German football in order to bring Bundesliga football back to the region^[10].

Two Leipzig based teams are members of the Unihockey-Bundesliga, the German Premiere Floorball league. The MFBC Löwen Leipzig were runner-up in 2009, the SC DHFK Leipzig in 2008.

Foods & Drinks

A all-season local meal is Leipziger Allerlei which consists of several seasonal vegetables and sometimes crayfish.

Leipziger Lerche is a shortcrust pastry dish filled with crushed almonds, nuts and strawberry jam commemorating a local historical Lark Pâté.

Gose is a locally brewed beer that originated in the Goslar region and in the 18th century became popular in Leipzig.

Education

Leipzig University, founded 1409, is one of Europe's oldest universities. Nobel Prize laureate Werner Heisenberg worked here 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). Other former staff of faculty include mineralogist Georg Agricola, writer Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, philosopher Ernst Bloch, eccentric founder of psychophysics Gustav Theodor Fechner, and psychologist Wilhelm Wundt. Among the university's many noteworthy students were writers Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Erich Kästner, philosophers Gottfried Leibniz and Friedrich Nietzsche, political activist Karl Liebknecht, and composer Richard Wagner. Germany's chancellor since 2006, Angela Merkel, studied physics at Leipzig University. The university has about 30,000 students.

The "Academy of Visual Arts" (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst) was established 1764. Its 530 students (as of 2006) 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 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 dramaturgy.

The "Leipzig University of Applied Sciences" (Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Kultur, HTWK) is with about 6200 students (as of 2007) 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) it is slightly below the status of a university, with more emphasis on the practical part of the education. The HTWK offers many engineering courses, as well as courses of computer sciences, mathematics, business administration, library sciences, museum studies, and social work. It is mainly located in the south of the city.

The private Handelshochschule Leipzig (HHL), or Leipzig Graduate School of Management, is the oldest business school in Germany.

Among the research institutes located in Leipzig three belong to the Max Planck Society (for Mathematics in the Sciences, Human Cognitive and Brain Science and Evolutionary Anthropology) and two are Fraunhofer Society institutes. Others are the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research UFZ, part of the Helmholtz Association, and the Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research.

Economy

Companies in or around Leipzig include:

• Amazon
• Blüthner: piano-manufacturing
• BMW
• Porsche
• Siemens
• DHL

Many bars, restaurants and stores found in the "centre city" region rely on German and foreign tourists. The Leipzig Central Station itself is the location of one of the largest shopping centres^[11].

Some of the largest employers in the area (outside of manufacturing) include the various schools and universities in and around the Leipzig/Halle region. The University of Leipzig attracts millions of Euros of investment yearly and is in the middle of a massive construction and refurbishment in order to celebrate their 600th anniversary.

DHL is in the process of transferring the bulk of its European air operations from Brussels Airport to Leipzig/Halle Airport. The airport is also a major source of income for the area and offers many flights daily through Lufthansa, Germany's main carrier.

The city also houses the European Energy Exchange which is the leading energy exchange in Central Europe.

Kirow Ardelt AG, the world market leader in railroad cranes, is based in Leipzig.

Media

• MDR, one of Germany's public broadcasters, has its headquarters and main television studios in the city. It provides programs 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. It was the first newspaper in the world that was published daily. The monthly magazine Kreuzer specializes on culture, festivities and the arts in Leipzig.
• Once known for its large number of publishing houses, Leipzig had been called Buch-Stadt (book city).^[12] Few are left after the years of the German Democratic Republic, the most notable of them being branches of Brockhaus and Insel Verlag. Reclam, founded in 1828, was one of the large publishing houses to move away. The German Library (Deutsche Bücherei) in Leipzig is part of Germany's National Library.
• Birthplace of German emo/rock band, Tokio Hotel.
• The New York Times features Leipzig in the Top 10 of its "31 Places to Go" article in 2010.

Transport

Leipzig's road network

Originally being founded at the crossing of Via Regia and Via Imperii, Leipzig has been a major interchange of inter-European traffic and commerce since medieval times. After the Reunification of Germany, Immense efforts of restoring and expanding the traffic network have been undertaken and left the city area with an excellent infrastructure.

Leipzig Central Station, opened in 1915, is at a junction of important north-to-south and west-to-east railway lines. An underground connecting line has been driven along the north-south axis.

Since 1936, Leipzig is connected to the A 9 and A 14 autobahns via the Schkeuditzer Kreuz interchange and several exits. The A 38 completes the autobahn beltway around Leipzig since August 2006.

In the vicinity of the city are two airports: Leipzig/Halle Airport and Leipzig-Altenburg Airport (Thuringia).

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 cycling roads have been build or declared since 1990.

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 Faust, Part One

Ich komme nach Leipzig, an den Ort, wo man die ganze Welt im Kleinen sehen kann. (I come to Leipzig, the place one can see the whole world in one.) – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

Extra Lipsiam vivere est miserrime vivere. (Living outside Leipzig means living miserably.) - Benedict Carpzov the Younger

Das angenehme Pleis-Athen, Behält den Ruhm vor allen, Auch allen zu gefallen, Denn es ist wunderschön. (The pleasurable Pleis-Athens, earns its fame above all, appealing to every one, too, for it is mightily beauteous.) - Johann Sigismund Scholze

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Leipzig is twinned with:^[13]

Partnerships

• Kraków, Poland (since 1973, renewed in 1995)^[13][20][21]

See also

• List of mayors of Leipzig
• Leipzig Human Rights Award

References

Notes

External links

Leipzig travel guide from Wikitravel

• The city's official website
• Leipzig at the Open Directory Project
• Leipzig as virtual city 408 Points of Interest - english

Urban and rural districts in the Free State of Saxony in Germany    Urban districts Chemnitz · Dresden · Leipzig Rural districts Bautzen · Erzgebirgskreis · Görlitz · Leipzig · Meißen · Mittelsachsen · Nordsachsen · Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge · Vogtlandkreis · Zwickau Former urban districts Görlitz · Hoyerswerda · Plauen · Zwickau Former rural districts Annaberg · Aue-Schwarzenberg · Chemnitzer Land · Delitzsch · Döbeln · Freiberg · Kamenz · Leipziger Land · Löbau-Zittau · Mittlerer Erzgebirgskreis · Mittweida · Muldentalkreis · Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis · Riesa-Großenhain · Sächsische Schweiz · Stollberg · Torgau-Oschatz · Weißeritzkreis · Zwickauer Land

Cities in Germany by population 1,000,000+ Berlin · Hamburg · Munich 500,000+ Bremen · Cologne · Dortmund · Dresden · Düsseldorf · Essen · Frankfurt · Hanover · Leipzig · Nuremberg · Stuttgart 200,000+ Aachen · Augsburg · Bielefeld · Bochum · Bonn · Braunschweig · Chemnitz · Duisburg · Erfurt · Freiburg im Breisgau · Gelsenkirchen · Halle an der Saale · Karlsruhe · Kiel · Krefeld · Lübeck · Magdeburg · Mannheim · Münster · Mönchengladbach · Oberhausen · Rostock · Wiesbaden · Wuppertal 100,000+ Bergisch Gladbach · Bottrop · Bremerhaven · Cottbus · Darmstadt · Erlangen · Fürth · Gera · Göttingen · Hagen · Hamm · Heidelberg · Heilbronn · Herne · Hildesheim · Ingolstadt · Jena · Kassel · Koblenz · Leverkusen · Ludwigshafen · Mainz · Moers · Mülheim an der Ruhr · Neuss · Offenbach am Main · Oldenburg · Osnabrück · Paderborn · Pforzheim · Potsdam · Recklinghausen · Regensburg · Remscheid · Reutlingen · Saarbrücken · Salzgitter · Siegen · Solingen · Trier · Ulm · Witten · Wolfsburg · Würzburg

Former Head Cities of the Bezirke in East Germany East Berlin (independant)  · Cottbus  · Dresden  · Erfurt  · Frankfurt (Oder)  · Gera  · Halle  · Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz)  · Leipzig  · Magdeburg  · Neubrandenburg  · Potsdam  · Rostock  · Schwerin  · Suhl

From Wikitravel

Fountain In Augustusplatz

Leipzig Train Station seen from the right side

Leipzig [1] is the largest city in the German federal state of Saxony, with a population of approximately 517,000. It is the industrial center of the region and a major cultural center, offering interesting sights, shopping possibilities and lively nightlife.

Understand

First documented in 1015, and endowed with city and market privileges in 1165, the city of Leipzig has fundamentally shaped the history of Saxony and of Germany. Leipzig has always been known as a place of commerce and still has a large trade fair ground.

Leipzig acquired the nickname Klein Paris ("Little Paris") in the 18th century, when it became a center of a classical literary movement under the leadership of German scholar and writer Johann Christoph Gottsched.

The city is also the home of the Nikolaikirche (Church of St. Nicholas) - the starting point of peaceful demonstrations against the communist regime which led to German Unification. The collapse of communism hit Leipzig's economy very heavily, but it is now on the mend.

Get in

Leipzig is a transportation hub in Saxony.

By car

Leipzig can easily be reached by car, as it is very well connected with the Autobahn highway system. The nearest Autobahn highways are A14 (North, Northeast), A9 (West) and A38 (South).

By train

Using high speed InterCityExpress (ICE) trains, Frankfurt can be reached in 3.5 hours, Munich less than 4.5 hours, Hamburg in 3 hours and Berlin a little over an hour. Also good connections to Prague, requiring a change in Dresden. The largest terminal railway station in Europe, Leipzig's Hauptbahnhof (Europe's largest railway station at 26 platforms) is also home to a fairly large shopping mall, a good way to waste away an hour or two between connections.

By plane

The airport of Leipzig-Halle [2] is the second biggest airport in Eastern Germany after [Berlin] and offers few direct connections to Paris and tourist destinations around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Domestic destinations include Frankfurt, Munich, Dresden, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Hamburg. Berlin is just one hour away by highspeed train ICE so flying to Berlin can be more cost efficient.

The airport of Altenburg-Nobitz [3] is 50 km south of Leipzig and offers direct connections to Edinburgh, Girona-Barcelona and London (Stansted).

Get around

There is a good public transportation system operated by the LVB [4]. Many trams and buses are available - each mostly every 10 minutes during day and at least hourly at night. A 1 hour ticket costs 2€. After 8pm you have to enter buses at the drivers door and show/purchase your ticket.

• Old Town Hall

Neues Rathaus - New Town Hall

Streets of Leipzig

Goethe and Schiller still have a large "presence" in this part of Germany.

Leipzig's Old Town Hall was built in 1556 in the Renaissance style and remains one of Germany's largest. Located on the pretty main square of the city, it's a good orientation point

The Old City Hall was built 1556 by Hieronymus Lotter on basements of two Patrician houses. It is a beautiful Renaissance style building, 90 meters long with arcades (1906 - 09), six gables and a tower. In the 18th century the tower was enlarged and it received a Baroque spire. Until 1904 the Old City Hall was home of the city administration. Then it became home of the city museum.

Most impressive is the huge Banquetting Hall with Renaissance interior (open fireplaces). I was surprised by the many fine works of medieval religious art: altars, paintings, wood-carved sculptures etc. Most of them were saved from churches which were deconstructed in Leipzig's surrounding. Very impressive are the rooms with interior from old Patrician houses. I also liked the treasure chamber (steep and narrow staircase!). Entrance fee is 2.50 Euro

This Renaissance building was erected in just nine month in 1556/57 under the direction of the architect Hieronymus Lotter. The municipal government moved into the New Town Hall in the year 1909. If you have a bit of luck you are allowed to visit the cellar of the building. Here you find the chamber of torture and the jail.

Old City Hall: Leipzig's Renaissance City hall. Contains a museum of city history which possesses the original of the only confirmed painting of Bach produced in his lifetime. It also contains interesting information regarding the public executions that previously took place in the market in front of the city hall. The most famous execution was that of Woyzeck later made famous by the Büchner play and the opera of Alban Berg.

The interior of the Old City Hall (built in 1556) was far more interesting of the outside view for me, however charming the latter may be. Inside there's an interesting museum covering the history of Leipzig from the very beginnings (in 12th century) till our days. One of the most touristy places of the whole city.

• Auerbach's Keller[5]

This pub has been around since medieval times. Opened in 1525, it is among the oldest continuously operated pubs in Germany. The barrel cellar has been the background to a scene in one of Germany's most famous plays, "Faust" by Goethe[6]. The master of German literature himself used to drink his wine here, and the rooms are frequently the set for a live, around-the-city re-enactment of the play. (on the expensive side)

• Christmas Market

As in many other German cities, Leipzig hosts the Leipziger Weinachtsmarkt, or Leipzig Christmas Market, which opens in the last week of November, first week of December and continues until a few days before Christmas Day. The Leipzig Christmas Market is a major event in the city and is essentially a large winter-themed carnival, complete with a giant Ferris Wheel on Augustusplatz in between the Opera House and the Gewandhaus, carrousels and other small rides in addition to the usual market stalls and food vendors. The festivities take place throughout the inner city of Leipzig, with a majority of the market stalls stationed on Market Square in front of the Old Town Hall, but also on Petersstrasse, Grimmaischestrasse and Nikolaistrasse next to the Nikolai Church. The market stalls sell a variety of gifts unique to the Ore Mountain region south of Leipzig, as well as various traditional market foods such as fried potato pancakes (kartoffelpuffers), heurigen (roasted roll with cheese and meat) and glühwein (a spiced heated wine). There are also carolers and Christmas-themed events.

• Leipzig Zoo

The Leipzig Zoo is one of the largest and best known in Germany. It has a very long tradition and is currently undergoing a major re-design. Already finished constructions include the new elephants' enclosure with a swimming pool where you can watch the elephants bathing from under the water level, the monkey house and a open-plan, safari-style Africa landscape. [7]

Bach's grave in the floor of the altar in the Thomaskirche

Stasi building at the runde ecke ("round corner")

• Botanical Garden in Leipzig

This botanical garden belongs to Leipzig University. It's the oldest one in Germany and one of the first in the world. [8]

• Museum of Fine Arts [9]

• Museum of Applied Arts and Museum of Ethnology both under Grassi Museum [10]

• Schiller House, Mendelssohn House, Schumann House All used to live and create in Leipzig. Mendelssohn's concert hall, the Gewandhaus is still active today near Leipzig's market place.

• St. Thomas Church and Bach Museum [11] The church where Bach worked for most of his life hosts a museum to the greatest German composer of all times. This is also where Bach himself is buried.

• Museum at the Round Corner [12] An interesting museum documenting the Stasi (DDR secret police) headquarters in Leipzig. Very interesting (and free!) if you can understand German, but there is not much English inside.

• Voelkerschlachtdenkmal A huge monument commemorating the Battle of Leipzig in the Napoleonic Wars, a major defeat for Napoleon. It was later expanded to its present monsterous proportions. A must see!

• Hauptbahnhof impressive at 26 platforms, with the most expensive station toilets in Western Europe, at €1.10 a tinkle

• The Mendelssohn Music College

• Nikolaikirche

• Naturkundemuseum The nature museum, filled with all kinds of taxidermy creatures. Only 2 Euro.

• lots of shops in the inner city (city center), mostly frequented by pedestrians
• some bigger malls outside, e.g. "Paunsdorf Center" in the east
• The Hauptbahnhof is not only one of the biggest train stations in Europe, it's a great shopping mall as well

(On three floors boutiques and restaurants are located next to drug stores and supermarkets)

• shopping for Leipzig and Germany souvenirs around the Old City Hall
• Fresh Food Market near Leipzig Central Stadium on Saturdays

• Check out the inner city with many bars, pubs and cafés.
• There are some excellent and cheap restaurants to be visited in the Südvorstadt, for example "Tobagi" with Korean food on Riemannstrasse, as well as "Saffron" on Karl Liebknecht-strasse, which has great Indian food.
• and you also have to try a speciality of Leipzig: Lerchen (a sweet dough-wicker)

• Moritzbastei: very old and big student club; Universitätsstraße 9 (inner city)
• Barfussgaesschen: a small street with a lot of pubs and bars (inner city)
• Dark Flower: gothic music and dark wave, on Thursday rock music; moved to Hainstraße 12 - 14 (inner city)
• Sixtina: select from the largest number of different brands of absinth in a building from the 16th century; Katharinenstraße 11 (inner city)
• Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse ("Karli"): the street starts in the south of the inner city and leads you to Südvorstadt and Connewitz (student and alternative quarters); along the street you can find a lot of pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants and also some smaller dance clubs; very international
• Try and find a bar that serves Gose, the world's most obscure beer. It's made with coriander and salt, and is very much an acquired taste.

• Two independent hostels are located right in the center of Leipzig. Sleepy Lion Hostel and Central Globetrotter Hostel. Stay in a dorm starting at 12,50 € check [13] and [14] for further information.
• A Youth Hostel is located in Volksgartenstr. 24 (for more information check the English pages of the German Youth Hostel Organization "DJH" [15]; prices range from 17.50€ to 26.50€
• Two camping sites are in Leipzig, one to the north in 'Warren' (accessible by tram and bus) and the other on the outskirts, ask in the tourist office (opposite the station)
• Weisses Ross; Auguste-Schmidt-Str. 20; 341 960 5951; prices from 26€ to 55€; Humble accommodations but close to the centre. Owner is very friendly but speaks only German.

• Dresden is a MUST SEE with its old baroque center, the Frauenkirche and its other attractions. Go there by train or car (both about 1,5 hours)
• Berlin the German capital is just an hour by train
• Weimar is in under an hour away by ICE.
• Erfurt to the West.
• Lützen, about 20 kilometers southwest, where two great battles have been fought.
• Halle (Saale) about 20 kilometers north of Leipzig. Has some great things to see. Largest city in Saxony-Anhalt, birthplace of Händel and has a few castles.

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Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

English

Wikipedia has an article on:

Leipzig

Wikipedia

Proper noun

Leipzig

1. The largest town in Saxony, Germany

Translations

German

German Wikipedia has an article on:

Leipzig

Wikipedia ^de

Pronunciation

•  audio^{help, file}

Proper noun

Leipzig

1. Leipzig

From Wikia Gaming, your source for walkthroughs, games, guides, and more!

The Games Convention, (a.k.a. Leipzig Games Convention or short GC) is an annual videogame convention held in Leipzig, Germany. It was first held in 2002. International attention to this convention has been escalating due to the scaling back of E3. The Games Convention is also now the second biggest games event in the world, with the Tokyo Game Show being the biggest. The Games Convention is open to all visitors. A Symphonic Game Music Concert is held on the first day.

External link

• Games Convention official site (english)

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