Leipzig has been a trade city since at least the time of theHoly Roman Empire.[9]Via Regia and theVia Imperii, two important medieval trade routes, intersected here, marking the city's economic importance. TheLeipzig Trade Fair dates back to 1190. Between 1764 and 1945, the city was a centre of publishing.[10] After theSecond World War, Leipzig remained a major urban centre inEast Germany. But overall, because of isolation behind theIron Curtain, its cultural and economic importance declined.[10] Events in Leipzig in 1989 played a significant role in precipitating thefall of communism inCentral and Eastern Europe, mainly throughdemonstrations starting fromSt. Nicholas Church. Since the early 2000s, Leipzig has experienced substantial transformation, marked by urban and economic revitalisation as well as the modernisation of its transport infrastructure.[11][12]
A once common English spelling of the city's name wasLeipsic, among many variants. TheLatin nameLipsia was also used in many languages and in the academic publications of the city's university.[17]
The nameLeipzig is commonly held to derive fromlipa, the commonSlavic designation forlinden trees, making the city's name etymologically related toLipetsk, Russia. Based on medieval attestations likeLipzk (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/PolishLipsk, CzechLipsko). This has, however, been questioned by more recentonomastic research based on the very oldest forms likeLibzi (c. 1015).[18]
The archaicRomanian name of Leipzig,Lipsca, is also derived from a Slavic form.Lipscani, a historical district in the center ofBucharest, is named after it.[19]
Due to the etymology mentioned above,Lindenstadt orStadt der Linden (City of Linden Trees) are common poetic epithets for the city.[20]
Another, somewhat old-fashioned epithet isPleiß-Athen (Athens on thePleiße 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.[21]
It is also referred to as "Little Paris" (Klein-Paris) after a line fromGoethe'sFaust I, which is partly set in the famous Leipzig restaurantAuerbachs Keller.
In 1937 theNazi government awarded the city the epithetReichsmessestadt Leipzig (Reich Trade Fair City Leipzig).[22]
In 1989 Leipzig was dubbed aHero 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 theMonday demonstrations).[23]
More recently, the city has sometimes been nicknamedHypezig, 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 manystartups.[24][25][26][27]
Leipzig is located in theLeipzig Bay, the southernmost part of theNorth German Plain, which is the part of theNorth European Plain in Germany. The city sits on theWhite Elster, a river that rises in theCzech Republic and flows into theSaale south of Halle. ThePleiße and theParthe join the White Elster in Leipzig, and the large inland delta-like landscape the three rivers form is calledLeipziger Gewässerknoten. The site is characterized by swampy areas such as theLeipzig 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 ofmoraine anddrumlins.
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.[28]
Leipzig is also situated at the intersection of theancient roads known as theVia Regia (King's highway), which traversed Germany in an east–west direction, and theVia Imperii (Imperial highway), a north–south road.
Since 1992 Leipzig has been divided administratively into tenStadtbezirke (boroughs), which in turn contain a total of 63Ortsteile (localities). Some of these correspond to outlying villages which have been annexed by Leipzig.
Like many cities in Eastern Germany, Leipzig has anoceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb), with significantcontinental influences due to its inland location. Winters are cold, with an average temperature of around 1 °C (34 °F). Summers are generally warm, averaging at 19 °C (66 °F) with daytime temperatures of 24 °C (75 °F). 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).[32]
Climate data for Leipzig (Leipzig/Halle Airport) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1973–2013)
Leipzig was first documented in 1015 in the chronicles of BishopThietmar of Merseburg asurbs Libzi (Chronicon, VII, 25) and endowed with city and market privileges in 1165 byOtto the Rich.Leipzig Trade Fair, started in theMiddle Ages, has become an event of international importance and is the oldest surviving trade fair in the world. This encouraged the growth of theLeipzig merchant bourgeoisie.
There are records of commercial fishing operations on the riverPleiße that, most likely, refer to Leipzig dating back to 1305, when theMargrave Dietrich the Younger granted the fishing rights to the church and convent of St Thomas.[35]
There were a number ofmonasteries in and around the city, including aFranciscan monastery after which theBarfußgäßchen (Barefoot Alley) is named and a monastery of Irish monks (Jacobskirche, destroyed in 1544) near the present dayRanstädter Steinweg (the oldVia Regia).
TheUniversity 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 theReichsgericht (Imperial Court of Justice) and theGerman National Library being located here.
On 24 December 1701, whenFranz Conrad Romanus was mayor, an oil-fueledstreet 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.
The Leipzig region was the arena of the 1813Battle of Leipzig betweenNapoleonic France and an allied coalition ofPrussia,Russia, Austria and Sweden. It was the largest battle in Europe before theFirst World War and the coalition victory endedNapoleon's presence in Germany and would ultimately lead to his first exile onElba. TheMonument 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.[36] While over half of theKingdom of Saxony was formally ceded to Prussia, Leipzig remained part ofKing Frederick Augustus I.
When it was made a terminus of the first German long-distance railway toDresden (the capital of Saxony) in 1839, Leipzig became a hub of Central European railway traffic, withLeipzig Hauptbahnhof the largestterminal station by area in Europe. The railway station has two grand entrance halls, the eastern one for theRoyal Saxon State Railways and the western one for thePrussian state railways.
In the 19th century, Leipzig was a centre of the German and Saxon liberal movements.[37] The first Germanlabor party, theGeneral German Workers' Association (Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein, ADAV) was founded in Leipzig on 23 May 1863 byFerdinand Lassalle; about 600 workers from across Germany travelled to the foundation on the new railway. Leipzig expanded rapidly to more than 700,000 inhabitants. HugeGründerzeit areas were built, which mostly survived both war and post-war demolition.
With the opening of a fifth production hall in 1907, theLeipziger Baumwollspinnerei became the largestcotton mill company on the continent, housing over 240,000 spindles. Yearly production surpassed 5 million kilograms of yarn.[38]
DuringWorld War I, in 1917, the American Consulate was closed, and its building became a temporary place of stay for Americans andAllied refugees fromSerbia,Romania andJapan.[39]
During the 1930s and 1940s, music was prominent throughout Leipzig. Many students attendedFelix Mendelssohn Bartholdy College of Music and Theatre (then named Landeskonservatorium.) However, in 1944, it was closed due toWorld 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 theNazi regime.[40] He resigned in 1937 when, in his absence, his Nazi deputy ordered the destruction of the city's statue ofFelix Mendelssohn. OnKristallnacht in 1938, the 1855Moorish RevivalLeipzig 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 theGemeinde, 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.[41]
Like all other cities claimed by the Nazis, Leipzig was subject toaryanisation. 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.[41]
The Jews of Leipzig were greatly affected by theNuremberg Laws. However, due to theLeipzig 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.[41]
On 20 December 1937, after the Nazis took control of the city, they renamed it Reichsmessestadt Leipzig, meaning the "Imperial Trade Fair City Leipzig".[22] In early 1938, Leipzig saw an increase inZionism through Jewish citizens. Many of these Zionists attempted to flee before deportations began.[41] On 28 October 1938,Heinrich Himmler ordered the deportation of Polish Jews from Leipzig to Poland.[41][42] The Polish Consulate sheltered 1,300 Polish Jews, preventing their deportation.[43]
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.[41] On 13 July 1942, 170 Jews were deported from Leipzig toAuschwitz concentration camp. On 19 September 1942, 440 Jews were deported from Leipzig toTheresienstadt 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.[41][46]
Memorial at the site of the Abtnaundorf massacre
During theGerman invasion of Poland at the start ofWorld War II, in September 1939, theGestapo carried out arrests of prominent localPoles,[47] and seized the Polish Consulate and its library.[43] In 1941, the American Consulate was also closed by order of the German authorities.[39] During the war, Leipzig was the location of fivesubcamps of theBuchenwald 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.[48] In April 1945, most surviving prisoners were sent ondeath marches to various destinations in Saxony andGerman-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.[49][50] Some were rescued by Polishforced laborers of another camp; at least 67 people survived.[49][50] 84 victims were buried on 27 April 1945, however, the total number of victims remains unknown.[49][50]
Leipzig after bombing in the Second World War
During World War II, Leipzig wasrepeatedly struck byAllied bombing raids, beginning in 1943 and lasting until 1945. The first raid occurred on the morning of 4 December 1943, when 442 bombers of theRoyal 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.[51] 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 thefirebombing 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.[52] In April 1945, the Mayor of Leipzig, SS-GruppenführerAlfred Freyberg, his wife and daughter, together with Deputy Mayor and City Treasurer Ernest Kurt Lisso, his wife, daughter andVolkssturm Major and former MayorWalter Dönicke, all committed suicide in Leipzig City Hall.
The United States turned the city over to theRed Army as it pulled back from theline 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).
In the mid-20th century, the city's trade fair assumed renewed importance as a point of contact with theComecon 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 theMonument 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 inEast Berlin; creative business moved toWest 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.[55] Between 1950 and the end of the German Democratic Republic, the population of Leipzig fell from 600,000 to 500,000.[12]
In October 1989, after prayers for peace atSt. Nicholas Church, established in 1983 as part of the peace movement, theMonday demonstrations started as the most prominent mass protest against theEast German government.[56][57] Thereunification 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.[12] 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.[12]
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 togentrification of parts of the city and has not arrested the decline of Leipzig-East.[55][12]
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.[58][59][60] It is often called "The new Berlin".[61] Leipzig is also Germany's fastest growing city.[62] Leipzig was the German candidate for the2012 Summer Olympics, but was unsuccessful. After ten years of construction, theLeipzig City Tunnel opened on 14 December 2013.[63] Leipzig forms the centrepiece of theS-Bahn Mitteldeutschland public transit system, which operates in the four German states ofSaxony, Saxony-Anhalt,Thuringia andBrandenburg.
Results of the second round of the 2020 mayoral election
The first freely elected mayor after German reunification wasHinrich Lehmann-Grube of theSocial 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 politicianBurkhard 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:
Population development since 1200Typically dense cityscape of Leipzig old town, view from the new town hall. Buildingsfrom left to right:Gondwanaland of Leipzig Zoo;St. Thomas Church; headquarters of Sparkasse Leipzig Bank; the Westin Hotel; andMuseum of Fine Arts to the right.
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.Source for 2001–2022:[64]
Leipzig has a population of about 620,000.[65] 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.[66] As of 2015[update], Leipzig is the fastest-growing city in Germany with over 500,000 inhabitants.[67]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.[68]
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.[69] However, the number of children born in Leipzig has risen since the late 1990s. In 2011, it reached 5,490 births resulting in aRNI of −17.7 (−393.7 in 1995).[70]
The unemployment rate decreased from 18.2% in 2003 to 9.8% in 2014 and 7.6% in June 2017.[71][72][73]
The percentage of the population from an immigrant background is low compared with other German cities. As of 2012[update], only 5.6% of the population were foreigners, compared to the German national average of 7.7%.[74]
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).[75]
The largest minorities (first and second generation) in Leipzig by country of origin as of 31 December 2021 are:[76]
In the 2010s, Leipzig was often referred to asHypezig, 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.[77]
Palais Roßbach, one of the manyGründerzeit buildings in Leipzig
Mädler Passage, one of 24 covered passages in Leipzig city centre
The historic central area of Leipzig features aRenaissance-style ensemble of buildings from the sixteenth century, including the old city hall in the marketplace. There are also severalbaroque 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 thehistoricist style representative of theGründerzeit era. Approximately 35% of Leipzig's flats are in buildings of this type. Thenew city hall, completed in 1905, is built in the same style.
Some 90,000 apartments in Leipzig were built inPlattenbau buildings during Communist rule in East Germany.[78] 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.[79]
TheSt. 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, calledPaulinum, 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.
The tallest structure in Leipzig is the chimney of the Stahl- und Hartgusswerk Bösdorf GmbH with a height of 205 m (673 ft). With 142 m (466 ft), the tallest building in Leipzig is theCity-Hochhaus Leipzig. From 1972 to 1973 it wasGermany's tallest building.
One of the highlights of the city's contemporary arts was theNeo Rauch retrospective opening in April 2010 at theLeipzig Museum of Fine Arts. This is a show devoted to the father of theNew Leipzig School[80] of artists. According toThe New York Times,[81] this scene "has been the toast of the contemporary art world" for the past decade. In addition, there are eleven galleries in the so-calledSpinnerei.[82]
Founded in March 2015, theG2 Kunsthalle houses the Hildebrand Collection.[85] This private collection focuses on the so-calledNew 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 famousSt. Thomas Church on the third floor of the former GDR processing centre.[86] Also dedicated to the contemporary art is theGalerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig.[87]
The Egyptian Museum of the University of Leipzig located in theKroch High-rise comprises a collection of about 7,000 artefacts from several millennia.
TheSchillerhaus is the house where Schiller lived in summer 1785.
TheZeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig (Forum of Contemporary History) shows the history of the German division and the everyday life in the socialist German Democratic Republic.
TheLeipzig 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 theStasi State Security of the former East Germany.
Johann Sebastian Bach lived from 1723 until his death in Leipzig. TheBach 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.
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 forprimates (Pongoland). Gondwanaland is the world's largest indoor rainforest hall.
Leipzig Trade Fair centre in the north of the city is home to the world's largest levitated glass hall.[88]
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is the world's largest railway station by floor area and a shopping destination.
Auerbach's Cellar: a youngGoethe imbibed in this basement-level restaurant while studying in Leipzig; it features as the location of a scene from his playFaust.
St. Nicholas's Church (Nikolaikirche), for which Bach was also responsible. The weeklyMontagsgebet (Monday prayer) held here became the starting point of peacefulMonday demonstrations against theDDR regime in the 1980s.
St. Peter's has the highest tower of any church in Leipzig, at 87 m (285 ft).
Leipzig is well known for its large parks. TheLeipziger 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.
Today the conservatory is theUniversity of Music and Theatre Leipzig.[90] A broad range of subjects are taught, including artistic and teacher training in all orchestral instruments, voice, interpretation, coaching, pianochamber music, orchestral conducting, choir conducting andmusical composition in various musical styles. The drama departments teach acting andscriptwriting.
TheBach-Archiv Leipzig, an institution for the documentation and research of the life and work of Bach (and also of theBach family), was founded in Leipzig in 1950 byWerner Neumann. The Bach-Archiv organizes the prestigiousInternational 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 festivalBachfest Leipzig and runs the Bach-Museum.
TheMDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra is Leipzig's second largest symphony orchestra. Its current chief conductor isKristjan Järvi. Both the Gewandhausorchester and the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra make use of in theGewandhaus concert hall.
For over sixty years Leipzig has been offering a "school concert"[91] programme for children in Germany, with over 140 concerts every year in venues such as the Gewandhaus and over 40,000 children attending.
Leipzig is known for its independent music scene and subcultural events. Leipzig has for thirty years been home to theWave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT), which is currently the world's largest Gothic festival, where thousands of fans ofgoth music gather in the early summer. The first Wave Gotik Treffen was held at the Eiskeller club, today known asConne Island, in theConnewitz district.Mayhem's notorious albumLive 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 onPentecost weekend.[92] Its most famous indie-labels are Moon Harbour Recordings (House) and Kann Records (House/Techno/Psychedelic). Several venues offer live music frequently, including theMoritzbastei,[93] 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 theBeirut band's 2005 albumGulag Orkestar, according to the sleeve notes, was stolen from a Leipzig library by Zach Condon.
The city of Leipzig is also the birthplace ofTill Lindemann, best known as the lead vocalist ofRammstein, a band formed in 1994.
Leipziger Lerche is ashortcrust 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-fermentingsour beer that originated in theGoslar region and became popular in 18th-century Leipzig.
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.[100]
VfB Leipzig won the first national Association football championship in 1903. The club was dissolved in 1946 and the remains reformed as SG Probstheida. The club was eventually reorganized as football club 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig in 1966. 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig has had a glorious past in international competition as well, having been champions of the1965–66 Intertoto Cup, semi-finalists in the1973–74 UEFA Cup, and runners-up in the1986–87 European Cup Winners' Cup.
Thecurrent Chemie Leipzig from theLeutzsch district, although legally founded in 1997 and started playing in 2008, can trace its roots to the 19th Century. TheChemie Leipzig founded in 1950 dates back to the prewar identity rooted in the establishment ofBritannia Leipzig in 1899 and its successorTuRa Leipzig. During the socialist era, the traditions of the club were continued in theEast German teams through a complicated history of mergers and name changes before the emergence ofFC Sachsen Leipzig in 1990, followingGerman reunification, which continued the clubs traditions.[101]
Red Bull took over a local 5th division football clubSSV Markranstädt in May 2009, having previously been denied the right to buy intoFC Sachsen Leipzig in 2006. The club was renamedRB Leipzig and came up through the ranks of German football, winning promotion to theBundesliga, the highest division of German football in 2016.[102] The club finished runners-up in its first-ever Bundesliga season and made its debut in theUEFA Champions League in 2017 and the Semi-Final in 2020.
RB Leipzig won theDFB-Pokal football cup twice, in 2022 and 2023.
List of Leipzig men and women's football clubs playing at state level and above:
Note 1: The RB Leipzig women's football team was formed in 2016 and began play in the 2016–17 season. Note 2: The club began play in the 2008–09 season.
Since the beginning of the 20th century,ice hockey has gained popularity, and several local clubs established departments dedicated to that sport.[103]
SC DHfK Leipzig is the men's handball club in Leipzig and were six times (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965 and 1966) the champion of East Germany handball league and was winner ofEHF Champions League in 1966. They finally promoted toHandball-Bundesliga as champions of2. Bundesliga in 2014–15 season. They play in theArena Leipzig which has a capacity of 6,327 spectators inHBL games but can take up to 7,532 spectators for handball in maximum capacity.
Handball-Club Leipzig is one of the most successful women's handball clubs in Germany, winning 21 domestic championships since 1953 and 2Champions League titles. The team was however relegated to the third tier league in 2017 due to failing to achieve the economic standard demanded by the league licence.
From 1950 to 1990 Leipzig was host of the Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur (DHfK, German College of Physical Culture), the national sports college of the GDR.
Leipzig also hosted theFencing World Cup in 2005 and hosts a number of international competitions in a variety of sports each year.
Leipzig made a bid to host the2012 Summer Olympics. The bid did not make the shortlist after the International Olympic Committee pared the bids down to 5.
Markkleeberger See is a new lake next toMarkkleeberg, a suburb on the south side of Leipzig. A formeropen-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-poweredartificial whitewater slalom course, Markkleeberg Canoe Park (Kanupark Markkleeberg), a venue which rivals theEiskanal inAugsburg for training and international canoe/kayak competition.
Leipzig Rugby Club competes in the German Rugby Bundesliga but finished at the bottom of their group in 2013.[110]
Leipzig hosted theIndoor Hockey World Cup in 2015. All matches were played inLeipzig Arena, with the Netherlands coming out victorious in both the men's and women's tournaments.
Leipzig University, founded 1409, is one of Europe's oldest universities.Karl Bücher, a German economist, founded theInstitut für Zeitungswissenschaften (Institute for Newspaper Science) at the University of Leipzig in 1916. It was the first institute of its kind to be established in Europe, and it marks the commencement of academic study of media communication in Germany.[112]
A part of Leipzig University is theGerman Institute for Literature which was founded in 1955 under the name "Johannes R. Becher-Institut". Many noted writers have graduated from this school, includingHeinz Czechowski, Kurt Drawert,Adolf Endler,Ralph Giordano, Kerstin Hensel,Sarah and Rainer Kirsch, Angela Krauß,Erich Loest, andFred Wander. After its closure in 1990 the institute was refounded in 1995 with new teachers.
The Academy of Visual Arts (Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst) was established in 1764. Its 600 students (as of 2018[update]) are enrolled in courses in painting and graphics, book design/graphic design, photography and media art. The school also houses an Institute for Theory.
TheUniversity 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 scriptwriting.
TheLeipzig University of Applied Sciences (HTWK)[114] has approximately 6,200 students (as of 2007[update]) and is (as of 2007[update]) 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) its status is slightly below that of a university, with more emphasis on the practical parts of education. The HTWK offers many engineering courses, as well as courses in computer science, mathematics, business administration, librarianship, museum studies, and social work. It is mainly located in the south of the city.
The privateLeipzig Graduate School of Management, (in GermanHandelshochschule Leipzig (HHL)), is the oldest business school in Germany. According toThe Economist, HHL is one of the best schools in the world, ranked at number six overall.[115][116]
Branch campus ofLancaster University, it is the first public UK university with a campus in Germany.Lancaster University Leipzig was founded in 2020 and currently has a diverse international student body with more than 45 nationalities.
Leipzig is home to one of the world's oldest schools,Thomasschule zu Leipzig (St. Thomas' School, Leipzig), which gained fame for its long association with theBach family of musicians and composers.
The city is a location for automobile manufacturing byBMW andPorsche in large plants north of the city. In 2011 and 2012DHL transferred the bulk of its European air operations fromBrussels Airport toLeipzig/Halle Airport.Kirow Ardelt AG, the world market leader inbreakdown cranes, is based in Leipzig. The city also houses theEuropean Energy Exchange, the leading energy exchange in Central Europe.VNG – Verbundnetz Gas AG, one of Germany's large natural gas suppliers, is headquartered at Leipzig. In addition, inside its larger metropolitan area, Leipzig has developed an important petrochemical centre.
Some of the largest employers in the area (outside of manufacturing) include software companies such asSpreadshirt and the various schools and universities in and around the Leipzig/Halle region. The University of Leipzig attracts millions ofeuros of investment yearly and celebrated its 600th birthday in 2009.
Leipzig also benefits from world-leading medical research (Leipzig Heart Centre) and a growing biotechnology industry.[120]
Many bars, restaurants and stores in the downtown area are patronized by German and foreign tourists. Leipzig Main Train Station is the location of a shopping mall.[121] Leipzig is one of Germany's most visited cities with over 3 million overnight stays in 2017.[122]
In 2010, Leipzig was included in the top 10 cities to visit byThe New York Times,[81] and ranked 39th globally out of 289 cities for innovation in the 4th Innovation Cities Index published by Australian agency 2thinknow.[123] In 2015, Leipzig have among the 30 largest German cities the third best prospects for the future.[124] In recent years Leipzig has often been nicknamed the "Boomtown of eastern Germany" or "Hypezig".[25] As of 2013[update] it had the highest rate of population growth of any German city.[26]
Companies with operations in or around Leipzig include:
Leipzig has a dense network of socio-ecological infrastructures. Worth mentioning in the food sector are theFairteiler offoodsharing[125] and the numerousCommunity-supported agricultures,[126] in the textile sector theUmsonstladen inPlagwitz,[127] in the bicycle self-help workshops theRadsfatz,[128] in the computer sector theHackerspaceDie Dezentrale,[129] and in the repair sector theCafé kaputt.[130]
MDR, one of Germany's public broadcasters, has its headquarters and main television studios in the city. It provides programmes 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. The monthly magazineKreuzer specializes in culture, festivities and the arts in Leipzig. Leipzig was also home to the world's first daily newspaper in modern times. TheEinkommende Zeitungen were first published in 1650.
Leipzig has one daily or semi-daily English-language publication,The Leipzig Glocal. It is an online-based magazine and blog that caters to an international as well as local audience.[131] Besides publishing pages on jobs, doctors and movies available in English and other languages, the site's team of authors writes articles about lifestyle, arts & culture, politics, entertainment, Leipzig events, etc.[132]
Once known for its large number of publishing houses, Leipzig had been calledBuch-Stadt (book city),[133] the most notable of them being branches of Brockhaus andInsel Verlag. Few are left after the years of economic decline during theGerman Democratic Republic, during which time Frankfurt developed as a much more important publishing centre.Reclam, founded in 1828, was one of the large publishing houses to move away. Leipzig still has a book fair, but Frankfurt's is far bigger.
The German Library (Deutsche Bücherei) in Leipzig is part ofGermany's National Library. Its task is to collect a copy of every book published in German.[134]
Leipzig has the most attractive inner city of all large German cities.[according to whom?]
In December 2013, according to a study byGfK, Leipzig was ranked as the most livable city in Germany.[135][136]
In 2015/2016, Leipzig was named by the consumer portal verbraucherzentrale.de as the second-best city for students in Germany (afterMunich).[137]
In a 2017 study from the Institut für Handelsforschung Köln, the Leipzig inner city ranked first among all large cities in Germany due to its urban aesthetics, gastronomy, and shopping opportunities.[138][139]
According to HWWI/Berenberg-Städteranking, since 2018 it also has the second-best future prospects of all cities in Germany, second to Munich in 2018 andBerlin in 2019.[140][141]
According to a 2017 Global Least & Most Stressful Cities Ranking by Zipjet, a London-based online laundry service, Leipzig was one of the least stressful cities in the World. It was ranked 25th out of 150 cities worldwide and aboveDortmund,Cologne, Frankfurt, and Berlin.[142]
Leipzig was named European City of the Year at the 2019 Urbanism Awards.[143]
According to the 2019 study by Forschungsinstitut Prognos, Leipzig is the most dynamic region in Germany. Within 15 years, the city climbed 230 places and occupied in 2019 rank 104 of all 401 German regions.[144][145]
Leipzig was listed as one of 52 places to go in 2020 byThe New York Times and the highest-ranking German destination.[146]
Founded at the crossing ofVia Regia andVia Imperii, Leipzig has been a major interchange of inter-European traffic and commerce since medieval times. After theReunification of Germany, immense efforts to restore and expand the traffic network have been undertaken and left the city area with an excellent infrastructure.
Leipzig/Halle Airport is the international commercial airport of the region. It is located at the Schkeuditzer Kreuz junction northwest of Leipzig, halfway between the two major cities. The easternmost section of the new Erfurt-Leipzig/Halle line under construction gave the airport a long-distance railway station, which was also integrated into the ICE network when the railway line was completed in 2015.
Passenger flights are operated to and from the major German hub airports, European metropolises and holiday destinations, especially to the Mediterranean region and North Africa. The airport is of international importance in the cargo sector. In Germany, it ranks second behind Frankfurt am Main, fifth in Europe and 26th worldwide (as of 2011).DHL uses the airport as its central European hub. It is also the home base of the freight airlinesAerologic andEuropean Air Transport Leipzig.
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is the main hub of the tram and railway network and the world's largest railway station by floor area.Inside Leipzig Hauptbahnhof
Opened in 1915,Leipzig Hauptbahnhof (lit.main station) is the largest overhead railway station in Europe in terms of its built-up area. At the same time, it is an important supra-regional junction in theIntercity-Express (ICE) andIntercity network of theDeutsche Bahn as well as a connection point forS-Bahn and regional traffic in the Halle/Leipzig area.
In Leipzig the Intercity Express routes (Hamburg–)Berlin–Leipzig–Nuremberg–Munich and Dresden–Leipzig–Erfurt–Frankfurt am Main–(Wiesbaden/Saarbrücken) intersect. Leipzig is also the starting point for the intercity lines Leipzig-Halle (Saale)–Magdeburg–Hannover–Dortmund–Köln and –Bremen–Oldenburg(–Norddeich Mole). Both lines complement each other at hourly intervals and also stop at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The only international connection is the daily EuroCity Leipzig-Prague.
Most major and medium-sized towns in Saxony and southern Saxony-Anhalt can be reached without changing trains. There are also direct connections via regional express lines to Falkenberg/Elster-Cottbus, Hoyerswerda and Dessau-Magdeburg as well as Chemnitz. Neighbouring Halle (Saale) can be reached via three S-Bahn lines, two of which run via Leipzig/Halle Airport. The surrounding area of Leipzig is served by numerous regional and S-Bahn lines.
The city's railway connections are currently being greatly improved by major construction projects, particularly within the framework of the German Unity transport projects. The line to Berlin has been extended and has been passable at 200 km/h (120 mph) since 2006. On 13 December 2015, the high-speed line from Leipzig to Erfurt, designed for 300 km/h (190 mph), was put into operation. Its continuation to Nuremberg followed in December 2017. This integration into the high-speed network considerably reduced the journey times of the ICE from Leipzig to Nuremberg, Munich and Frankfurt am Main. The Leipzig-Dresden railway line, which was the first German long-distance railway to go into operation in 1839, is also undergoing expansion for 200 km/h. The most important construction project in regional transport was the four-kilometer-longcity tunnel, which went into operation in December 2013 as the main line of theS-Bahn Mitteldeutschland.
There are freight stations in the districts of Wahren and Engelsdorf. In addition, a freight traffic centre has been set up near the Schkeuditzer Kreuz junction for goods handling between road and rail, as well as a freight station on the site of the DHL hub at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
Leipzig is the core of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland line network. Together with the tram, six of the ten lines form the backbone of local public transport and an important link to the region and the neighbouring Halle. The main line of the S-Bahn consists of the underground S-Bahn stations Hauptbahnhof, Markt, Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz andBayerischer Bahnhof leading through the City Tunnel as well as the above-ground station Leipzig MDR. There are a total of 30 S-Bahn stations in the Leipzig city area. Endpoints of the S-Bahn lines include Wurzen, Zwickau, Dessau, and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Two lines run to Halle, one of them via Leipzig/Halle Airport.
With the timetable change in December 2004, the networks of Leipzig and Halle were combined to form the Leipzig-Halle S-Bahn. However, this network only served as a transitional solution and was replaced by the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland on 15 December 2013. At the same time, the main line tunnel, marketed as the Leipzig City Tunnel, went into operation. The tunnel, which is almost four kilometres long, crosses the entire city centre from the main railway station to the Bavarian railway station. The S-Bahn stations are up to 22 metres underground. This construction was the first to create a continuous north–south axis, which had not existed until now due to the north-facing terminus station. The connection to the south of the city and the federal state will thus be greatly improved.
TheLeipziger Verkehrsbetriebe, existing since 1 January 1917, operate a total of 15 tram lines and 47 bus lines in the city.
The total length of the tram network is 146 km (91 mi), making it the largest in Saxony ahead ofDresden (134.4 km (83.5 mi)) and the second largest in Germany afterBerlin (196 km (122 mi)).
The longest line in the Leipzig network is line 11, which connects Schkeuditz with Markkleeberg over 22 kilometres and is the only tram line in Leipzig to run in three tariff zones of the Central German Transport Association.
Night bus lines N1 to N9 and the night tram N17 operate in the night traffic. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays the tram line N10 and the bus line N60 also operate. The central transfer point between the bus and tram lines as well as to the S-Bahn is Leipzig Central Station.
Like most German cities, Leipzig has a traffic layout designed to bebicycle-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 cycle paths have been built or declared since 1990. According to the data from the 2021/22traffic count,the Saxons' Bridge has the highest traffic occupancy with over 15,000 cyclists per day in cycling in Leipzig.[148]
Since 2004 there is abicycle-sharing system. Bikes can be borrowed and returned via smartphone app or by telephone. Since 2018, the system has enabled flexible borrowing and returning of bicycles in the inner city; in this zone, bicycles can be handed in and borrowed from almost any street corner. Outside these zones, there are stations where the bikes are waiting. The current locations of the bikes can be seen via the app. There are cooperation offers with the Leipzig public transport companies and car sharing in order to offer as complete a mobility chain as possible.
Several federal motorways pass by Leipzig: theA 14 in the north, theA 9 in the west, and theA 38 in the south. The three motorways form a triangular partial ring of the double ring Mitteldeutsche Schleife around Halle and Leipzig. To the south towards Chemnitz, theA 72 is also partly under construction.
The ring road (Innenstadtring), which corresponds to the course of the old city fortification, surrounds the city centre of Leipzig, which today is largely traffic-calmed.
Leipzig has a dense network ofcarsharing stations. Additionally, since 2018 there is also a stationless car sharing system in Leipzig. Here the cars can be parked and booked anywhere in the inner city without having to define a specific car or period in advance. Finding and booking is done via a smartphone app.
Leipzig is one of the few cities in Germany withvehicle for hire services that can be booked via amobile app. In contrast to taxicab services, the start and destination must be defined beforehand and other passengers can be taken along at the same time if they share a route.
In addition to a large number of national lines, several international lines also serve Leipzig. The cities of Bregenz, Budapest, Milan, Prague, Sofia and Zurich, among others, can be reached without having to change trains. Around 30,000 journeys and 1.5 million passengers a year are expected at the new bus station.
Some lines also use Leipzig/Halle Airport, located at the A 9/A 14 motorway junction, andLeipziger Messe for a stop. Passengers can take the S-Bahn from there to the city centre.
In the first half of the 20th century, the construction of theElster-Saale canal,White Elster, andSaale was started in Leipzig in order to connect to the network of waterways. The outbreak of the Second World War stopped most of the work, though some may have continued through the use offorced labor. TheLindenauer port was almost completed but not yet connected to the Elster-Saale andKarl Heine Canal respectively. The Leipzig rivers (White Elster,New Luppe,Pleiße, andParthe) in the city have largely artificial river beds and are supplemented by some channels. These waterways are suitable only for small leisure boat traffic.
Through the renovation and reconstruction of existingmill races and watercourses in the south of the city and flooded disusedopen cast mines, the city's navigable water network is being expanded. A link between Karl Heine Canal and the disused Lindenauer port was opened in 2015. Still more work was scheduled to complete the Elster-Saale canal. Such a move would allow small boats to reach theElbe from Leipzig. The intended completion date has been postponed because of an unacceptable cost-benefit ratio.
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'sFaust, Part One
Ich komme nach Leipzig, an den Ort, wo man die ganze Welt im Kleinen sehen kann. ("I'm coming to Leipzig, to the place where one can see the whole world in miniature.") –Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Extra Lipsiam vivere est miserrime vivere. ("To live outside Leipzig is to live miserably.") –Benedikt Carpzov the Younger
Das angenehme Pleis-Athen, Behält den Ruhm vor allen, Auch allen zu gefallen, Denn es ist wunderschön. ("The pleasurable Pleiss-Athens, earns its fame above all, appealing to every one, too, for it is mightily beauteous.") –Johann Sigismund Scholze
^abcdePower, Anne; Herden, Elineen (May 2016)."Leipzig City Story"(PDF).LSE Housing and Communities.Archived(PDF) from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved26 October 2019.
^The very oldest written evidence (11th/12th c.) consistently shows forms likeLibzi (first mention of Leipzig, 1015) whose-b- is difficult to reconcile withlipa. Also, the ending-zi points to a plural personal name (roughly, "at the [X] people's place"), not the suffix-sko. Karlheinz Hengst offered a Slavic rootlib- as a possible source, which can mean "to waver, to sway, to wobble" (as in swampy ground?) or "thin, skinny, weak" (as in a thin piece of dry land?). Both roots, however, lack almost any attestation in other Slavic toponyms. Ultimately, it might be a pre-Slavic root (perhaps related toPIE*leiH- "to pour, to flow, to drip", referring to the many streams around the city centre) that was enlarged with a Slavic suffix (-ьcy,-ica or the like). Even later, during early German colonization, the name seems to have been reinterpreted with the much more commonlipa "linden tree", in accordance with the etymology commonly held today. Cf. Hengst, Karlheinz (2010). "Der Name Leipzig". In Eichler, Ernst; Walther, Hans (eds.).Alt-Leipzig und das Leipziger Land. Ein historisch-geographisches Namenbuch zur Frühzeit im Elster-Pleißen-Land im Rahmen der Sprach- und Siedlungsgeschichte. Leipzig: Universitätsverlag. pp. 134–140; Walther, Hans (2010). "Leipzigs Name im Lichte seiner Frühüberlieferung". Ibid. pp. 129–133.
^Haase, Dagmar; Rosenberg, Matthias; Mikutta, Robert (1 December 2002). "Untersuchung zum Landschaftswandel im Südraum Leipzig".Standort (in German).26 (4):159–165.doi:10.1007/s00548-002-0103-3.ISSN0174-3635.S2CID68472430.
^"Climatological maps of Germany".DWD: Deutscher Wetterdienst. Deutscher Wetterdienst (German Weather Service).Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved25 February 2019.
^abcdefghiWillingham, Robert, and Crew, David F.Jews in Leipzig: Nationality and Community in the 20th Century, 2005, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Pgs. 1–148
^"Nazi Germany",Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook, XLII 1997, 167. Fred Grubel and Frank Mecklenburg "Leipzig: Profile of a Jewish Community during the first years of Nazi Germany",Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook, XLII 1997, 167
^Diamont, Adolph.Chronik der Juden in Dresden. pp. 104–106, 109.
^Cygański, Mirosław (1984). "Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939–1945".Przegląd Zachodni (in Polish) (4): 54.
^"Buchenwald war überall".aussenlager-buchenwald.de (in German).Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved7 November 2023.
^abc"Leipzig-Thekla".aussenlager-buchenwald.de (in German).Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved7 November 2023.
^"History".english.leipzig.de.Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved2 May 2018.
^Stanton, Shelby,World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division, 1939–1946 (Revised Edition, 2006), Stackpole Books, p. 78, 139.
^Ausschuß der Deutschen Statisker, P 136-142. In Lothar Mertens,Davidstern unter Hammer und Zirkel: Die Jüdischen Gemeinden in der SBZ-DDR und ihre Behandlung durch Partei und Staat 1945– 1990. (Haskala, 18) Hildesheim, 1997.
^Naimark, Norman M. (1995).The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945–1949. Cambridge: Belknap Press. p. 149.
^Tillack-Graf, Anne-Kathleen (2019)."Institute of Communication and Media Studies (University of Leipzig)". The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society. SAGE Publications.
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