Leipzig

Leipzig
View of Leipzig city center from Fockeberg hill.
View of Leipzig city center from Fockeberg hill.
Coat of arms of Leipzig
Leipzig is located in Germany
Leipzig
Coordinates
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 518,862 (31 December 2009)[1]
 - Density 1,743 /km2 (4,516 /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
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
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 appr. 517,000, the second largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany and in the new states of Germany. In the 17th century, Leipzig was one of the major European city-centres of learning and culture in fields such as music, astronomy and optics. After World War II, Leipzig became a major urban centre within the Communist German Democratic Republic.

Leipzig later played a significant role later in the fall of communism in Germany, through events at Nikolai Church in the town center of Leipzig, as commemorated with plaques and historical artifacts on display in the modern town center. Since 2000, Leipzig has economically and socially changed again, since the reunification of Germany with modern transport infrastructure and the restoration of historical town center. In 2006, Leipzig hosted key games in the World Cup.

In 2010, Leipzig was ranked 68th in the world as a livable city, by consulting firm Mercer in their quality of life survey, scoring just below Atlanta, Georgia. In 2009, Leipzig was ranked 35th in the world out of 256 cities for cultural, economic and social innovation[2].

Contents

History

Origins

Leipzig's name is derived from the Slavic word Lipsk, which means "settlement where the lime trees (American: linden trees) stand".[3]

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 lighting 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.[4]

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.[5][6]

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

Culture

Main sights

Among Leipzig's noteworthy institutions are the opera house and the Leipzig Zoological Garden, 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.

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. For over 60 years Leipzig has been offering the oldest "School Concert" program for children in Germany. With over 140 concerts every year in venues such as the Gewandhaus and over 40.000 children attending, young addults are educated and inspired with music.

As for contemporary music, Leipzig is known for its independent music scene and subcultural events. Leipzig has for more than 10 years been home to the world's largest Gothic festival, the annual Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT), where thousands of electro fans from across Europe gather in the early summer. Leipzig (Pop Up[7] is an annual music trade fair for the independent music scene as well as a music festival taking place in May. Its most famous indie-labels are Moon Harbour Recordings (house) and Kann Records (House/Techno/Psychedelic). Live music on a daily basis can be heard in several venues. Moritzbastei is one of the oldest student clubs in Europe with concerts in various styles. For over 15 years Tonellis has been offering free weekly concerts every day of the week. Tuesdays is "Guitarnight"; Wednesdays showcases local jazz talent; Thursday harbors the local Blues scene. Various acts such as comedy lounge, poetry, open mike night are offered on other nights.

The city's contemporary 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[8][9] of artists. According to the New York Times,[10] 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,[11] a former cotton mill that attracts all kinds of independent artists. The New York Times features Leipzig in the Top 10 of its "31 Places to Go" article in 2010.[12]

Annual events

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.[16]

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.[17] 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 to bring Bundesliga football back to the region.[18]

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.

Food & Drink

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.

A part of Leipzig University is the German Institute for Literature which was founded in 1955 under the name "Johannes R. Becher-Institut". A lot of noted writers have been graduated on this school. Heinz Czechowski, Kurt Drawert, Adolf Endler, Ralph Giordano, Kerstin Hensel, Sarah and Rainer Kirsch, Angela Krauß, Erich Loest, Fred Wander - just to name a few of the most influencing writers of this era. After its closure in 1990 the institute was refounded in 1995 with new teachers. A big part of the new generation of German authors is been educated there.

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.

Guiness World Record for Leipzig

Several years ago, a Giant Stamp Mosaic aspect of the Stamps-for-Leipzig was produced. Students represented the project during a press event at the Deutsche Bank and during an exhibition by the “Philatelistenverein“ at Leipzig’s New City Hall. There was a major response to the project during the Models-Hobbies-Games exhibition at Leipzig’s Trade Fair.

An unexpected high turnout of volunteers to their Saturday sessions between January and April helped achieve their objectives. Although only four boards of one-hundred were completely covered during the first stamping day, dozens were started with some colour sections completed. The following sessions were very productive. Two thirds of the panels were completed. They completed the stamping of the 100 boards in 4 months.

All Board were then merged to the mosaic for press and publicity and for documentation to the Guinness World Records (GWR). End of 2008 they were entitled the World Record for the Largest Stamp-Mosaic by GWR!World Stamp News

Economy

Companies in or around Leipzig include:

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.[19]

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 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

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

Leipzig is twinned with:[21]

Partnerships

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Bevölkerung des Freistaates Sachsen jeweils am Monatsende ausgewählter Berichtsmonate nach Gemeinden" (in German). Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen. 31 December 2009. http://www.statistik.sachsen.de/21/02_02/02_02_06g_tabelle.pdf. 
  2. ↑ Innovation Cities Program
  3. ↑ Hanswilhelm Haefs. Das 2. Handbuch des nutzlosen Wissens. ISBN 3-8311-3754-4 (German)
  4. ↑ History of the cotton mill
  5. ↑ David Brebis (ed.), Michelin guide to Germany, Greenville (2006), p. 324. ISBN 086699077417
  6. ↑ The day I outflanked the Stasi BBC + video
  7. ↑ (Pop Up official website
  8. ↑ Neue Leipziger Schule (German wikipedia entry)
  9. ↑ Lubow, Arthur (January 8, 2006). "The New Leipzig School". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/magazine/08leipzig.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  10. ↑ "The 31 Places to Go in 2010," The New York Times (10 January 2010).
  11. ↑ Spinnerei official website
  12. ↑ "The 31 Places to Go in 2010," The New York Times (10 January 2010).
  13. ↑ AMI - Auto Mobil International, Leipziger Messe
  14. ↑ AMITEC - Fachmesse für Fahrzeugteile, Werkstatt und Service, Leipziger Messe
  15. ↑ OPER Leipzig unplugged
  16. ↑ http://www.leipzig.de/de/buerger/freizeit/sport/tradition/sportlich/02544.shtml
  17. ↑ http://www.sportmuseum-leipzig.de/Ablage-Zeitung/4-2001/seite-5_A.htm
  18. ↑ http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,631450,00.html
  19. ↑ Promenaden Hauptbahnhof Leipzig
  20. ↑ Homepage of the City of Leipzig/Buchstadt
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Leipzig - International Relations". © 2009 Leipzig City Council, Office for European and International Affairs. http://www.leipzig.de/int/en/int_messen/partnerstaedte/. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
  22. ↑ "Partner Cities". Birmingham City Council. http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/twins. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
  23. ↑ "Brno - Partnerská města" (in Czech). © 2006-2009 City of Brno. http://www.brno.cz/index.php?nav02=1985&nav01=34&nav03=1010&nav04=1016&nav05=1249&nav06=1272. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
  24. ↑ "Frankfurt -Partner Cities". © 2008 Stadt Frankfurt am Main. http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=502645. Retrieved 2008-12-05. 
  25. ↑ "Hanover - Twin Towns" (in German). © 2007-2009 HANNOVER.de - Offizielles Portal der Landeshauptstadt und der Region Hannover in Zusammenarbeit mit hier.de. http://www.hannover.de/de/buerger/entwicklung/partnerschaften/staedte_regionspartnerschaften/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
  26. ↑ "Partner Cities of Lyon and Greater Lyon". © 2008 Mairie de Lyon. http://www.lyon.fr/vdl/sections/en/villes_partenaires/villes_partenaires_2/?aIndex=1. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
  27. ↑ "Twinning Cities". City of Thessaloniki. http://www.thessalonikicity.gr/English/twinning-cities.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-07. 
  28. ↑ "Kraków otwarty na świat". www.krakow.pl. http://www.krakow.pl/otwarty_na_swiat/?LANG=UK&MENU=l&TYPE=ART&ART_ID=16. Retrieved 2009-07-19. 
  29. ↑ "Leipzig - International Relations". © 2009 Leipzig City Council, Office for European and International Affairs. http://www.leipzig.de/int/en/int_messen/partnerstaedte/krakow/. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 

External links

Leipzig travel guide from Wikitravel

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