Experience tips for Leipzig - Nature, Sports and Games

Parks, green areas and forests

People lying on a meadow in the Clara-Zetkin-Park

Clara-Zetkin-Park

© City of Leipzig

Who wants to spend an active holiday in Leipzig, can choose from a wide selection of offers. Leipzig is a green city, about one-third consists of green areas, forests, parks, allotments and sports surfaces. As a green belt, the riparian forest moves from north to south in a wide strip directly through the city. Here you can walk, go by bike or in part with the horse on a discovery tour. A popular destination is here the Auensee with its miniature railway.

Large green rest areas, within walking distance from the historic city center, are the Rosental and the Clara-Zetkin-Park. Ponds, a fountain, lawns, playgrounds, outdoor seating and an open air stage offer in the warmer months, many recreational opportunities. Here is also the oldest sports venue in Leipzig: the racecourse in the disc of wood, which was opened in 1863 and the racing season is a first address.

Lakes and rivers

Canoes on a river in the floodplain

Paddling on the Course 1

© City of Leipzig / Office of Sports

For a long time the Leipzig waters were polluted by industrial and sewage. This is luckily history and so Leipzig is back to a livable city water. Not only many species of fish feel at home again. The waters are not only attractive to anglers - but also for all who would like to take a boat trip. In a boat ride or a paddle boat, you can discover a lot. For example, the charming brick industrial architecture at the Karl-Heine canal in Plagwitz. This way also runs a well-developed bicycle path between the city center and Leipzig-Grunau. There you will find the Kulkwitzer See one of the most popular recreation areas of the city with beach and campsite.

For field trips with the family is walking and cycling tours. In the southern floodplain forest is the deer park. In large enclosures you can watch European forest animals here. Admission is free. Drive a little further, you will then go to Cospuden, where beaches, restaurants and a floating stage invite to relax.

Amusement Park Belantis

Visitors in front of a building of the Parks Belantis

© LTM, Andreas Schmidt

For all lovers of amusement parks located Belantis offers. In eastern Germany's biggest theme park you can experience on approximately 25 hectares with 60,000 square meters of water surface and a 4 km long trail a historic journey through time.

Botanical Gardens and Zoo

An orangutan sits in a web of ropes.

© Leipzig Zoo

Other oases of Leipzig are the Botanical Gardens, which has a butterfly house with about 200 species, and the Leipzig Zoo. The zoo is only a few minutes away from the city center and with its Troppenhalle Gondwanaland not only in good weather a recommendation. Another highlight is the Pongoland, a spacious home to various species of monkeys. For children, the zoo has a lot to offer. By the gradual conversion of plants in species-appropriate plants with plenty of space, the Zoo increasing its popularity continues.

sports

Interior of the Red Bull Arena Leipzig at a football game with crowded places

Red Bull Arena Leipzig

© GEPA Pictures

Besides football, the most famous clubs in the RB Leipzig and Leipzig are 1.FC locomotive, Leipzig can, cycling, volleyball, handball and hockey Canoeing look back on long traditions and achievements in swimming. Each year international competitions form special sporting attractions. A permanent place in the diary of top athletes already have the horse as a partner with the World Cup in riding, athletics meeting LE Athletics and various international competitions in canoe slalom canoe found in Park Markham.

One attraction is the Red Bull Arena Leipzig. With 100,000 seats was the stadium that was inaugurated in 1956 under the name Central Stadium, once the largest stadium in Germany. In order to adapt it to the requirements of a modern sports facility and again used for national and international competitions, it was converted into a new arena with 45,000 seats. At the 2006 World Cup it was the venue for five games. Here also large open-air concerts.

Leipzig offers but also for all recreational athletes much room for activities, whether in-line skating, swimming, climbing, water skiing, sailing and much more.

Playgrounds

Children on a playground

© City of Leipzig / Quo

Can really let off steam, the little ones on one of over 300 playgrounds in Leipzig.

discover Leipzig

Leipzig can look back on a long and historically valuable history. Years ago, around 850 the city at the crossroads of major trade routes began to exist. Many important events are always associated with the name of Leipzig. Today's Leipzig presents itself as a dynamic economic and cultural metropolis in Central Germany. The heart of the city beats in which only about one acre, compact center. In the post-1990 carefully restored historic exhibition palaces and passages today Shops, restaurants and cafes in large numbers to stroll and linger. Discover Leipzig ...

Leipzig anniversaries 2015

Fall '89 - Departure to democracy in 2014

Logo Fall '89

The decisive day for the Peaceful Revolution in the GDR was October 9, 1989, as in Leipzig attracted 70,000 protesters shouting "We are the people!" And "No violence!" Around the ring. The October 9, 1989 is understood the most important day of German history. The anniversary is celebrated representative of all people in the GDR, in the autumn of 1989 conquered the streets and a democratic order paved the way. The shape of the "Peaceful Revolution" is unprecedented for such radical upheavals of societal concerns in history.

www.leipzig.de/herbst89

Leipzig 2015 - 1000 Jahre first mention

In the year 1015 Bishop of Merseburg Thietmar immortalized the place "urbe libzi" in his chronicle. 2015 marks the 1000th times so that the first mention of the city of Leipzig. 1000 years Leipzig, which are 1000 years outstanding economic, cultural and civic tradition. 1000 years of the first mention of Leipzig are a reason to celebrate this anniversary in an appropriate form.

The Art in Leipzig

Leipzig comes up with a variety of museums and art scene. In addition to the municipal institutions further range of facilities exist in state, federal and independent agencies.

Some museums give once a month to all interested visitors free admission.

The City History Museum (Altes Rathaus, new construction, and Schiller House) as well as the museums in Grassi (Grassi Museum for Applied Arts, Grassi Museum for Musical Instruments and Grassi Museum of Ethnology) offer first Wednesday of every month, free admission, the Museum of Fine Arts every second Wednesday in the month.

The Bach Museum Leipzig opens every first Tuesday of the month and the Museum of Contemporary Art every Wednesday for free.

Leipzig as a city of music, a great tradition, living presence and international reputation. Important musicians such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Edvard Grieg, Gustav Mahler, Clara and Robert Schumann have worked here, Hanns Eisler and Richard Wagner were born here. In the city there are numerous authentic places the life and work of this important musical personalities.

Leipzig is home to internationally renowned ensembles such as the Gewandhaus Orchestra and St. Thomas Choir, here is also the seat of the orchestra of the Central German Radio. Every year the city hosts an International Bach Festival, every two years the International Bach Competition from. At the University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" studying musical talents from all over the world.

The current music scene in Leipzig is correspondingly wide-ranging - classical, new music, rock, pop, jazz, folk, and much more.

Numerous music festivals - of a capella jazz days and street music to Wave Gotik - enrich the musical life of the city.

Regular Events in Leipzig

Music and Theatre

Mendelssohn Monument (1898), today. Reconstruction as compared to the old Bach memorial in front of the St. Thomas Church

The Leipzig Bach Festival is a music festival that first took place in 1908. Since 1999 it is held annually and is entirely dedicated to the care of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. In addition, the Mendelssohn Festival Leipzig annually organized, take care of the legacy of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in the city. The Richard Wagner Gesellschaft Leipzig 2013 e. V. organized since 2006 by the birthday of the composer Richard Wagner around the Wagner Festival Leipzig days. With the event the memory is to be improved to the composer in his hometown. The Robert and Clara Schumann-Club organized in commemoration of the two year the Schumann week.

The International Chamber Music Festival Leipzig is performed in cooperation with the Gewandhaus since 1996 in November. Within the Classic Open Leipzig outdoor concerts and video broadcasts of concerts in Leipzig city center will take place in August 1995. When held since 1997 concert week International Festival of Vocal Music "a cappella" occur each May internationally renowned and emerging artists on the genre. In October, the Leipzig Jazz Festival are aligned since 1976. They are dedicated to the contemporary jazz and hosted by jazz club leipzig e. V..

The Pop-Up is a spring annual fair since 2001 to the indie-pop culture, which also includes discussion forums and a music festival in Leipzig clubs belong.

Since 2004, the radio station Energy Saxony held twice a year, the Energy Club Zone. Courage is a show since 1998 on the 30th of April-find rock concert in front of the Leipzig Battle Monument, which was created in response to the neo-Nazi marches on May 1.

Wave-Gotik-Treffen (2005)

Since 1991, every year in November, the festival euro-scene Leipzig. It is devoted to the experimental theater and modern dance. The Lachmesse is a European humor and satire Festival, held annually since 1991 in October in Leipzig. It awards endowed with 3500 Euro Kleinkunstpreis Leipzig dandelion.

Festivals and markets


Classic Open on the Augustus Platz (2010)


Spring Klein Exhibition (2006)
About Pentecost Leipzig is annually hosted the four-day Wave Gothic Meeting (WGT), held since 1992, currently regularly attracts up to 30,000 visitors from the black scene in the city and even scene foreign Leipzig and visitors with "less black" events such as the "Viking Camp", the "Pagan village" and several medieval markets pleased.

Every year directed the Leipzig Tourist Service Leipzig city hard from that counts events in Germany with more than 300,000 visitors to the ten largest open air. The Leipziger Messe is a small three times now (twice before) taking place every year folk festival which originated in 1907 as an offshoot of the Leipzig Fair. Until 1935 it was held on the so-called "bird meadow" at the Old Magpie. 1936 the company moved to the Cottaweg, west of the Elster basin. Early 2009, the small exhibition space, however, was renewed, there was a round, paved space for circus and small fair. The Leipzig Christmas market is one of the largest in the eastern states and is aligned since 1767. In autumn, the Intercultural Week takes place here numerous readings, discussions, concerts, etc. organized. The opening concert will be held at St. Nicholas Church and at the same time marks the beginning of Saxony-wide action weeks.

The Saxonia International Balloon Fiesta is a popular balloon festival with European participation. It takes place annually in late July in Leipzig and is visited by more than 130,000 people. The first Fiesta was in 1995 with 5,000 visitors and 100 hot air balloons in the small Saxon town Mügeln instead. In 1996 the event was moved to Leipzig in the recreation area of the Silver Lake, as this is outside of the official flight corridors. The Silver Lake Park is located between the urban areas Lößnigs and lignite landscape of Leipzig Südraumes, currently (as of 2010) revegetated and is transformed. At the event, fighting the hot air balloons in the categories fox hunting, Wide flight and Keygrab.

Since 2009 is intended annually with the Festival of Lights Leipzig Monday demonstration on October 9, 1989. At the first event, 150,000 people took part.

The carnival plays only a minor role in Protestant Leipzig. Since the 1950s emerged with the Leipzig students Carnival, an annual event series. 1992, founded the organizing committee Leipzig Carnival e. V. and directed an annual Rose Sunday procession under the motto Leila helau from.

Architecture in Leipzig

In Leipzig there are some important buildings from the eras of past centuries. Leipzig was a center of civil Baroque and was supplemented, especially in the early days by many public buildings of historicism. Leipzig also has a relatively high proportion of buildings of Art Nouveau. In addition, there are buildings of prewar and postwar modernism in Leipzig.

View over the city of Leipzig from the Battle of the Nations Monument

Nikolai Nikolai Church with memorial pillar to the Peaceful Revolution of 1989

The Russian Memorial Church

religious buildings

A summary of all churches can be found at List of church buildings in Leipzig. Detailed descriptions of religious buildings can be found at churches in Leipzig, former churches and synagogues in Leipzig in Leipzig.

In the city center there are two very well-known churches. The Thomas Church was the workplace of Johann Sebastian Bach and is now enlivened by performances of the St. Thomas Boys Choir. The Gothic building dates mainly from the late 15th century.



St. Boniface Church
The Nikolai church was one of the most important places of prayers for peace and starting point of the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig, a substantial part of the political change in the GDR. It was from 1165, the year of the award of the town law, built in Romanesque style and remodeled in the late Middle Ages into a Gothic hall church. Right next to the Nikolai church is the Old Nikolai School.

In memory of Russian casualties during the Battle of Leipzig in 1913 came the Russian Memorial Church in the so-called Novgorod style of Russian Orthodox churches.

In Leipzig two major churches of classical modernism are found: the Church of Reconciliation in Gohlis- North and the Church of St. Boniface in Conne joke. The 1932 consecrated Church of Reconciliation is one of the most important testimonies of sacred architecture in the style of modern architecture in Germany. The St. Boniface Church is the most important Catholic church to be built between the two world wars in Saxony. The round building in the Art Deco style was built in 1929-30 to commemorate the fallen in the First World War members of the Catholic Mercantile Association.

Historical Buildings
The Leipzig city center consists of very varied views. In the heart of the city dominates the Old Town Hall, a Renaissance building from the years 1556/57. It is noteworthy that this is not axisymmetric built the then rules under in the front view, but divided in the golden ratio. The gerückte from the central axis of the Town Hall tower was considered avant-garde architectural power of that time and stood with the vertebrae and thereby caused an uproar for the urban self-consciousness and the typical desire to always choose its own independent way and to maintain.

Its builder, Hieronymus Lotter - city builder, councilor and mayor - also built the Old scales on the marketplace as well as major parts of the city fortifications. So he constructed the still preserved Moritz Bastion, which was built from 1551 to 1554. It was considered a masterpiece of fortress architecture and impregnable. In the Thirty Years' War, but it was overrun by Swedish troops. Previously was located in the immediate vicinity of the Pleissenburg, which was already in the Smalcald War damaged in the 16th century and partially razed. The New Town Hall is located on the remains of Pleissenburg. It is with its 114 meters high main tower of the largest hall building world. With the strong growth of Leipzig in the 19th century, the city administration needed this larger building, which was completed in 1905.

Much of the inner city is formerly used by the Leipziger Messe trade courtyards, magnificent merchant houses with characteristic passages, dominated. The passages were originally created to save the coaches in the narrow courtyards turning. The oldest surviving Handelshof is Barthel's yard, now restored are Specks Hof or Stenzlers yard. They were used mainly for alignment of trade fairs. The Municipal Department Store and the Handelshof were the first sample fair in the city. Other retailers such as Auerbach's Cellar have been converted early 20th century in malls, as the retreat of the Leipziger Messe from downtown apparent with the construction of the fairgrounds. On the grounds of Auerbach's Cellar is now home to the most magnificent passage of Leipzig, after the Milanese model built from 1912 to 1914 Mädlerpassage. Here is the world-famous by Goethe's Faust Auerbach's cellar.



Old Stock Exchange in Leipzig


Hotel Fürstenhof
In Leipzig there are still many buildings of civil Baroque, which emerged in the prosperous merchant town about the same time as the buildings of the electoral Baroque in Dresden. Immediately behind the Old Town Hall, at the Naschmarkt, there is the built in baroque style Old Stock Exchange, which once served as a meeting building the Leipzig merchants. Wealthy citizens built the Palace of the compact city as the Fregehaus, the Romanus House and the Royal House, which served as a guesthouse of the city council for high-level visitors to the 19th century. Sometimes the building existed before and were rebuilt in the 18th century. In the outskirts of the city Gohliser castle also emerged as a baroque building in civil possession.

Some buildings are reminiscent of the stays and haunts of famous people in Leipzig. So is east of downtown, the Mendelssohn House in which Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, who worked as a composer at the Gewandhaus, lived until his death. Friedrich Schiller also spent a few months in 1785 in Leipzig or in the then still located outside the city limits Gohlis. There is the Schiller house, which is actually a farmhouse. There Schiller worked among other things on the poem Ode to Joy, which was set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven later in his 9th Symphony.



The historicist portal of the Supreme Court building
Leipzig has many important buildings of historicism.

The Battle Monument as one of the most famous landmarks of the city was erected in 1898 as a reminder and monument to the Battle of Nations in 1813. Its architecture is heavily tainted symbol of classical motifs and has an extremely solid by height and thickness of the walls and pillars. The similarity of the Supreme Court building, which was built from 1888 to 1895, the Reichstag building in Berlin is unmistakable. Both are based on designs from the Italian Renaissance and to embody the well-established German Empire through its monumental effect.

The German library marked the end of the pre-war historicism a transition to modernity. Similar to the German Hygiene Museum, the forms remain monumental and towering; the replenishment of the facade was created but comparatively factual. Oskar Pusch designed beside the library and the neoclassical Achillion at the exhibition center in Leipzig. The building of the University Library Albertina is designed as a Neo-Renaissance building highly symmetrical with a central entrance. The Mende Fountain is the largest decorative fountain in Leipzig and was built in 1883 in neo-Baroque style. The Grassi Museum was built until 1929 in a style with echoes of Art Deco and New Objectivity as one of the few German museum buildings in the Weimar Republic in 1925.

Modern and Contemporary Architecture [Edit]


City-Hochhaus Leipzig
Leipzig's modernist architecture is dominated by high-rise buildings. The Krochhochhaus arose 1927-28 as the first skyscraper in Leipzig in reinforced concrete skeleton construction and is one of the few surviving buildings of pre-war Modernism. The simply designed, slim, about 50 meters high tower with a distinctive chime was inspired by the clock tower (clocktower) in Venice. Not far from dominating the City Tower with its 142 meters (155.40 m Total height with antenna support) widely downtown. It was built as a section of the building for the University from 1968 to 1972 and, by its shape as open book a unique symbolism. Until the completion of Colonia-house in 1973 it was the tallest building in Germany.



City skyscraper with Augustus Place
In 1972, the 95 meters high (106.8 m total height) winter garden high house was inaugurated with 31 floors at the main station as the highest residential building in Leipzig. Another architecturally significant tall building at the eastern inner city ring is the 1928-29 in the style of the "New Objectivity" built, 53-meter high European high-rise on the south side of Augustus Square, with the Krochhochhaus the second built in Leipzig skyscraper. The Europa-Haus was Ausgangsbau of 1927 by the then city architect Hubert Ritter submitted, but never realized Ring City concept. This envisaged to expand the city center with a modern edge development with several high-rise buildings on the scale in the 19th century Promenadenring of time and thus to relieve the compact old town core by creating much needed at the time of new commercial space and to preserve its historical buildings

Augustus Square, the eastern border of the city center, is home to the New Gewandhaus and the opera house. Both are modern buildings, which were built on the site of the destroyed in World War II culture worldwide. The Opera House was built in 1956-1960 on the site of the previous building and takes its late classical forms simplified. The building is considered by its combination of tradition and modernity today as a model of socialist architecture of the time. Built on the site of the former Municipal Museum New Gewandhaus concert hall was the only full-fledged reconstruction of the GDR and was one of their most complex construction projects. Striking is the high glass front, on the one massive concrete Sims is set. With the construction of modern houses of culture, another way was chosen in Leipzig than in Berlin and Dresden, where Konzerthaus and Semperoper were rebuilt detail. This was in addition to cost considerations and conceptual reasons, since the former Karl-Marx-Platz in its entirety should receive an embossed embossed design principles of socialist face.

Even the northern inner ring road is flanked by two towers. The nearly 70-meter tower Löhrs Carré (seat of the Sparkasse Leipzig / Sachsen Bank) and the 96-meter-high hotel "The Westin Leipzig" here form an ensemble. The dominant feature of the ring building in the southwest of the city is the 115 meters high tower of the New Town Hall, which is also the tallest town hall tower in Germany.

Traffic and industrial buildings


The concourse of Central Station
Leipzig is still surrounded by a ring railway, which are followed by two end stations. Both stations, the main railway station and the Bavarian station are connected by the City Tunnel. The main railway station is the biggest station in Europe. He stands with a nearly 300-meter-wide historicist facade on the border of downtown and is behind two large reception halls. This arose because the station was formerly divided into Saxon and Prussian part, each had its own reception and waiting hall. Overall, the station has six platforms halls. He was until 1997, painstakingly restored and supplemented on cross-platform to a shopping center. Just to the south of downtown is the established until 1844 Bayerische Bahnhof, the oldest surviving railway terminus in Germany. A striking feature of the station is the viertorige portico for the railroad.

The Buntgarnwerke in Plagwitz are Germany's largest listed industrial building from the early days with more than 100,000 square meters of floor space. To the south lie the Leipzig market halls, jokingly called "Kohlrabizirkus". Today they are home to a skating rink and used as a conference hall.

Leipzig

Leipzig is a county-level city in the Free State of Saxony. It forms a center for business, education and commerce and administration, culture and traffic in central Germany and was on 30 November 2013 with 530,761 inhabitants the largest Saxon city of Dresden city with 530,409 (as at 30 November 2013) and elfgrößte city ​​of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Leipzig is one of the six regional centers of Saxony and, together with the neighboring city of Halle (Saale), the metropolitan area of Leipzig-Halle, in which over a million people live. With Hall and other cities in the states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia Leipzig is the metropolitan region of Central Germany.

After award of the city of law and market privileges around the year 1165, Leipzig developed already during the German Ostsiedlung an important trading center. Leipzig tradition as important trade fair location in Central Europe with one of the oldest fairs in the world dates back to the year 1190 and was closely linked to the long-standing role as an international center of Leipzig fur trade. Therefore Leipzig was officially renamed on 20 December 1937 in Empire city of Leipzig.  In addition to Frankfurt am Main, the city is a historic center of printing and trafficking. Also located in Leipzig one of the oldest universities and the oldest universities both for trade and for music in Germany. Leipzig has a great musical tradition that dates back mainly to the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and is based, inter alia, the importance of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the St. Thomas Boys Choir.

In the course of the Monday demonstrations in 1989, which gave a decisive impetus for the change in the GDR, Leipzig was called Hero City. The informal award for so bold as peaceful use of many citizens of Leipzig Kurt Masur, including in the context of the Nikolai Church in Leipzig coined the reputation of the city  after the turn and is apprehended in city marketing under the slogan "Leipziger Freiheit".

Museums and Exhibitions 

Museums

The Grassi Museum

Because of its history as an old university and trade fair city with a prosperous middle class there in Leipzig, a large number of important collections and exhibitions.

The German Book and Writing Museum German Library in Leipzig is the world's oldest museum specialist for books, pen and paper culture and recalls together with the Museum of the Printing Arts Leipzig to the tradition as a book town. The House of Literature Leipzig offers readings and displays exhibitions.



The Schiller house in Gohlis


Memorial Museum in the "Round Corner"
The University of Leipzig has a number of important collections. Some, such as the Egyptian Museum, the Museum of Ancient Art and the Museum of Musical Instruments, the public are permanently accessible. At the Museum Night of the city of Leipzig, the University presented their teaching collections to a wide audience. The HTWK maintains an automatic Museum.

The City History Museum is located in the Old Town Hall. In addition, it has extensions with the oldest cafe in Germany to Arab Coffe Baum, the Schiller house where Friedrich Schiller spent the summer of 1785, the Sports Museum Leipzig, founded in 1977 and the Battle of the Nations Monument. The Forum of Contemporary History in the inner city is, as a federal institution the Federal Chancellery. It presents the history of Germany from the Second World War to the present with emphasis on the history of the GDR. The Memorial Museum in the "Round Corner" in the former county seat of the Ministry of State Security, the mechanisms of the repressive apparatus operates in the GDR. On the subject of the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig and the surrounding area there are still other museums, such as tin figure museum in the gatehouse Dölitz, the medical and hospital museum Seifertshain, the grains Großzschocher House, the Memorial Museum Liebertwolkwitz and the regional museum in the gatehouse Markham.

In the Grassi Museum complex located next to the Musical Instrument Museum and the Museum of Applied Art and the Museum of Ethnology in Leipzig. The Natural History Museum Leipzig has a large collection of dermoplastics and supplements this range by changing special exhibitions on nature topics. The German allotment gardeners Museum is located in the clubhouse of the 1864 founded, the world's first allotment association.

In Panometers, one built in 1910 and 1977 disused gasometer, the largest panoramic painting in the world is to see. Yadegar Asisi shown here from 2003 to 2005 the panorama 8848Everest360 ° of Mount Everest, 2005 to February 2009 was Rome CCCXII and since March 2009, Amazon was seen.

Established in 2010, Children's Museum Leipzig offers changing exhibitions on topics of interest to children. There is also the Mitspielzeugmuseum a large collection of historic toys from the GDR and the former states of the Soviet bloc.

In memory of the same composers and musicians exist exhibitions in the Schumann and Mendelssohn House, and the Bach Archive and the Bach Museum.

Furthermore, there is the Saxon Psychiatry Museum, the Saxon Pharmacy Museum, the School Museum, the Railway Museum, the Crime Museum of the Middle Ages, the Supreme Court Museum and the camera and photo museum.

The private museum house of computer games has no fixed premises, but reached a traveling exhibition at fairs and festivals annually hundreds of thousands of visitors.

Visual Arts
To promote the art and to discuss the Free Academy of the Arts was founded in Leipzig along the lines of the Free Academy of the Arts in Hamburg on 17 June 1992.

The Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1837 by the Leipziger Kunstverein has one of the most impressive collections of images of Germany, which shows about 58,500 exhibits from the late Middle Ages to modern, including some exhibits of the New Leipzig School, whose most famous representative comfortable Neo Rauch is. The Gallery of Contemporary Art, founded in 1990 complemented this offer with changing exhibitions of modern and contemporary art.

Opened in May 2005 in the cotton mill in Lindenau a gallery center. Eleven commercial and two non-commercial art spaces presenting contemporary works. About 80 performers entertain on the premises studios. Other commercial art centers are located in the wallpaper factory in Leipzig, the old trade school with the Leipzig School of Design (LSOD) and the plant on the West Karl Heine Canal. In addition, there are in the urban area numerous other galleries, art associations and temporary projects, which provide a lively exhibitions.

The University has a permanent exhibition of pieces from her art collection. Furthermore, the Sparkasse Leipzig operates an art gallery.

Musical Life 
Orchestra


The Neues Gewandhaus
The Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the most internationally renowned orchestra. As the oldest civilian concert band in Germany it was founded in 1781. The Gewandhaus has three venues: the Gewandhaus, Leipzig Opera and the St. Thomas Church. Chief conductors have included Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Václav Neumann, Kurt Masur and Herbert Blomstedt, Riccardo Chailly since 2005, the Office of the Gewandhaus Orchestra (principal conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra) holds. Ulf Schirmer is since the season 2009/10 General Music Director of the Leipzig Opera. The Last of Bach Collegium Musicum was founded in 1979 by members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. As a "historic Bach Orchestra" it combines modern instruments and "historical" style of play, it is led by Albrecht winter since 2003.

The MDR Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1924 as the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra. Occurred while the successor to the existing since 1915 Orchestra of the concert association. In 1925 it was taken over by the then Central German Broadcasting AG and widely known as Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra. Was principal conductor Herbert Kegel, among other things, today Kristjan Järvi conducts the orchestra. After the founding of the Central German Radio in 1991 it received its present name. The composed of musicians of the Radio Symphony Orchestra and from 1970 to 1993 existing group New Musik Hanns Eisler was one of the most important interpreters of new music in the DDR. Members of the group founded in 1990, the Forum of Contemporary Music in Leipzig. Furthermore, until 1993, was the Leipzig Consort and is since 1992 the ensemble Sortisatio support new music in Leipzig.

The Capella Fidicinia was founded by Hans Greet 1957 at the Museum of Musical Instruments at the University of Leipzig. The Chamber Orchestra will perform works by old masters on original instruments. The Academic Orchestra Leipzig in 1954 by Horst Förster launched at the University of Leipzig in life that guides it today. There is an annual 6 "Academic concerts" in the great hall of the Gewandhaus.

The Leipzig University Orchestra was founded in 2003 as a student in Leipzig orchestra. It is staffed by students and is a great symphony concert per semester as well as chamber music evenings. The Pauline Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1992 and stood until 2004 under the direction of Wolfgang Unger. It is the university choir with modern instruments. The Pauline Baroque Ensemble was formed in 1994 from the Pauline chamber orchestra out and play music exclusively on historical instruments.

The Youth Orchestra of the Leipzig School of Music is also one of the better known of the Leipzig orchestra scene.

The Leipzig Chamber Orchestra consists of musicians who study at the University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig or have completed. Established in 2001 orchestra maintains an extensive repertoire among other concerts in the Great Hall of the Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Konzerthaus Berlin. Concert tours have taken the ensemble including China and India. The Chamber Orchestra is working under the direction of Michael Köhler.

The Leipzig String Quartet was founded in 1988 by former students of the Leipzig Academy of Music and Drama and later members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. There is now an internationally recognized part of the chamber music scene.

The Ensemble Avantgarde to the composer and pianist Steffen Schleiermacher was until 2007 an association of musicians of various Leipzig orchestra, which was dedicated to the music of the 20th century. It founded the concert series Musica Nova at the Leipzig Gewandhaus.