The Peaceful Revolution
by Nemorino
At several places in downtown Leipzig there are text-panels with information about the events of October and November 1989.
This one in front of the opera house describes the "Day of Decision" on 9 October 1989.
"After the peace prayers in four Leipzig churches, more than 70,000 citizens demonstrated against the SED regime [SED = Socialist Unity Party of Germany, the ruling party of the East German state] with the slogans "No Violence" and "We are the People", in spite of their great fear of armed clashes. The assembled 8,000 armed forces (police, members of fighting groups and soldiers of the National People's Army) withdrew in face of the demonstrating masses.
The peaceful course of the 9th of October was considered a victory over the regime. From now on the protests spread out over the entire country. The SED, however, spent the next few weeks preparing to break up the demonstrations by force. At the same time, the party conducted "Dialogue" meetings in an attempt to end the demonstrations by establishing a long-overdue dialogue with the citizens.
In the following weeks the number of demonstrators increased steadily. On the 6th of November 400,000 people demonstrated for democratic change. Hundreds of thousands kept on demonstrating even after the opening of the Wall on November 9th."
Gutenbergschule
by Kathrin_E
Gutenbergschule – as you may guess from the name – is a training school for all professions around the production of books: printer, bookbinder… Leipzig has always (that is, since the invention of letterpress printing) been a city of the book. Before the war countless editors had their seat here. After the war many of them reopened their businesses in the West. Leipzig is also the seat of the national library, which got a sister in the West after the war with the new Deutsche Bibliothek in Frankfurt; since the reunification the two cooperate. Leipzig’s book fair which takes place every year in March is still a renowned event, though much smaller than the one in Frankfurt.
I am mentioning Gutenbergschule here for the architecture freaks. The building is an example of purest Bauhaus style.
Location: Gutenbergplatz, east of Johannisfriedhof
Getting there by plane
by Leipzig
Leipzig-Halle Airport (LEJ) is around 20 kilometres (12,5 miles) north-west of the city near Schkeuditz. Shuttle bus services operate between the airport and the city every half hour and a direct rail link is currently under construction. Taxis and rental cars are available at the airport.
RyanAir operates between London and Leipzig-Altenburg (AOC) once a day, and between Bratislava and Altenburg every second Sunday. Price for a cheap flight ticket variies between 2.99 to 29.99 Euro. The airport Leipzig-Altenburg lies 40 km south of Leipzig. Taxis and shuttle bus service to the next train station are available at the airport. The fare is 12.00 Euro one way from Altenburg station to Leipzig terminal station.
Take a tour of the opera house
by Nemorino
Twice so far I have been lucky enough to be in Leipzig on one of those Saturday afternoons when they offer a tour of the opera house. These tours are listed on their website, but you have to phone up to reserve a place. The cost is EUR 5.00.
Unlike the tour of the Semper Opera in Dresden, the Leipzig tour concentrates on the backstage and below-stage areas of the opera house, starting with their small but unique lighting museum in the basement.
See my travelogue "Behind the scenes in Leipzig" for more photos and details of this tour.
Neus Rathaus
by Mariajoy
The enormous town hall built in 1899-1905 is a wonderful blend of various architectural styles including Renaissance, Baroque and Jugendstil. It contains over 600 rooms and is topped with a 114m high cupola in the centre, which itself is over 7 storeys tall!. It is built in Rottenbacher Muschelkalk grey stone and was designed by Hugo Licht.
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Marche
Cute and tasty - the homemade chocolate heaven
Nikolaikirche
Kroch-Hochhaus
