Saxonia International Balloon Fiesta
by Leipzig
It has been a tradition since ten years that hot air balloon drivers meet in Leipzig for the "Saxonia International Balloon Fiesta". This year (2004) about 140 ballons from seven countries can be admired at the Silbersee, in the south of Leipzig. Highlights are the "Fuchsjagd" (fox hunt), the "Ballonglühen" (glowing of the balloons) and the "Dance of the Ballons".
This year the fest takes place from July 28 to August 1. It is possible to join a ride in one of the ballons.
Here you see some impressions of the "Ballonglühen" and the Dance of the Ballons as well as the fireworks on Thursday.
Gohliser Schloss
by german_eagle
This mansion (locals refer to it as "Schlösschen", the diminutive of "palace") is a gem of Saxon Rococo architecture. Built 1755/56 for the merchant Johann Caspar Richter and re-decorated inside by Adam F. Oeser in the 1770s it is the only remaining of dozens of such mansions.
A jewel is the festive hall with a very beautiful fresco by Oeser on the ceiling. Also very beautiful is the garden which is mostly accessible (free) during the day time (restaurant in the garden wing).
They often host classical concerts (see website). Guided tours on Wednesdays 3 pm and Sundays 11 am, otherwise the mansion is closed.
Auerbachs Keller
by Leipzig
Auerbachs Keller was built between 1530 and 1538. J.W.Goethe liked to stay there and wrote on his masterwork 'Faust' there and let one scene play in this tavern. A Statue in front of the entrance remembers the ride on a wine barrel.
The prices for dishes are higher then in the restaurants around but you definitely have the best flair here.
I recommend to book in advance to avoid waiting to long to get in.
As it is, and as it could have been
by Nemorino
Although I like the Leipzig Opera House and always feel right at home there when I attend an opera, I can't help regretting that they didn't build it they way it was sketched by the architect Hans Scharoun (1893-1972) in his proposal for the first architectural competition in 1950. To get some idea of what his building might have been like, take a tour of the magnificent Philharmonie concert hall that he built a decade later in Berlin.
Scharoun's proposal for the Leipzig Opera house was unfortunately way ahead of its time in 1950. Stalin, who hated modern art and architecture, was still alive and ruling with an iron hand. Nobody in Eastern Europe would have dared to risk Stalin's wrath by building a light, airy, modern opera house, certainly not the East German leader at the time, Walter Ulbricht.
A quarter of a century later both Stalin and Ulbricht were dead, so the city of Leipzig was able to get away with building a beautiful modern concert hall (see next tip) on the same square facing the opera house.
Voelkerschlachtdenkmal
by chicabonita
I guess everything about the monument is already said. We went there early in the morning on Sunday (is 9am to early?) to notice that it only opens at 10 am. So we couldn't climb up to the top just to the middle. But from there we already had a good view over the city.
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interior of Restaurant Weinstock
The Tin Can
View southeast towards Völkerschlachtdenkmal
Faust and Mephisto
