Leipzig is not just a city of trade fairs and exhibitions, the publishing city or the former place of work of Johann Sebastian Bach. Leipzig has both remarkable historic monuments and contemporary architecture by internationally well-known architects. Please join us on our architectural journey of discovery through Leipzig.
The city’s Baroque bourgeois town houses were exquisitely renovated during recent years in line with the criteria for the protection of historic monuments. We will start our tour at the Market Square, passing Naschmarkt with the Old Stock Exchange and will say "Hallo" to Johann Wolfgang Goethe.
Since their renovation the houses in the Katharinenstrasse have gained their old grandeur.
A stroll through the unique arcades and trade fair buildings will remind you of the city's centuries-old tradition as an exhibition centre. The Municipal Department Store was a pilot project for the Sample Fair. From here, the Sample Fair in Europe was launched. The Maedler Passage arcade, built between 1912 and 1914, is of outstanding historic-architectural importance. A specific architectural feature is the imposing inner courtyard of the Hansa House.
The two large city parish churches of St. Nicholas and St. Thomas are known far beyond national boundaries – and this not just for their historic-architectural significance. Between 1723 and 1750, the famous Thomas Cantor Johann Sebastian Bach worked in the Church of St. Thomas. In the autumn of 1989, the Church of St. Nicholas became the starting point of the peaceful revolution in the former GDR.
Historic monuments and contemporary design harmonise flawlessly with each other in Leipzig: The latest urban development demonstrates this with many examples, such as the new Museum of the Fine Arts, the Gallery for Contemporary Art and the College of Music and Theatre.
The city of Leipzig is very receptive to modern architecture. Virtually everything is permitted in Leipzig, as long as it conforms to a high standard.
Numerous new buildings have been given remarkable attention in the international specialist press in recent years. We start our tour at the KPMG administration building followed by the MDR-TV-Centre, which was integrated in an old slaughterhouse. Many other buildings such as the New Leipzig Fair Exhibition Centre, the Porsche Works or the new BMW Works attract visitors from many countries interested in architecture.
Leipzig's architectural uniqueness lies in the fact that a rich collection of Wilhelminian-style architecture, that is to say buildings dating from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, has survived here. Apart from the prestigious buildings, there are extensive residential areas. More than 15,000 cultural monuments are recorded in the Leipzig list of monuments among which are many important Wilhelminian-style buildings and villas in the Waldstrassenviertel and Musikviertel.
In recent years, a unique change has taken place in the former industrial suburb of Plagwitz. Where in the past were smoking chimneys and environmental protection was just a foreign term, artists with an alternative style of living and working have settled and are about to realize their dreams. Weekend sailors navigate their boats along the attractive waterways and living close to the workplace is being revived.
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