Leipzig Cultural Center Blends Old and New

Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1903) statue stands at Naschmarkt.

Leipzig’s town center is a wonder. Its narrow streets remain as they were from the city's earliest beginnings and are a pleasure to stroll through. The city avoided major damage during World War II and was spared the drab reconstruction of other East German urban centers of the communist era. The famous German poet Goethe called the city “Little Paris,” and his renowned work “Faustus” was inspired by a Leipzig tavern called “Auerbach’s Cellar, ” which is still located in the Mädler Passage, the city’s most beautiful shopping arcade. The longtime home of composer Johann Sebastian Bach, Leipzig has been recognized as one of Europe's most dynamic cities culturally, offering the visitor an enormous array of classical music performances, ballet, satirical cabarets and small theaters. Leipzig is a mixture of village and metropolis.

Leipzig has always been known as a hospitable city. It was in Leipzig that international trade fairs first started and the Leipzig Trade Fairs continue to attract visitors from all over the world. As a consequence, the city has many quality hotels from which to choose. In addition to tourists, thousands of students come to Leipzig every year to study at the University of Leipzig, the second-oldest university in Germany, founded in 1409.

With so many people passing through, it is no wonder that coffee houses became popular meeting places in the city as early as1695, years before the first Starbucks. The “Coffe Baum” is the oldest surviving coffee house and restaurant in Europe that has remained in continuous operation. It has been argued that the Enlightenment emerged from the introduction of the caffeine filled brew to Europe. It has been suggested the potent potable from Africa and the Americas led to spirited debate and thinking in Europe's cultural centers.

Leipzig’s “Zum Coffe Baum” café, the oldest coffee house in Germany, has been serving coffee since 1711.

Shopping is a delight. To sample an American-style mall in Germany, try the Central Railway Station. In 1998, the massive historic station was renovated with a grand retail “Promenade”. In town, visitors can explore a veritable maze of interior retail passageways that house a surprising variety of merchandise – from upscale clothes to handmade German Christmas decorations. The Mädler Passage, which continues in the Messehofpassage through to Peterstrasse, offers a section of luxury shops and boutiques. During the summer months, the city feels almost Mediterranean as festivals are held in the major squares that fill up with decorative concession tents and outdoor eateries.

Popular with locals and visitors alike are the open-air markets of fresh produce at the market square on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Wherever you go, the merchants don’t pressure the casual shopper. Leipzigers have a “laid back” attitude about selling, perhaps a habit left over from the communist period. It is a welcome change for travelers familiar with other parts of Europe.

The historic heart of the city might be the St. Thomas Church, the nearly 800-year-old former home of Johann Sebastian Bach and the famous St. Thomas’ Boys Choir. The town's modern soul might be found at St. Nikolai’s Church, the site of “Prayer Meetings” that ignited the “Peaceful Revolution” and the fall of the communist state.

One of Germany’s most beautiful Renaissance buildings is the Old Town Hall, which is today used as a Museum of City History. Leipzig’s international reputation as a city of music is closely associated with the Gewandhaus, with Germany’s oldest civic orchestra, and the Leipzig Opera, dating back to 1693. It is the second oldest musical stage in the country.

The modern new city museum that is now under construction despite its current financial difficulties is a testament to the special appreciation for the arts that is characteristic of Leipzigers. Many smaller museums are also there, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Gallery of Contemporary Arts, Museum of Natural History, and the Bach Museum. Almost as a reminder of a recent past history under communism, visitors can also see the Stasi Museum containing the then-secret files meticulously kept on the city’s own citizens.

Mädler Passage, one of many beautiful shopping arcades in Leipzig.

Leipzig is the largest city in Eastern Germany after Berlin. Yet it has a compactness to it. “I love it here,” says Doris Benner, an attorney who moved from Western Germany to Leipzig in the mid-1990’s and represents American individuals and businesses, among others, before German courts. “There is always so much to see and do.” The city’s growing reputation as a place brimming with business opportunity has attracted many young professionals like Benner over the past five years. The influx of this new generation has given this historic city a new up-to-date look and feel. There is a sense of confidence about the future.

Leipzig is literally a bridge between past and future, an idea that one sees reflected in the choreographic style of the Leipzig Ballet Company director, Uwe Scholz. The birthplace of Wagner is becoming a leading center of Eastern Germany for commerce, technology, research, media and high art.

Despite many financial challenges, economic slowdowns and social changes, Leipzigers continue to show great pride in their city. Visitors soon learn not to make the mistake of comparing Leipzig and Dresden, the Saxon Capital City. There is also a self-confidence, an optimism that may be based not only on its rich heritage as a center of culture and learning but also on a recognition that the city has a great deal to offer.

Four years ago, commented one Leipziger, German banks were not investing in the city. Over the past two years, private banks have been investing hundreds of millions of marks in the city. The investment trends continue as word spreads about the unique opportunities in Leipzig.

American visitors, investors, and others who come to Germany would do well to include this fascinating place on their next trip to this part of Europe. However, time is short. Leipzig may be on the verge of being rediscovered by the rest of the world.—