September 2, 2024, 3:36 pm | Read time: 6 minutes
Leipzig is still a secret among foreign tourists. However, the city, which is located in Saxony, is still underestimated by some German tourists. Here are eleven good reasons to visit Leipzig.
1. The nightlife!
Whether Leipzig is the better Berlin, as is often claimed, remains to be seen. But the fact is that the city, which is barely more than an hour’s train ride from Berlin, has long been regarded as the capital’s cool little sister. Although the spontaneous, not entirely legal parties in particular make the headlines time and again, you don’t have to be an insider to enjoy yourself when you visit Leipzig. In Südvorstadt, for example, one pub follows the next.
2. They are heroes!
The people of Leipzig forced the fall of the system with their Monday demonstrations in 1989. They were even awarded the German National Prize for their efforts. Away from the commemorative days, you can follow in the footsteps of recent history through the heroic city and visit the Nikolai Church and the Museum in the Round Corner.
3. The city attracts the weirdest crowds
Every year at Whitsun, the country’s goths meet for the Wave Gotic Treffen in Leipzig. Dress code: black, white and shrill. In March, for the book fair, manga fans from all over Germany visit Leipzig to flock to the exhibition halls – not so much to read, but rather to mingle with like-minded people in the costume of their fantasy heroes. And then it gets colorful.
4. Oases everywhere!
What Central Park is to New Yorkers, Clara Park is to Leipzigers, or, more precisely, Clara Zetkin Park. Not only is it just as centrally located, it is also relatively large. The best place to head for is Sachsenbrücke because this is where the young people gather. There’s music and street food, and if you don’t have your own beer with you, you might even get one for free – from the nice guys back there on the railings. If the bridge is too busy for you, you are guaranteed to find a quiet place to picnic and relax in the park.
5. Everyone finds their own island here
And sometimes new ones are even created, like here in Lake Störmthal. Vineta is the name of the artificial island, which is intended to commemorate the place that fell victim to open-cast mining at this location and features a replica of the village church. Incidentally, the open-cast mining holes have now been flooded, and the new lakes are gradually being opened to bathers.
6. There are even hills!
Well, at least one, the Fockeberg. The hill in Leipzig’s southern suburbs is a classic rubble dump created from building rubble after the end of the Second World War and offers an exceptional view of Leipzig’s city center. Families come to the Fockeberg for picnics. Night owls enjoy a glass of wine or a beer there. The Fockeberg is also the venue for a soapbox race – the “Prix de Tacot.”
7. The sun!
Leipzig recorded more hours of sunshine than other major cities can boast. It has recorded more sun than Munich, Berlin, and Cologne/Bonn. Even Dresden has fewer. And the great thing is that there are numerous places in Leipzig where you can enjoy the sun (see above).
8. Where what belongs together grows together
The harbor in Leipzig’s Lindenau district has a very morbid charm and tells a piece of industrial history. The warehouse and storage buildings were used until the 1990s but have since fallen into disrepair. The unique feature: it was not accessible by water, so it hasn’t served as a port until now. A waterway connection to the Karl Heine Canal was only flooded at the beginning of 2017. From the summer, the harbor should now also be accessible by boat. But anyone who wants to experience the dilapidated charm of this forgotten place will have to hurry: A marina is to be built there in the next few years.
9. Neo Rauch!
He is the most successful visual artist in the country – and lives, of course, in Leipzig. He doesn’t want to leave; why should he? Incidentally, he has his studio in the Baumwollspinnerei in Leipzig. And even if you don’t run into the artist there, it’s always worth taking a walk around the former factory site. The best place to sleep is right there: in the extremely spacious and cool rooms of the Pension Meisterzimmer.
10. The people of Leipzig are helpful and hospitable
They are predominantly cheerful and rarely moody, and the people of Leipzig are also known for their helpfulness and hospitality. So if Leipzig makes you think of the former “Tatort” detectives Saalfeld and Keppler, who were actually a bit grumpy, you’re mistaken: don’t let that lead you down the wrong path – instead, let yourself be infected by the Leipzigers’ joie de vivre!
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11. More than a thousand years of Leipzig!
Leipzig is mentioned all the time. This is not just in the national press but increasingly in the international press, too. There is talk of a boom, an upswing, of the New Leipzig School and, above all, that Leipzig is actually much cooler than Berlin, the secret party capital, an Eldorado for young people. Incidentally, Leipzig was first mentioned more than 1000 years ago in the chronicles of Bishop Thietmar. This anniversary was celebrated in 2015.
The German original of this article was published in 2017.