Leipzig: Bach to Bauhaus
By Robert Veel
8 August 2022 (updated 01.01.2023 to reflect the authorship of Robert Veel)
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1990 and Germany was reunified, the former East German Republic experienced an economic and tourist boom that is yet to wane. A revitalised Berlin and the historic Saxon capital of Dresden received the most attention and these cities continue to attract the most visitors. However, in recent years it has been Leipzig that has risen in the ranks – not only as one of the most economically vibrant and liveable cities in Europe (earning itself the nickname “Hypezig”), but also receiving belated recognition for its immense cultural heritage. Travellers with a love of music and architecture in particular are in for a treat if they choose to make Leipzig their base for exploring this beautiful corner of Germany.
A walkable city
Like Florence, Barcelona and other ‘second’ cities of Europe, the historic core of Leipzig is an eminently walkable place. The city centre is largely car-free and many of its pleasures can be experienced by simply strolling around the city or at most taking a short journey on the excellent bus, tram and subway network. Over a number of days you can choose to follow in the footsteps of famous musicians, writers and thinkers, visit a selection of fine museums or admire Leipzig’s remarkable architecture, particularly that of the boom years from 1870 to 1914, encompassing the National Romantic and Jugendstil movements. Because Leipzig is at heart a market town, there is no shortage of shops, restaurants, bars and cafes to enjoy in between cultural activities.
Commerce and culture
The energy and dynamism one senses in Leipzig today come from two longstanding influences. The city is first mentioned in documents in 1015, and by 1165 it hosted an important trade fair. Leipzig occupied a strategic position at the intersection of trade routes and at the confluence of three navigable rivers. Today the vast Leipzig Messe has been relocated away from the city centre, but it survives as the world’s oldest trade fair still in operation. Unless you’re on a business trip, you’re unlikely to venture out to the trade fair, but you will be impressed by the commercial architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century hof in the city centre – elegant multi-storied shopping arcades with wonderful ornamental and structural detailing. A morning wandering through Speck’s Hof and other turn-of-the century treasures is highly recommended .
Leipzig’s university was founded in 1409 and is still going strong today, creating a palpable sense of intellectual sophistication to complement the commercial vibrancy. As well as attracting major cultural figures of the past, the presence of the university continues to ensure there is a ready audience for music, art and theatre in the city. Leipzig remains a major centre of publishing and the National Library, founded in Leipzig in 1912, is located just to the south of the city centre.
St Nikolai’s in Leipzig, a great place to hear a performance of Bach
Bach and beyond – historical sites and live performances
If you’ve sung in a choir or just enjoy baroque music, then sites associated with Johann Sebastian Bach will be high on your must-see list. Bach spent 27 years in Leipzig, as choirmaster at St Thomas’s Church and as musical director at a number of principal churches, and most of his best-known works come from this long period. It is not an exaggeration to describe admiration for Bach as a cult, and the epicentre of this cult is St Thomas’s Church. Behind the altar is Bach’s tomb, and the choir he directed for so many years still performs his cantatas every Saturday afternoon. Across the square there is a dedicated Bach Museum, housed in the townhouse of one of Bach’s patrons. (Bach’s own house was sadly demolished in 1902.) As well as displays exploring the composer’s life, this institution holds the Bach archives, and is thus a major resource for music scholars. Because St Thomas’s is famous and everybody who comes to Leipzig wants to visit, the experience can seem a bit hackneyed. Rather than squeeze into a wooden pew for the Saturday-afternoon cantata, you might get more from an evening concert, or seek out a performance at the Nikolai Church (pictured above), just a few minutes away from St Thomas’s. Several of Bach’s major works premiered here and the church’s origins date back to the twelfth century.
Of course, Bach was not the only important German cultural figure to have strong connections to Leipzig. Felix Mendelssohn was director of the city’s renowned Gewandhaus Orchestra for 12 years, from 1835-47. Although known to us as a composer, Mendelssohn was a gifted pianist, conductor and musical innovator. He performed concerti by Mozart, Beethoven and Bach to great acclaim and premiered important works by Schumann and others during his Leipzig years. Today you can sample this heritage by visiting the excellent house museum where Felix and his sister Fanny lived in the last two years of his life. If you can, time your visit for a Sunday morning, when there is a short recital in Mendelssohn’s drawing room.
Inside the Gewandhaus in the 19th century
The Gewandhaus Orchestra is Leipzig’s leading musical institution and its extensive program includes not only orchestral concerts, but a full range of chamber, vocal, choral and instrumental performances. Except for a six-week summer break from mid-July until the end of August, there are performances just about every day, sometimes several a day, and tickets are well-priced. The DDR-period brutalist architecture of the modern-day Gewandhaus is hard to love, but it has excellent acoustics and sightlines and is an eminently practical building with easy access and a very central position, as well as great heating and cooling. A concert here – or several – is an essential Leipzig experience for the cultural traveller.
One of Germany’s greatest cultural figures, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, studied law at Leipzig from 1765 to 1768. Goethe was a hopeless student, preferring poetry, the company of young women and carousing at Auerbachs Keller to the rote learning of ancient legal codes. Perhaps the best way to experience the Goethe connection is to call in at Auerbachs Keller for a traditional German meal. Auerbachs’ origins stretch back to 1438 and Goethe set the first act of his famous drama Faust at the tavern, having learned about the Faust legend from paintings hanging at Auerbachs and the Faust-themed puppet shows once performed in Leipzig. (Spoiler alert – the Auerbachs Keller you visit today is on the original site, but dates from 1902.)
One of the greatest names in German music, Richard Wagner, was born in Leipzig, where his father was a local policeman. His first experiences listening to orchestral music were at the Gewandhaus and he studied composition at Leipzig University. Wagner attended the school attached to the Nikolai Church, and today Wagner’s classroom has been converted to a small museum with excellent audio-visual displays.
A youngish Wagner fled Leipzig to escape creditors, but perhaps the best way to celebrate his Leipzig connections is to attend a performance at the highly-regarded Leipzig Opera. Don’t be put off by the 1960s communist-era architecture, the house has an excellent reputation and Wagner’s works are regularly performed, including a season of all Wagner’s operas in July 2022.
ART AND DESIGN
With its prosperity and deep intellectual roots, it’s no surprise to learn that Leipzig is home to some excellent museums. Head to the city centre to visit the Museum of Fine Arts, whose collection spreads across the original 1858 building and an adjoining modern ‘white cube’. The Museum’s collection reflects Leipzig’s chequered twentieth-century history, with an impressive historical collection featuring works by Frans Hals, Lucas Cranach and an entire floor devoted to Max Klinger and Max Beckmann, but little work from the 1919-1990 period. It makes up for this lacuna with excellent temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, both German and international.
However it is the Grassi Museum of Applied Arts, just beyond the Gewandhaus on the edge of the city centre, where you should spend the most time. Named after its founding benefactor, Franz Dominic Grassi, the campus actually comprises three institutions, an ethnographic museum, a museum of musical instruments and the applied arts museum. The applied arts section displays domestic and industrial design covering a 3,000-year period, and is one of Europe’s most significant collections. The building housing the Grassi Museum is a destination in its own right. It is a fine and rare example of a ‘total work of art’ from the period of the Weimar Republic, designed along Bauhaus principles by Josef Albers and others.
The new Gewandhaus
Parks and urban cool
If you’ve got the time and the energy, the outskirts of Leipzig are well worth exploring and offer a refreshing change from the city centre. There is a surprising green belt on the city edge which follows the course of the rivers and canals that envelope the city. Find yourself deep in an urban forest at Clara Zetkin Park, just a 15-minute ride on the #1 tram from Leipzig’s main railway station. Just a little further out, the former industrial district of Plagwitz (#3 or #34 tram from the station) has undergone a radical regeneration, with sites such as the Spinnerei, once the largest cotton mill in Europe, now a hotspot of galleries, designers, architects and cafes.
Day trips from Leipzig
Thanks to its strategic position and excellent transport connections, it’s easy to explore other significant towns and cities on day trips from Leipzig. Music lovers should spend at least half a day in Halle, less than 30 minutes away. The birthplace of Georg Friedrich Händel has a small but interesting house museum exploring his life and work, but make sure you don’t miss the excellent survey of German twentieth-century art (including the Nazi period) in Halle’s Moritzburg Castle.
The famed art city of Dresden is just over an hour by train. Here you can explore the outstanding art gallery of the prince-electors of Saxony, make a booking to see the jewel collection at the legendary Green Vault, enjoy the historic architecture in the old city or perhaps attend a matinée performance at Dresden’s Semper Oper.
Fans of European history should head to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Wittenberg, less than 30 minutes to the north of Leipzig. The city has strong connections to Martin Luther, and you can visit the monastery where Luther lived and the church on whose door he nailed his 95 theses in 1517, as well as tour the museum and monuments commemorating this great reformer.
The German capital Berlin is also just over an hour away, although there’s far too much to see in a single day, so take this trip only if you have a specific site or event in mind.
Drinking and dining
In most evenings Leipzig’s pedestrian-only city centre comes alive with strollers, diners and drinkers. The restaurant scene reflects modern German society, with reasonable-to-good quality Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese and Indian restaurants to be found along Nikolaistrasse, just up from the eponymous church. You’ll also find small bars, coffee shops and intriguing cabaret bars here.
The precinct around the old town hall and the Market Square is a little more raucous. In the summer months the square turns into a vast beer garden and you’ll find young Leipzigers and visitors flocking to nearby ‘Barefoot Alley’ (named after the poverty-obedient monks who used to occupy the site) for a beer on tap and bar food. Leipzig also has a brace of Michelin-listed dining establishments, such as Asian-fusion Planerts in Nikolaistrasse and elegant Stadtpfeiffer, adjacent to the Gewandhaus on Augustusplatz.
