It’s always hard to fill the shoes of someone who used to do your job very well. If you’re the choirmaster at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, guess whose shoes you have to fill? Bach’s. (No pressure.) Leipzig is closely connected to classical music—Wagner was born here, and Mendelssohn established a conservatory here in 1843. If you’re more of a melancholy, contemporary type, visit during the Wave-Gotik-Treffen, billed as the world’s largest "dark" (Goth, industrial, punk, etc.) music festival.
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5.0 based on 2 reviews
4.5 based on 2,081 reviews
Largest war memorial in Europe
There is a bit of walking, but this was the highlight of my week. With the audio guide it was like re experiencing a history I knew little about. I usually avoid war memorials, but this one seemed so appropriate. It is hard to believe that very soon after this was erected (100 years after the actual battle), W.W. I began. When will they ever learn?
4.0 based on 137 reviews
This impressive memorial to writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stands in the city's famous Market Square.
I was taken on a tour of Leipzig with a professional tour guide who explained much of the history to the group. The statue shows Goethe looking towards the university where he was meant to study, but if you look a little longer you'll notice his feet are pointing in another direction. He's walking to a bar of some kind, where he would meet with his girlfriends. He wasn't one for studying. On the right of the statue is shown a picture of a girl who is apparently not so pretty, but very clever. This was the girl for his mind and intellect. On the other side of the statue is a picture of another girl, who is more pretty. This was the girl for his heart. That's what my tour guide told me. I was also told some more about Goethe, but I won't spoil it all. The memorial is definitely worth a look if you're in the area!
4.0 based on 63 reviews
The memorial is not far from St Thomas Church, but across a ring road and so at least technically just out of the town center - also difficult, for me at least, to find. A Jewish friend whose father managed to escape Leipzig in the 1930s had asked me to find and photograph anything that might have something to do with the holocaust, I'd read about this, thinking it would be perfect, but got lost. After searching for it on my own I admitted to myself that couldn't find it, went to the TI and asked, found the ring road, crossed, but began to think, "Okay, I'm in the area, but how do I find the mem..." and then I stumbled upon rows of chairs in a small park. A Temple had stood here once, thus the chairs, 140 of them standing for the 14,000 Jewish who had lost their lives in the city. The park is a quiet haven from the bustling city, I heard a few birds chirping, saw the memorial plaques in German, English and Hebrew and stayed rather longer than I'd thought I would, caught up in the the nightmare conveyed in so clear and uncomplicated a manner. I should add that the city's important historical spots are well marked, with signs leading toward them. I found none such for this. A mistake I think. It's definitely worth at least a short visit.
4.0 based on 122 reviews
The statue is about the famous cellar where Goethe has written Faust... there are two statues on two sides of the passage... Statues are quite nice by themselves.... However, if you are into Faust... definitely a place to see...
4.0 based on 20 reviews
So yes, multi media exhibits (special mention must go to the multi-track presentation where one can conduct and re-mix the recordings, as you follow the scores!) auf Deutsch and in English, occasional concerts (though with limited seating on account of the virus), a very friendly staff, and of course the history of Mendelssohn. Just very well done. Even if you’ve never heard of him, it’s worth the visit.
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