Peterskirche

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Alte Peterskirche (Old St. Peter's Church)
Schletterstraße
Leipzig, September 2024

“Old St. Peter's Church (German: Alte Peterskirche) is a Lutheran parish and church in the old town of Leipzig, Germany. The present church building, in Gothic Revival style, was erected from 1882 onwards at the Gaudigplatz, and also serves as a concert venue. It replaced a former building at a different location. The former building was built in 1507. After the Reformation, it was used as a Lutheran church until 1539, and again from 1712 to 1885. It was demolished in 1886. With 87 metres (285 ft) it is Leipzig's tallest church.” (St. Peter, Wikipedia)

Synagogendenkmal

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Synagogue Memorial by Sebastian Helm and Anna Dilengite, 2001
Gottschedstraße / Zentralstraße
Leipzig, September 2024

“On the site of the Moorish synagogue stands today the Holocaust memorial. This powerful installation is made of 140 empty bronze chairs, representing the 14.000 Jews who once prayed there and outlining the floor plan of the destroyed synagogue.” (Leipzig, The Cultural Guide to Jewish Europe) “The site of the former synagogue had served as a parking lot and the site of a transformer station for decades. After the city of Leipzig acquired the property only in 1997, it launched a Saxony-wide, anonymous competition in 1999 in collaboration with the Jewish Religious Community, inviting ten international artists. The design by Leipzig artists Sebastian Helm and Anna Dilengite, which had only made it onto the shortlist for implementation, was ultimately chosen. Following a majority vote by the Leipzig City Council in October 2000, the site was transformed into a large-scale memorial. Inaugurated on June 24, 2001, the memorial traces the floor plan of the destroyed building on an area of ​​12 × 12 meters. The interior is a field of 140 empty bronze chairs, intended to convey a tangible sense of the loss of the architectural shell. The western boundary of the site is formed by a wall of exposed concrete, with texts in English, German, and Hebrew on three bronze plaques each.” (Große Gemeindesynagoge, Wikipedia)

Märchenbrunnen

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Märchenbrunnen (Fairy Tale Fountain) by Josef Mágr, 1906
(New bronze figures by Elfriede Ducke and Hanna Studnitzka, 1965)
Dittrichring
Leipzig, September 2024

“The Fairy Tale Fountain in the promenade on Dittrichring was created by Josef Mágr in 1906. In the grotto of the central section, life-size bronze figures of the fairy tale characters Hansel and Gretel are mounted on a pedestal. Above them is a stone relief of a witch and a raven. Above the benches on either side of the central section are two bronze reliefs depicting key scenes from the fairy tale (Getting Lost in the Forest, Discovering the Gingerbread House, Returning Home). The bronze parts of the fountain were removed in 1942 and used in the armaments industry. Since 1965, the fountain has been adorned with new figures designed by Leipzig artists Elfriede Ducke and Hanna Studnitzka.” (Fountain in Leipzig, Wikipedia)

Thomaskirche

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Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church)
Thomaskirchhof
Leipzig, September 2024

“The St. Thomas Church (German: Thomaskirche) is a Lutheran church in Leipzig, Germany, located at the western part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's central district. Martin Luther preached in the church in 1539. It is associated with several well-known composers, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, who was its Thomaskantor (music director) from 1723 until his death in 1750. The church holds his remains. Although rebuilt over the centuries and damaged by Allied incendiary bombs in 1943, the church mainly retains the character of a late-Gothic hall church. The Thomanerchor, the church choir, likely founded in 1212, is an internationally known boys' choir.” (St. Thomas Church, Wikipedia)

Rathausbrunnen

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Rathausbrunnen (Town Hall Fountain) by Georg Wrba, 1908
Burgplatz
Leipzig, September 2024

“On Burgplatz, in front of the entrance to the Ratskeller, is the Town Hall Fountain, which was dedicated on October 7, 1908, the third anniversary of the inauguration of the New Town Hall. Since the completion of its complete renovation in 1999, the fountain has been in operation again after a five-year hiatus. The Town Hall Fountain was financed by Leipzig citizens and designed by the Dresden sculptor Georg Wrba (1872–1939). It consists of an octagonal water basin made of shell limestone, with a round column at its center. Attached to this column is the ‘Fairytale Wreath’, decorated with small figures from German fairy tales. Atop the column stands a group of bronze figures consisting of a life-size youth playing the flute and two boys playing at his feet. This makes the fairytale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin the central motif of the fountain, which is why it is also called the ‘Pied Piper Fountain’.” (Fountain in Leipzig, Wikipedia)

Löwenbrunnen

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Löwenbrunnen (Lions Fountain)
Naschmarkt
Leipzig, September 2024

“The Löwenbrunnen (Lions Fountain) located on the Naschmarkt opposite the main entrance of the Mädler Passage dates back to 1918. Several previous fountains had existed on the same site since 1690. The first fountain is known to have been surrounded by three steps and decorated with mythical maritime creatures and sandstone reliefs. Atop the painted copper cap was a pyramid crowned by a golden sun. Around 1820, the two iron lions and the pump handles, which still exist today, were cast in Lauchhammer according to designs by the Berlin sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow. Their arrangement was adopted in 1918, when the Löwenbrunnen received its present appearance according to plans by Leipzig's chief building inspector Hugo Licht. This is commemorated in gold-colored capital letters on the back of the fountain: ‘In the last year of the war, 1918, this fountain was rebuilt by the council in its original form with its wooden casing by the architect Dr. Ing. Hugo Licht. The funds for this were donated by Commercial Councillor Hugo Haschke’.” (Fountain in Leipzig, Wikipedia)

Leibniz-Denkmal

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Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz by Ernst Hähnel, 1883
Leibnizforum, Universitätstraße
Leipzig, September 2024

“The Leibniz Monument in the courtyard of the new campus of the University of Leipzig (Leibniz Forum) honors the mathematician, philosopher, physicist, politician, and diplomat Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), who was born in Leipzig on July 6, 1646, and studied at the university there. He is considered the polymath of his time, one of the most important philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries, and an important pioneer of the Enlightenment . Leibniz stands as a larger-than-life bronze statue on a square, bronze pedestal. The base of the monument is made of granite. Although only associated with Leipzig as a young man, in contrast to Goethe's monument on the Naschmarkt, Leibniz is not depicted as a youth, but as a mature man in the costume of his time as a ‘Prince of Science’ who strove to unite theory and practice in all scientific fields. On his right, he leans on a globe as a symbol of power and holds an open book as a scholarly characteristic, which characterizes his historical scope of action.” (Leibniz Monument, Wikipedia)

Junges Paar

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“Junges Paar” (Young Couple) by Klaus Schwabe, 1968
Reichstraße / Salzgäßchen
Leipzig, September 2024

“Klaus Schwabe (1939-2017) was a German sculptor and graphic artist. From 1953 to 1956, Klaus Schwabe trained as a ceramic sculptor in Sitzendorf, neighboring his birthplace. From 1956 to 1960, he studied at the Leipzig School of Applied Arts, where he taught under Hellmuth Chemnitz, among others. This qualification qualified Schwabe for university studies, which he pursued from 1960 to 1965 at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. There, he studied under Walter Arnold, Gerd Jaeger, Hans Steger, and Herbert Naumann, among others. From 1965, he worked as a freelance sculptor in Leipzig. From 1969 to 1972, he taught sculptural design at the evening academy of the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts (HGB). In 1974, together with Frank Ruddigkeit and Rolf Kuhrt, he won the competition for visual arts design at the Karl Marx University of Leipzig with the monumental relief ‘Aufbruch’ (Marx Relief), beating, among others, Bernhard Heisig.” (Klaus Schwabe, Wikipedia)

Mendelssohn-Denkmal

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Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy by Werner Stein, 1892
(Replica by Christian Schulze, 2008) Dittrichring
Leipzig, September 2024

“The Mendelssohn Memorial, located near the west portal of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, honors the composer and former Leipzig Gewandhaus Kapellmeister and founder of the Conservatory of Music, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. It was erected in 2008 as a faithful replica of the monument that stood from 1892 to 1936 in front of the second Gewandhaus, known as the Neues Concerthaus, in the Music Quarter. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy stands as a 2.8-meter-tall bronze ‘Gründerzeit figure with a toga’ on a stepped granite base. The upper part of the base is made of red Meissen granite, the two lower steps are made of gray granite. The total height of the monument is 6.8 meters. Mendelssohn holds a roll of music in his left hand and, standing in front of a music stand, a baton in his right, an indication that he was the first conductor in the modern sense. At Mendelssohn's feet, the muse of music, Euterpe, sits on the steps, leaning on a lyre. Two angels playing music are grouped on either side, the one on the left singing, the one on the right playing the flute and violin. The pedestal bears the composer's name on the front and the inscription ‘Only the noblest thing can proclaim the language of tones’ on the back. On the left side of the pedestal, an organ in a bronze medallion symbolizes sacred music; on the right side, masks, a vase with a dance scene, flutes, and a sword represent secular music.” (Mendelssohn Memorial, Wikipedia)

Gewandhaus

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Gewandhaus by Rudolf Skoda, 1981
Augustusplatz
Leipzig, September 2024

“The third and current Gewandhaus on Augustusplatz and the eastern part of the inner city ring road opened on 8 October 1981, two hundred years after the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra moved into the original hall. The foundation stone was laid by conductor Kurt Masur on 8 November 1977. The architect was Rudolf Skoda, who like his predecessor Dauthe was also a native of Leipzig. The design of the hall carefully took into consideration its precedents' reputation for excellent acoustics. During construction, the hall was even filled up several times with soldiers of the East German Nationale Volksarmee to test its sound quality at full capacity. During the Autumn of Nations in 1989, the Gewandhaus became a platform for political dissent against the Communist authorities, as Masur opened up the hall for public discussion on the future and reform of the GDR (the so-called ‘Gewandhaus Talks’). Today's Gewandhaus has a seating capacity of 1900, and features a Schuke concert organ with 6,845 pipes.” (Gewandhaus, Wikipedia)

Krochhochhaus

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Krochhochhaus (Kroch High-rise) by German Bestelmeyer, 1928
Augustusplatz
Leipzig, September 2024

“The 43 m (141 ft) tall Kroch high-rise in Leipzig was the first high-rise building in the city. It was built in 1927/28 as the headquarter of the Kroch Banking House, a private bank of the German-Jewish banker Hans Kroch (1887–1970), and is located on the west side of Augustusplatz. It is topped by a clock and two buff sentries modelled after the St Mark's Clocktower in Venice. In the 1926 architectural competition organized by Bankhaus Kroch together with the Leipzig City Council, the architect German Bestelmeyer (1874–1942) took one of the two second places. The building was so controversial that the four upper levels of the twelve-storey building were just a wooden mock-up for a time, and then a film simulation. The approval was finally granted on 16 December 1927. The building opened on 1 August 1928. The outstanding feature of the high-rise and thus the landmark of Augustusplatz is the striking mechanism on the roof, which consists of three bells. The bells are struck by two 3.3 m (11 ft) tall bellmen. Below the bells is the Latin inscription OMNIA VINCIT LABOR (Work conquers all). Below this is the display of the moon phases flanked by two relief depictions of lions, which take up the entire front section of the 12th floor. There are therefore windows on the 12th floor only at the back of the building. The 11th floor only has two windows instead of the three used on the other floors, between which there is a tower clock with a dial 4.3 m (14 ft) in diameter.” (Kroch High-rise, Wikipedia)

Specks Hof

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Specks Hof by Emil Franz Hänsel, 1929
(Restoration RKW architects, 1995)
Reichsstraße / Nikolaistraße
Leipzig, September 2024

“Specks Hof is a commercial building with the oldest preserved shopping arcade in Leipzig, Germany. The complex near St. Nicholas Church is an example of Leipzig's trade fair and trading buildings, which were built at the beginning of the 20th century. Specks Hof stretches over 82 m (269.0 ft) along Schuhmachergäßchen between Reichsstrasse and Nikolaistrasse, where the building has front lengths of 40 m (131.2 ft) and 47 m (154.2 ft) respectively. To the south it borders on the Reichshof, the Hansahaus and the post-war new building with the oriel window called Fürstenerker. The postal addresses are Reichsstrasse 4 and Nikolaistrasse 3–9.” (Specks Hof, Wikipedia)

Hermes with winged helmet

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Hermes with winged helmet
Thomaskirchhof 21
Leipzig, September 2024

“The house at Thomaskirchhof 21 is a five-story building in a closed development on a rectangular site with a converted attic. The street façade, clad in natural stone, is 20 meters wide. It is designed in the Art Nouveau style and combined with elements of late historicism. The shop entrance is located in the center of the ground floor, and to the left is the house entrance with a passageway to the courtyard. The axes of the ground floor and first floor are connected by arches. From the second floor upwards, two bay windows rise, between which are loggias on two floors and an open balcony on the upper floor. At roof height, the bay windows each support a balcony. A dormer, the width of the bay windows, with a decorated triangular gable, sits on the gable roof. The triangular pediment with two projecting columns is decorated with a depiction of a ship's bow with the Goethe quotation ‘Perseverance be granted to every honest effort’ . On top is a bust of Hermes with a winged helmet , which, like the ship, symbolizes the builder's profession, trade. At the height of the first floor, the names of the architect and the builder are inscribed on the edges of the building.” (Thomaskirchhof 21, Wikipedia)

Lipsia-Brunnen

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Lipsia-Brunnen
Kleine Fleischergasse / Barfußgäßchen
Leipzig, September 2024

“The Lipsia Fountain is located on the small triangular square created by the slanting confluence of Kleine Fleischergasse and Barfußgäßchen. It faces the historic ‘Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum’ restaurant, the oldest café in Germany. The fountain is made of red granite. From a lower basin, approximately five meters in diameter, rises a second basin on a mighty column depicting four bearded men's faces. Above it, a third basin, narrower still, stands. Beneath this basin, four naked boys hold hands, seeking protection from the water overflowing from a small fountain in the upper basin. The fountain was praised as ‘a significant example of the concept of an organic connection between architecture and sculpture’. In 1913, Max Lange (1868–1947), a physician and sculptor then working in Leipzig, designed this fountain and won first prize in a competition to beautify the city. It was initially intended to be placed on the Naschmarkt. Why this was not done is unknown. It eventually ended up at its current location. The fountain was originally called Puttenbrunnen (Putten Fountain). In art, depictions of naked children are called putti; if they have wings, they are also called angels. However, these are missing here. Because of the Lipsia House, which stands west of the fountain, the name Lipsia Fountain became common and is now officially used. Lipsia is the Latin name for Leipzig.” (Lipsia Fountain, Wikipedia)

Fensterputzerbrunnen

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Fensterputzerbrunnen (Window Cleaner Fountain) by Christian Rost, 1989
Handwerker-Passage
Leipzig, September 2024

“The so-called Fensterputzerbrunnen is located in Leipzig's Handwerkerpassage. The sculpture is the landmark of the passage and was created in 1989 by the artist and sculptor Cristian Rost. The striking sculpture, depicting a window cleaner leaning against a ladder, is actually a relic from the GDR era, having been created in the final months before the collapse. The approximately 30-kilogram statue was cast by Ulrich Wackernagel in Pegau. In 2012, the 50-centimeter-tall window cleaner was stolen overnight, but was rediscovered in a container a few months later. The Handwerkerpassage itself is accessible through two entrances. From the market side, you enter through the building Markt 10, also known as the ‘Kaufhalle am Markt’. Walking through the passage, you arrive back at Klostergasse on the other side. Incidentally, this very passage only received this name after its reconstruction between 1987 and 1989.” (Fensterputzerbrunnen in der Handwerkerpassage, Leipzig-Days)

Badender Mädchen

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‘Badender Mädchen,’ (Bathing Girl) by Klaus Schwabe, 2000
Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall)
Markt (Market Square)
Leipzig, September 2024

“Just a few meters from the ‘Badender Knabe’, its female counterpart, the ‘Badender Mädchen’, (Bathing Girl) fountain, was installed in a niche on the market-facing façade of the Old Town Hall. Originally, it was adorned with a bronze sculpture by Johannes Hartmann. The original sculpture, stolen on the night of October 7, 1992, depicted a naked girl kneeling halfway on a tree stump with both hands on her hips. Since the installation of a bronze replica by Klaus Schwabe on December 2, 2000, the fountain has returned to approximately its former appearance.” (Fountain in Leipzig, Wikipedia)

Badender Knabe

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‘Badender Knabe’ (Bathing Boy) by Carl Seffner, 1909
Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall)
Markt (Market Square)
Leipzig, September 2024

“The ‘Badender Knabe’ (Bathing Boy) fountain is located in a niche in the passageway of the Old Town Hall, connecting the market square to the Naschmarkt. It was created in 1909 during the extensive renovation of the building complex. The bronze sculpture of a naked boy standing on a shell, squeezing a sponge over his head with both hands, is by the Leipzig sculptor Carl Seffner.” (Fountain in Leipzig, Wikipedia)

Baarmanns Hof

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Baarmanns Hof
Markt (Market Square)
Leipzig, September 2024

“Baarmanns Hof was the name of the commercial building at Markt 6 in Leipzig until its reconstruction in 1922, and is still occasionally used today. The house is one of four buildings on the north side of the market square in Leipzig. It is a four-story building with four window axes facing the market square. It is plastered and clad in sandstone on the ground floor. The entrance is from the neighboring house no. 5, to which it is connected internally. The steep, high, slate-covered roof is striking. It has a two-axis dormer between two gabled dormers. Above it, in four rows one above the other, are nine hip dormers decorated with a ball on a shaft. They surround an octagonal roof turret, which is also decorated with balls. The two chimneys at the ends of the roof ridge are dummies.” (Baarmanns Hof, Wikipedia)

Nikolaisäule

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Nikolaisäule
Nikolaikirchhof
Leipzig, September 2024

“A 16 m (52.5 ft) tall column was erected on the east side of the square in 1999. It is a replica of the columns within the church and symbolizes how the ideas of departure were carried from the church into the public space. The palm fronds at the top of the column represent the peacefulness of the goals. The column is part of the design with which the Leipzig artist Andreas Stötzner won an international competition to design the square organized by the Leipzig Cultural Foundation Kulturstiftung Leipzig and the city in 1992. The column was made by the Leipzig sculptor Markus Brille. Two-thirds of the funding comes from donations from citizens, companies and institutions. The column includes a memorial plaque embedded in the pavement of the square, also made by Brille, with the inscription ‘09 OCTOBER 1989’ and numerous shoe prints depicting the demonstration.” (St. Nicholas Church Square, Wikipedia)

Völkerschlachtdenkmal

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Völkerschlachtdenkmal (Monument to the Battle of the Nations), 1913
Straße des 18. Oktober
Leipzig, September 2024

"The Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal) is a monument in Leipzig, Germany, to the 1813 Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations. Paid for mostly by donations and the city of Leipzig, it was completed in 1913 for the 100th anniversary of the battle at a cost of six million goldmarks. The monument commemorates the defeat of Napoleon's French army at Leipzig, a crucial step towards the end of hostilities in the War of the Sixth Coalition. The coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden were led by Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg. There were Germans fighting on both sides, as Napoleon's troops also included conscripted Germans from the left bank of the Rhine annexed by France, as well as troops from his German allies of the Confederation of the Rhine." (Monument to the Battle of the Nations, Wikipedia)