A Slow Guide to Leipzig

Paul Sullivan visits one of Saxony’s most interesting and culturally-endowed cities…

Leipzig is not Berlin. That might seem like an obvious and even unnecessary thing to say, but the media hysteria that exploded a decade or so ago in the German and international media—most of whom really ought to have known better—claiming that the Saxony city is the “new Berlin” was, well, embarrassing. Not only did they try to coin awkward epithets like “Hypezig,” they also annoyed many Leipzigers.

Quite frankly, Leipzig doesn’t need to be the new anything: the city holds its own very nicely indeed, thank you. Officially founded in 1015—a couple of hundred years before the German capital, by the way, and its university is much older than Berlin’s too—it offers a rich and colourful history that sets it distinctly apart from other German cities, including Dresden, the Saxony capital, located an hour or so south.

Leipzig’s impressive main train station. Image by Paul Sullivan.

Arriving by rail is the best way to get a sense of the city’s status, thanks to Leipzig’s grandiose main train station, which dates from the nineteenth-century and is—who knew?—Europe’s largest, measured by floor area. It’s also conveniently located in the town centre (Altstadt) and therefore provides a perfect jumping-off point for an exploration of the city and its storied past. 

Most of the old town’s attractive cobbled streets, lined with handsome buildings that span Renaissance, Art Nouveau and Neoclassical architectural styles, wind their way to Marktplatz, the city’s landmark central square, which—true to its name—hosts a farmer’s market every Tuesday and Thursday, as well as the city’s main Christmas market each winter.

Streets brimming with architecture in Leipzig city centre. Image by Paul Sullivan.

You won’t be able to miss the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall), one of the most eye-catching structures on the square. Despite the bold and ornate Renaissance exterior, it was allegedly built in just nine months during the mid-1500s. Some of the inter…

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