Leipzig
Leipzig is the nicest big city I have seen in either east or west Germany. Leipzigers refer to their city as "Boom Town" because of its recent growth and construction. It is clear from walking around the city that Leipzig has adapted much better than other cities in East Germany to the changes that came with the fall of the wall. Everything is new and clean and people seem to more lively. Part of that livliness comes from Leipzig being a university town. But there are also signs that, despite an unemployment rate of twenty percent, the economy is picking up. Men in suits are scurrying around talking on cell phones, stores are well stocked and people in general are out and about in a manner not seen in other eastern cities. The downtown area is very nice. It has a mixture of old buildings with classic German architecture and more recent 1960s and 1970's buildings with that distinctive modern communist style architecutre. Almost all of the buildings have been renovated or were well maintained, so it all looks very nice. Leipzig University is at the heart of the downtown area. It has a modern looking 34 story building and then numerous other buildings beneath it. All around are the inner city were open air cafes that were still going at two o'clock in the morning. Leipzig is also where the first demonstrations against the communist regime took place. Nicolaikirche (Nicolas Church) was where in 1989, the Monday night prayer services that would eventually lead to the fall of the wall were held. The prayer services grew into demonstrations that spread to neighboring streets and squares as hundreds of thousands of Leipzigers joined in to protest their government. These demonstrations were usually peaceful with few arrests or injuries. But eventually the East German government realized that they had to restore order so the army was ordered the crush the demonstration. Hospitals stockpiled blood and supplies and the army prepared to move in, but before another Tiananmen Square could take place, prominent Leipzigers went on the radio to plead with the army not to attack their own countrymen. Unlike the 1953 uprising, the army sided with the people and did not attack. This lead to the eventual demise of the East German state. Leipzig also has an interesting museum on the Stassi (Ministerium für Staatssicherheit), East Germany's secret police who spied extensively on the local population to keep order and ensure conformity. The museum is located it the former headquarters of the Stassi's Leipzig district and contains many exhibits covering the Stassi's operations. Among the exhibits are pictures of the Stassi's Leipzig district archives that contained files on residents of the Leipzig district that covered six miles of shelf space. There would have been more files, but Stassi workers had been shredding their most sensitive documents day and night for many weeks before the office was stormed. This left mountains of paper shreds in the building's courtyard.
Another iteresting sight in Leipzig is the Battle of Nations memorial. This three hundred foot high monument and the surrounding park was built to commemerate the Battle of Nations where Napoleon was defeated by a multinational force. The height of the tower is deceptive. Because it is so wide you don't realize how high it is until you climb to the top (330 steps they said). It is quite impressive and offers a good view of the city.
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 Main building of the University Leipzig clad in scaffolding while undergoing renovation. Usually it has a silver facade.
New Concert Hall in Leipzig with 1970's style communist architecture.
Battle of Nations Memorial in Leipzig. Click here to see view from top.
Looking across Augustus Square towards main Post Office. This square was full of people during the Monday Night anti-government demonstrations in 1989.
Old communist era INTERHOTEL (now Hotel Mercur). This hotel is mentioned often in Stasi transscripts and reprorts found in the Stassi Museum.
Second floor lobby of former INTERHOTEL with a drab mural showing the history of Leipzig. Click here for a detail of the mural
Pedestrian Zone in Leipzig.
University of Leipzig building. The steel triangle in front is part of a memorial to a church destroyed by the communists in order to erect this building. Click here to see a detail of the bronze relief that is in the middle of the triangle
Former Leipzig District Stassi Headquarters. Now a museum.
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