Leipzig

For other uses, see Leipzig (disambiguation).

Leipzig
Leibz'sch (Upper Saxon)
Lipsk (Upper Sorbian)
City
View over Leipzig
Old City Hall
Monument to the Battle of the Nations
White Elster
Mädlerpassage
New City Hall
Federal Administrative Court
Johannapark
Leipzig Main Station
Flag of Leipzig
Flag
Coat of arms of Leipzig
Coat of arms
Location of Leipzig
Map
Leipzig is located in Germany
Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig is located in Saxony
Leipzig
Leipzig
Coordinates: 51°20′24″N 12°22′30″E / 51.34000°N 12.37500°E / 51.34000; 12.37500
CountryGermany
StateSaxony
DistrictUrban district
Government
 • Lord mayor (2020–27) Burkhard Jung[1] (SPD)
Area
 • City
297.36 km2 (114.81 sq mi)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[3]
 • City
616,093
 • Density2,100/km2 (5,400/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,001,220 (LUZ)[2]
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
04001–04357
Dialling codes0341
Vehicle registrationL
Websiteleipzig.de

Leipzig (/ˈlaɪpsɪɡ, -sɪx/ LYPE-sig, -⁠sikh,[4][5][6][7] German: [ˈlaɪptsɪç] ⓘ; Upper Saxon: Leibz'sch; Upper Sorbian: Lipsk) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023.[8] It is the eighth-largest city in Germany and is part of the Central German Metropolitan Region. The name of the city is usually interpreted as a Slavic term meaning place of linden trees, in line with many other Slavic placenames in the region.[9]

Leipzig is located about 150 km (90 mi) southwest of Berlin, in the southernmost part of the North German Plain (the Leipzig Bay), at the confluence of the White Elster and its tributaries Pleiße and Parthe, that form an extensive inland delta in the city known as Leipziger Gewässerknoten [de], along which Leipzig Riverside Forest, Europe's largest intra-city riparian forest has developed. Leipzig is at the centre of Neuseenland (new lake district), consisting of several artificial lakes created from former lignite open-pit mines.

Leipzig has been a trade city since at least the time of the Holy Roman Empire.[10] The city sits at the intersection of the Via Regia and the Via Imperii, two important medieval trade routes. Leipzig's trade fair dates back to 1190. Between 1764 and 1945, the city was a centre of publishing.[11] After the Second World War and during the period of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) Leipzig remained a major urban centre in East Germany, but its cultural and economic importance declined.[11]

Events in Leipzig in 1989 played a significant role in precipitating the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, mainly through demonstrations starting from St. Nicholas Church. The immediate effects of the reunification of Germany included the collapse of the local economy (which had come to depend on highly polluting heavy industry), severe unemployment, and urban blight. By the early 2000s the trend had reversed, and since then Leipzig has undergone some significant changes, including urban and economic rejuvenation, and modernisation of the transport infrastructure.[12][13]

Leipzig is home to one of the oldest universities in Europe (Leipzig University). It is the main seat of the German National Library (the second is Frankfurt), the seat of the German Music Archive, as well as of the German Federal Administrative Court. Leipzig Zoo is one of the most modern zoos in Europe and as of 2018 ranks first in Germany and second in Europe.[14]

Leipzig's late-19th-century Gründerzeit architecture consists of around 12,500 buildings.[15][16] The city's central railway terminus Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is, at 83,460 square metres (898,400 sq ft), Europe's largest railway station measured by floor area. Since Leipzig City Tunnel came into operation in 2013, it has formed the centrepiece of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland (S-Bahn Central Germany) public transit system, Germany's largest S-Bahn network, with a system length of 802 km (498 mi).[17]

Leipzig has long been a major centre for music, including classical and modern dark wave. The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig), a boys' choir, was founded in 1212. The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, established in 1743, is one of the oldest symphony orchestras in the world. Several well-known composers lived and worked in Leipzig, including Johann Sebastian Bach (1723 to 1750) and Felix Mendelssohn (1835 to 1847). The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" was founded in 1843. The Oper Leipzig, one of the most prominent opera houses in Germany, was founded in 1693. During a stay in Gohlis, which is now part of the city, Friedrich Schiller wrote his poem "Ode to Joy".

  1. ^ Wahlergebnisse 2020 Archived 11 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Freistaat Sachsen, accessed 10 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Population on 1 January by age groups and sex – functional urban areas". Eurostat. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Einwohnerzahlen nach Gemeinden als Excel-Arbeitsmappe" (XLS) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt des Freistaates Sachsen. 2024.
  4. ^ "Leipzig". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Leipzig". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Leipzig". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  7. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). "Leipzig". Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
  8. ^ "Population of Leipzig". Leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  9. ^ The ultimate origin of the name is, however, disputed, cf. the footnote on the section "Etymology" below.
  10. ^ "Shopping Tipps Leipzig :: Passagen :: Innenstadt :: Hauptbahnhof :: Informationen ::Infos :: Hinweise :: Beiträge :: Tipps :: Einkaufen". City-tourist.de. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  11. ^ a b "The Frankfurt Fair". idehist.uu.se. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Infrastruktur". leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Power-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "Zoo Leipzig:Zoo der Zukunft". Zoo-leipzig.de. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "Leipzig - Architektur der Gründerzeit - LEIPZIGINFO.DE". Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  17. ^ eCommerce, Deutsche Bahn AG, Unternehmensbereich Personenverkehr, Marketing. "Die S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland stellt sich vor". www.s-bahn-mitteldeutschland.de. Archived from the original on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)