Tom`s travels: Leipzig (26/02/2022)

On another weekend we decided to visit the city of Leipzig, just over an hour south of Berlin with the fast train. After reaching the train station of the Saxon city, we got off and continued on foot through the city center to reach the nearby square, the Augustusplatz. Here, to the north of the square, stood the large Leipzig Opera a modern theatre built over an older one from the late 19th century that was destroyed during WWII alongside most of the city. On the southern side of the square was the Mendebrunnen, a nice fountain from around 1883, and next to it was a modern building of the city's university, known as the Augusteum all built in glass and featuring the Paulinum a modern reconstruction of the old Paulinerkirche which used to stand on its spot. Just next to the square, below one of the city's main skyscrapers, we passed then by the Moritzbastei, the only remaining part of the ancient town fortifications built during the 16th century. From there we then headed through the city center reaching the church of St Nicholas, with its nice 16th-century Gothic exterior. Unfortunately, it was still closed so we decided to head on and come back to visit it later. We admired the nice buildings around the church's square and the peculiar free-standing column in the middle of the square erected after the church became the center of a peaceful revolt against communist rule in 1989 with the Monday Demonstrations. From there we then continued on around the city center, passing through some nice art-nouveau passages, typical of Leipzig, and reached then the Naschmarkt, a small yet pretty square behind the large town hall. Here, was a nice monument to Goethe, and behind it was the Alte Handelsbörse, a beautiful baroque building from 1678 and considered the city's oldest assembly building of merchants. To the south of the square, we then entered the Mädler-Passage, probably the largest and most beautiful of the city's covered passages. Underneath it was also the Auerbachs Keller, the best-known and second oldest restaurant in the city, known already by the 16th century, and owing to its worldwide reputation to Goethe's play Faust which is featured as one of the locations. From the covered passage, we then reached the city's main square, the Marktplatz, sided by old reconstructed buildings and by the large old town hall dating from the 16th century in a Renaissance style. From the market square, we then walked some of the side streets lined by nice buildings and reached a small square where the Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum, one of Europe's oldest continuously operated coffee shops, is located. There is evidence that coffee has been served here since 1711 and thus, alongside the Café Procope in Paris it is one of the oldest. The cafè was under reconstruction so we couldn't appreciate it as much. We continued on and reached the church of St Thomas. a Gothic monument from the 14th and 15th centuries rebuilt from an older romanesque one. It is associated with several well-known composers such as Richard Wagner and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, and especially Johann Sebastian Bach, who worked here as a chapel master from 1723 until his death in 1750 and whose remains are now inside the church. Once inside we admire the large and tall gothic nave, the 19th-century gilded altarpiece, and the tomb of Bach. Right in front of the church was also the Bach Museum, hosted inside the Bosehaus which was not Bach's residence as his own house just down the street was destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century. Continuing on our walk we then reached the New Town Hall, built at the end of the 19th century, considered the largest town hall in Germany, and with its 114.7-meter high town hall tower, the highest in Germany. From the town hall, we continued south passing by the impressive large structure of the Reichsgerichtsgebäude, or supreme court building, also built around the end of the 19th century. Not far from it we then passed another 19th-century building, the neo-gothic church of St Peter, before reaching the Bayerischer Bahnhof. This train station is Germany's oldest preserved railway station, opened in 1842, and now serves the local S-Bahn lines. Here we got a ride that took us to the southeastern part of the city where we visited the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, an impressive monument built in 1913 to commemorate the battle of Leipzig which took place 100 years before, in 1813. The structure is 91 meters tall with several steps leading to a viewing platform at the top. We decided not to climb it though as it was rather cold and dull and thought we wouldn't see much either way. From there we then decided to head back to the city center and look for a place to have lunch. We ended up picking a nice Asian restaurant called GAO where we had some really tasty dishes. After lunch, we took a tram and reached the northern part of the city where we then entered the Schillerhaus, a small former farmhouse where Friedrich Schiller lived in 1785 writing also the first version of the poem Ode to Joy. The house which is now a museum is the oldest preserved farmhouse in the city. We found no one at the entrance and no fee and proceeded to visit the nice creaky wooden interior. After that we exited and walked to the nearby Gohlis Palace, a nice rococo country house now surrounded by residential buildings. It featured a nice facade and a lovely small garden which we walked through. From there we then decided to take a tram back to the city center and once there proceeded to continue walking through the old town. We reached the church of St Nicholas once again and found it open. We visited the really impressive interior refurbished at the end of the 18th century in a Neoclassical style featuring palmed columns and a pink and green colored ceiling. After the visit to the church, we continued on passing once again by the Alte Handelsbörse and reaching the main square where a demonstration against the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia was taking place. We decided to stay there and participate as well for a bit. Then I thought about still visiting the city's main museum as we would be joining another demonstration the following day in Berlin. We reached the nearby Museum of Fine Arts which contained an impressive array of paintings from the middle ages to the modern period. There were works from the Old German and Early Netherlandish art of the 15th and 16th centuries, Italian art from the 15th to 18th century, Dutch art of the 17th century, French art of the 19th, and German art from the 18th to 20th century. Finally, after visiting the museum, it was time for us to head back, we made one last stroll around the city center and then reached the station from where we took the next train back to Berlin.