| Bach
monument. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) was
in charge of music in the city of Leipzig, the churches and the
University. This duty involved continually writing new work to be
performed. This monument, outside St Thomas' Church, celebrates
Bach's work as the "Cantor" or choirmaster. In the summer German
and International musicians offer free outdoor concerts at 7 p.m.
every Monday evening. Back to top.
Old
Town Hall. The 400-year-old town hall, the Alt Rathaus,
now houses the city history museum, one of Germany’s largest cultural
history museums with a particularly rich collection. This beautiful
building was completed in just 9 months and includes the stunning
16th century Councilors Hall. This room contains the original table
where J. S. Bach signed his contract. There's also a room devoted
to Mendelssohn, who conducted the symphony orchestra from 1835 -
1847. You can also see many Cranach paintings from the time of Luther
and Katharina von Bora's wedding ring.
St
Thomas’ Church. Leipzig's most famous resident, Johann
Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), was the choirmaster here for 27 years
until his death and is buried just in front of the altar. Both Mozart
and Mendelssohn performed in the Thomaskirche as well, and Richard
Wagner was christened here in 1813. The church was built on the site
of a 13th-century monastery and was heavily restored after World War
II. The beautiful Renaissance galleries were built in 1570 by Hieronymus
Lotter. Back to top
St
Thomas Choir is assumed to be as old as the church
itself. When Bach was choirmaster, there were 54 boys in the choir.
Today there are about 100. The main focus of the choir is the preservation
of Bach's choral works. The choir performs here weekly when not
on a tour. On Friday night at 6 p.m. the choir performs and on Saturday
afternoon at 3 p.m. the choir performs with the Gewandhaus Orchestra.
Barthels Hof is close
to the market area and is Leipzig's last originally preserved trade
court, dating back to 1497.Back to
top
Auerbachs
Keller restaurant – made famous by Goethe and his
Faust cycle. You'll also enjoy the Zum Arabischen Coffee Baum ,
a café and restaurant, one of Europe’s oldest traditional coffee
houses, with it's own coffee museum. Heinrich Stromer, the proprietor,
was a strong supporter of Luther.
St
Nicolas' Church is the site of the Peace Prayer
Services that marked the beginning of the peaceful revolution for
the reunification of Germany in 1989. These prayer meeting continue
to meet on Monday evenings at 5 p.m.Back
to top
Mendelssohn
House
is the only remaining home where Felix Bartholody Mendelssohn lived.
You may be interested to know that Mendelssohn converted to Christianity
from Judaism in 1816, which is when he took the additional name,
'Bartholody'. When Mendelssohn became the director of the Leipzig
symphony orchestra, he revived interest in Bach's music, especially
St Matthew's Passion. This wonderful museum contains original
furniture. On Sunday mornings at 11 a.m. visitors are treated to
a short concert. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
You can read more (in German) at their web site: www.mendelssohn-stiftung.de
Schumann
House is where Schumann and his beloved wife Clara
lived for 20 years. It was their first apartment. The museum is
open Monday - Saturday from 2 - 5 p.m.
Memorial
to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkma)–
This is a monument to peace built in 1913 to commemorate the 100th
anniversary of the Battle of Nations at which Napoleon was defeated
by a multi-national army at the gates of Leipzig. Back
to top
Eilenburg,
15 miles from Leipzig, is where Martin Rinckart was Pastor during
the Thirty Years' War. His church was a haven for the homeless and
poor during this difficult time. Pastor Rinckart, even though he
was constantly caring for the poor and conducting funerals, found
time to write the hymn "Now Thank We All Our God".
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