14 Famous Leipzig Landmarks To Discover

Leipzig isn’t as well-known and widely recognized as some German cities – but it’s one of the best to visit. So, for a taster, here’s my selection of Leipzig landmarks to help you put a bit of a mental picture of the city together.

The best-known landmark in Leipzig is the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, which commemorates the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. Leipzig also has an extraordinary musical history, with Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert and Clara Schumann and Richard Wagner all living there at one time.  And there are sights associated with each of these – most notably Bach.

Some of you may also have heard of Leipzig because of its role in the Wende, or ‘Peaceful Revolution’ which brought down the Communist government of East Germany. And some of Leipzig’s landmarks have strong connections with these events.

I hope you enjoy this article, and that perhaps it will inspire you to visit it yourself one day.

Leipzig Landmarks – And How To See Them

Most of the landmarks of Leipzig are in the small Zentrum or Mitte district just to the south of the Hauptbahnhof (main train station), and you could comfortably walk around all of them in two to three hours. The only outlying ones are the Zoo and the Monument to the Battle of the Nations, both of which are a short tram ride from the centre.

The other option is the excellent Leipzig hop-on-hop-off bus tour. This takes you to the Battle of the Nations Monument and the Zoo, a and also takes you past the Red Bull Arena, home to Bundesliga (German first division) side RB Leipzig.

Another way of seeing the city on wheels is on a Leipzig Trabant tour. These cult favourite East German cars were much coveted in GDR, but much derided in the West. Sometimes called ‘a sparkplug with a roof’, you get to drive around the city in a convoy of Trabis, which is great fun.  

Hotels In Leipzig

***** – Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel Handelshof Leipzig – landmark 5-star hotel right in the centre of the Old Town

**** – Hotel Fregehaus – wonderful hotel in 16^th-century townhouse given a Baroque makeover, overlooking one of the most beautiful courtyards in Leipzig – and five minutes’ walk from most Leipzig landmarks

**** – NH Leipzig Centrum – highly rated, in a great location across the street from the New Town Hall

*** – Premier Inn Leipzig City Hahnekamm – ever-reliable chain hotel, great location across the street from the main train and coach stations

Old Town Hall

The Thomaskirche is famous worldwide as the church where Johann Sebastian Bach was Kantor (Choirmaster) from 1723 until his death in 1750. The composer was also buried in the chancel of the church, and the Bach Museum dedicated to him is just a few metres away across the street. A famous statue of Bach also stands outside the church.

The church was founded in 1212 (the renowned Thomanerchor which Bach later led was founded the same year), but much of the body of the church is from the 14^th and 15^th centuries.  It’s a typical Gothic hall church – with aisles the same height as the central vault.

The church has also hosted several other famous figures. Martin Luther preached there in 1539, Mozart played there in 1780, and Richard Wagner was baptized there in 1813.

Getting there: S-Bahn to Markt, and trams 9 or 16 to Thomaskirche.

Some of you may remember the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig from 1989, when peaceful protests that began at the church grew into a movement that ultimately brought down the Moscow-enforced German Democratic Republic, also known as East Germany. Ever since this happened I had a mental note to visit this church one day, and I finally fulfilled this recently.

Regardless of its history, the church is well worth visiting. Its exterior bears traces of its Romanesque origins ( it was founded in 1165), and from the rest of the outside you’d expect a Gothic hall church. However it was completely remodelled inside by Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe, in something broa0dly similar to the Neoclassical style of the 18^th century. The pillars resemble columns of an Ancient Greek or Roman temple, and from the top of each sprout palm-like leaves which support the pink painted vault. It’s all a wonderful surprise.

Little is made of its pivotal role in German history, with only a small German-only exhibition on the Monday prayer meetings and the Demonstrations which grew 0from them. The story of how the GDR state was eventually brought down is remarkable, especially as up to 1 in 6 East Germans had connections with the Stasi secret police.  It came to a head in Leipzig on 9^th October 1989, when a large cordon of riot police and soldiers confronted a vast crowd but let them pass peacefully, with relatively few arrests. The Communists’ hold over East Germany was finally broken. The Nikolaisäule column, a replica of the pillars inside the church, commemorates these events.

See Also: Visiting Nikolaikirche Leipzig

Leipzig has many beautiful shopping arcades, and the most famous of these is the Mädler Passage, which is just off Grimmaischer Strasse, the busiest shopping street in the city.

The Mädler Passage is the only arcade in Leipzig to retain its complete glass roof. It was built between 1912 and 1914, incorporating the rebuilt Auerbachs Keller, a wine bar that opened in the 16^th century.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (see below) frequented the bar, and later used it as the setting for one of the best-known scenes of Goethe’s play Faust. In the play Faust accompanies Mephistopheles, the representative of the Devil, to the bar.  Statues of Faust and Mephistopheles grace one side of the arcade above the Keller, and figures of  enchanted students on the other.

Getting there: S-Bahn to Markt.

Four of Leipzig’s best-known buildings surround Augustusplatz,  the largest square in the city and a great example of totalitarian town planning if you ever wanted to see one.

The tallest of these – and indeed in the city – is a rare GDR=era skyscraper, now known as the Leipzig City Hochhaus. It’s the most visible of Leipzig landmarks, its distinctive curved spire sticking out above the rest of the skyline of the city.

It now houses the MDR regional TV network,  the European Energy Network and the Panorama Restaurant, on one of the upper floors of the Tower. It’s nothing like the authentic Communist-era restaurant experience, as the food is far too good and the restaurant isn’t revolving. However, there is an open-air viewing gallery on the 31^st floor with a superb view of the city. You can visit the viewing gallery without dining at the restaurant – entry costs €5.

In the 1960s, the East German authorities were planning to fund several new buildings for the University of Leipzig. But there was one major problem – to supposedly make room for these new buildings, they insisted on demolishing the Paulinerkirche, despite it being in an excellent state of preservation. It was an act of sheer block-headed vandalism, one of the worst committed outside wartime in Europe.

After the reunification of Germany, suggestions to rebuild the church were made. It was eventually decided to build a new church that would also serve as an assembly room for the university. The new church was designed by Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat.

The new church is a similar (letter A) shape to the east façade of the original Paulinerkirche, with a clear glass Gothic-style window and small round window above.  The interior is stunning, all white except for the original altarpiece from the demolished church and some additional furnishings and decorations.

Getting there: Trams to Augustusplatz

Anyone with an interest in totalitarian or Communist architecture should visit the Leipzig Oper, on the north side of the Augustusplatz.

The first opera house in Leipzig was the Oper am Bruhl, a short distance north of the present building. It was succeeded by the Neues Theater in 1868 – this was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943.

The present building was completed in 1960, and it’s one of the more attractive buildings of the GDR era. It’s decorated by bas-reliefs with various Communist motifs including the hammer and compass emblem of East Germany.

The building looks best at dusk when it’s floodlit – if you’re in the area around that time of day, make a detour for a quick look, as it looks better then than during the daytime.

Getting there: Trams to Augustusplatz

Leipzig’s opera house and orchestra have always been distinct entities with their own homes, and the city’s orchestra’s base is the Gewandhaus concert hall at the southern, opposite end of Augustusplatz.

The original Gewandhaus was completed in 1781, and |Felix Mendelssohn, one of several great composers to live in Leipzig, was director for several years from 1835. The second building was larger and more elegant, with some Renaissance Revival elements. This building was ruined by Allied bombing raids in 1943.

Leipzig had to wait until 1981 for the inauguration of its third Gewandhaus, which couldn’t have been more different from its predecessors.  It’s an excellent example of late Brutalist architecture, its façade what looks like a giant slab of concrete somehow supported by a screen of steel and glass.

My Russian tutor at university summed it up when talking about another concert hall in the former Soviet bloc. “The Communists make some godawful ugly buildings,” he mused, ”but they certainly know how to produce superb acoustics.”

Getting there: Trams to Augustusplatz   

This curious monument in Leipzig’s suburbs commemorates the 1813 Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations. It was Napoleon Bonaparte’s biggest defeat before Waterloo in 1815. His forces, in alliance with some Italian, Polish and German troops, were defeated by a combined Prussian, Austrian, Russian and Swedish army.

The Monument, which stands above a long pond, is colossal, over 300 feet (90 metres) high. It was built for the centenary of the Battle in 1913, and is quite unlike any building in Germany from the same period. It’s similar in shape to a step pyramid, with a relief of soldiers in battle, and a circle of Art Nouveau-inspired statues standing guard near the crown of the Monument.

You can visit the interior of the Monument, and climb the 500 steps (a great workout) for a view of the Leipzig skyline. Otherwise you can walk around the grounds of the Monument for free.  It’s one of the most famous landmarks in Germany, so even if you only have one day in Leipzig, free up an hour or so of your time to see it.

Getting there: Tram 15 to Völkerschlachtdenkmal

Leipzig Zoo is one of the best zoos in Europe, and also one of the oldest. It was opened in 1878 by Ernst Pinkert, who sold it twenty years later and remained a director. Between then (1898) and 1910 the Zoo was expanded and renovated, with some of the fine Leipzig landmark buildings added near the entrance.

These buildings include the entrance gate, the Ernst-Pinkert-Haus on its immediate left, and a few metres inside the Zoo, the Aquarium on the left and the Koala-Haus (with the tower) on the right. It’s a beautiful, harmonious group of buildings from the Art Nouveau period. Leipzig’s Art Nouveau heritage isn’t as widely recognized as some other cities around Europe, but these really stand out.

Beyond its architecture, Leipzig Zoo is outstanding. We’re veterans of Zoos across Europe because our son loves them, and he rates this Zoo the best in Central Europe along with his home favourite, Prague Zoo.

There is an excellent rainforest section (Gondwanaland), the Land of Fire in the South American section, and the entire Pongoland ape area, where all four great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans) are kept. It’s a brilliant day out for the family – and quite possibly a full one at that.

Getting there: Tram 12 from Hauptbahnhof to Zoo

For around 40 years, this former insurance office building was the most feared address in Leipzig.  It was the headquarters of the city’s Stasi secret police, who worked for the Ministry of State Security (Ministerium fur Staatssicherheit).

The building’s name means ‘Round Corner’, which describes its shape. The Stasi are believed to have run the most extensive state surveillance operation in history, their network of employees, paid and ‘informal’ informers believed to have amounted to up to one in six East Germans. They were widely despised and dreaded – a knock on the door from the Stasi would usually mean your life was about to take a rapid turn for the worse.

The Runde Ecke houses the excellent Stasi Museum Leipzig. Visiting it is like stepping straight back in to the 1980s – the place is exactly as it was when the Stasi vacated the building in early 1990.

The Museum exhibits probably haven’t changed much since its inception, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The English audio guide (€5 – but entry to the Museum is free) explains everything in more than sufficient detail, from their cosy relationship with ‘brother’ (more like ‘mother’) organization the Soviet KGB to their insidious methods of torturing and tormenting the population of East Germany. 

It’s a must-see for anyone with an interest in the Cold War period. Also check out my guide to the best Cold War Sites in Berlin if this era piques your interest.   

Getting there: Trams 1, 9, 10, 11 and 12 stop nearby at Gottschedstrasse

Leipzig Hauptbahnhof – Leipzig Hbf on timetables – is the largest railway station in Europe by floor area, and one of the most impressive on the continent. It feels enormous inside, but it’s from the outside that you really get to appreciate its size. Walk across the street to the Unterer Park for the full view – the station front is almost 300 metres long.

The station has two large entrance halls (west and east), and an enormous concourse with access to most of the platforms (some of which are on a lower level).

After German reunification the station was renovated, with the two-level shopping mall built below the concourse.

Even if you’re not travelling from there, it’s we89ll worth dropping by for a few minutes to see the station.  Otherwise it’s your starting point for most day trips from Leipzig.