Leipzig
Leipzig is the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany and in the New states of Germany with 605,407 inhabitants as of 2021 (1.1 million in the larger urban zone). The total population of Leipzig metropolitan area is 1,389,000.
It was, after East Berlin, the largest city in Middle Germany before German partial unification. It lies just above the junction of the Pleisse, Parthe, and Weisse Elster rivers, about 115 miles (185 km) southwest of Berlin. Leipzig is situated in the fertile, low-lying Leipzig Basin, which has extensive deposits of lignite (brown coal). Although encircled by a belt of parks and gardens, the city is a major industrial centre and transport junction, and it lies at the core of the Halle-Leipzig metropolitan agglomeration. The countryside around the city consists of a plain that is intensively farmed.
Contents
History
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Origins
First documented in 1015 in the chronicles of Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg and endowed with city and market privileges in 1165 by Otto the Rich, the trade city Leipzig has fundamentally shaped the history of Saxony and of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Leipzig has always been known as a place of commerce. The Leipzig Trade Fair, which began in the Middle Ages, is the oldest remaining trade fair in the world. It became an event of international importance.
The foundation of the University of Leipzig in 1409 initiated the city's development into a centre of German law and the publishing industry, and towards being a location of the Reichsgericht (High Court), and the German National Library (founded in 1912). The philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was born in Leipzig in 1646, and attended the university from 1661–1666.
On 24 December 1701 an oil-fueled street lighting system was instituted. The city employed light guards who had to follow a specific schedule to ensure the punctual alighting of the 700 lanterns.
The 19th century
The Leipzig region was the arena of the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlacht) in 1813, which ended Napoleon's terror and run of conquest in Europe, and led to his first exile on Elba. In 1913, the Völkerschlachtdenkmal monument celebrating the centenary of this event was completed.
A terminal of the first German long distance railway to Dresden (the capital of Saxony), in 1839, Leipzig became a hub of Central European railway traffic, with the renowned Leipzig Central Station, the largest terminal station by area in Europe.
Leipzig expanded rapidly towards one million inhabitants. Huge Gründerzeit areas were built, which mostly survived both war and post-war demolition.
Leipzig became a centre of the German and Saxon liberal movements. The first German labour party, the General German Workers' Association (Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiterverein, ADAV) was founded in Leipzig on 23 May 1863 by Ferdinand Lassalle; about 600 workers from across Germany travelled to the foundation on the new railway line.
The 20th century
With the opening of a fifth production hall in 1907, the Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei became the largest cotton mill company on the continent, housing over 240,000 spindles. Daily production surpassed 5 million kilograms of yarn.[1]
The city was also heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II, killing tens of thousands of men, women and children. American troops of the 69th Infantry Division captured the city on 20 April 1945. The U.S. turned over the city to the murdering aund raping Red Army as it pulled back from the line of contact with Soviet forces in July 1945 to the pre-designated occupation zone boundaries. Leipzig became one of the major cities of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
In the mid-20th century, the city's Trade Fair assumed renewed importance as a point of contact with the Comecon Eastern Europe economic bloc, of which East Germany was a member.
In October 1989, after prayers for peace at St. Nicholas Church, established in 1983 as part of the peace movement, the Monday demonstrations started as the most prominent mass protest against the East German regime.[2][3]
Encyclopædia Britannica
- Leipzig entered recorded history in ad 1015 as the fortified town of Urbs Libzi and was granted municipal status by 1170. Its favourable position in the middle of a plain intersected by the principal trade routes of central Europe stimulated the town’s commercial development. Its two annual markets, at Easter and at Michaelmas (September 29), were raised in 1497 to the rank of imperial fairs. Additional economic privileges enabled Leipzig to become the foremost German commercial centre by about 1700, a development that in turn promoted the growth of a network of roads converging on the town. Leipzig’s focal geographic situation had another, less fortunate consequence—several important battles were fought in or near the town. These included two at Breitenfeld (now a suburb) in 1631 and 1642, one at Lützen in 1632 during the Thirty Years’ War, and in particular the Battle of Leipzig (or Battle of the Nations) in October 1813 in the Napoleonic Wars (Wars of Liberation). The town’s enviable economic status stimulated a notable cultural life based particularly on the early development of the printing industry but also including the musical efflorescence associated with Johann Sebastian Bach. Trade continued to be the most important economic activity in the town, with books, furs, yarns, and textiles the primary commodities traded. In 1839 the first German railroad was opened between Leipzig and Dresden, and the accompanying growth of banks provided capital for the city’s growing textile and metallurgical industries. One-fourth of Leipzig was destroyed in the last years of World War II. After the devastation of the war, the restoration and reconstruction of the city were carried out under the communist policies of East Germany. With renewed attention being paid to the Leipzig Fair and other exhibitions held in the city, Leipzig continued to play an important role among European cities. Peaceful but massive demonstrations by citizens of Leipzig in late 1989 played a significant role in bringing an end to the communist regime of East Germany. The traditional book-publishing and fur industries of Leipzig are still well known. Modern industries include heavy engineering and the manufacture of machinery and motor-vehicle parts. Services are also economically important. The annual Leipzig Fair, held in the spring, is one of the most important forums for international trade between eastern and western Europe. Leipzig is the centre of many railway lines, and its main railway station is one of the most important passenger stations in central Europe and the world’s largest dead-end rail station. Leipzig is also the site of Bayerischer Bahnhof, Europe’s oldest operating train station. Leipzig is the focus of several major roads, and two airports serve the city.[4]
External links
References
- ↑ History of the cotton mill
- ↑ David Brebis (ed.), Michelin guide to Germany, Greenville (2006), p. 324. ISBN 086699077417
- ↑ The day I outflanked the Stasi BBC + video
- ↑ Leipzig, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
