Top places to visit while staying in Leipzig
Sticking with
the theme of Leipzig and my wanderings around this beautiful city, it´s a must
to share with you my top places that you should visit if you get a chance.
It´s not so
often you stumble upon a city with such a rich history. Being older than 1000
years, Leipzig has gone through almost everything you can imagine. It was the
centre of trade during the times of Holy Roman Empire, a place to be if you
wanted to receive the best education or meet famous artists or, equally
important, a city that has seen the fall of one of the biggest regimes dividing
Europe in two. And that´s not even all!
I could write
about these historical facts all day, but I know that not everyone is
interested in reading novel-long information written by a history-freak who
could watch BBC documentaries all day every day. Instead, I am going to start
with my list of places worth-seeing, adding some useful information as I go.
The first in the
line is the Monument to the Battle of the Nations which stands tall not so far
from the city centre. It was built as a commemoration of the Battle of Leipzig
in 1813 which has seen Napoleon getting his ass massively kicked.
The monument also houses a museum dedicated to the war and exhibits findings
from the era. If you don´t like historical stuff, that´s okay, you still have
loads to explore there. Just looking at the mass of stone from the outside, one
feels like being teleported from Germany to the mythical Atlantis; the
structure is so enormously big that you feel like no human hand would be able
to give shape to those giant stones. However, stepping inside might give you a
whole another level of chills; for starters, it looks even more ginormous than
from the outside. Giant windows, loads of steps, dome-like roof and huge
statues may leave you feeling like reaching the utmost peak of Olymp Mountain
and meeting ancient gods. What is more, climbing up all the stairs and entering
the roof level gives you the opportunity to see quite a decent view on the city
from almost a bird´s perspective. History lover or not, being in Leipzig and
not seeing the “Völki” would be a real overkill.
Talking about
incredible views, Panorama Tower or the City-Hochhaus is your next stop. It´s a
36-storey high skyscraper and the tallest building in Leipzig. Designed by
Hermann Hanselmann, it´s supposed to look like an open book. Originally, it was
part of the Augusteum Campus of University of Leipzig, but was sold to American
investors, who now rent its rooms to private companies, a public broadcaster
and a restaurant that can be found at the top of the tower. For a small price
to pay, you can reach the top of the tower and admire the breath-taking view on
the beautiful city of Leipzig spreading kilometres to the wide distance.
Touching the subject of Uni Campus, skipping
this place in your tour through the city would be a giant no-no. The Uni itself
is one of the world´s oldest universities and the second oldest one in Germany.
It’s got some pretty famous alumni like Nietzsche, Wagner, Leibniz, Goethe,
Brahe or, Germany´s current Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Going back to the Augusteum Campus, it´s one of the prettiest buildings in
Leipzig; it´s a perfect combination of the old and the new since it´s built on
foundations of an old monastery, remnants of which are still visible in the new
glass-steel-stone construction. Walking inside into the main building and
looking up, you feel like the giant pillars supporting the high ceiling are
touching the sky. Taking a little walk behind a glass door, you can see the
original walls of the monastery that predeceased the modern superstructure. It´s
simply something you can´t miss.
Walking through the building´s back door, you find yourself standing in a
crowded yard that connects the main building with the seminar building and the
Campus´s (delicious) Mensa. The yard is a well-loved place by students who like
to take a little smoke break in between their classes or just enjoy a little bit
of sunlight after a tough day. The campus emanates the “smell” of a student
life, which undoubtedly is one of the must-see features of Leipzig.
The city is full
of historical buildings, churches, museums and galleries and taking a moment to
describe each and every one of them would be too much to read. So I am going to
sum it up and mention those that find the most amazing. I definitely have to
start with the Thomas Kirche, which is one of the most beautiful churches I´ve
ever seen. Apart from that, it´s a frequent tourist spot because one of the
greatest composers, Johan Sebastian Bach is buried there. Plus, a little side
note, there is a grave with a knight tombstone which I like to visit because it
reminds me of King ArthurJ. Next to the church, there is a museum dedicated
solely to Bach, his life and his music, which, for a music lover, is definitely
one of the must-see places in the city centre. If your stomach is screaming at
you after the long exhibition, there is a nice Italian place with the best
pizza in Leipzig and its own amazingly tasty beer just under the church.
For those who
came to Leipzig to experience its night life, there is an almost infinite amount of
night clubs and bars open until late (or early) hours. For me, Moritz Bastei, a
club located in the centre near the Campus stands out the most because it´s
located in the basement of an old bastion- what an unusual location for a club,
right? And when it comes to bars and places to eat, you should definitely visit
the Barfussgässchen, a little street located near the city centre square that
is full of not only German, but also international bars and restaurants ( you
should definitely have a Guinness or two in the Irish pub or try the
“Flammkuchen” next door).
Pretty massive
amount of places to see, right? I know.. and I mentioned only a little fraction of them all. It took me years to find some of the
best locations but once in Leipzig, you definitely can´t miss them because
these are the places that will show you the “true face” of the city and I
guarantee you, you´ll fall in love immediately, just like me.
Until next time,
čauko, Lenka
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUCyrHAgwkr/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/BTl01-SgY2m/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/BThJh1ugfvq/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/BTdks3iAqwF/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/BTKFncuA-Bv/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/BOM2Bu4Adfd/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/BOAKqwLgMuo/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/BHZ9ssChtbJ/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/BFwzslGHMY9/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/9vUndfHMa3/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/8xgLgDHMbd/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/6HMBq5nMag/?taken-by=lady_tonks16https://www.instagram.com/p/zNGYFCHMcw/?taken-by=lady_tonks16
Comments
Post a Comment