Inside The Magic of Leipzig, Germany

Don’t worry guys, I had never heard of Leipzig either before moving to Germany, but it’s definitely worth checking out!

Leipzig is the fastest growing city in Germany, located in the federal state of Saxony, with a population of 579,530 inhabitants. Leipzig is only two hours away from Berlin via Flixbus, so it’s a great day trip!

Leipzig is widely known as a City of Music, boasting with such names as Bach, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Grieg, and Schumann, all of whom used to live and work there. Besides the influence of music, Leipzig is also known for its beautiful architecture and St. Thomas church where the infamous Johann Bach worked from 1723-1750.

I decided to visit Leipzig for two reasons; I love traveling and wanted to visit a friend that lives there. (The story behind that is quite interesting) 😀

 

One of my favorite aspects of Leipzig was the feeling that I was actually in Germany. I know, I know, I’ve lived in Germany for eight months now, but Berlin is unlike the rest of Germany. Berlin is an incredibly diverse and international city, resulting in English being spoken everywhere. This factor was really nice when I first moved to Germany, but one of my biggest goals is to learn German, which can be difficult when everyone around me wants to speak English.

It was quite refreshing to be forced to speak German and I loved walking down the street and hearing German instead of English! I was actually complimented on my German language skills while ordering food before heading back to Berlin, which was hands down the best part of my trip.

 

On my last day in Leipzig, my friend and I went on a bike ride to Völkerschlachtdenkmal, or Monument to the Battle of the Nations.

This monument commemorates Napolean’s defeat in Leipzig in 1813, which was seen as a victory for the German people. (Even though Germany didn’t technically exist until 1870.)

This location is known for one of the bloodiest battles that happened in October of 1813, which caused Napolean to order the retreat of his army back to France. Russian, Prussian, Austrian, and Swedish soldiers fought against the French army aided by Polish, Italian, and German speakers from the Confederation of the Rhine.

This monument was only a short 10-minute bike ride from where I was staying. The weather was perfect, the view from the top was incredible, and I also learned a little more about German history. It was overall a perfect weekend.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

There is currently ongoing construction in the front of the monument, as you can see from the pictures. Construction workers will be adding a small body of water to the front of this monument, which is commonly used as an ice rink during the winter.

I would definitely recommend visiting Leipzig, Germany! It’s a sight to see filled with amazing history!

My favorite spots were:

1. St. Thomas church
2. City Center
3. Völkerschlachtdenkmal
4. The Panorama Museum

 

Have you been to Leipzig before? If so, what did you love most? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading! 🙂