focus on... - Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH

Issue 10/December ’05-February ’06 >> Leipzig tourism and travel quarterly
download at: www.naeherdran-leipzig.de
>dran
news Event highlights 2006 +++ <strong>focus</strong> on... Jewish history in Leipzig +++ Arcades and trading
Top Aktuell: Leipzig auf dem Weg zu Olympia
houses +++ In Leipzig’s fair city +++ looking back/looking ahead +++ reflections +++ guest
Stichpunktartig commentary Interview Einschübe with möglich Wolfgang +++ Marzin Schlagzeile +++ tourism des Beitrages notes +++ +++ boulevard Stichpunktartig Einschübe
IV/05 NÄHER
In Leipzig’s fair city....
>>Business at the heart of Europe
Photo: Dirk Brzoska
Intern styling: Salon Strese, www.salon-strese.de
Looking for addresses in Leipzig? No problem – just log on to www.leipzig.de!
>> Business at the heart of Europe
Includes map of
the Leipzig Fair complex
>> NÄHER dran
1

foreword
Re: My foreword in Issue 9 of NÄHER dran
"It’s finally arrived –
the fifth season of
the year, the time to
delight any accountant’s
heart, that
miraculous period when the
budgets are thrashed out and the
books are balanced.”
Hmm, I’ve certainly been getting it
in the neck lately, I can tell you! But
at least I can sleep peacefully in the
knowledge that our magazine
NÄHER dran is obviously scrutinised
from cover to cover, which
pleases me no end! Allow me to
take this opportunity to respond to
some of the harsher comments I’ve
been on the receiving end of!
Dear Gentleman from City
Hall,
- First of all, NÄHER dran isn’t financed
by the local council!
- I’m a bit surprised you think the
council budget is none of our
business. Don’t forget it’s our
money you’re frittering away!
- Jealousy is something you have
to fight hard for – you seem to
be lagging behind a bit in this respect.
-I love your suggestion about concentrating
on the work at hand.
You concentrate on yours and I’ll
concentrate on mine!
By the way, he who has the better
perception shouldn’t be afraid of
being unpopular. Winston Churchill
said that. Moreover, we can
only tell others as much as they
can absorb. Goethe said that.
Dear Ms Tour Guide,
Regarding your remark (not made
to me personally, I hasten to add)
that STRASSE der STARS© was
above all meant as a memorial to
myself; ouch – that hurt! I mean,
what about all the regular tourism
breakfasts, NÄHER dran magazine,
the biggest advent calendar
An irresistible offer!
LEIPZIG – the treasure of the Incas in Leipzig
Kathrin Klug
Includes:
Valid:
>> foreword/contents
in the world, the three entries in
the Guinness Book of Records,
the art installation ‘Bach over
Leipzig’, etc? Then again, of
course, I’m absolutely delighted
that I’m clearly uppermost in your
mind during your guided tours!
Given this, our loyal relationship
looks set to last for years to come!
Right, that’s all for now – till we
meet again!
Richard Schrumpf
• Individual arrival
•1 x bed & breakfast in a mid-range
hotel in Leipzig
• Admission to the exhibition "Millennium
of Inca Gold” at Romanushaus
• Coffee and cake at Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum,
the second-oldest coffeehouse in Europe
• One information brochure on Leipzig per booking
until 28 February 2006
Price: from €59 per person in double room
single room supplement from €35
Can I take your booking?
Leipzig Tourist Service e.V.
Richard-Wagner-Straße 1, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 341/71 04 275
Fax: +49 (0) 341/71 04 251
E-Mail: Incoming@LTS-Leipzig.de
Follow us to the Leipzig Fair
Contents
NÄHER dran
Tourist information from Leipzig
Issue 10 (December 2005-February 2006)
news Page 4
• On the hot seat
• Event highlights 2006
<strong>focus</strong> on... Page 9
• Boroughs of Leipzig: North-West
• Gems of Leipzig: Jewish history in Leipzig
• Calendar: Hugo Steiner-Prag
• Beacons of culture: The Musical Comedy
• Cover story: Fairs and conventions in Leipzig
• The Leipzig Fair – a chronicle
• Arcades and exhibition centres
• Highlights at the Leipzig Fair in 2006
• The exhibition centre for Central Europe
• Conventions and conferences in Leipzig
• Map of the Leipzig Fair complex
guest comment Page 21
• Wolfgang Marzin (Leipzig Fair)
book guide Page 23
looking back/looking ahead Page 24
• LTS’s projects and activities
• Where are they now?
tourism breakfast Page 26
tourism notes Page 28
• Newsflashes from hospitality,
the arts and business
introducing Page 30
leipzig in superlatives Page 31
views and opinions Page 32
• Letters to the editor
• glorsischd – de gwardalschellde
boulevard Page 33
• Why? How come? (by Daniel Zanetti)
• 5 questions for Wiebke Spitzner
• Photo of the quarter
• Competition: the best front cover
• The NÄHER dran team
credits Page 34
>> NÄHER dran
3

news
On the hot seat – the mayoral candidates
>> At the 107th Tourism
Breakfast in the Moritzbastei
on 25 January 2006, LTS will be
presenting the mayoral candidates
nominated by the parties
on Leipzig City Council.
On 27 November 2005, Leipzig
City Council along with 240 invited
guests bade farewell to Wolfgang
Tiefensee when he left office as
Mayor of Leipzig. Born in 1955 in
the town of Gera, Herr Tiefensee
stepped down upon being appointed
Minister of Transport, Construction
and Urban Development
in the new German cabinet.
"Wolfgang Tiefensee stamped a
mark on Leipzig – and even gave
the city a melody,” said Helma
Orosz (CDU), the Saxon health
minister, referring to Wolfgang
Tiefensee’s famous cello performance
as part of Leipzig’s Olympic
bid.
The mayoral elections will be held
on 5 February 2006. If none of the
candidates succeed in winning an
overall majority, a second ballot will
be held on 28 February.
Michael WEICHERT
(BÜNDNIS90/Greens)
Michael Weichert has lived in Leipzig
since 1961. A trained gas fitter
and waiter, he went on to study
Protestant theology and quickly
became actively involved in the
parish council and the youth congregation.
Working as a restaurant
manager and project manager, he
entered politics in 1989. He has
been a city councillor since 1994,
becoming the Greens’ leader on
Leipzig City Council in 1999. In
2004 he entered the Saxon
regional parliament, where he was
made deputy leader of his party.
His organisational skills are
demonstrated by for instance his
work in the Möckern-Wahren citizens’
action group, the borough
newspaper Viadukt and as project
manager at BioCity. He is also
known for his commitment to sport
and the arts in Leipzig.
www.gruene-leipzig.de
Dietmar PELLMANN
(Linkspartei.PDS)
Born on 19 December 1950 in the
Erzgebirge (‘Ore Mountains’),
Dietmar Pellmann is a historian.
He does not belong to any denomination
and is married with three
children. After passing the baccalaureate,
he studied history at
Karl Marx University in Leipzig from
1969 until 1973, where he subsequently
lectured from 1985 until
1991. He then became the press
spokesman of the Leipzig Disabled
Association until 1994. Herr
Pellmann joined the SED in 1972,
which was renamed PDS (Party of
Democratic Socialism) in 1990,
and was chairman of the Leipzig
branch of the PDS from 1994 until
2001. Dietmar Pellmann has been
a city councillor in Leipzig since
1991 and a member of the Saxon
parliament since 1999.
www.pds-leipzig.de
Burkhard JUNG
(Social Democratic Party)
Jung (47) has four children and
has been the Deputy Mayor for
Youth, Social Services, Health and
Schools in Leipzig since 1999,
putting him in charge of about
3,500 local authority employees. A
trained teacher, he sees the main
priorities of the mayor as maintaining
social cohesion and strengthening
the local economy, as well as
attracting more people to Leipzig
and raising its hospitable, international
profile.
www.burkhard-jung.de
Uwe ALBRECHT
(Christian Democratic Party)
Uwe Albrecht was born on 19 July
1957 and has two children. After
training as a car mechanic he went
on to become a department head
at transport company Kraftverkehr
Leipzig. Joining the CDU in 1979,
Michael Weichert Dietmar Pellmann
Burkhard Jung Uwe Albrecht
he has been a member of the
Saxon parliament since 1990. As
the CDU’s construction and transport
spokesman, he campaigned
for the improvement of the motorways
around Leipzig and was
news
Event highlights 2006
>> To help you plan ahead,
we’ve compiled a list of the key
events in 2006 based on information
provided by the individual
organisers. Please note
that LTS cannot accept any liability
for the accuracy of the
information below. For news of
other fascinating events, log
on to www.leipzig.de, Tourist
Service, Veranstaltungstipps.
The organisers’ contact details
are also to be found under
Tourist Service at Adressen in
Leipzig.
We’ll be happy to send you a
detailed overview complete
with a brief description of each
event – just write to
Presse@LTS-Leipzig.de.
Enjoy browsing through the
following highlights – and
have fun planning your stay!
closely involved in the building of
the GVZ logistics centre. Since
2002 Uwe Albrecht has been the
CDU’s finance spokesman in the
regional parliament.
www.albrecht-uwe.de
January
1 January
(City centre)
Galeria Kaufhof
New Year’s Run
15 January
(Gewandhaus)
The Harlem Gospel
Singers & Band
20 January
(Neue Szene)
Première: Drei mal Leben
20-22 January
(Leipzig Fair)
Partner Pferd (horse show)
21 January
(Schauspielhaus Theatre)
German première:
Forasters (Foreigners)
22 January
(academixer comedy club)
The Last of the Mohicans
27 January
(Leipzig Arena)
Falco meets Amadeus
27 January
(Leipzig Opera House)
Première:
The Abduction from the Seraglio
27-29 January
(Leipzig Fair)
Body Look (bodywear trade show)
4 >> NÄHER dran news

27-29 January
(Gewandhaus)
Mozart Festival 2006
28 January
(Leipzig Fair, Glass Hall)
Sports Ball
28-29 January
(agra park, Markkleeberg)
Antiques and flea markets
31 January
(Gewandhaus)
Concert in aid of children
suffering from cancer
February
Until February
(Pfeffermühle comedy club)
Success Liberates... and
It’s a Mad World!
1 February
(Leipzig Arena)
1st National Volleyball League
(VVL vs. VCM)
1-4 February
(Leipzig Fair)
baufach (construction trade show)
1-4 February
(Leipzig Fair)
innbau (interior design and woodworking
trade show)
1 February - 2 April
(Krystallpalast Varieté Theatre)
International variety show: Miss
Fortune
2 February
(Frosch Café)
Première: The Saleswomen
9-11 February
(Academy of Visual Arts)
Tour of the Academy
10-12 February
(Leipzig Fair)
The Leipzig Motorcycle Show
10-19 February
(agra park, Markkleeberg)
WinterSpec.xtakel
11-26 February
(Grassi Museum of Applied Art)
Reopening of the workshops
12 February
(Leipzig Arena)
LE Athletics Meeting
(light athletics)
14-19 February
(Leipzig Opera House)
Sleeping Beauty on Ice
18 February
(Theater hinterm Eisernen)
Première: Cement
18-20 February
(Leipzig Fair)
ImmobilienMesse
(real estate exhibition)
18-26 February
(Leipzig Fair)
Home-Garden-Leisure
18-26 February
(Leipzig Fair)
Central German Small Trades Fair
24 February - 7 May
(Leipzig Gallery of Modern Art)
De_Codierungen and Monica
Bonvicini
25 February
(Pegau)
Grand procession through the
carnival capital
26 February
(City centre)
Carnival procession
26 February
(Leipzig Fair)
FLORIGA (flower show)
Until 26 February
(Museum of Fine Art)
ART & POLITICS
>> news
27-28 February
(Krystallpalast Varieté Theatre)
Failed Diets
Until 28 February
(Romanushaus)
The Curse of Gold –
a Millennium of Inca Gold
March
From March
(Grassi Museum of Ethnology)
Permanent exhibition:
Mongols and Tibetans
3 March-30 July
(Museum of City History)
Lord of the Rules –
the Football Referee
4 March-2 April
(Kohlrabizirkus)
Musical: Cats
4-6 March
(Leipzig Fair)
CADEAUX Leipzig
(gift items trade show)
11 March
(Leipzig Opera House)
Première: Brilliant Three Times
Over – Grand Ballet
16-19 March
(Leipzig Fair)
Leipzig Book Fair and Leipzig Reads
16-19 March
(Leipzig Fair)
Leipzig Antiquarian Fair
17-19 March
(Leipzig Arena)
Best of Musicals
18 March
(Schauspielhaus Theatre)
Première: The Rats
19 March
(Schauspielhaus Theatre)
Première: Horn’s End
19 March
(City centre, Alte Messe)
Sunday shopping
19 March
(academixer comedy club)
Première: Jubilee programme
24 March
(Forum of Contemporary History)
Museum Festival
26 March
(Leipzig Arena)
Easy Listening Star Parade 2006
26 March
(Neue Szene)
Première:
I Am My Own Wife
April
1-5 April
(Leipzig Fair)
AMITEC (vehicle components show)
1-9 April
(Leipzig Fair)
Auto Mobil International
1 April
(Leipzig Opera House)
Première: Wedding Night in
Paradise
2 April
(Leipzig Zoo)
Official opening of the Asian elephant
temple Ganesha Mandir
5 April-1 July
(Krystallpalast Varieté Theatre)
International variety show:
Ballrausch – Glittering Ball
6 April-3 June
(University of Leipzig)
Gilgamesch (exhibition)
8 April
(Leipzig Opera House)
Première: Parsifal
8 April
(BELANTIS)
New season opens
10-17 April
(City centre)
Historical Leipzig Easter Fair
13-14 April
(St Thomas’s Boys Choir)
St Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Until 17 April
(Forum of Contemporary History)
Rock! Youth and Music in Germany
20 April-8 October
(Oschatz)
Oschatz 2006 –
Regional Garden Show
20 April
(Leipzig Fair)
1st Leipzig Insurance and
Investment Fund Show
21 April
(GRASSI Museum)
Reopening of the University of
Leipzig’s Museum of Musical
Instruments
21-22 April
(Marriott Hotel)
Operetta Ball
22 April-14 May
(Cottaweg)
Funfair
23 April
(City centre)
30th Leipzig Marathon
26 April
(Augustusplatz)
Flower and Pottery Market
28 April
(Anker)
Final: Young Musicians against
Violence and Racism
28 April
(Leipzig Opera House)
Ballet relaunch: 1,000 Greetings
The spectacular exhibition on the Qin Terracotta Army
can be seen until the end of April 2006
28-29 April
(Leipzig Central Station)
Football Tournament for Boys’
Choirs
28 April-6 May
(Gewandhaus, churches)
a cappella –
VII Festival of Vocal Music
28 April-16 July
(GRASSI Museum of Ethnology)
Yearning for Distant Lands:
German–Ethiopian History
29-30 April
(Galleries and museums in the city centre)
Art Tour in Leipzig
30 April
(Monument to the Battle of the Nations)
Leipzig. Stand Up and Be Counted
Until the end of April
(Centers of Chinese Arts and Culture)
Qin Terracotta Army
Mai
2-4 May
(Leipzig Fair)
GPEC 2006
3 May
(Frosch Café)
Première: Once and Again
4-7 May
(Leipzig Fair)
ROOF+WALL 2006
5-6 May
(Leipzig New Lakeland)
7-Lake Trek 2006
6 May
(City centre)
Night-shift. Leipzig Museum Night
6 May
(Leipzig Opera House)
Première: The Black Monk
>> NÄHER dran
5

Advertisement
Frosch Café’s delightful
productions continue in 2006
Frosch Café is also a charming
small venue presenting a wide
range of small-scale productions
and performances, also including
cabaret.
At show time this popular café is
transformed into a delightful theatre
serving top-quality Bohemian
lager and a selection of choice
wines.
Audiences can look forward to
more than forty amusing, entertaining
yet also thought-provoking
productions in the period until July
2006 – including three theatre
premières.
Die Verkäuferinnen –
The Saleswomen
(Première on 2 February 2006)
Noch mal mit Gefühl –
Once Again with Feeling
(Première on 3 May 2006)
Nachtschwestern –
Night Nurses
(Première on 8 June 2006)
10-13 May
(Leipzig Fair)
ORTHOPÄDIE + REHA-TECHNIK
(prosthetics, orthotics and rehabilitation
trade show)
From 12 May
(Kunsthalle Sparkasse)
Leipzig and Photography/1
Details and tickets
Frosch Café and Theatre
Thomasiusstraße 2 (junction with
Jahnallee)
04109 Leipzig, Leipzig
10-13 May
(Leipzig Arena)
Saturday Night Fever
12-14 May
(Augustusplatz)
Nokia Beach Cup
Tel: +49 (0) 341 225 1363
Fax: +49 (0) 341 651 6954
Email: mail@froschcafe.de
Web: www.froschcafe.de
13-14 May
(Various venues)
2nd Leipzig Theatre Festival:
TheaterMacht Leipzig – Mosaic
Worlds 06
14 May
(Gewandhaus)
Kiss Her Hand – Mother’s Day Gala
14 May
(Fockeberg)
15th Soap-Box Race
14-21 May
(Bad Schmiedeberg)
800th anniversary of Bad Schmiedeberg
with grand procession on
21 May (2pm)
14 May
(academixer comedy club)
Première: Telephone!
19 May
(Schauspielhaus Theatre)
Première: A Sports Play
19 May-13 August
(Gallery of Modern Art)
Grey Zones, Archit-Action,
Deimantas Narcevicius
20 May
(Gewandhaus)
7th American Choir Festival
21 May
(Leipzig New Lakeland)
Cycling: Lakeland Classics –
Around the Lignite
21 May
(Neue Szene)
Première: To Denver
21-27 May
(City centre)
Christopher Street Day
24-28 May
(Barfussgässchen)
2nd Leipzig Festival of Musical
Theatre at the Fountain
25 May
(Leipzig Opera House)
Première: Hair (musical)
27 May
(Schauspielhaus, city centre)
Spectacle of Theatre & Sport
27 May-5 June
(City centre)
Leipzig Bach Fest 2006
June
June-August
(Leipzig churches)
Leipzig Summer Organ Festival
June-August
(University of Music and Theatre)
Summer theatre in Leipzig
1 June
(BELANTIS)
Children’s Day at BELANTIS
2-5 June
(Fortuna Stadium)
4th Daniel Nivel Cup
2-5 June
(City centre, agra)
15th Wave-Gothic Festival
2 June-9 October
(Forum of Contemporary History)
Neighbours and Friends:
Germany and Austria
3-5 June
(City centre)
15th Leipzig City Festival
5 June
(Ramada Hotel)
1st East German
Table Football Championships
8 June
(Frosch Café)
Première: Night Nurses
From 8 June
(Kunsthalle Sparkasse)
View of the Collection/6
9 June-9 July
(Leipzig Central Stadium)
2006 FIFA World Cup Germany
9 June-9 July
(Augustusplatz)
FIFA World Cup Fan Fest
9 June-9 July
(City centre)
DokFilm – Programme for the FIFA
World Cup in conjunction with ARTE
10 June-13 August
(Museum of Fine Art)
World XI – Artists on the Ball
14 June-16 July
(Forum of Contemporary History)
Flashback 2006
22-24 June
(Augustusplatz)
Leipzig Wine Festival
July
8 July
(Gohlis Palace)
Première: Summer Theatre
1 July-20 August
(Inner courtyard at Paulan Restaurant)
Summer production by
academixer comedy club
2 July
(Monument to the Battle of the Nations)
14th International Leipzig
Bathtub Race
3 July 7-28 August
(Statue of Bach)
International Summer Music
Festival: Monday Concerts
4-15 July
(Bach Archive)
XV International Johann
Sebastian Bach Competition
6 July-12 August
(Leipzig Zoo)
Summer open-air:
"I Take My Hat Off!”
6 July
(Rosental Park)
Opera Gala: Classics in the Park
7 July
(Rosental Park)
Grand Concert: Classics in the Park
7-9 July
(Monument to the Battle of the Nations)
8th Leipzig Beer Exchange
7-9 July
(Bitterfeld)
2nd Bitterfeld Harbour Festival
8 July
(Alte Messe, Pavilion 7)
1st Leipzig School-Leavers’ Cup
9 July
(Schladitz Waterside Palace)
Horse & Music
12 July
(Leipzig Central Stadium)
The Rolling Stones
14-16 July
(Johannapark)
Edition 2013
14-23 July
(Richard-Wagner-Hain)
4th Leipzig Festival of Spoken Plays
15 July
(Ernst-Gruber-Halle)
Freestyle Wrestling Grand Prix
15 July
(Festwiese)
Depeche Mode
17 July-13 August
(University of Music and Theatre)
15th Euro Music Festival & Academy
19 July
(City centre)
2,000km Through Germany
(vintage car rally)
20 and 28 July
(Leipzig Zoo)
Rendezvous at the Zoo
22 July
(Open-air stage in Clara Zetkin Park)
Première: Alice’s Bedroom
6 >> NÄHER dran news

26-30 July
(Lake Silbersee, Lössnig)
12th Saxonia International Balloon
Fiesta
August
4-12 August
(Augustusplatz)
Classic Open
12-13 August
(Paunsdorf Sport and Recreation Park)
Saxonian Dance Days
12 August-3 September
(Cottaweg)
Funfair
13 August
Stasi Museum in the ‘Round Corner’)
Long Night of Film marking the
anniversary of the Berlin Wall
18-20 August
(Leipzig lakes and rivers)
6th Leipzig Water Festival
19 August
(Leipzig Zoo)
Lights of Jungle Night
24-27 August
(Leipzig Fair)
GC – Games Convention
26 August
(City centre)
Honky Tonk (festival of pub music)
30-31 August
(Neue Messe)
REALLOCATION
(investors’ trade show)
30 August-29 October
(Krystallpalast Varieté Theatre)
Nightshimmer
September
Early September
(Gohlis Palace)
Festival: 250th Anniversary of
Gohlis Palace
1-17 September
(Gewandhaus)
Mendelssohn Festival
1 September - 30 October
(Gallery of Modern Art)
Last Minute and Dorit Margreiter
2 September
(Festwiese)
Better Times Festival
3 September
(Leipzig/Halle)
5th Central German Marathon
From 3 September
(GRASSI Museum of Ethnology)
Korean Calligraphy by Jung Do-Jun
9 September
(Leipzig Zoo)
KIDZ
9-10 September
(City centre)
Tour: Art in Leipzig
9-11 September
(Leipzig Fair)
MIDORA Leipzig (jewellery trade show)
9-11 September
(Leipzig Fair)
COMFORTEX
(interior design trade show
9-11 September
(Leipzig Fair)
CADEAUX Leipzig
(gift items trade show)
9-17 September
(Schumann-Haus)
Schumann Festival
9 September
(Grosspösna)
Surface Mine Floodlights 2006
10 September
(GRASSI Museum)
GASSI Museum Festival
>> news
10 September
(Various institutions)
Monument Open Day
10 September
(Moritzbastei)
40th anniversary of the academixer
comedy club
17 September
(Leipzig Fair)
FloraSax
17 September-1 October
(City centre)
Intercultural Festival
22-23 September
(Leipzig Fair)
FACHDENTAL Leipzig
23 September
(Leipzig Opera House)
Première: Luisa Miller
23 September-3 October
(BELANTIS)
Oktoberfest Beer Festival
24 September
(academixer comedy club)
Première: New programme with
Gunter Böhnke
24 September
(Festwiese)
17th naTo Cup
30 September-8 October
(City centre)
Leipzig Market Festival
30 September-3 October
(Leipzig Fair)
Model-Hobbies-Games
October
October
(Rosalinde etc.)
LeLeTre – 13th Festival of
Lesbian Life Art
1 October
(City centre, Alte Messe)
Sunday shopping
5-8 October
(City centre)
Festival of Early Music
9 October
(City centre)
Autumn ’89 –
the Emergence of Democracy
11-14 October
(Various venues)
Leipzig Jazz Festival
12-22 October
(Comedy clubs)
Lachmesse Comedy Festival
From 13 October
(Kunsthalle Sparkasse)
View of the Collection/7
14-31 October
(BELANTIS)
Halloween Festival
20-22 October
(GRASSI Museum)
Grassi Fair
20-22 October
(Leipzig and the surroundings)
Celebrations commemorating the
1813 Battle of the Nations
25-28 October
(Leipzig Fair)
denkmal (heritage trade show)
26-29 October
(Leipzig Fair)
Leipzig Art and Antiques Fair
26 October-26 November
(Krystallpalast Varieté Theatre)
Cabaret (musical)
28 October
(Leipzig Opera House)
13th Opera Ball
28 October-12 November
(Cottaweg)
Funfair
29 October
(City centre, Alte Messe etc)
Sunday shopping
30 October-5 November
(City centre)
International Leipzig Festival for
Documentary and Animated Film
November
7-12 November
(Various venues)
16th euro-scene Leipzig (festival of
contemporary dance)
9 November
(Stasi Museum in the ‘Round Corner’)
Long Night of Film marking the
anniversary of the fall of the Wall
10-13 November
(Leipzig churches)
International Bach Choir Festival
>> NÄHER dran
7

12 November
(City centre, Alte Messe etc)
Sunday shopping
15-22 November
(Leipzig/Halle)
12th French Film Festival
17-18 November
(Leipzig Fair)
Saxon Festival of Training and Studying
18 November
(Leipzig Opera House)
Première: Lohengrin
22-26 November
(Leipzig Fair)
Three public shows: Tourism and
Caravanning, Cycling.Market.Future,
Leipzig Wedding
24-26 November
(Old City Hall, Gewandhaus)
Festival of Chamber Music
26 November
(academixer comedy club)
Première:
80 Questions Around the World
27 November-22 December
(City centre)
Leipzig Christmas Fair
December
December
(Leipzig Fair)
12th José Carreras Gala
The event-makers
The fact that for decades Leipzig
has hosted numerous extraordinary
events, some of them internationally
famous, is all down to
the commitment of a string of
managers and idealists. Their hard
work includes the draining search
Yadegar Asisi
(Rome CCCXII)
Maud Glauche (NOKIA
Beach Cup, a capella
Festival of Vocal Music, etc)
Dr. Eva Maria Hoyer
(Museum of Applied Art)
7-8 December
(Gewandhaus)
The Messiah
9 December
(Leipzig Opera House)
Première: The Merry Widow – Lehár
Until 31 December
(Alte Messe, Pavilion 14)
Dialogue in the Dark and
Dinner in the Dark
Until 31 December
(Panometer)
Yadegar Asisi’s Rome CCCXII
31 December
(Leipzig Arena)
Apassionata (equestrian gala night)
All year round
Fridays (6pm) and
Saturdays (3pm)
at St Thomas’s Church
Motets and cantatas by
St Thomas’s Boys Choir
Sundays (Mendelssohn House)
Sunday recitals at
Mendelsohn House
Jan–June, Sept–Nov:
Wednesdays (8pm);
Dec: Sundays (5pm)
Recitals in the Summer Hall
of Bose House
for sponsors and supporters. To
say thank-you, we’d like to present
some of the faces behind
Leipzig’s busy arts calendar without
whom Leipzig would be a
much duller place.
Michael Berninger
(Art Tour)
Stojan Gogutschkow
(Intercultural Festival)
Helga und Gunther Krön
(2,000km Through
Germany)
Below is a list of other cultural highlights.
Tickets are available from
Leipzig Information’s Ticket Service
(see advert on page 4).
The venues are indicated by the following
abbreviations:
A = Arena Leipzig
AK = Anker
C = Congress Center Leipzig
F = Festwiese Leipzig
G = Gewandhaus
H = Haus Auensee
K = Kulturbundhaus
L = Haus Leipzig
M = Michaeliskirche (St Michael’s
Church)
MB = Moritzbastei
M1 = Messehalle 1(Leipzig Fair)
N = Nikolaikirche
(St Nicholas’s Church)
O = Leipzig Opera House
P = Peterskirche
(St Peter’s Church)
S = Schauspielhaus Theatre
T = Thomaskirche
(St Thomas’s Church)
W = Werk II
January
02.01. ABBA Mania, G
03.01. Musical Starlights, G
30.01. Night of the Dance, S
04.01. Dinner for One, S
04.01. Fire of Dance, G
05.01. Carmina Burana &
Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, G
06.01. Phantom of the Opera, A
06.01. Live from Buena Vista,
The Havana Lounge, G
08.01. Viennese Johann Strauss
Concert Gala, G
09.01. Klaus Hoffmann, G
10.01. Andreas Vollenweider +
Band, G
11.01. Swing Legends, G
12.01. Very best of Black Gospel, N
12.01.-14.01.
Circus Roncalli +
The Kelly Family, F
13.01. André Rieu, A
13.01. Knorkator, AK
Dirk Bockelmann
(Christopher Street Day
in Leipzig)
Dr. Jörg Junhold
(Leipzig Zoo)
Thomas Paarmann
(Leipzig Water Festival)
13.01. Revolverheld, MB
14.01. Lauras Stern, G
14.01. The Original USA Gospel
Singers, M
16.01. Strauss Waltz Gala, G
22.01. Veronika Fischer, G
23.01. Russian State Ballet,
Swan Lake, G
24.01. ABBA Fever 2006, G
28.01. Hans Klok, A
February
01.02. Kurt Krömer, L
02.02. Seed, H
02.02. Kastelruther Spatzen, A
02.02. Hans Werner Olm -
Show Must Go On, G
02.02.-04.02.
Herman van Veen, O
04.02. Udo Jürgens + Pepe
Lienhard Orchestra, A
04.02. ICH + ICH, AK
04.02. Oliver Kalkofe, L
05.02. Chris Norman & Band, G
06.02. John Cale -
"blackAcetate" Tour 2006, W
11.02. Magic of Dance, G
17.02. HIM plus special guests
The Rasmus, Negative, H
18.02. Soulfly, W
18.02. Bloodhound Gang, H
19.02. Grand Chinese National
Circus, G
20.02. Angelo Branduardi, G
25.02. International Music
Parade 2006, A
26.02. The Genius of Ray Charles, G
28.02. Rondo Veneziano G
March
02.03. The Return of the Shaolin, G
03.03. Ausbilder Schmidt, W
09.03. The Masters of Shaolin
Kung Fu, G
09.03. Hansi Hinterseer, A
10.03. The Night of Musicals, G
10.03. Scooter, H
12.03. Surprise Bag of German
Folk Music, A
13.03. Vicky Leandros, G
15.03. Element of Crime, W
16.03. BAP –
Greatest Hits Tour 2006, H
Claas Danielsen (Director
of the International Leipzig
Festival for Documentary
and Animated Film)
Klaus Kitzing
(academixer comedy club)
Dr Volker Rodekamp and
his exhibition team
(Museum of City History)
18.03. 50th Anniversary of Tölz
Boys’ Choir, G
21.03. Cristobal Repetto, L
24.03. Xavier Naidoo, A
26.03. MDR1 Stars of Easy
Listening, A
28.03. Harlem Globetrotters, A
29.03. Katie Melua, H
31.03. One Night of Queen, A
April
01.04. Matthias Reim, A
01.04. Monster Magnet, W
03.04. Barclay James Harvest -
Symphonic Tour, G
11.04. The Greatest Opera Choruses, G
16.04. De/Vision, W
29.04. Classical Music Request
Show, G
30.04. Georg Schramm, S
30.04. Happy Birthday -
Max Greger + Guests, G
May
02.05. Schiller with Guests
Live in Concert, H
06.05. Rosenstolz, A
12.+13.05.
Saturday Night Fever -
the Bee Gees Hit Musical, A
26.05. Santana, A
June
06.06. Eric Clapton, M1
October
05.10. Achim Reichel, H
25.10. Christian Tramitz and
Max Krückl, C
26.10. James Last, A
November
25.11. Dr. med. Eckart von
Hirschhausen, C
December
09.12 Classical Spectacular-
Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra London, A
The list of events was painstakingly compiled
by Stefanie Eilenberger, Katja
Schmidt and Kristin Kasper.
Bettina Friedsmann
(TheaterMacht Leipzig)
Bernd Hochmuth
(Leipzig City Festival)
Ann-Elisabeth Wolff
(euro-scene Leipzig)
8 >> NÄHER dran news

<strong>focus</strong> on...
Boroughs of Leipzig – no. 4: Waldstraße district
>> Each borough of Leipzig
has its own particular character
and charm. We present a
different one each issue and
<strong>focus</strong> on aspects of interest
to tourists.
Early history
Early settlements northwest of
what is now the city centre are
known to have existed long
before Leipzig was granted
municipal status. St Jacob’s Parish,
which arose in the eleventh century
along the road Via Regia
(nowadays Ranstädter Steinweg)
and the Slavic settlements which
existed in the tenth century near
what is now Lortzingstraße were
the forerunners of urbs Libsi, the
town of Leipzig. They belonged to
‘Rannische Vorstadt’, a suburb
important for the defence of
Leipzig which was also the main
route for goods being delivered to
the city until the late Middle Ages.
Rannische Vorstadt evolved into
the Waldstraße district, which is
still a very popular residential area
owing to its ideal location between
the town centre and the Auenwald
swathe of woodlands.
Elsterstraße 38
>> <strong>focus</strong> on...
Striking architecture,
famous residents
The buildings nowadays typical of
the Waldstrasse district – the
biggest uninterrupted display of
housing history in Saxony –
began to be erected in the
1830s. They encompass a host
of styles ranging from late classicism,
historicism, neo-Gothic and
Jugendstil (the German answer
to Art Nouveau) to the new functionalism
and present-day architecture.
The area has long been home to
national and international celebrities.
Composers such as Heinrich
Marschner, Albert Lortzing and
Gustav Mahler as well as church
music composer Georg Trexler all
lived and worked there. Painter
Max Beckmann was born there,
as were Thomas Theodor Heine,
who went on to found Munich
satirical publication Simplicissimus,
and Sir Bernhard Katz, winner
of the 1970 Nobel Prize for
Medicine.
Jewish heritage
Not far away from the Waldstraße
district is Brühl– the street that
was once the centre of the world
fur trade. Owing to the high level
of Jewish involvement in furs,
until the 1930s many of Leipzig’s
Jewish citizens – including prominent
industrialists, intellectuals
and artists – chose to live in the
Waldstrasse district. They were
joined by several Jewish religious
and social institutions, some of
which can still be seen, including
Jewish prayer houses and synagogues,
the Israelite old people’s
home, a Jewish kindergarten and
the Eitingon Hospital.
A walking tour
We start at the Museum of
a school in 1837–39 in late classical
style. Right behind it is
Lortzingstraße, nos. 7 and 9 being
the oldest houses in the district;
constructed in 1832, their clear
lines indicate them to be prime
examples of late classicism. We
then head north into Rosentalgasse,
passing the ‘near confluence’
of two mill races almost a
hundred years old and Rosentalgasse
1/3, a fine example of
early historicism. The end of the
adjacent Rosentalgasse affords a
stunning view of Rosental, Leipzig’s
oldest woodland park. Some
of the outdoor facilities of Leipzig
Zoo can be seen in the distance.
Now over 125 years old, the
zoo’s many attractions include the
biggest great ape enclosure in
the world. Proceeding westwards,
we enter Hinrichsenstraße
and walk alongside the Elster mill
race, which until well into the first
half of the nineteenth century met
Leipzig’s entire fish consumption.
Admiring the late classical buildings
dating back to the second
half of the nineteenth century, we
then come to Ariowitsch Foundation
House, the former Israelite
old people’s home where a Jewish
centre is currently being built. We
carry on along Funkenburgstraße
to Liviaplatz, the most magnificent
square in the district, which
contains the ‘entrance gate’ to
Rosental park. Continuing down
the street and alongside the Elster
mill race hemmed by villas, we
reach Christianstraße. Here we
catch our first glimpse of the
modernised Leipzig Central Stadium,
where five matches will be
played during the 2006 FIFA
World Cup Germany. In the
immediate vicinity is Leipzig Arena,
built at the site of a gymnasium
destroyed during World War II.
This area is also home to two
Natural History, originally built as Liviastraße 6
Große Funkenburg as shown on an old postcard
Plaque on Funkenburgstraße 8
sports schools, the Institute of
Sport Research, and the campus
of the University of Leipzig’s
Faculty of Sport.
Guided tours
Contact Leipzig Erleben GmbH
for walking and cycling tours to
the most prominent sights in the
Waldstraße district taking in its
architectural development, cultural
history and Jewish heritage.
Contact:
Bürgerverein
Waldstraßenviertel e.V.
Hinrichsenstraße 10
04105 Leipzig, Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 341 980 3883
www.waldstrassenviertel.de
Pro Leipzig e.V.
Waldstraße 19
04105 Leipzig, Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 341 980 1894
www.proleipzig-buecher.de
>> NÄHER dran
9

<strong>focus</strong> on...
Gems of Leipzig: Local Jewish history
>> In this edition of our regular
series ‘Gems of Leipzig’, we
explore places connected to
the history and activities of
Leipzig’s Jewish population
over the ages.
Juden in Leipzig
Over the centuries, Jewish citizens
have played a prominent part in the
development of Leipzig. Although
Jews were first recorded in Leipzig
back in the thirteenth century, they
were cruelly driven out on several
occasions and even fell victim to
vicious pogroms. Curiously, even
though everyone realised the
importance of Jewish visitors at the
Leipzig Fair, they were subject to
constant repression in Leipzig at
the hands of local merchants and
the town authorities. Jews were
only granted equal rights by the
Saxon constitution in 1831, and
even then still had to wait until
1837 before the law allowing
Israelite religious communities to be
established in Saxony was finally
passed. In 1839, Salomon Veith
became the first Leipzig Jew to be
granted civil rights, and the Jewish
religious community in Leipzig was
formally constituted in 1847.
Between 1843 and 1867, the
number of Jewish inhabitants rose
from about 136 to 1,148. It was
only in the late 1860s that the
number of Jewish immigrants to
Leipzig (mainly from Russia,
Poland and Galicia) began to significantly
increase. By 1925, the
Jewish population in Leipzig had
reached some 13,000, making it
the sixth-biggest Jewish community
in Germany. They worshipped in
a total of seventeen synagogues
and prayer halls.
Under the Nazis, of course, the
harassment of Jews attained horrific
levels. On the night of 9/10
November 1938 (‘The Night of
Broken Glass’), all Jewish places of
worship in Leipzig were set alight
on the orders of the Nazi leadership,
more than 200 Jewishowned
shops and numerous
Jewish homes were gutted, and
over 500 Jews were dragged off to
Buchenwald Concentration Camp.
Between January 1942 and
February 1945 some 2,700
Leipzig Jews were deported. Only
a few of them survived and
returned to Leipzig after 1945, and
by 1988 the Jewish community still
only numbered just 35 members.
However, Jews have been settling
in Leipzig in larger numbers since
1990, especially from the former
Soviet Union. Nowadays the
Jewish community has about
1,200 members and is the biggest
in Saxony.
Jewish merchants at the
Leipzig Fair
Jewish visitors to the Leipzig Fair
were generally frowned upon by
the locals, especially in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries.
This was strange because the
Leipzig Fair actually depended
greatly on the goods and purchasing
power of Jewish traders.
Nevertheless, Jewish visitors had
to pay higher protective duties and
were allocated separate accommodation
– initially on Judengasse
(‘Jewish Alley’) and later on Brühl.
In 1687, local traders fearing competition
successfully campaigned
for a ban on Jewish merchants selling
their wares in vaults opening
directly onto the street. Some of
the merchants’ courtyards and
passageways still in existence
nowadays were actually built in
direct response to this law. Given
this unwelcoming attitude, it’s all
the more surprising that Jews
accounted for 13% of visitors to
the Leipzig Fair in the sixteenth
century, and as many as 25% in
the nineteenth century. The situation
for Jewish merchants at the
Leipzig Fair improved when the
Jewish merchants from Poland and Galicia attend the
Leipzig Fair in around 1820
1687 ‘Jewish vault ban’ was finally
repealed. Two years later, the higher
protective duties imposed on
Jews were also abolished.
Local Jewish history
Jewish fur traders came to Leipzig
above all from Poland, Russia and
the market town of Brody in
Galicia. They established themselves
on Brühl, turning the street
into one of the leading centres of
the European fur market. In fact
between 1860 and 1930, Brühl
accounted for a third of the world’s
fur turnover. Dealers wanting to
buy, say, Russian sable or grey
Siberian squirrel had no option but
to go to Leipzig. As of 1921, regular
‘Russian auctions’ were held
which attracted buyers from all over
the world. Following the Nazi
seizure of power, many Jewish
traders were forced to emigrate
and their shops were Aryanised.
And by the time World War II broke
out, all 460 Jewish fur shops in
Leipzig had closed down.
The Old Israelite Cemetery, now
under a preservation order, was
opened in north Leipzig in 1864. Its
more than 5,000 graves make it
the largest Jewish cemetery in
Saxony. All five sections contain
graves of prominent Leipzig Jews.
In 1926, a memorial was erected
on the grounds to all the Jewish
soldiers who had fallen in World
War I.
The New Israelite Cemetery on
Delitzscher Straße opposite St
George’s Hospital was opened in
1928. The cemetery building was
destroyed during the Night of
Broken Glass in 1938 and the rest
of the graveyard was also devastated
at the end of World War II. In
1955, a new crematorium was
opened at the cemetery.
The site of the Great Synagogue
on Gottschedstraße built in 1854
by Otto Simonson and consecrated
the following year is now marked
by a memorial consisting of 140
empty bronze chairs. It was designed
by Anna Dilengite and
Sebastian Helm, and commemorates
the destruction of the synagogue
during the Night of Broken
Glass.
The Brody Synagogue built in
1904 at Keilstraße 4 was the only
one to survive the Night of Broken
Glass in 1938, and after 1945 it
was still used as a place of worship
by the handful of Jews remaining in
Leipzig. Following the refurbishment
of the lead glass windows
and frescoes, the building was
reconsecrated in 1993.
Goldschmidtstraße 20 is the
address of Henriette Gold-
Synagogue memorial on Gottschedstraße
schmidt School. It was originally
opened as a women’s college by
Henriette Goldschmidt in 1911.
The German Central Library for the
Blind (Gustav-Adolf-Straße 7) bears
a plaque commemorating the
Israelite School which used to be
there.
Hinrichsenstrasse 14 contained
the building which once housed the
Israelite Old People’s Home
originally funded by the Ariowitsch
family. A new Jewish community
centre is currently under construction
there.
The Jewish hospital built in 1928
with financial assistance from
Chaim Eitingon had its original
name Eitingon’s Hospital (Eitingonstraße
12) restored in 1992
and is part of St George’s Hospital.
The week-long Jewish Festival
held every two years is a great
opportunity to find out more about
Jewish life and culture in Leipzig.
Another good way is to take the
‘Jewish history in Leipzig’ tour
organised by sightseeing experts
Leipzig Erleben GmbH.
www.leipzig-erleben.com.
The editorial team would like to
thank Dr Kerstin Plowinski from the
Leipzig Ephraim Carlebach Foundation
and Thorsten Plate for their
Useful addresses
• German-Israeli Society
www.deutsch-israelischegesellschaft.de
• Leipzig German-Israeli
Youth Forum
www.deutsch-israelischesjugendforum.de
• Ephraim Carlebach
Foundation
www.carlebach-stiftung-leipzig.de
• Israelite Religious
Community in Leipzig
www.juden.de
• Jewish–Christian
Association
Tel.: 0341/96 13 105
• Leipzig Synagogue Choir
www.synagogalchor-leipzig.de
assistance in researching this article.
Leipzig Synagogue Choir
at Brody Synagogue
Kroch’s tower block
• Simon Dubnow Institute of
Jewish History and Culture
www.dubnow.de
• Anne Frank Shoah Library
www.ddb.de
• Leipzig School Museum
www.schulmuseum-leipzig.de
•Pro Leipzig
www.proleipzig-buecher.de
• Jewish Research Centre
www.uni-leipzig.de/~judaica
• Conference of Church
Associations: Christians and
Jews
www.klak-christen-und-juden.de
•Waldstraße District
Residents’ Association
www.waldstrassenviertel.de
10 >> NÄHER dran <strong>focus</strong> on...

<strong>focus</strong> on...
Jewish faces in Leipzig’s history
>> The first women’s college,
the first tower block in Leipzig
and a string of other institutions
in Leipzig all owe their existence
to the hard work of some of its
more famous Jewish citizens
over the years.
Max ABRAHAM
(1831-1900)
The owner of sheet music publishing
company C.F. Peters launched
Edition Peters in 1867. This universal
library laid the foundations
for his publishing company’s
worldwide reputation. Max
Abraham was on close terms with
the composers Clara Schumann,
Edvard Grieg and Johannes
Brahms. He was also a patron of
music, supporting young gifted
musicians from underprivileged
backgrounds.
Abraham ADLER
(1850-1922)
Along with Hermann Raydt, Karl
Bücher and Gustav Zweininger,
Adler was one of the co-initiators of
the first commercial college in
Germany and became its director of
studies in 1912. This famous author
of economic textbooks rose to
prominence in the business community
by reorganising the system of
further training in economics on
behalf of the Saxon government. He
was also chairman of the Israelite
religious community.
>> <strong>focus</strong> on...
Max ARIOWITSCH
(1880-1969)
This furrier was the éminence
grise of the Brühl. In 1904 he
became a partner in his father’s
fur empire and specialised in the
English-speaking market. A
somewhat withdrawn businessman,
in 1930 he set up the
Ariowitsch Foundation to support
projects such as the construction
of an Israelite old people’s home.
In 1935, Ariowitsch emigrated to
the UK before later moving to the
USA, where he turned his Anglo-
American Fur Merchants Co. into
the second-biggest fur operation
in America.
Ephraim CARLEBACH
(1879-1936)
This rabbi came to Leipzig in
1900. In 1912, he set up the
Israelite High School, becoming
its headmaster. In 1924 he was
made the chief rabbi of the
Israelite religious community in
Leipzig and worked tirelessly to
promote tolerance for those with
different opinions. Carlebach
retired in 1935 due to ill health,
and a year later he and his family
fled to Palestine.
Chaim EITINGON (1857-1932)
This ‘fur king’ originally set up his
fur business in Moscow in 1882
and set up a branch in Leipzig in
1893. Following the Russian
Revolution in 1917, Eitingon
made Leipzig the centre of his
operations and was one of the
most successful furriers on Brühl
– the Leipzig street which in the
1920s hosted a third of the
world’s entire fur business. In
1923 he established the Ez
Chaim Synagogue, and in 1928
the Eitingon Foundation built
Saxony’s first Jewish Hospital in
the Waldstraße district.
Henriette GOLDSCHMIDT
(1825-1920)
This teacher and wife of Rabbi
Abraham Meyer Goldschmidt cofounded
the Universal German
Women’s Foundation in Leipzig in
1865. She was also responsible
for the Association of Family and
National Education, which in turn
set up a number of kindergartens
and a training college for nursery
school teachers. In 1911 she
established a college for women
with funding kindly provided by
Henri Hinrichsen.
Henri HINRICHSEN
(1868-1942)
A nephew of Max Abraham, in
1894 he became a partner in the
music publishing company C.F.
Peters and its general manager in
1900. As well as funding the
Women’s College, he was a
patron of the Museum of Musical
Instruments of the University of
Leipzig. After 1933 he remained
at the publishing house out of a
sense of duty. However, when its
headquarters were destroyed in
1938, Henri Hinrichsen was
barred from working and expropriated.
He and his wife Martha left
Leipzig in January 1940. Martha
Hinrichsen died of diabetes in
exile in Brussels, and in
September 1942 Henri was
deported to Auschwitz, where he
was murdered.
Salomon JADASSOHN
(1831-1902)
This music theorist and composer
left his mark on Leipzig’s musical
history towards the end of the
nineteenth century. After training
at the local conservatory of music,
he took charge of the Leipzig
Synagogue Choir and in 1866
also set up the Psalterion Choral
Society. The Euterpe concerts,
which he began conducting in
1857, were extremely popular. In
1871, Jadassohn began teaching
at the conservatory.
Hans KROCH
(1887-1970)
In 1922, Hans Kroch joined his
father’s banking business and
subsequently became the owner
of the private bank Kroch jr. KG.
In 1928, he had the first tower
block built in Leipzig on
Augustusplatz. He also financed
the construction of the housing
complex nowadays known as
the Kroch Estate in Neu-Gohlis.
In 1938, Kroch was arrested
and deported to Buchenwald
Concentration Camp. He was
released in 1939 in return for
relinquishing his bank’s assets
and emigrated to Israel.
Barnet LICHT
(1874-1951)
Born in Vilnius, in 1898 Licht
came to Leipzig to study music.
After working hard in Jadassohn’s
choral society, he founded the
Licht Choirs in 1907, followed by
a workers’ chamber orchestra. In
1918 he initiated the New Year’s
Eve concerts at the Gewandhaus
which are still extremely popular to
this day. Licht was closely involved
in the organisation of the Kulturbund,
the Jewish cultural association.
In 1945 he was deported to
Theresienstadt Concentration
Camp, but fortunately survived
and returned to Leipzig. In 1946 he
conducted a legendary choir concert
on Augustusplatz. In 1950
something he had been campaigning
for since 1928 finally
came about when the remains of
J.S. Bach were laid to rest to St
Thomas’s Church.
Georg WITKOWSKI
(1863-1939)
This literary historian taught at the
University of Leipzig from 1896
until 1933. He was one of the cofounders
of regular literary evenings
in Leipzig and rose to fame
partly because of his book on the
history of literature in Leipzig. On
being sacked by the university in
1933, he emigrated to the
Netherlands.
>> NÄHER dran
11

<strong>focus</strong> on...
Calendar – 12 December 2005: 125th anniversary of Hugo Steiner-Prag
>> This series in NÄHER dran
is devoted to some of the
many famous people who
have lived and worked in
Leipzig. This month we look at
Hugo Steiner-Prag, a Jewish
painter and graphic designer.
Working at the Academy of
Visual Arts in Leipzig, he
became an inspirational figure
in German book illustration.
The 125th anniversary of
Steiner-Prag’s birth was celebrated
on 12 December 2005.
<strong>focus</strong> on...
Musical Comedy
>> Here we present some of
the main local cultural institutions
and businesses that help
make Leipzig what it is.
A first-rate ensemble
Haus Dreilinden was opened in the
borough of Lindenau in 1918.
Originally housing a prestigious
variety theatre, nowadays the building
is the permanent venue of the
Musical Comedy. Devoted to
operettas and musicals, the theatre
is enormously popular. High-quality
The Merry Wives of
Windsor
Hugo Steiner-Prag was born on
12 December 1880 in Prague as
the son of a bookseller. At the
local academy of art, he was
encouraged to produce his first
book illustrations and bookplates.
After studying at the Munich
Academy, in 1907 he was given a
teaching post at the Academy of
Visual Arts in Leipzig. Three years
later, Steiner-Prag was promoted
to the position of professor and
developed into one of the leading
book illustrators of his day. In fact
he and Walter Tiemannn, a leading
book and typeface designer,
were instrumental within the college’s
worldwide reputation.
During the BUGRA trade show
devoted to printing and publishing
in 1914, Hugo Steiner-Prag
headed the Department of
Modern Art. In 1916, he produced
his masterpiece: a series of 25
lithographs to accompany Gustav
Meyrink’s novel The Golem. In the
productions are guaranteed by the
excellent group of soloists, an
enthusiastic chorus, 15 terrific ballet
dancers, and a versatile orchestra
comprising 45 musicians conducted
by Roland Seiffarth. The
auditorium accommodates an audience
of 529.
History
The Musical Comedy troupe has a
history stretching back 35 years
as Leipzig’s operetta and musical
theatre. The building’s history is
almost as colourful as the stage
sets used! Serving various functions
over the decades including a
pub and garden restaurant, in
1918 Haus Dreilinden was finally
converted into a variety theatre.
When the city-centre theatres and
the Gewandhaus concert hall
were destroyed shortly before the
end of World War II, Haus
Dreilinden (‘The Three Lime
Trees’) was used to stage opera
performances and concerts by the
Gewandhaus Orchestra. In fact
the building remained the only
opera venue in post-war Leipzig
until the new Leipzig Opera House
was opened in 1960, and was
especially well known for productions
of works by Wagner and
Strauss.
With the middle classes playing
such a prominent role in Leipzig’s
development, operetta theatres
end, eight of them were selected
for the 1917 edition of the book,
which quickly became a bestseller.
In fact Steiner-Prag had always
been fascinated by mysterious
fantasy subjects and had also
illustrated E.T.A. Hoffmann’s The
Devil’s Elixir (1907).
From 1919 until 1932 Hugo
Steiner-Prag was the artistic
director of the Propyläen publishing
house and in 1925 he was
appointed chairman of the
Association of German Book
Illustrators. In 1927 Steiner-Prag
was in charge of the IBA
International Exhibition of Book
Art, which later spawned the
German Book Art Foundation.
More than 20,000 works by
1,100 illustrators from 19 countries
were displayed at this major
exhibition. Hugo Steiner-Prag also
headed many other exhibitions of
book illustrators abroad. However,
his major exhibition entitled
had always existed in the city ever
since the birth of the operetta
itself. At one time the main
operetta venue in Leipzig was the
Central Theatre, but after it was
destroyed in the war its role was
assumed in the 1940s and 1950s
by Deutsches Haus, a theatre just
a stone’s throw away from the
Musical Comedy’s current home.
The soloists, members of the
chorus, musicians and dancers
employed there made up the team
of the new Leipzig Opera House’s
‘Kleines Haus’ (‘Little House’),
subsequently renamed the
Musical Comedy.
On 1 September 2005, Dr Volker
Mattern from Saarbrücken was
appointed head of the Musical
Comedy. Directly responsible to
manager Henri Maier, he has
breathed new life into the theatre
and succeeded in devising an
even more varied programme.
www.oper-leipzig.de/
html/muko.html
Did you know that ...
- the Musical Comedy is the only
theatre dedicated to this genre in
Germany apart from the State
Operetta in Dresden?
- the Dreilinden was converted in
1912 from an inn and outdoor
theatre into a concert hall with a
small stage, pub and wine bar?
‘Goethe in Book Illustrations
around the World’ was to prove his
last in Leipzig since shortly afterwards
he was dismissed by the
Nazis. He returned to Prague,
where he founded Officina
Pragensis, a small academy for
young artists. In 1938 Steiner-
Prag was forced to at first emigrate
to Sweden before setting off
again and eventually arriving in the
USA. He worked at the University
of New York as an illustrator,
graphic designer and lecturer until
his death on 10 September 1945.
Hugo Steiner-Prag’s haunts in
Leipzig
- Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig
- Coffe Baum: Steiner-Prag went
to this coffeehouse regularly
from 1923 until 1933 to meet
up with a circle of artists and
writers known as ‘Eierkiste’
(‘Egg Carton’)
The Musical Comedy
The Rocky Horror Show
Leipzig Academy of
Visual Arts
Lithograph for The Devil’s
Elixir by E.T.A. Hoffmann
(1907)
12 >> NÄHER dran <strong>focus</strong> on...

The stunning view of the Glass Hall by night Love at first sight
<strong>focus</strong> on...
Fairs and conventions in Leipzig
>> For nearly a millennium, the
very name Leipzig has been
synonymous with fairs of all
descriptions.
In fact there can hardly be any
other city whose development has
been so closely intertwined with the
local fair. Back in the eleventh century,
Leipzig profited from its location
at the crossroads of two major
trade routes, the Via imperii and Via
regia. More and more merchants
made Leipzig the centre of their
activities, paving the way for its
international reputation as a city
where some of the most important
fairs of the day were held. By
1710, Leipzig had even eclipsed
the leading imperial fair in Frankfurt
am Main and continued to consolidate
its growth in the following centuries.
German reunification and
the introduction of the free market
in 1990 seemed to jeopardise the
continued existence of the Leipzig
Dirk Brzoska hits the floor
>> <strong>focus</strong> on...
Fair. Fortunately, however, Kurt
Schoop (one of the most eminent
figures in the German trade show
scene) came to the rescue when
Kurt Biedenkopf, at that time the
Prime Minister of Saxony, appealed
to him to come to Leipzig. As CEO
and President of the Leipzig Fair
from December 1990 until June
1991, Herr Schoop laid the foundations
for the continuation of the
oldest fair in the world and won
political backing for the construction
of a new exhibition centre.
Tenth anniversary
It’s now nearly a decade since the
exhibition centre was opened on
12 April 1996. We therefore
thought it was about time to congratulate
the Leipzig Fair by dedicating
this issue’s cover story to it.
Photo call
Of course, the cover story needed
"Can’t you say anything apart from ‘cheese’, Dirk?!”
some pictures to go with it, and so
we set off to the Leipzig Fair for our
photo call. When we arrived, to our
dismay dismantling work was still
under way after the Final Draw for
the 2006 World Cup. However, we
found a jolly fellow languishing in
the corner – the Leipzig Fair’s mascot
– and we part-time models all
fell in love with him straightaway!
Even Dirk Brzoska, our photographer,
got on like a house on fire
with our new friend and promptly
decided to give him the starring
role. After we’d slipped into the uni-
forms currently worn by the Leipzig
Fair’s hostesses, we strolled
around the exhibition centre with
the mascot. "Time flies when
you’re having fun,” they say, and
we certainly did! It was only when
our feet began aching due to the
unfamiliar footwear that we
sneaked a glance at the time – only
to discover that we’d been smiling
non-stop for five hours! It was time
to say goodbye to our pipe-smoking
companion – and to take in the
breathtaking view of the brightly lit
up Glass Hall for the last time....
Weinstock Restaurant
The Weinstock Restaurant enjoys
a charming setting on the historical
market place in Leipzig. It
has seating for 75 diners, an
exclusive wine cellar with capacity
for another 50 guests, and
120 places outside on the summer
terrace.
Herbert Englert has been in
charge since April 2004 and conjures
up magnificent creations.
His previous restaurant experience
includes working for Käfer, a
first-class restaurant company in
Munich.
His passion for cuisine and the
creativity it entails is virtually limitless.
A constantly changing range
of fresh seasonal dishes – which
have doubtless delighted some of
the most demanding palates – is
augmented by an exquisite selection
of wines.
Two-course lunches and the
menu of the day are followed by
the relaxing evening atmosphere
with live piano music ranging from
classical to jazz.
The Weinstock’s rooms are of
course also available for private
functions of any description.
We look forward to seeing you!
The final shot – one last
smile
Contact:
Restaurant Weinstock
Markt 7,04109 Leipzig, Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 341 1406 0606
Fax: +49 (0) 341 225 2365
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Advertisement
13

<strong>focus</strong> on...
The Leipzig Fair – a chronicle
>> The chronicle below lists
the key events in the development
of the Leipzig Fair until
the present.
1015
Leipzig enters recorded history in
1015 AD in the chronicles written
by Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg
as the fortified town of Urbs Libzi.
1165
Meissen’s Markgrave Otto the
Wealthy bestows municipal status
on the market town of Lipzk. The
charter provides the legal basis for
the Leipzig Fair by specifying the
economic privileges granted to the
town and banning other fairs within
a certain radius. At this time Leipzig
had a population of about 500.
1190
Margrave Albrecht the Proud of
Meissen confirms the two annual
markets at Easter and Michaelmas
awarded to Leipzig.
1 March 1268
Margrave Dietrich of Landsberg
guarantees all merchants safe passage
to and from Leipzig, raising
the significance of the markets.
1363
Leipzig is granted the right to
charge market duty.
1 November 1458
Elector Frederick II awards Leipzig
the right to hold a New Year fair.
1466
Leipzig is granted staple rights,
making it the exclusive market for
certain commodities and banning
the temporary storage of goods
within a radius of 115km (70
miles).
20 July 1497
The two annual markets are raised
to the rank of imperial fairs by
Emperor Maximilian I. In addition,
Leipzig is granted the right to hold
an annual fair.
1501
The old Gewandhaus is built for
cloth merchants to sell their
wares.
1507
Emperor Maximilian I confirms the
annual fairs and staple rights.
Leipzig becomes the biggest
German centre where goods are
traded between east and west.
1514
The market fair privileges are confirmed
by Pope Leo X.
1555
The newly built Old Weigh House
becomes the centre of market fair
activities.
1599
Henning Gross publishes the first
catalogue for the Leipzig Book Fair.
1618-1648
The Leipzig Fair is plunged into
crisis by not only the Thirty Years’
Market activities in Leipzig of yesteryear
War but also speculative transactions
by three mayors.
1632
For the first time, the number of
books on offer at the book fair in
Leipzig eclipses the range at the
fair in Frankfurt.
1644
General Lennart Torstenson from
Sweden pledges to protect merchants
travelling to the Leipzig Fair
from robbers.
1710
Leipzig eclipses the imperial fair in
Frankfurt am Main.
1728
Annual surveys of the Leipzig Fair’s
activities are published, becoming
the main source of information on
the history of the Leipzig Fair in the
18th century.
1766
The Leipzig Fair features in a state
treaty for the first time – the
Market Fair Agreement between
Saxony and Prussia.
1770
The first Russian furrier comes to
the Leipzig Fair.
1797
The first complete index of all commercial
businesses exhibiting at the
Leipzig Fair is published.
21 November 1806
Following Napoleon’s imposition
of the Continental System, British
goods in Leipzig are impounded.
1850
The Saxon Industrial Exhibition is
held in Leipzig.
From 1871
Germany’s rapid industrial development
hastens the end of the
market fair and the emergence of
the samples fair.
1882
An international commodity exchange
is organised as a samples
Auerbachs Hof during the Leipzig Fair
Bronze statue of Emperor
Maximilian I at
Städtisches Kaufhaus
exhibition for the first time at the
Krystallpalast Variety Theatre –
and a new type of trade fair is
born.
1885
Ernst Haase publishes the first
detailed history of the Leipzig Fair.
1893-1901
Städtisches Kaufhaus is erected,
becoming the first purpose-built
exhibition centre for samples fairs.
Spring 1895
The first samples fair is held with
an official fair address directory.
15 August 1896
Städtisches Kaufhaus is opened
in time for the autumn fair.
1904
The New Year fair is abandoned.
1908
The Leipzig Fair publishes its first
official poster for global distribution.
3-31 May 1913
The IBA International Construction
Show is held.
6 May 1914
BUGRA – the international trade
show devoted to printing and publishing
– is held for the first time.
14 >> NÄHER dran <strong>focus</strong> on...

Crowds on Petersstraße at the Leipzig Fair in 1935
18 August 1916
The statutes of the Leipzig
Samples Fair Bureau are signed.
Based in the Old Weigh House,
the bureau starts work on 8
February 1917.
1917
The logo of the samples fair – the
double-M representing the
German term ‘Mustermesse’
(‘samples fair’) – is conceived by
graphic designer Erich Gruner and
debuts at the autumn fair.
1920 bis 1928
In March 1920 the engineering
fair is opened on the grounds
used for the IBA. It has 17 pavilions
with total exhibition space of
130,000 square metres.
1922
The Leipzig Fair and Exhibition
Joint Stock Company is founded.
From 1933
Following the Nazi seizure of
power, Leipzig becomes the only
German city allowed to host foreign
trade fairs.
5-13 March 1936
The spring fair is dubbed the Third
Reich Fair of Greater Germany
and breaks records with 8,163
exhibitors and 238,000 visitors.
31 August-4 September 1941
The autumn fair held in the exhibition
pavilion on the inner ring road
is the last Leipzig Fair to be staged
Leipzig Fair badge from
1962
>> <strong>focus</strong> on...
during World War II. For the first
time in history, the Leipzig Fair is
not held for a number of years.
4 December 1943
80% of the exhibition grounds are
destroyed by the Allies during an
air raid.
18-23 October 1945
Fair activities resume with a show
of Leipzig products at the engineering
exhibition centre.
8-12 May 1946
The first post-war Leipzig Fair (and
the first ‘peace fair’ ever) is held
with 2,771 exhibitors from all the
occupation zones and abroad.
From 1949
Leipzig is the only trade fair centre
in the newly founded German
Democratic Republic (East
Germany). The annual universal
fairs are the biggest events of their
kind in the Eastern bloc.
1951-1954
To save costs, just one Leipzig
Fair is held annually in autumn.
27 January 1965
The headquarters of the Leipzig
Fair on the market square are
opened.
1971
A separate radio frequency is first
used for programmes devoted to
the Leipzig Fair.
1989/90
The Leipzig Fair loses its
monopoly status following the
Peaceful Revolution and the collapse
of the Eastern bloc. The old
concept of the universal fair is
abandoned in favour of smaller
trade shows.
March 1991
The last universal spring fair is
held.
April 1991
Following an internal conference
at the Leipzig Fair, the decision is
taken to build a new exhibition
centre.
10 October 1991
Leipzig City Council votes to build
a new Leipzig Fair complex in
north Leipzig. On 18 December
The Soviet pavilion at the
Engineering Fair in 1950
1991, the new articles of association
are adopted by the Leipzig
Fair. The partners are the Free
State of Saxony and Leipzig City
Council.
April 1992
The blueprint by Gerkan, Marg
and Partners is chosen for the
Leipzig Fair’s new home.
15 August 1993
Work starts on the Leipzig Fair’s
new exhibition complex.
25 November 1994
Topping-out ceremony
10-13 March 1996
Cadeaux 96 is the last trade show
to be held at the exhibition
grounds near the Monument to
the Battle of the Nations where
360 fairs had been held since
1920.
12 April 1996
The Leipzig Fair’s new exhibition
centre is officially opened by
Roman Herzog, the German
president.
20 July 1997
500th anniversary of the two
annual markets being raised to the
rank of imperial fairs in 1497.
2000
At the start of the year, the Leipzig
Fair founds MaxicoM GmbH, the
Euro–Asia Business Center.
2002
Debut of GC – Games Convention.
2004
The Leipzig Fair’s mascot makes
a comeback. The figure with a
globe for a head first appeared at
the autumn fair in 1964 and featured
regularly until 1990.
April 2004
Wolfgang Marzin is appointed
CEO of the Leipzig Fair.
2005
The Leipzig Fair records the best
results in its history with some 1.9
million visitors and 11,400
exhibitors in 2005.
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15

<strong>focus</strong> on...
Architectural gems: arcades and exhibition centres
The unique feel of central Leipzig
largely stems from its system of
arcades and accessible courtyards.
True, places like London, Paris and
Hamburg also have numerous
arcades, but Leipzig is the only
place to have such a dense collection
of them right in the city centre..
Tunnel courtyards
Leipzig’s architecture directly related
to the Leipzig Fair probably
began with the ‘tunnel courtyards’,
which had a large separate
entrance and exit big enough to
allow cartloads of goods to be
quickly unloaded without having to
turn round or reverse. Another
advantage of them was that they
made good shortcuts. One example
is Kretschmanns Hof.
Tunnel buildings
Baroque thoroughfare buildings
retained the logistical and economic
advantages of ‘tunnel courtyards’
interlinking different buildings but
took the principle a stage further by
giving the entire complex of buildings
surrounding the courtyard a
uniform, close-knit appearance.
There were usually shops on the
ground floor, living quarters on the
first floor, and warehouses on the
remaining storeys. The only example
remaining in Leipzig is
Barthels Hof.
Exhibition palaces
Numerous ‘exhibition palaces’
arose towards the end of the nineteenth
century. Interestingly, they
enclosed sites and rooms which
originally had had nothing to do
with each other. For example,
exhibition palaces like Specks
Hof and Mädler Passage were
erected over a large number of
existing buildings. The example of
Städtisches Kaufhaus shows
that sometimes the exhibition
palaces covered entire blocks
between streets. This style of
architecture was a direct response
to the needs of the new samples
fairs, which relied on effective presentation
in an attractive atmosphere.
Examples include Steibs
Hof, Zentralmessepalast,
Stenzlers Hof and Jägerhof,
and their splendour and monumental
nature are as imposing
as they ever were. Despite the
compactness of Leipzig’s city
centre, which only measures 0.7
square kilometres, between
1893 and 1938 some thirty
exhibition palaces were completed.
Func-tional features
such as elevators, lighting and
porters’ lodges were high on the
architects’ agenda. In 1927, the
heyday of the Leipzig Fair, a
total of fifty exhibition buildings
was in use.
BALANCE Hotel Leipzig
BALANCE Hotel Leipzig embodies
a unique blend of luxury,
charm and elegance with a relaxing
atmosphere in an attractive
setting. This 4-star hotel enjoys a
central yet peaceful location and
has 126 comfortable, very large
rooms, suites and maisonettes.
Gourmets will love the Amaroso
restaurant serving elegant Saxon
cuisine. BALANCE Hotel is just a
few minutes away from the city
centre. One of the hotel’s special
extras is free tickets for local public
transport.
Special Cats Package!
Fancy seeing Cats in Leipzig?
Then take advantage of BAL-
ANCE Hotel’s special terms for
groups of at least 15 people
starting at just €50 per person
in a double room – including a
ticket to the musical!
Extensive refurbishment
Following 1990, many investors
seized the opportunity to help refurbish
the historical arcades and exhibition
buildings in Leipzig. Leipzig
City Council set great store by
ensuring that the buildings, some
of which like Webers Hof had
become totally dilapidated under
the East German regime, were fully
restored, reflecting their status as
listing buildings. The prime real
estate was snapped up by a certain
Dr Jürgen Schneider – but we all
know the rest of the story!
Stylish surroundings
When the Leipzig Fair was relocated
to its new exhibition centre in
1996, the exhibition palaces in
central Leipzig lost their original raison
d’être. However, the former
exhibition halls were quickly occupied
by museums, restaurants,
shops and offices. Moreover, new
arcades were built such as Brühl-
Arkade, Strohsack and Petersbogen,
which add a certain modern
charm to the attractiveness of
Leipzig. Apart from a handful of
buildings which have not yet been
restored (e.g. Oelßners Hof), visitors
to the arcades and exhibition
palaces still encounter a delightful
atmosphere just right for window
shopping and a pleasant walk
around town.
Advertisement
Details and bookings
BALANCE Hotel Leipzig
Breslauer Straße 33
04299 Leipzig, Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 341 86790
Fax: +49 (0) 341 867 9444
Email: info@balancehotel-leipzig.de
Web: www.balancehotel-leipzig.de
Specks Hof
Barthels Hof Mädler Passage
Städtisches Kaufhaus
Steibs Hof Stenzlers Hof
Strohsack-Passage
16 >> NÄHER dran <strong>focus</strong> on...

<strong>focus</strong> on...
Leipzig Fair highlights 2006
>> Once again, the Leipzig
Fair has compiled a packed
programme for 2006. Below
we present some of the highlights
of particular interest to
tourists.
20-22 January 2006
Partner Pferd (horse show)
Project manager: Bettina Kaiser
Visitors enjoy a blend of international
horse-riding competitions, a
large sales exhibition, and sports
shows. In addition, a host of forums
are devoted to various aspects of
the equestrian world. Fans of
Western riding can look forward to
the L.E. Grand Open Western
tournament. The main highlight of
the show is the sports gala.
www.partner-pferd.de
18-26 February 2006
HOME–GARDEN–LEISURE
Project manager: Bettina Kaiser
The huge range on offer includes
products for home and garden,
hobby accessories, sports equipment,
fashionable items and culinary
specialities. Entertainment is
high on the agenda with live shows
and a varied stage programme.
www.haus-garten-freizeit.de
16-19 March 2006
Leipzig Book Fair
Director: Oliver Zille
Providing comprehensive information
about new publications and
current trends, the Leipzig Book
Fair is the main forum for the publishing
and media sector every
spring. And with more than 2,000
publishing houses from over 30
countries presenting their programmes
and authors, the show
also has a strong European
Four faces behind these successful exhibitions:
Bettina Kaiser
Angela Schierholz
>> <strong>focus</strong> on...
flavour. Since 1991, the Book Fair
has been held at the same time as
the local literature festival Leipzig
Reads – the biggest of its kind on
the continent.
www.leipziger-buchmesse.de
1-9 April 2006
AMI Auto Mobil International
AMI was launched in 1996 and
some 450 exhibitors will be displaying
the latest developments of
the international car industry on a
total exhibition space of about
130,000 sq m. As well as cars,
AMI also covers aspects such as
tuning, off-road, spares and
cleaning products as well as relevant
services. AMITEC, the trade
fair devoted to vehicle components
and workshop equipment
and servicing, is always held
simultaneously.
www.ami-leipzig.de
24-27 August 2006
GC Games Convention 2006
Project manager: Angela Schierholz
GC, the exhibition devoted to
interactive entertainment, infotainment,
hardware and edutainment
as well as computer and video
games, debuted in 2002 and is
already the undisputed European
leader. With the very latest computer
games on display and providing
a hands-on look at future
developments, the number of visitors
is still increasing dramatically
from year to year.
www.gc-germany.de
30 September-3 October 2006
models–hobbies–games
Project manager: Annette Schmeier
Over 500 exhibitors from numer-
Matthias Kober
Oliver Zille
ous countries present their latest
products and ideas in categories
like board, dice and card games,
model railways and ships, airbrush
and dolls. Visitors are encouraged
to try their hand at new hobbies at
numerous demonstrations and
receive plenty of ideas for games
suitable for any occasion
www.modell-hobby-spiel.de
22-26 November 2006
Tourism and Caravanning Fair
Project manager: Dieter Apprich
Held since 1990, this travel fair
<strong>focus</strong>es on tourism, caravanning,
camping and water sports. Visitors
can seek advice on destinations all
over the world from about 1,000
exhibitors, and can even book their
next holiday once they’ve made up
their mind. TC is now accompanied
by two other exhibitions: Fahrrad.markt.zukunft
revolves around
the world of bicycles, while Leipzig
Wedding gives professional tips on
all sorts of celebrations, not just
nuptials!
www.touristikundcaravaning.de
Complete list
www.leipziger-messe.de
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17

Auto Mobil International
Out and about with the Leipzig Fair’s mascot....
Leipzig Fair –
Overall view of the Leipzig
Games Convention Body Look

Impressions
Fair Exhibition Centre
Cross-section of Congress Center Leipzig
Model & Hobby Leipzig Book Fair

<strong>focus</strong> on...
The exhibition centre for Central Europe
A new direction
Following German reunification
in 1990, the big universal trade
fairs in Leipzig were replaced by
smaller trade shows and public
exhibitions on the hotly contested
all-German market. The
Leipzig Fair’s other reaction to
the new situation was its decision
to build an ultramodern
exhibition and convention centre.
Designed by Hamburg-based
architects Gerkan, Marg and
Partners, the new complex was
opened on 12 April 1996 and is
regarded as the most magnificent
exhibition centre in Europe.
A stunning new centre
The key elements of this project
were the extremely short project
time of just 3,5 years, the coordination
among six different clients
on a space measuring just 535
hectares, and the fact that the
new exhibition centre was built on
land under the jurisdiction of four
different local authorities. The
forecourt is dominated by two
structures: the commanding
entrance hall designed by top
English architect Ian Ritchie with a
dome of 20,000 square metres of
glass reflected in Mercury’s Fountain,
and the 8 m-tall tower displaying
the Leipzig Fair’s double
M logo. Installed on the tower is a
webcam transmitting live images
24 hours a day. The arched
structure of the glass entrance
hall (80 m wide, 243 m long and
30 m tall at its vertex) links up the
various buildings. It was inspired by
the roof of Leipzig Central Station
as well as the typical 19th-century
crystal palaces in cities such as
Paris, London and Munich.
Firmly established
By now, the Leipzig Fair has clearly
succeeded in becoming one of
the top ten exhibition centres in
Germany – and has earned an
excellent reputation as a flexible
venue. As well as being well
known for hosting specially tailored
trade shows, for a couple of years
now the Leipzig Fair’s level of service
quality has been voted the
best among the twenty biggest
exhibition centres in the country.
Powerhouse of the economy
The boost given by the Leipzig
Fair to the regional economy is
crucial – and currently amounts to
some €350 million. As a rule of
thumb, every €1 spent at the
Leipzig Fair brings another €10
into the region. The Leipzig Fair
also secures about 4,500 jobs
throughout Germany.
The Leipzig Fair by night
Trade shows with Europe
Leipzig is an ideal location for the
EU economic area. The aim of the
Leipzig Fair’s management team
is to make Leipzig the leading
exhibition centre in the Euroregion
made up of Central Germany,
Poland and the Czech Republic by
2014. By expanding its foreign
business, over the next ten years
the Leipzig Fair aims to raise the
share of turnover accounted for by
foreign clients to 40%.
Art at the Leipzig Fair
Twenty-four artists produced
works of art especially for the
Leipzig Fair – and also chose the
locations for them at the exhibition
centre. The works created have
been permanently integrated into
the existing architecture – a project
whose complexity is unparal-
leled by any other exhibition
venue. For example, Rosemarie
Trockel from Cologne designed
coloured wall coverings, carpets
and furniture covers for a training
room. The short texts on electronic
banners above the ticket offices
in the western entrance hall were
conceived by American artist
Jenny Holzer. Jorge Pardo from
Rose in front of the entrance
Facts and figures:
Leipziger Messe GmbH
Established:
1991
Shareholders:
Free State of Saxony (50%),
and Leipzig City Council (50%)
President and CEO:
Wolfgang Marzin
Executive Vice-President:
Josef Rahmen
Construction costs:
€650 million
Transport links:
Leipzig/Halle Airport (8 minutes
by Airport Express), A14 motorway,
Schkeuditz intersection
(A14 and A9 Berlin-Munich),
B2 highway, InterCity trains, no.
16 tram (terminus)
Events:
About 35-40 trade shows,
about 120 conventions and
conferences, and numerous
public and corporate events
every year
Response:
More than 10,000 exhibitors
Los Angeles designed the interior
of the East–West Contact Centre.
And the murals in the foyer of
CCL were created by Sol LeWitt
from New York. Meanwhile, works
of art outside include ‘Rose’ by Isa
Genzken (Berlin) and ‘Flipper Wall
for Palermo’ by Rirkrit Tiravanija
(another New Yorker).
Tower with double M logo
and 1.6 million visitors annually
Exhibition halls:
5 halls each measuring 20,240
sq m (each of which can be
subdivided by partition walls to 4
- 5,060 sq m)
Gross exhibition space
101,200 sq m
Outdoor space:
70,000 sq m
Catering:
4 restaurants (each with seating
for 2,000) Snack bars, cafés
and bistros
Parking:
6,000 parking spaces for visitors,
1,000 spaces for exhibitors,
40 spaces for large lorries
and 80 for small ones
Foreign agencies:
32
Employees:
323
Group turnover:
€62.8 million (2004)
20 >> NÄHER dran <strong>focus</strong> on...

guest commentary
Interview with Wolfgang Marzin
(CEO and President of the Leipzig Fair)
>> We couldn’t possibly present
our cover story about the
Leipzig Fair over the centuries
without including an interview
with Wolfgang Marzin!
How would you define the
Leipzig Fair’s role on the trade
show market?
The Leipzig Fair is one of the oldest
and yet one of the most advanced
trade fairs in Europe. Its geographical
status has risen enormously
due to the enlargement of
the EU. The main drawback is the
slow economic development of
eastern Germany coupled with
lower purchasing power. We look
to the East in particular and have
stepped up our marketing activities
in the new member states of
the European Union as well as
Russia and Asia, increasing the
number of agencies we have
operating there. We’ve also been
very successful with our awardwinning
level of service and the
good value for money that we
offer organisers and promoters.
Which trade shows have
become particularly successful?
In recent years, the most successful
exhibitions have been the two
car shows, AMI and AMITEC, as
well as the GC Games
Convention. Fairs <strong>focus</strong>ing on
new technologies in telecoms, the
media and energy such as
IfraExpo, TerraTec and enertec are
becoming increasingly important.
One prominent international trade
show in Leipzig is Z, the subcontracting
fair. The success of the
Book Fair is also remarkable.
Despite the dominance of the
book fair in Frankfurt, Leipzig has
managed to hold its own thanks to
its unique angle.
What makes Leipzig so unique
as a trade show centre?
Leipzig and the Leipzig Fair go
together like a horse and carriage.
There’s no other city in the world
whose history is as closely connected
with local fairs. Indeed,
Leipzig’s international reputation is
intertwined with the history of the
Leipzig Fair. Our double M logo is
>> guest commentary
the most famous trade fair logo in
the world.
What makes the Leipzig Fair
so attractive?
Leipzig also has plenty to offer
once the show’s over for the day.
The broad range of leisure activities
and the excellent transport
links make attending the Leipzig
Fair especially worthwhile. We
offer many of our clients all-inclusive
packages including evening
entertainment. Tourists also love
the architecture and art at the
Leipzig Fair’s exhibition centre.
What does the Leipzig Fair do
for tourism?
When we do promotional work for
our trade shows abroad, we also
promote Leipzig. We work very
closely together with LTS and
other institutions in the tourist
industry. In many countries Leipzig
isn’t very well known yet, but that’ll
improve with Leipzig being one of
the Host Cities at the 2006 World
Cup. Much of Leipzig’s tourism
potential remains untapped and a
lot more could be achieved
through closer collaboration
between businesses operating in
the tourist industry and by paying
more attention to the aspects that
make Leipzig unique.
What changes do you anticipate
will have to be made at
the Leipzig Fair over the next
few years?
Portrait
We definitely want to become
more profitable, get rid of lossmaking
shows and improve the
remaining ones. There’s additional
scope in the areas of publishing
and printing, the motor industry,
energy and technology. Last year,
34 out of the total of 36 trade
shows grew, and so we’re hopeful
that in certain areas we’ll be able
to become the market leader in
Central Europe. We’re certainly
profiting from the major investments
in Leipzig in recent years;
Leipzig is now being talked about
more and becoming increasingly
attractive to investors and other
business people.
You were saying you couldn’t
imagine having a better job?
I’m a fully trained management
expert, and trade shows are all
about management and markets!
After all, where else do supply and
demand come so closely together?
Each trade fair is something
special – and my position
gives me an amazingly detailed
insight into diverse sectors. Furthermore,
at the Leipzig Fair I’ve
got a great, committed team who
can move mountains. Consequently,
I look forward to continuing
in this job in the years to come.
Herr Marzin, thank you very
much for talking to us.
The interview was conducted by
Marie-Kristin Renner and Lisa
Dühring.
Wolfgang Marzin (42) has been CEO and President of the Leipzig
Fair since 1 April 2004. He comes from Munich and is married with
three children. After taking a degree in business management specialising
in foreign trade, Herr Marzin began his career in 1989 as a
project manager in charge of trade shows abroad at an international
trade fair and exhibition service in Munich. Moving to the Munich
trade show operator in 1991, six years later he began working for
the Düsseldorf Fair, managing its subsidiary in Chicago. In January
2002 he became chairman of the board of GHM, a Munich-based
company operating shows for the small trades. Wolfgang Marzin
loves mountaineering and hill-walking in his spare time, as well as
cycling and playing tennis. His motto is: "Live and let live.”
Seems like a relaxed interview! Marie-Kristin Renner
and Wolfgang Marzin
>> NÄHER dran
21

fokus on...
Conferences and conventions in Leipzig
Leipzig: the convention centre
Being a world-famous centre of
trade shows and conventions,
Leipzig is the ideal place to host
seminars, conferences and other
major events. After all, it’s got
plenty of halls, arenas and out-ofthe-ordinary
venues in all sizes as
well as modern hotels tailor-made
for congresses and conferences.
In fact accommodation in Leipzig
amounts to a total of 11,500 beds,
including 5,000 hotel beds in the
four- and five-star segment. Leipzig
has become a key service,
media and financial centre in
Germany and boasts both an
ultra-efficient telecoms network
and a powerful transport infrastructure.
Moreover, the local
research and higher education
institutions such as the University
of Leipzig, the Heart Centre and
Bio City are an excellent source of
synergies for congresses.
Congress Center Leipzig
CCL combines the highest standards
of architecture with state-ofthe-art
multimedia and telecoms
technology. Featuring 23 rooms of
different sizes and capacity for up
to 4,300 people, CCL is ideal for
congresses and conferences. In
addition, CCL can be flexibly combined
with the immediately adjacent
exhibition pavilion and the
Glass Hall for corporate events
with up to 10,000 participants.
www.ccl-leipzig.de
Congresses in 2006
(selection):
8-9 February
SAP Congress for Commerce
and the Consumer Goods
Industry 2006
27-30 April
51st Ergotherapy Congress
16-20 May
German Anaesthesia Congress
24-27 May
Annual Conference of the
German Diabetes Society
19-21 September
DSAG Annual Congress 2006
8-12 October
ESTRO (Annual Meeting of
the European Society for
Therapeutic Radiology and
Oncology)
4-8 November
2006 Joint Annual Conference
of the German Haematology
and Oncology Society (DGHO
with ÖGHO, SGH and SGMO)
Comprehensive service
LTS offers organisational assistance
and provides individual
advice about all aspects of events,
conventions and conferences. Its
services include finding out about
and booking accommodation,
conference facilities, seminar rooms
and restaurants as well as the
conception of special events and
incentive programmes. Furthermore,
LTS is delighted to book
transport, guided tours, excur-
Interview with André Kaldenhoff
(the Leipzig Fair’s Head of Congresses)
Herr Kaldenhoff, how was
2004 for you?
The year 2004 was the most
successful year ever for CCL.
Our turnover in the conference
and convention business totalled
€2.78 million – about 40% better
than in previous years, when
annual revenue was around €1.8-
2 million.
To what do you attribute this
success?
Apart from the programmes of
special events accompanying
trade shows, CCL’s figures have
been improved by the separate
congresses, conference and
corporate events staged here.
Organisers of international congresses
and so on are increasingly
opting for Leipzig. Moreover,
about a quarter of all the
events hosted here are attended
by more than a thousand participants.
Will CCL’s success story continue
in 2006?
Because of the way things work
the year 2006 needs to be compared
with 2004, and in fact I
expect the figures to increase
again given the bookings we’ve
already taken. We’re also booked
up with major events until the
end of 2007 and in 2005 we
began marketing activities for
sions and activity programmes on
your behalf. To find out more, contact
LTS and request a copy of the
brochure entitled Congresses,
conferences and events.
www.kongressservice-leipzig.de
www.incentive-leipzig.de
Leipzig Location Guide
The Leipzig Location Guide is
available from LTS on CD-ROM in
both German and English. Describing
more than eighty special
venues in and around Leipzig, the
photos and contact information
are accompanied by details such
as style, location, suitability, the
size of the rooms and how many
people each venue can accommodate.
do-it-at-leipzig congress guide
The service portal www.do-it-atleipzig.de
was developed by the
Leipzig Fair and LTS, and is the
first project of its kind at both the
national and international level.
Apart from a large number of
venues and suitable services, it
also lists local congress partners
along with an exact description
and contact details.
The Ambassador Programme
Leipzig is the first congress city to
cooperate with prominent figures
in order to generate publicity for
the conference and convention
business in Leipzig. These official
ambassadors make use of their
2008 and 2009. As far as 2009
is concerned, preparations are
already underway for the six
hundredth anniversary of the
University of Leipzig and the
opening of the new campus in
the city centre – and we expect
this to give an additional boost to
the congress and conference
business in Leipzig.
What major congresses can
we expect over the next two
years?
Apart from the above-mentioned
events in 2006, the International
Congress on Multiphase Flow
will be hosted here in 2007, to
be followed in autumn by two
large trade union congresses.
The World Filtration Congress
will take place in April 2008 with
some 2,000 participants. And in
the following July, over 8,000
people will be here for the
Baptist World Youth Conference.
Congress Center Leipzig (CCL)
Congress participants at CCL
contacts and put in a good word
for Leipzig whenever their respective
sectors are deciding where to
hold forthcoming conferences.
CCL assists its ambassadors by
compiling literature and presenta-
Presentation
Facts and figures:
Congress Center Leipzig
Opened:
April 1996
Total space:
8,337.5 square metres
Rooms:
23 combinable multifunctional
halls and seminar rooms which
if required can be flexibly con-
tions, organising visits to the conference
facilities, and handling the
planning and implementation of
events once Leipzig has been
selected.
nected to the neighbouring exhibition
pavilion and the Glass Hall
for events with up to 10,000
participants
Facts:
About 75 congresses and 400
events tying in with trade shows
are held annually
22 >> NÄHER dran <strong>focus</strong> on...

ook guide
>> The following books (sorry
– they’re all in German!) deal
further with topics covered in
this edition of NÄHER dran as
well as other aspects of Leipzig.
Leipzig Hauptbahnhof –
Eine Zeitreise
(Leipzig Central Station –
a journey back in time)
Helge-Heinz Heinker, published
by Lehmstedt Verlag, 272 pages,
160 illustrations (including some in
colour), €24.90
By the time Leipzig Central Stadium
was completed on 4 December
1915, a unique architectural
monument had been created
which has probably had a greater
impact on the city than any other
building in Leipzig ever since. This
richly illustrated book presents an
extensive history of this engineering
masterpiece and includes
many large-format pictures which
have never been published before.
Zeitkino – letzte Reihe
(The station cinema –
sitting in the back row)
Martina Güldemann and Otto
Künnemann, published by Wartberg
Verlag, 80 pages, 57 illustrations,
€9.90
Older residents of Leipzig have
fond memories of the cinema at
Leipzig Central Station. The back
row was popular with young couples
out on a date – and the
amusing tales in this book are the
best way to relive this unforgettable
experience! Following Also,
morgen halb acht, bei Blumen-
Hanisch (‘Right, see you tomorrow
at 7.30 at Hanisch’s flower
shop!’), this is the second collection
of anecdotes from Leipzig of
yesteryear.
Wir waren eure Nachbarn –
Die Juden im Leipziger Waldstraßenviertel
(We used to be your neighbours
– Jews in the Waldstraße
district)
>> book guide
Barbara Kowalzik, published by
PRO LEIPZIG, 249 pages, numerous
black-and-white illustrations,
€15
The Waldstrasse district was the
centre of Jewish life in Leipzig until
the 1930s. Jewish festivals and a
host of other events as well the
inhuman actions of the Nazis are
subjectively described by fifty survivors
who lived through these
times. The book underlines that
the victims of terror aren’t anonymous
individuals but somebody’s
next-door neighbours.
ZehnNullNeunzig in
Buchenwald
(TenZeroNinety at
Buchenwald)
Rolf Kralovitz, published by the
Ephraim Carlebach Foundation,
Walter-Meckauer-Kreis, Cologne,
80 pages, €11
The author recalls his life as a
youngster in Leipzig, his arrest by
the Nazis, the journey to Buchenwald
concentration camp, his
imprisonment – and what happened
afterwards.
Das Buch Gose
(The Gose book)
Bernd Weinkauf and Hartmut
Hennebach, published by Gosenschenke
Ohne Bedenken, 176
pages, richly illustrated, €18.90
Alluding to the Five Books of
Moses, this publication covers the
history of the top-fermented beer
Gose from its origins to how it
arrived in Germany and its development
into the most famous
Leipzig drink. Apart from fascinating
facts aplenty, it also contains
amusing songs and poems and is
a unique encyclopaedia about this
great beverage.
Kirchen in Leipzig und
Umgebung
(Churches in and around
Leipzig)
Dr Gerhart Pasch, published by
Schmidt Römhild Verlag, numerous
illustrations, 152 pages,
€9.80
This book provides a fascinating,
comprehensive overview of the
churches in and around Leipzig
from the tiniest mediaeval village
church to the cathedral-like edifices
built in the nineteenth century
– and makes visiting them an
even more interesting experience.
Stadtlexikon Leipzig von A bis Z
(Encyclopaedia of Leipzig A–Z)
Horst Riedel, published by PRO
Leipzig, 688 pages, 1,200 illustrations,
€45
At last a comprehensive reference
work about Leipzig has been published!
The more than 2,300 carefully
researched articles in alphabetical
order enable the reader to
find out almost anything about
Leipzig quickly and easily. More
than 1,200 prominent figures associated
with Leipzig are described.
In short, this is an indispensable
book for anyone with more than a
passing interest in Leipzig.
Leipziger Kulturköpfe aus 800
Jahren – II. Die Vorstädte
(Cultural figures in Leipzig from
800 centuries: the suburbs)
Otto Werner Förster, published by
Taurus-Verlag, 100 pages, numerous
black-and-white illustrations,
available from Bachmann’s bookshop
in Leipzig and elsewhere
(limited to 300 copies), €10
Following the publication of the
first system for city guides in
2004, the author has now written
the second part providing information
about another 63 famous
people, including August Bebel,
Friedrich Nietzsche and Edvard
Grieg. An ingenious system of reference
numbers is used to help
readers discover where the figures
covered once lived and worked.
Leipzig 2006 – Night Flight
(photo calendar)
Jan K. Tyrel, published by Libri-
Verlag Art & Photo Publishing
Berlin, A2 format, 14 high-glossy
pages, duplex printing, €29.90
Berlin photographer Jan K. Tyrel
specialises in night photographs,
long exposures and unusual
angles. This artistic stroll through
nocturnal Leipzig in black and
white presents facets of Leipzig
old and new by night. It shows
famous sights, places that aren’t
yet that well known, and unfamiliar
views. By the way, we’ve got
three of these calendars to give
away in our competition.
>> NÄHER dran
23

Marie-Kristin Renner, Hansjörg Richter and Anne Koschwitz enjoy a
multimedia sightseeing tour of Leipzig with their mini-computer guide
looking back/looking ahead
Heidi Klum’s handprint
STRASSE der STARS ® has had
some prominent additions. When
supermodel Heidi Klum came to
Leipzig to host the Final Draw for
the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany
on 8 December, she kindly
agreed to include her handprint
in the STRASSE der STARS®
exhibition. Dressed in black from
head to toe, she was in a talkative
mood and declared she was
delighted to give her hand to Leipzig!
"I’m very impressed by what
I’ve seen in Leipzig,” she added.
New restaurant guide
Speisen Sie gut! (Dine well!) is the
title of LTS’s brand new restaurant
guide. This handy publication is
just what congress participants,
tourists and locals need to find the
right restaurant in Leipzig. Containing
about a hundred pages
and featuring a huge range of
more than 400 restaurants, the
guide is available free of charge
from Leipzig Information.
Leipzig meets Houston
School students with a good level
of English who know a thing or
two about Leipzig’s twin town
Houston could well win a trip to
the USA. ‘Leipzig meets Houston’
is the name of a competition being
held by LTS for the first time and
six Leipzig schools are taking part.
All those who registered with LTS
by 16 December will take a multiple-choice
test at the end of
January – and the three winners
will win a ten-day trip to the USA
in summer 2006. The competition
ties in with a national exam organised
by the American Association
of Teachers of German in Houston.
LTS’s counterpart in Houston is
the Houston–Leipzig Sister City
Association.
Multimedia tours of Leipzig
Armed with a mini-computer known
as a PDA (personal digital assistant)
and a pair of headphones,
tourists can now be accompanied
on a multimedia sightseeing tour
of Leipzig by the young Goethe.
This pioneering system produced
by iGuide is now available for hire
at Leipzig Information. As well as
Goethe’s voice explaining all the
sights, the tour includes hundreds
of pictures and is an unparalleled
experience. The hire fee is €7 for
four hours and €10 for eight.
German Tourism Prize 2005
On 3 November 2005, LTS product
manager Thomas Köhn accepted
the nomination for the
German Tourism Prize 2005. A
few days later, LTS received a letter
from Brunhilde Irber, a German
MP and deputy chair of the
Tourism Committee, stating: "From
information provided by the German
Tourism Association in 2005,
I learn that your project City
Pictures has been nominated for
the German Tourism Prize 2005 in
the category Innovative Tourism
Products. I would like to congratulate
you warmly on this nomination.
Your innovation has created
important impetus for the tourism
industry. I am certain that your creativity
and your imaginativeness
will catch on in German tourism.”
City Pictures was launched in April
2005. This unique photographic
tour of discovery encompassing
twelve music-related sights in
The awards ceremony for the German Tourism Prize 2005
Heidi Klum’s handprint being added to
STRASSE der STARS ®
Leipzig was created by LTS on the
basis of a concept put forward by
designer Thomas Hankel.
www.musikstadt-leipzig.de
LTS’s photo competition now
over
From 3 August until 30 September
2005, LTS held its popular
photo competition for the fourth
time. More than 13,000 votes
were cast on the internet voting
system used to choose the 100
best photographs, the overall winners
then being picked by a
twelve-strong team of professional
photographers and prominent
Leipzig experts. First place went
to ‘Fairytale at the zoo’ by Rene
Schütze. Second place was garnered
by Stefanie Halisch with
‘Insider tip’, while Lutz Brose’s
‘Final spurt’ came third. The more
than 300 entrants submitted a
total of over 700 photographs.
www.myfoto.de
We’d like to thank all the businesses
who kindly supported the
competition, especially:
-a bis z Publishing GmbH
- Newvicom GmbH
- O2 (Germany) GmbH & Co. OHG
- PENTAX Europe GmbH
- Concord Games GmbH
- MINOX GmbH
-myPixx AG
- simons & Schreiber
Werbeagentur GmbH
- Ströer Deutschland
- Städte Medien GmbH
Individual photo calendars
You can now compile your own
unique Leipzig photo calendar by
choosing your favourite entries in
the competition. A selection of the
best photos has been posted on a
bis z-Publishing GmbH’s website
www.abisz-publishing.de – just log
on and pick the ones you want.
Apart from a huge selection of
brilliant photographs, you can
choose from various calendars
(A3, A4, year-at-a-glance, etc) in
a number of suggested layouts
with elements such as background
colour, frame and font all
individually adjustable. Calendars
cost €17.95 plus postage and
packing, while two-sided annual
planners are available for as little
as €4.99. www.abisz-publishing.de
24 >> NÄHER dran looking back/looking ahead

Old City Hall and the market square (Edeltrud Ulbl-Taschner) Auenwald – the floodplain woodlands (Antje Uhlig) Belantis theme park (Volker Prößdorf)
The Gewandhaus and Mende Fountain (Konstantin Orlowski) Leipzig Central Station (Frank Miethling) Museum of Fine Arts (Klaus Lindenmüller)
Leipzig is full of tourist attractions!
To see the essentials you
definitely mustn’t miss in 2006,
have a look at some of the entries in
LTS’s recent photo competition....
New City Hall (Frank Miethling) St Nicholas’s Church and Column (André Thissen)
Leipzig Opera House (Michael Gelfert)
The sights
in Leipzig not to be
missed...
City Tower and
Augustusplatz
(Stefan Burkersroda)
Drallewatsch
pub district
(Heike Scholz)
Industrial architecture in Plagwitz (Matthias Naumann)
Gohliser Palace
Mädler Passage with
Auerbachs Keller
Städtisches Kaufhaus & STRASSE der STARS (Steffi Schmidt)
(Mirko Seidel)
© (Armin Kühne) Supreme Administrative Court (Dirk Röhrich)
South Leipzig Cemetery
Leipzig Zoo
(René Schüte, who
St Thomas’s Church (Thomas Diekmann) (Antje Uhlig)
won the competition)
Monument to the Battle of Nations (Steffen Böttger)

www.tourismus-delitzscherland.de
New tourism portal for Delitzsch
Delitzscher Land (the rural district
of Delitzsch) recently went online
with its own tourism portal.
www.tourismus-delitzscher-land.de
is jam-packed with information
about one of the most fascinating
regions for tourism in Saxony. The
website includes photographs of
the local countryside, details of hotels
and restaurants, information
about the extensive network of hiking
trails as well as cycle and bridle
paths, the lowdown on sports and
leisure facilities, and an events calendar.
As well as a complete overview
of what’s going on in the way
of tourism in Delitzscher Land, the
site also contains a host of other
valuable tips. The integrated excursion
planner is especially useful:
enter the rough route you plan to
take and the planner will tell you
about the places of interest, restaurants
and hotels along the route.
In addition, tour operators and other
organisations are invited to register
Advertisement
on the portal in order to post information
about themselves. For details,
contact the local administration.
Contact:
Landratsamt Delitzsch
Referat Wirtschaftsförderung
Richard-Wagner-Straße 7a
04509 Delitzsch, Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 34202 69385
Fax: +49 (0) 34202 69784
sylke.seidel@lra-delitzsch.de
www.tourismus-delitzscher-land.de
tourism breakfast
Leipzig Tourism Prize 2005
Leipzig Erleben GmbH won the Leipzig Tourism Prize
2005, a competition which has been organised by
LTS since 2002. Managing director Alexandra
Naumann received the award from Richard Schrumpf at the 106th
Tourism Breakfast on 30 November 2005. During his speech,
Richard Schrumpf said: "Leipzig Erleben GmbH received more than
half the votes cast. Never before has anyone notched up such a big
majority. All their sightseeing tours – including tours of the New
Lakeland south of Leipzig, the pub tour and the walking tours
around the city centre – are conducted by guides who have been
officially certified by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and
meet the highest standards.” Second place went to Treffpunkt
Leipzig GbR for its hard work in looking after the city’s guests. The
third prize was won by the exhibition on the Terracotta Warriors and
Horses in Markkleeberg, where the number of visitors had already
passed the 70,000 mark since opening in spring 2005. The award
ceremony was attended by more than two hundred people.
Nominations for the Leipzig Tourism Prize are accepted for organisations
whose work has helped improve tourism in Leipzig and also
achieved a big response in the media. After LTS had compiled a list
of the nominations it had received by 19 October 2005 and posted
it on the internet, voting was completed by 23 November 2005.
Richard Schrumpf congratulates Dr Susann Buhl,
Sebastian Schaar and Alexandra Naumann (Leipzig
Erleben GmbH)
Introducing Leipzig Erleben
Leipzig Erleben GmbH was founded on 1 June 2002. Its sole partner
is the Association of City Guides in Leipzig and Area, which was
set up back in 1991. The organisation opened its own offices in
1996, which later spawned Leipzig Erleben GmbH. One important
aspect of its work is to raise locals’ levels of awareness about the city
in which they live. For this purpose, more than thirty thematic
guided tours have been developed, including cycling tours through
various boroughs and city rallies for youngsters. In 1999, special
guided tours for visitors with special needs were introduced. Tours
are now available in a total of fourteen languages for visitors, and
the association has about eighty freelance guides on its books. All
its guides have been certified by Leipzig Chamber of Industry and
Commerce after taking a special course. Lasting 160 periods, this
training course was developed by the Delegation of German
Industry and Trade, Leipzig Chamber of Industry and Commerce,
LTS and other partners. In addition, extensive further training is
organised every year for all guides, who also undergo regular monitoring.
Leipzig Erleben GmbH is LTS’s exclusive partner for guided
tours and hence plays a very active role in the tourism industry in
Leipzig.
Grit Hebestreit, Jana Schulz Alexandra Naumann and
Heike Pötzsch from Leipzig Erleben GmbH were
thrilled to win Leipzig Tourism Prize 2005
26 >> NÄHER dran tourism breakfast

Where are they now?
Businesses keep asking
what’s become of past LTS
interns. Well, since NÄHER
dran is mainly written by our
junior colleagues on work
experience, we decided to
touch base with some of our
previous interns in order to
find out what they’re up to
now. We asked them all three
questions:
1.) What did you do after your
work experience at LTS?
2.) What did you learn from
the internship?
3.) What’s your personal
motto?
Sandra ADAM
Internship: 2002
1.) Since September 2002 I’ve
been studying tourism at
Wilhelmshaven University of
Applied Sciences. I spent my
work experience semester from
August 2004 until February 2005
working for an incoming tour
operator in London. In March
2006 I’ll be joining a large
German tour operator to start
working on my undergraduate
dissertation.
2.) It gave me loads of very useful
experience! I received insights
into numerous exciting projects
within a very short space of time
and was also able to contribute
my own ideas.
3.) If you want to succeed you
should strike out on new paths,
rather than travel the worn paths
of accepted success.” (John D.
Rockefeller)
Sylvia ARNOLD
Internship: 2002
1.) I completed my training to
become an international tourism
assistant in June 2003. Since
autumn 2003 I’ve been studying
business administration at the
University of Leipzig. In
September 2005 I went to
Sydney in Australia, where I’ll be
staying until February 2006 doing
an internship at BMW’s marketing
department.
2.) ) I learned a great deal about
professional communication with
other companies, the general
public and the media. The internship
boosted my confidence no
end.
3.) "The road is the reward.”
Ines BARTHOLDT
Internship: 2003
1.) Following my internship at LTS
I moved to Palm Beach Gardens
in Florida, where I now work at
Frenchman’s Creek Country
Club, the best golf club in Florida.
In 2005 I spent four months in
New York working at the Fresh
Meadow Country Club, but I’m
back in Florida now and I’m
delighted that my visa has been
extended until April 2007.
2.) I learned an awful lot during
my internship with the LTS. The
person who taught me most was
my mentor, Thomas Köhn, who
was a great source of kind assistance
during a difficult patch.
Thank you ever so much, Herr
Köhn!
3.) "Try to enjoy every single day
of your life, even the little things,
for it may soon be over.”
Kim GAJEWSKI
Internship: 1999
1.) II completed my training to
>> looking back/looking ahead
become a state-certified assistant
in the hotel, catering and tourism
business. Afterwards I took cultural
studies and journalism at the
University of Leipzig until spring
2004. I then worked at the two
youth hostels in Leipzig, Sleepy
Lion and Central Globetrotter.
Since October I’ve been living in
the Swiss town of Wengen,
where I work in the front office of
the four-star Hotel Silberhorn.
2.) My internship in the marketing
department spawned a marvellous
opportunity, since I was subsequently
able to spend five years
employed by LTS, where I picked
up experience in almost every single
department.
3.) "In peace lies no strength
whatsoever!”
Wiebke HABERBECK
Internship: 2000
1.) After my internship, in
October 2000 I began a degree
in psychology at Leipzig and am
now embroiled in my undergraduate
dissertation. In spring 2006 I’ll
be applying to work as a neuropsychologist
in a clinic or hospital.
2.) I obtained a good insight into
the structures of the tourism
operation and also had the opportunity
to take part in several interesting
projects. I was closely
involved in LTS’s work thanks to
very good care and supervision. I
found the warm, personal atmosphere
especially pleasant.
3.) "It is only with the heart that
one can see rightly; what is
essential is invisible to the eye.”
(Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
Kathrin PYTTLIK
Internship: 2003
1.) Following my examinations to
become a state-certified hotel
management assistant, I did work
experience at the Crowne Plaza
in Brussels, Le Meridien in
Nuremberg and Venue West
Conference Services Ltd in
Vancouver. Since October 2005
I’ve been working at Hotel Le
Meridien in Munich.
2.) The placement at LTS gave
me plenty of experience and a
firm footing for my subsequent
internships. The seminars for
interns afforded me fascinating
insights into LTS’s diverse activities.
The team of interns was fantastic
and the atmosphere at
work was great!
3.) "It’s a big world out there – be
part of it."
Julia SCHMIEDEHAUSEN
Internship: 2003
1.) I completed my training in the
hotel and catering trade in
Leipzig. Afterwards, I went to
Andalusia on the Costa del Sol,
where I’m now working at the
reception of a five-star spa hotel.
I enjoy working with the guests
and the chance to talk to people
from different nationalities.
2.) I learned how to deal with
guests, to keep smiling, and to
keep my head when everyone
else is losing theirs! My colleagues
were very kind and great
fun to work with.
3.) "Por algo pasan las cosas y
siempre adelante!" (which roughly
means: "Things always happen
for a reason. Always look ahead.
Loving everything and being loved
is the most wonderful thing in the
world.”)
Peggy STELZER
Internship: 2002
1.) I completed my training to
become an international tourism
assistant at Chemnitz Vocational
Training College. I then became a
trainee hotel manager at Novotel
Leipzig and am currently in my
third year.
2.) I learned an awful lot about
Leipzig and its surroundings. I
was particularly interested to find
out how many and what sort of
different campaigns and projects
are carried out by LTS, such as
the photo competition. The press
tour which I helped organise was
also exciting. The special seminars
for interns underlined just
how well the junior colleagues are
integrated.
3.) "Expect the unexpected.”
Melanie ZIEROLD
Internship: 2004
1.) After completing my training, I
began working as a receptionist
at Galerie Hotel Leipziger Hof,
where I’ve now been for a year.
2.) During my internship at LTS, I
gathered useful experience of for
example organising events during
the three-day fam trip.
Furthermore, helping out on the
Location Guide project taught me
a lot about programming HTML.
3.) "The happier you are, the
faster time passes.”
(Plinius the Younger)
By the way, we still need help in
the form of more interns. If you’re
interested in doing work experience
at LTS, log on to
www.leipzig.de (Portal: Tourist
Service) for more details.
>> NÄHER dran
27

tourism notes
Newsflashes from hospitality, the arts and business
Praise for World Cup Host
City Leipzig
The Final Draw for the 2006 FIFA
World Cup Germany was held
at the Leipzig Fair on 9 December
2005. Presented by stars including
Heidi Klum, this stunning event
was watched on television by
more than 320 million viewers. FIFA
President Sepp Blatter praised
Leipzig’s "world-class organisation”
of the draw. Delegations
from each of the teams drawn to
play fixtures in the group stage of
the World Cup in Leipzig were also
full of praise for Leipzig Central
Stadium. Following the draw,
Leipzig can look forward to hosting
some top teams. On 11 June,
co-favourite the Netherlands will
be opening their campaign against
Serbia & Montenegro. On 14
June, Spain takes on Ukraine.
The 1998 world champion
France have been drawn against
South Korea on 18 June, followed
three days later by Iran versus
Angola. Finally, one of the roundof-sixteen
matches will be staged
in Leipzig on 21 June.
www.fifawm2006.leipzig.de
Athletic guided tours
Guided tour specialists Leipzig
Erleben GmbH are planning some
new tours for 2006 for the more
athletically minded among you!
One tour involves participants
demonstrating their footballing
skills throughout the city in time for
the 2006 FIFA World Cup
Germany. It includes a heading
competition and a hacky sack
tournament on green spaces in
town. Do well and you’ll earn
points for your team. The second
addition to Leipzig Erleben’s programme
is a Monopoly tour to be
launched on 5 March 2006 which
is based on the Leipzig edition of
the popular board game. But be
warned: you’ll need endurance
and a cool head if you mean to
stay the course!
www.leipzig-erleben.com
Edvard Grieg Memorial and
Centre Opened
World-famous Norwegian composer
Edvard Grieg had close personal
and professional ties with
Leipzig for much of his life. In
1858 he enrolled at the local
Conservatory of Music and had
almost all his compositions published
by C.F. Peters at Talstraße
10. This was where Grieg and his
wife Nina also stayed during their
many visits to Leipzig – and where
the composer wrote the Peer
Gynt Suite No. 1. After the Edvard
Grieg Memorial and Centre
Opened Association spent seven
years campaigning for Grieg to be
officially commemorated at Talstraße
10, its plans finally came to
fruition when the centre was
opened on 7 November 2005.
Initially hosting concerts and other
events, regular opening hours will
be introduced at some stage in
the future.
www.grieg-in-leipzig.de
Another year of Dialogue in
the Dark
The exhibition Dialogue in the
Dark has been extended until the
end of 2006 by popular demand.
Since it opened in January 2004,
87,000 visitors have ventured off
into the darkness. And previous
visitors keen for more can look
forward to a number of new elements
starting in January. Before
they start on their one-hour tour of
the pitch-dark exhibition, visitors
are briefed by blind guides. In
small groups armed with just a
white stick to ‘feel’ where they’re
going, visitors then have to negotiate
a certain route through the
500-square-metre hall, which
includes going through a forest, a
zoo, and a town with people rushing
by against the background of
traffic noise. The exhibition has
created employment for 21 blind
and partially sighted people.
www.ausstellungen-leipzig.de
28 >> NÄHER dran tourism notes

Exciting garden show(s)
Held under the motto ‘Adventure.
Countryside. Animals’, the Saxon
Horticultural Show 2006 in
Oschatz has a whole string of
highlights up its sleeve! Visitors will
be able to enjoy the magic of
countless flowers from 22 April
until 8 October 2006 on an exhibition
area measuring 30
hectares. The hidden galleries
surrounded by hornbeam hedges
2.30 metres tall harbour attractions
making sure the exhibition
never gets dull! Moreover, with fifteen
different indoor flower
shows, Saxon horticulturalists
promise some unique floral experiences
in the 800-square-metre
hall.
www.lago2006.de
Edition 2013...
...is a new series of three-day
open-air events organised by local
impresario Peter Degner. Taking
place every year in mid-July, the
project will kick off on 14 July
>> tourism notes
2006 in Johannapark with a tribute
to Richard Wagner called
‘Verachtet mir die Meister nicht’ (a
title taken from The Mastersingers
of Nuremberg). Edition 2013 is
designed to promote cultural dialogue
and international understanding,
and the events will be
transmitted to various European
cities. Tickets include a €2 donation
towards the restoration of the
Monument to the Battle of
Nations, the centenary of which
will be celebrated in 2013.
Terracotta warriors prolong
their stay
The exhibition on the terracotta
army at the Centre of Chinese
Arts and Culture has been extended
until 30 April 2006.
Featuring 80 original exhibits from
the terracotta army discovered
near the Chinese city of Xian, this
unique show has already been
visited by 70,000 people. Visitors
are whisked 2,200 years back in
time into the underground mausoleum
of Chinese Emperor Shi
Huang Ti. A free shuttle bus from
Leipzig Information to the exhibition
went into service on 14 December
2005. It departs hourly
between 10am and 6pm (except
1pm) Wednesdays and Saturdays.
www.qin-terracotta-armee.de
New website for Leipzig Zoo
Leipzig Zoo’s new website invites
visitors to embark on an adventurous
journey through the continents
of the world – much as the
zoo itself does. There’s something
exciting to discover behind every
link – such as the challenging
online game. Another highlight is
the Kiwara Cam – a webcam controllable
by internet users showing
a view of the magnificent Kiwara
Savannah. For the first time a section
on hosting conferences and
other functions at the zoo has
been included.
www.zoo-leipzig.de
Level II of Quality Campaign
from 2006
After receiving Level I of the
Saxon Quality of Service award,
the Ramada Hotel in Leipzig is
now aiming for Level II. In 2006
Saxony is switching to this new
level in the three-level quality management
system in order to boost
the regional service culture. More
than 370 businesses have signed
up to the quality campaign in
Saxony, and 86 of them have
already achieved Service-Q Level
I. In Level II, the preceding selfassessment
is augmented by a
four-pronged external evaluation
including a mystery check. The
next training course for Level II
Quality Trainers will take place on
23/24 January 2006 in Dresden.
To enrol, call:
+49 (0) 03521 763522.
www.servicequalitaet-sachsen.de
New arts magazine for Central
Germany
Kunststoff, a new quarterly magazine
dealing with culture in Central
Germany, went on sale in
November 2005 (price: €3). The
first issue includes interviews as
well as book and theatre reviews,
along with illustrations by Eckard
Meisel.
www.kunststoff-leipzig.de
>> NÄHER dran
29

introducing
>> Innovative ideas
To mark the 2006 FIFA World Cup, publishers
smile & fun have just brought out a
very special souvenir called MAG-MARK.
It’s a patented magnetic bookmark showing
some of the sights of Leipzig and containing
a brief welcome to Leipzig in a number
of different languages. "Instead of placing
chocolates or other sweets on guests’
pillows, we thought it would be a good idea
if hotels gave their guests a more lasting
memento of Leipzig,” said Waldemar
Böhmer, the company’s ideas man.
www.smileandfun.de
>> Online platform for societies
Members of learning workshop Lernwerkstatt
Region Leipzig are building on
the idea behind Leipziger Vereinsanzeiger,
the local magazine for societies,
by launching an online magazine. Elke
Engelmann, a trained communication
expert who has spent many years working
for various societies and associations,
began running the publication of this new
platform under her own steam on 17
January 2005. "It gives the some 3,700
societies and associations in Leipzig an
opportunity to publish articles describing
their activities. The aim is to tell the general
public more about all the many different
things local societies do.”
www.vereinsanzeiger-leipzig.de
>> A magnificent World Cup
souvenir
The photo shows Anne Schönke from
Leipzig City Council’s World Cup Office
holding up the limited special edition
medallion made out of Meissen porcelain.
And this delightful collector’s item has
been selling like hot cakes! Costing €15
and available from Leipzig Information, the
medallion shows Leipzig Central Stadium
backed by a 2006 FIFA World Cup
motif. "The first-ever piece of Meissen
porcelain was presented by none other
than King August the Strong of Saxony at
the Leipzig Fair at Easter in 1710,” says
Bodo Zeidler – and he should know, for
>> Flying visit
After reporting on LTS’s photo competition,
news agency pressetext sent
Rainer Schilling from its German
head office in Wiesbaden to Leipzig for
two days to hold talks there. pressetext
is currently planning to extend its network
of regional offices and is considering
setting up shop in Leipzig for its
coverage of Saxony. Well aware that
Leipzig also has plenty of breathtaking
sights, Rainer took his family along.
After staying overnight at the RAMADA
Hotel, they enjoyed a sightseeing tour
and a visit to the zoo.
www.pressetext.de
he runs the shop specialising in Meissen
porcelain in the Old City Hall arcades!
www.leipzig.de
>> New ballet director
Paul Chalmer is the new director of the
Leipzig Ballet Company. He succeeds
Uwe Scholz, who sadly passed away in
November 2004. Chalmer has been
familiar with Scholz’s work for more than
twenty-five years – partly because the two
of them once worked together in
Stuttgart. Born in Ottawa in 1962, Paul
Chalmer studied at the National Ballet
School of Canada in Toronto. He then
enjoyed a remarkable solo dancing career
before becoming ballet master at several
major opera houses. Under Chalmer the
>> Inca gold proves a massive draw
Prof. Wilfried Morawetz, the head of
the Latin America Centre at the University
of Leipzig and curator of the exhibition on
Inca gold, is delighted at the huge numbers
of people coming to the exhibition
ever since it opened on 18 November
2005. "A Millennium of Inca Gold is yet
another attraction for Leipzig,” he
declared. Staged until the end of February
2005 at Romanushaus, the exhibition
presents more than 80 original items from
the legendary golden treasure of the Incas
displayed in dim, mysterious rooms. The
exhibits include solid gold beakers, evilly
grinning masks, nose jewellery and votive
pictures.
www.inkagold-ausstellung.de
>> The Discovery of Slowness
Neo Rauch (45), one of the most successful
contemporary painters, has
been made professor of art at the
Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig. He
succeeds his former tutor, Arno Rink,
who was given emeritus status at the
end of September 2005. Rauch lives
and works in Leipzig and is regarded as
one of the most prominent representatives
of the ‘New Leipzig School’ championing
a figurative style. Dismayed at
today’s frequently slipshod work and the
demand to turn out paintings in quick
succession, given the choice he says
he’d make The Discovery of Slowness
>> The road to the stars ...
... leads to Städtisches Kaufhaus on
Neumarkt. It was here that STRASSE
der STARS®, Germany’s most unusual
exhibition containing handprints of stars
like Claudia Schiffer and Michael
Schumacher, was opened on 26
August 2005 – and, Ingo Seifert, the
go-getting proprietor of the gastro 15
restaurant just opposite, has been fielding
enquiries ever since. "Lots of people
come especially to see the exhibition.
But plenty of others just stumble upon
the ‘stars’ here by chance, and so I tell
them a bit more about the project,” he
explains. By the way, Herr Seifert also
organises musical evenings like Funky
company will continue its neoclassical
style and the number of dancers will
remain limited to 40.
www.oper-leipzig.de
compulsory reading for all his students!
www.hgb-leipzig.de
Disco Classics Night in his restaurant on
Thursdays and Saturdays.
Tel. 0341/224 68 80
30 >> NÄHER dran introducing

The grounds of the Engineering Fair in around 1930
Leipzig in superlatives
Part 11
>> Leipzig has more unique
attractions and superlatives
than almost any other comparable
city, including many
that even prompt locals to
say in surprise: "I never knew
that!” NÄHER dran tries to do
its bit by listing ten Leipzig
superlatives in each issue.
But do you know any others
we’ve omitted? If so, don’t
hesitate to let us know!
1. The largest model railway
shed in Europe
Auenhain Model Park was opened
on 1 June 2003 by Frank Wackernagel
and Markkleeberg Modelmaking
Club. Visitors can ride
through the park on mini railway
carriages pulled by diesel and
steam locomotives – and admire
the biggest model engine shed in
Europe.
>> Leipzig in superlatives
2. The first newspaper in postwar
Germany was published
in Leipzig
On 21 November 1945, Leipzig
publisher Otto Beyer left the
headquarters of the Red Army
with a historic document in his
pocket: the first permit to produce
a magazine to be issued by any of
the victorious powers. Before the
year was out he’d published the
first edition of Guter Rat (‘Top
Tips’). It was 16 pages long and
cost 70 pfennigs. Page 1 carried
the slogan: "Every word checked,
every line practical!” The magazine
remains popular to the present day.
3. The first non-denominational
school in Germany
The first non-denominational
school open to the public was
opened on the walls of the
Moritzbastei in 1756-63. In 1875
it was transformed into the High
School for Female Professions.
Sadly, the building was destroyed
during an air raid in 1943.
4. The first video telephone link
After two video telephone boxes
had been installed at both the junction
of Hardenbergstrasse and
Kantstrasse in Berlin and at the C1
post office on Augustusplatz in
Leipzig, the first long-distance
video telephone link was introduced
on 1 March 1936. A threeminute
call cost 3 reichsmarks plus
a 50-pfennig connection fee.
5. Unique technique of book
restoration
The ZFB Centre for Book
Restoration was spun out of the
German National Library in 1998.
With decades of experience in
book restoration, it has developed
a totally unique industrial process
which allows the decay of antique
books to be prevented. The main
technical innovation is the automatic
splitting of individual pages.
6. The University of Leipzig is
the second-oldest in
Germany
The University of Leipzig was
established in 1409, making it the
oldest university in Germany to
have been operating continuously
after Heidelberg. It was founded
by German students and professors
who had withdrawn from the
University of Prague on 11-18
May 1409. On 2 December
1409, ‘Alma mater Lipsiensis’
was officially founded at a ceremony
held in the refectory of St
Thomas’s Monastery in the presence
of the Wettin rulers. A new
building complex designed by
architect Erick van Egeraat is due
to be completed in time for the
university’s 600th anniversary.
The ZFB’s paper-splitting machine used to
stabilise fragile paper
7. City of Nobel Prize winners
More than 40 people associated
with Leipzig in some way have
been awarded a Nobel Prize.
They include greats like Felix
Bloch, Gerhart Hauptmann,
Werner Heisenberg, Gustav
Hertz, Wilhelm Ostwald, Albert
Schweitzer, Carl Bosch and Ivan
Pavlov. However, the only winner
to have been born in Leipzig
is Sir Bernhard Katz, who won
the Nobel Prize for medicine in
1970.
8. World’s first engineering
fair
On 14 March 1920, the world’s
first engineering fair was opened
in Leipzig. It was held on the site
previously used by the IBA
International Construction Show in
1913 and the first BUGRA – an
international trade show for printing
and publishing – in 1914. The
grounds were located on the eastern
railway ring and their central
axis was formed by the middle
section of the road Strasse des
18. Oktober.
9. The teddy bear was discovered
in Leipzig
The teddy bear, a children’s
favourite for over a century, was
actually discovered in Leipzig.
Shortly before Easter 1903, the
Steiff toy company from Baden-
Württemberg displayed a teddy
bear for the first time at the
Leipzig Fair. An American buyer
was quick to spot the cuddly toy’s
potential and immediately ordered
a batch of 3,000. He triggered a
veritable avalanche of bears;
before the year was out, Steiff had
produced 12,000 of the furry
creatures.
10. Europe’s most advanced
ISDN network
On the back of its reputation as a
top host of trade shows and conventions,
Leipzig has developed
into a leading service centre. Part
and parcel of this is a highly efficient
telecoms structure, including
the most modern ISDN network in
Europe.
Leipzig ...?
Does anything else extraordinary
about Leipzig spring to mind? If
so, write to:
Leipzig Tourist Service
(marking your letter ‘Superlative’)
Richard-Wagner-Straße 1
04109 Leipzig, Germany
or send an e-mail to:
Presse@LTS-Leipzig.de
The jumbo model railway The design of the University of Leipzig’s new campus
>> NÄHER dran
31

Taking it easy together
Photo competition entries from Sven Birnbaum and Christiane Oehmichen
views and opinions
>> Issue 9 of NÄHER dran
examined the 1813 Battle of
Nations (also known as the
Battle of Leipzig). Thomas
Krämer from Leipzig wrote in
to say that he’d never seen
such a well condensed
overview of this momentous
historical event before. We’d
like to thank everyone who
kindly took the trouble to
write to us with their opinions
– some full of praise,
some critical. We love receiving
your letters so please
don’t stop! Here are a few of
the responses we received
to our last issue.
"Yet another great issue of
NÄHER dran! I’ll be coming to
Leipzig this week and I’m very
much looking forward to it. Keep
up the good work!”
Thomas Wettig,
AVIS Car Hire, Oberursel
"Your very laudable commemoration
of the Battle of Nations
prompts me to draw your attention
to a few of the inaccuracies
it contained. Bonaparte was
born in 1768 on Corsica, which
at that time didn’t yet belong to
France; moving his birth to 1769
was a total misrepresentation. I
think you also need to explain
how a Grande Armée consisting
of 600,000 soldiers was annihilated
‘without much resistance’
and why when it crossed the
River Nemen on 13 December
1812 only 1,600 armed men
reached the other side (pages
14/15). By the way, no one
born and bred in Leipzig would
ever dream of referring to the
Monument to the Battle of
Nations as ‘Völki’. This ridiculous
story circulated by outsiders
and the media is just one of the
many recent attempts to distort
the idea behind the monument.
Prof Biedenkopf’s ‘vision of
peace and reconciliation’ put
forward as part of a ‘redefinition’
is plain nonsense because the
Monument to the Battle of
Nations was dedicated to the
battle itself and nothing else
from the word go – at a time
when the word ‘reconciliation’
was still unknown.”
Dr. Günther M. Hempel,
Leipzig
"We’d like to thank you and the
best editorial team in the world!
It was a pleasure working with
you! As we promised, over the
next few months we’ll keep
thinking of your activities and
your burgeoning city in the hope
that in 2006 we’ll be able to
experience the latest developments
in Leipzig and write about
them.”
Klaus Nagel,
Pressebüro, Düsseldorf
"I’d like to compliment you on
managing to reduce the postage
and packing costs from €1.44 to
€0.95. Perhaps you could use
thinner paper in order to cut
postage even more? This would
help you to secure the future of
NÄHER dran and hence LTS’s
outstanding image.”
Peter Voss, Berlin
"NÄHER dran is very interesting
and informative. My wife and I
actually went to Leipzig this year
and also saw the Terracotta
Warriors that featured in your
magazine. We were of course
very impressed by Leipzig and
the magnificent buildings in particular
– not to mention all the
construction work going on! We
hope very much that we’ll be
able to come again from time to
time.”
Peter Fritzges, Traunstein
"Thank you very much indeed
for sending me Issue 9. I found
it most interesting and highly
enjoyable. But dear Mr
Schrumpf, why have your forewords
become so serious? I
can’t believe you no longer want
to remain in the ‘land of smiles’.
Leaving it would be a great pity
– for loads of reasons, one of
which is that despite all the comedy
clubs in Leipzig there aren’t
that many sharp-witted commentators
around.”
Dr. Frieder Schäuble, Leipzig
"I’ve just read the foreword in
Issue 9 of NÄHER dran and
can’t understand what all the
fuss is about. It’s just a typical
commentary with a humorous
touch that never gets at all personal.”
Christian Albert Jacke,
Hamburg
"I really enjoyed your photo competition!
I hope you hold it again
next year.”
Steffen Böttger, Leipzig
Well someone’s got to prop up the tree!
Sorry, this is the point where our translator threw in the towel...
Glorsischd...
De Gwardalschellde
>> Mahlzeid Leute... isch wees, isch wees - wenn
dieses Häft hior erscheind, is eschendlisch
Weihnachdn widdor vorbei, awer isch muss es los
wern: Also diese fulminande Illumination am
Siddy-Hochhaus is schon dor Hammor, un wie
’sch da so de Zeidung lese denk’sch mior: “des kennste doch,
des kennste doch...” un hab gleisch in aldn Zeidungen gewühld
un vorbibbsch, da wars, der erste Entwurf von 2002. Meine Fresse,
wenn alle Brojegde so lange loofen, bisse umgesetzt wern…
die, den das Haus gehört, ham ja och damals keine Genämschung
erteild, s’stand ooch innor Zeidung, es braucht halt
seine Zeit, bis sowas in de Köppe der Leute vordringt... Naja,
jeden Falls siehts gud aus, un das is de Haubdsache. Überhaupt
macht sich dor Weihnachtsmarkt offm Augustusblatz vornümfdsch
gut, nur de Milchtöppe, was de Eingänge zuor Diefgarage
sin, was jetzt Kerzen sein solln, sehn ä bissl aus, wie dor
Eingang in ne Täbldänzbar, des rode Lischd is hald ä bissl rosa
geradn... Komm’se
nächstes Jahr nach
Leipzsch, da könn’se
all das widdor bewundern.
Un nächstes
Jahr um die Zeit
sin mor dann schon
ä paar Monate Fußball-Weltmeestor,
unser Zentral-Stadion
is jeden Samstag,
wenn de Loksche
spielt, voll un alles is gud. Also in diesem
Sinne maximale Erfolge füor
2006, isch geh jez heem, bei deor Gälde
kann’sch eh keine Fensdor butzn. Mior sehn uns, Ihr Garl Glar…
p.s. ‘sch hab Ihnen ma hior de Ardigle ausgeschnibbld zum guggn…
links 2002 und reschts heude
32 >> NÄHER dran views and opinions

oulevard
Why? How come?
A guest commentary by
Daniel Zanetti
Many of the things that amaze
customers seem to happen in the
hotel and restaurant sector. This is
Evaluation
Competition
"Where do you read NÄHER
dran?”
In our last issue we asked all our
readers to send us a photo showing
where they read NÄHER dran
– be it on holiday, at home or at
work. Entries were drawn out of a
hat, the winners receiving attract-
Leipzig fans in Bangkok
Relaxing in Santa Cruz de
Norde (Cuba)
>> boulevard
an industry which often becomes
the whipping boy whenever the
issue of service quality raises its
head – after all, everybody reckons
they could run a hotel better. I
spent thirteen passionate years of
my life working in the hotel industry
and nowadays I invest plenty of
money every year in eating, drinking
and sleeping out. Allow me to
address a few critical questions to
all you hotel managers out there.
Ten questions I always wanted
to ask hotel and restaurant
managers. To find effective
solutions, try asking your
guests.
ive prizes. The fact that NÄHER
dran is read all over the world is
demonstrated by the following well
travelled photographs. They were
sent in by Helga Kehrer-Anton
(two), Jörg Meier, Chanjira
Nonpilai and Alexander Backhaus.
Reader in Switzerland Newspaper stand in Tokyo
Even jackdaws find
NÄHER dran interesting!
1. Why do I always have to complete
a registration form as soon
as I arrive even though you’ve
already got all the information
you need from my online booking?
2. Why do you write five times
as much about yourselves in
your letters and brochures
(using words like ‘we’, ‘our’, ‘I’
etc) as you do about your
guests?
3. Why do you advertise with
features like "direct-dial phone in
every room” when you know
perfectly well that every guest
now has a mobile phone (and
one that takes photographs to
boot!)?
NÄHER dran is created by a regularly
changing team made up of
young people doing work experience
at LTS – as you can see
from the cover photos of each
issue.
We’d now like to know which
cover photo you liked best of all.
Send us the number of your
4. Why do your waiters insist on
asking me how many people will
be dining when my partner and I
are plainly standing there alone?
5. Why are guests greeted with
the words "Smoking or nonsmoking?”
instead of by name?
6. Why do you say "Children
welcome” but give them red-hot
plates and expect them to sit on
chairs clearly made for adults?
7. Why do I make a reservation
under my name in your restaurant,
only to hear your staff refer
to me as ‘Table 5’ ("Main course
ready for Table 5” and "Table 5
wants his bill” etc)?
8. Why do you put questionnaires
headed "We value your opinion”
Competition: The best cover photo
favourite by post, fax or e-mail
(see page 34). All entries received
by 15 February 2006 will go into a
hat and the winner (along with a
partner of their choice) will be
pampered for a whole carefree
weekend in Leipzig, including
hotel accommodation (double
room), sightseeing tour, dinner at
in my room and then punish my
opinion with a standard reply?
9. Why do you offer rooms facing
north and south instead of telling
guests the truth?
10. Why do you want to make
me feel at home? After all, my
reasons for coming to you are
quite the opposite!
Daniel Zanetti is the CEO of
Neumann Zanetti & Partner
(Meggen/Lucerne) and the
author of Kundenverblüffung
(Amazing Your Customers) and
1001 Tipps Zur Mitarbeitermotivation
(1001 Ways Of Motivating
Your Staff).
Contac: www.nzp.ch
the Ratskeller restaurant and a
LEIPZIG CARD. The prizes for
runners-up include vouchers for
candlelit dinners, CDs, T-shirts,
calendars and books about
Leipzig. Have fun studying all the
cover photos!
The NÄHER dran team
Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3 Issue 4
Special issue Issue 5 Issue 6 Issue 7
Issue 8 Issue 9 Issue 10 You decide
?
>> NÄHER dran
33

The NÄHER dran team
Under the guidance of Andreas Schmidt (press and PR), this issue of NÄHER dran
was produced by the following:
Stefanie Eilenberger (20)
Training to be a tourism
assistant at Dr W. Blindow
School in Halle
Hobbies: travel, cinema
Victoria Lewandowski (25)
Studying business management
at the University of
Leipzig, Hobbies: foreign
languages, art
5 questions for ...
Wiebke Spitzner
Has been working for LTS since 1999 in the
Accommodation Information Department. She provides
information about Leipzig on the phone and over the
counter to tourists, arranges accommodation, and enters
blocks of rooms and prices into the reservation system.
1.) What are your favourite parts of Leipzig?
I love the parks and woodlands here – great for
relaxing, going for walks and cycling. I also enjoy
the sunset there occasionally.
2.) How do you unwind after work?
I enjoy summer evenings on my balcony at home.
Otherwise I just put my feet up and relax – assuming
I’ve got the time!
impressum
Kristin Kasper (20)
Training to become an international
tourism assistant
at the Heimerer School in
Leipzig, Hobbies: capoeira,
foreign cultures
Marie-Kristin Renner (19)
Plans to study event management
Hobbies: travel, literature
>> NÄHER dran is LTS’s tourism magazine. Individual issues are available free
of charge. Circulation: 15,000. It’s also distributed by email as a PDF file to
about 200,000 readers working in tourism and related sectors, about 100,000
of whom receive NÄHER dran in English.
Download: www.naeherdran-leipzig.de.
>> Published by
Leipzig Tourist Service e.V.
Richard Schrumpf (CEO)
Richard-Wagner-Straße 1, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
Telefon +49 (0)341 7104-265
Telefax +49 (0)341 7104-276
Info@LTS-Leipzig.de
www.leipzig.de
>> Edited by
Andreas Schmidt (in charge)
Telefon +49 (0)341 7104-310
Telefax +49 (0)341 7104-301
Presse@LTS-Leipzig.de
www.naeherdran-leipzig.de
Doreen Teichert (30)
Undergoing further training
to become a media technology
editor at WBS-Training
AG in Leipzig, Hobbies: photography,
cinema
Anne Koschwitz (23)
Taking American and
Arabic studies at the
University of Leipzig,
Hobbies: travel, literature
3.) What are your favourite film and television
programme?
"Rebel Without A Cause ", "37 Grad" (documentary
series on ZDF)
4.) What’s your favourite dish?
Long-grain rice
5.) What motto sums up your personal philosophy?
"Carpe Diem!"
Editorial team for this issue: Lisa Dühring, Stefanie Eilenberger, Anke Hirschfeld,
Kristin Kasper, Anne Koschwitz, Victoria Lewandowski, Marie-Kristin
Renner, Katja Schmidt, Doreen Teichert
Articles with a by-line represent the opinion of the author and not necessarily
that of LTS. Parts of NÄHER dran may be reproduced as long as the source is
cited.
>> Devised, designed and typeset by
the editorial team under the guidance of Nico Schmidt,
simons & schreiber WA GmbH im Stelzenhaus,
Weißenfelser Straße 65, 04229 Leipzig, Germany,
agentur@simons-schreiber.de.
>> Photos
p 8 academixer, p 33 Sandy Althans, p 9 Barbara Baumgärtel, p 9 Ulrich
Baumgärtel, p 12 (3 photos), p 30 Andreas Birkigt, p 32 Sven Birnbaum, p 25
Steffen Böttger, cover photo, pp 3, 13 (3 photos), 18–19 (5 photos), 32, 33
(7 photos), 34 Dirk Brzoska, p 25 Stefan Burkersroda, p 31 Büro Erick van
Egeraat, p 33 Lydia Busse, p 4 CDU group, p 8 Christopher Street Day, p 25
Thomas Diekmann, p 8 Dreieck Marketing, p 21 Lisa Dühring, p 11 (8 photos),
Ephraim Carlebach Foundation, p 8 euro scene Leipzig, pp 16 (2 photos),
30 (2 photos) Dietmar Fischer, p 24 (graphic design) Michael Fischer-Art, p 4
Bündnis 90/The Greens, p 25 Michael Gelfert, p 28 Grieg Memorial, p 24
Heimrich & Hannot GmbH, p 8 (2 photos) Josefine Heinicke, p 13 (2 photos)
Anke Hirschfeld, p 12 (2 photos) Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts, pp 27, 33
Anja Jungnickel, p 34 Kristin Kasper, p 33 (2 photos) Helga Kehrer-Anton, p 9
Photo of the
quarter
"Here’s lookin’ at you, kid!”
Next issue
"Bravo Leipzig!” applauded FIFA
President Joseph Blatter following
the Final Draw for the 2006 FIFA
World Cup at the Leipzig Fair on
9 December 2005. And soccer
genius Franz Beckenbauer went
into raptures, declaring: "The
enthusiasm shown by the people
of Leipzig is absolutely incredible!”
When the World Cup finals are
played in Germany in June 2006,
Leipzig is bound to be in the headlines
as one of the host cities. Yet
what do people outside Leipzig
actually know about Leipzig’s
proud sporting heritage? In fact it’s
quite difficult to find any other
town or city in Germany that can
keep up with Leipzig’s athletic
development! What makes
Leipzig so special is the extraordinary
diversity of its sporting history;
indeed, there is hardly a discipline
whose roots don’t go back
to Leipzig in some way! The
German Football Association for
example was founded on 28
January 1900 at the Mariengarten
tavern in Leipzig.
In the run-up to the 2006 FIFA
World Cup, in the next issue of
NÄHER dran we plan to explore
Leipzig’s sporting past and present
and introduce some of the
current activities available of particular
interest to tourists. So don’t
miss the March edition of NÄHER
dran!
The NÄHER dran team
(map) Gaby Kirchhof, p 31 Kathrin Klug, pp 10 (2 photos), 25, 29 Armin
Kühne, p 28 Kulturpunkt13, p 26 Leipzig Erleben GmbH, pp 8 International
Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film, pp 17 (5 photos), 18–19
(8 photos, 3 illustrations), 20 (3 photos), 21, 22 (4 photos) Leipzig Fair, p 25
Klaus Lindenmüller, p 4 Linkspartei.PDS group, p 29 Matthes/LGS, pp 16, 25
Frank Miethling, p 11 (2 photos) Norbert Molkenbur, p 8 Museum of Applied
Art, p 16 Steffen Müssiggang, p 25 Matthias Naumann, p 33 Chanjira Nonpilai,
p 32 Christiane Öhmichen, p 8 Oldtimer Zuverlässigkeitsfahrt, p 25 Konstantin
Orlowski, p 8 Paarmann Promotion, p 30 Katja Plagge, p 10 Anja Pöhlmann,
pp 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 (3 photos), 31 Pro Leipzig e.V., p 25 Volker Prössdorf, p
5 Qin Terrakotta Armee Ausstellungs GmbH, p 14 REAL Immobilien GmbH, p
8 Department of Aliens at Leipzig City Council, pp 27 (2 photos), 34 (5 photos)
Marie-Kristin Renner, p 25 Dirk Röhrich, p 29 Rost & Partner; p 27 Marietta
Roth, pp 8, 9, 16 (2 photos), 24 Andreas Schmidt, p 25 Steffi Schmidt, p 25
René Schütze, p 25 Heike Scholz, p 33 (3 photos) Stefanie Schumacher, p 25
Mirko Seidel, p 30 smile & fun, p 3 (Karikatur) Falk Schreiber, p 4 SPD group,
pp 8, 11, 14 Leipzig Museum of City History, p 16 Studio 80, p 8 TheaterMacht
Leipzig, p 24 Filip Thiel, p 25 André Thissen, p 25 (2 photos) Antje Uhlig, p 25
Edeltrut Ulbi-Taschner, pp 28, 30, 34 Westend, p 31 ZFB, pp 8, 29 Leipzig
Zoo
>> Availability
NÄHER dran is published quarterly in March, June, September and December.
Individual issues are available free of charge. The next edition will be published
in March 2006.
34 >> NÄHER dran boulevard/impressum