Waldstraßenviertel & Rosental

Leipzig is Saxony's most populous city, a trade fair and university city with a trade fair tradition dating back to 1190. Musically, Johann Sebastian Bach, who served as Thomaskantor from 1723 to 1750, and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy have left their mark on the city, today upheld by the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Thomanerchor.In 1989, peace prayers at Nikolaikirche led to the Monday Demonstrations, which, under the slogan "No Violence," helped bring about the end of the GDR. Today, Leipzig boasts a compact city center with arcades and churches, the art complex of the former Baumwollspinnerei in the west, and lively nightlife districts in the south.

The center essentially comprises Leipzig's Old Town, once encircled by a city wall. Today, the Inner City Ring, with Tröndlinring, Georgiring, Augustusplatz, Martin-Luther-Ring, and Dittrichring, forms its boundary; beyond it lies the Promenadenring. Characteristic features are the trade fair buildings, which arose with the sample fairs from 1895, and the passages and courtyards, which run parallel to the streets like a second, car-free network of paths. Specks Hof is considered the city's oldest preserved shopping arcade, Barthels Hof the only preserved 18th-century passage courtyard.You can stroll from the market, with the Old Town Hall, through the passages to Augustusplatz, home to the Opera, Gewandhaus concert hall, and the University's Paulinum, and visit the Mendelssohn House on Goldschmidtstraße. In the evening, head to Drallewatsch, the vibrant pub mile around Barfußgäßchen. All tram lines serve the Inner City Ring; in the City Tunnel, S-Bahn trains stop at the underground stations Hauptbahnhof, Markt, and Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz.

Gohlis is located in northern Leipzig and borders Rosental to the south. In the 18th century, the village was a popular excursion destination for Leipzig's bourgeoisie. Dating from this period are the Rococo summer palace Gohliser Schlösschen from 1755/56 and the farmhouse where Friedrich Schiller resided in the summer of 1785. Gohlis was incorporated in 1890; large parts of the district were built during the Gründerzeit, complemented by modern structures such as the Krochsiedlung and the Versöhnungskirche.Here you can visit the Schillerhaus, Germany's oldest literary memorial with a farmhouse garden, stop at the Gohliser Schlösschen, and stroll through the Gründerzeit streets to Rosental. Tram lines 4 and 12 run from south to north through Gohlis, lines 10 and 11 intersect at Georg-Schumann-Straße, and S-Bahn lines S1, S3, and S10 stop at the Gohlis and Coppiplatz stations.

Plagwitz and Lindenau are located about three kilometers west of the city center, with Karl-Heine-Straße forming the boundary between them. From 1854, entrepreneur Karl Heine bought land here, had canals and roads built, transforming the villages into industrial suburbs; in 1891, both were incorporated into Leipzig. After 1989, industry largely collapsed, but since around 2000, start-ups, galleries, and creative businesses have settled in the old factories. With the Spinnerei, Lindenau is considered the center of the New Leipzig School.You can stroll along Karl-Heine-Straße, walk or cycle on the towpath alongside the Karl-Heine-Kanal, which has been navigable for boats up to Lindenauer Hafen since 2015, and discover brick buildings like the Konsumzentrale. In the evenings, venues like the Schaubühne Lindenfels, as well as bars and clubs in old industrial buildings, beckon. You can get there with the S1 to Leipzig-Plagwitz or Leipzig-Lindenau, by tram line 14 via Karl-Heine-Straße, or with lines 7, 8, and 15 to Lindenauer Markt.

Südvorstadt borders the city center to the south. After 1864, a grid of perimeter block development emerged here, which is why Gründerzeit and Jugendstil buildings characterize the district, now one of the city's best-renovated areas. Its main thoroughfare is Karl-Liebknecht-Straße, known as KarLi, offering numerous pubs, cafés, restaurants, small shops, and cabaret stages. To the south lies Connewitz, incorporated in 1891 and regionally renowned as a stronghold of the alternative scene, which emerged from squats in unrestored old buildings.More than half of Connewitz is forest: In Connewitzer Holz, part of the southern Auwald, a dense network of paths awaits, boats navigate the Pleiße and Floßgraben, and in the Wildpark, you can see native animals with free admission. The former Gasometer hosts the Panometer, showcasing panoramic images by Yadegar Asisi, and from Fockeberg, you can overlook the city. Tram lines 9, 10, and 11 run via KarLi and Bornaische Straße; all S-Bahn lines stop at Leipzig MDR station on the eastern edge of Südvorstadt, and Connewitz has its own S-Bahn station.