Leipzig Tours

The Bach Archive
The Bach Archive Leipzig sees itself as a musical competence center at the main workplace of Johann Sebastian Bach. Its purpose is to explore the life, work and impact of the composer and the extensive musician family Bach, to preserve his legacy and to convey it as an educational asset. In the awareness of the importance of Bach, it fulfills in the historical Bosehaus, at the Thomaskirchhof, a comprehensive and multifacated task to the broad international public. At the same time, it contributes to the profiling of the musical city of Leipzig, whose cultural identity is marked by the name Bach as a decisive influence. The scientific work of the Bach Archive provides the basis for the design of the Bach Museum and is the formative influence for the annual Bach Festival and the biannual Bach Competition. The Bach Archive is a member of the Conference of National Cultural Institutions and belongs to Germany’s “Cultural Lighthouses.”

Date: 30 June 1, 3 and 4 July 2017
Who: Robert Moore
Time: 2:30 pm from the Messe
Location: Bach-Archiv and Thomaskirche
Meeting point: Haltestelle Markt (Leipzig)
Language: English and German

Within the framework of the guided tour, you will gain insights into this important facility, in conjunction with a guided tour of the Thomaskirche, Bach’s famous center of activity.

The Mendelssohn Museum
The late classical Mendelssohn House Leipzig is the last residence of the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Here he died on 4th November 1847. Enjoy a one hour guided tour and delve into the last domain of the famous composer.

Date: 30 June 1, 3 and 4 July 2017
Who: Uta Mutz
Time: 2:30 pm from the Messe
Location: Mendelssohn-Haus danach auf eigene initiative durch Innenstadt
Meeting point: Haltestelle Markt (Leipzig)
Language: English and German

The tours can be held in German, English, French, or Italian.

Forum of Contemporary History (Zeitgeschichte Forum)
The exhibition of the Zeitgeschichte Forum (Forum of Contemporary History) offers insights into the history of dictatorship and resistance in the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR.

You can learn, what the price of repugnant behavior was, that courageous opponents of the GDR dictatorship had to pay over decades. What was the everyday life of the people in the GDR? What events characterize the relationship between state power and the population? The forum takes you on a journey from the end of the Second World War 1945, over the peaceful revolution 1989, to the present: the reunited Germany.

Following the visit to the Forum of Contemporary History, you can take a guided walk through the city with a glimpse of the sites of the peaceful revolution. Or you can use an app to explore the places independently.

Day Trip to Bergbau Technology Park/Chemnitz
In the south of the city of Leipzig, brown coal mining dominated the landscape during the GDR. With the political transformation in 1989 most of the opencast mining facilities were closed for environmental protection. Within the framework of the recultivation and renaturation of these brown-coal mining remnants the “Neuseenlandschaft”(new lake landscapes), a network of several lakes, which are connected via sluices and canals, serve as protection against floods as well as recreation and tourism.

During the visit to the mining technology park, we will receive an insight into the history of the brown coal mining. Afterwards, during the trip to Chemnitz, we will take a short detour to some lakes and learn about the important influences of opencast mining for the people and nature in the region.

Around noon the Evangelical-reformed Church in Chemnitz awaits us. The congregation is located in a large city, which is still strongly influenced by the textile industry, mechanical engineering and automobile development. Previously, Chemnitz was called “Saxon Manchester”. During the GDR period, the city bore the name Karl-Marx-Stadt.

The small Evangelical-reformed church invites us to a simple lunch in the garden of their church. Afterwards, we will take a trip through the “Saxon Industrial Museum” in Chemnitz. Here we will learn about 220 years of Saxon industrial history. We will find numerous exhibits from the fields of mining, mechanical engineering and textile production as well as automobiles, computing machines, robots, curious inventions and designer icons. Afterwards we will take the bus directly back to Leipzig’s fare.

Walking Tour through the Historic City Centre
The tour will lead through the city’s colourful past and lively present. We will show you the historic city centre: The market place with the impressive Old Town Hall, medieval St. Thomas‘s Church, where composer Johann Sebastian Bach worked, the oldest coffeehouse in Germany – the “Coffebaum” – from 1711, St. Nicholas‘s Church, where the Peaceful Revolution of 1989 started, and the unique passage and courtyard system including the legendary traditional restaurant “Auerbachs Keller.” Each place will help you discover more about the diverse traditions, personalities and history of Leipzig.

Date: 30 June 1, 3 and 4 July 2017
Who: Michael Schaaf
Time: 2:30 pm from the Messe
Location: City Center Leipzigs
Meeting Point: Pick up from Messe is possible
Language: English and German

 

Please direct all enquiries to the coordinator of the Visitors Programme, Rev. Paul Kluge: visitors@wcrc.eu.