|
Having been founded in 1409, the University of
Leipzig can look back on almost 600 years of history. After
Heidelberg, Leipzig's University is the second oldest in Germany and thus is
among the oldest universities in Europe. Scholars of world-wide reputation have
taught and done research at this institution, among them Johann Christoph
Gottsched, Wilhelm Wundt and Wilhelm Ostwald. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Gotthold
Ephraim Lessing, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner,
Friedrich Nietzsche and Erich Kästner were students at the University of
Leipzig.
Physics has been taught
in Leipzig since the very beginning of the University. During the 19th century the
physics department was marked by the work of Gustav Theodor Fechner, Wilhelm Weber,
Paul Drude and Ludwig Boltzmann. Finally, in the past century the University of
Leipzig advanced to become a centre of physics of world-wide reputation through the
presence and engagement of Friedrich Hund and the nobel laureates Peter Debye, Werner Heisenberg and Gustav
Hertz. Furthermore, in this period important physicists such as Felix Bloch, Edward
Teller, Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker and Rudolf Peierls were students in Leipzig.
|
|
Leipzig, having
gained the town charter in 1165, gained early importance as a town of trade and
trade fairs by the award of coinage and
trade fair rights. Great publishers such as Barth, Göschen, Brockhaus,
Breitkopf, Reclam and Teubner made Leipzig a centre of letterpress and
publishing.
Culturally, Leipzig has been most dominantly shaped by the work and presence of Johann Sebastian Bach, who served as cantor
of the Leipzig Thomas church for 27
years. Starting in 1723 he conducted the world-famous choir of St. Thomas, the Thomanerchor, which from those
days up to now enriches the weekend services of St. Thomas with its motets. In
the following centuries Leipzig was the residence of further famous composers such
as Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn. The Leipzig
concert hall Gewandhaus with its orchestra,
currently conducted by Herbert Blomstedt, was the place of first performance of
many of the classics in the history of music. Also, the Leipzig opera and the Leipzig playhouse offer a rich variety
of top-class performances. You can find a multitude of interesting museums in
Leipzig, of course, including a museum of
Bach; among the museums are the classical art museum "Museum der bildenden
Künste", the modern art gallery "Galerie
für Zeitgenössische Kunst", but also more exotic exhibitions such as
the coffee museum "Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum". For decades Leipzig has been known
for its famous political
revues and cabarets; amusing and fresh performances of local colour can be
enjoyed for example at "Academixer", "Krystallpalast Varieté", "Leipziger Brettl",
"Leipziger Funzel", "Pfeffermühle" or "Theater Sanftwut".
In the past ten years Leipzig has developed to a vibrant centre of cultural life;
Leipzig city is regarded as the best reconstructed town in the German east. Within
walking distance from the conference site, Leipzig city centre offers comfortable
hotels as well as many new restaurants of all price ranges. Nearby, the centre
offers manifold opportunities for a stroll or a shopping tour. Numerous street
cafés radiate a mediterranean flair and invite you to welcome spring in Leipzig in
March 2002.
Information about the touristic attractions and sights of Leipzig, including the
Bach's Thomas church, the Nikolai church, which has been one of the centres of
the peaceful German revolution of 1989, the old and new city halls or the
"Vökerschlachtdenkmal", can be found at the online information desks of
Leipzig city at www.leipzig.de or www.leipzig-online.de. Further links can
be found on our links page.
|
