Leipzig

The beautiful city of Leipzig is most famous for its musical and cultural tradition. Johann Sebastian Bach worked here from 1723 until his death in 1750. Here he held a job as a cantor at the Choir School of St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche). If you get lucky you might hear Bach's music in the church. The church dates back to 1212 and the composer is also buried here. Some important events, such as the introduction of the Reformation to Leipzig by Martin Luther, happened in this church.

The Bach's Museum contains the largest collection of J.S. Bach archives in Germany and many belongings of the composer (Thomaskirchhof 16. 0341/96-44-10 Open: Daily 10am-5pm).

Many years after, another composer, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, will come to Leipzig and distribute, publish and conduct Bach's works and revive his nearly forgotten musical heritage. In Mendelssohn's House, the composer lived until he died in 1847 (Goldschmidtstreet 12 , Leipzig, Phone: 0341/1270294).

Also famous is the Nikolai church, where J.S. Bach had the St. John's Passion (BWV 245) premiere.

Leipzig was also the place of birth of another great German composer, one of the musicians who possessed the greatest impact in the history of music, and a revolutionary opera composer: Richard Wagner.

Another musical attraction is the Museum of Musical Instruments. It exhibits musical instruments, mainly Italian, German, and French of the 16th to the 19th centuries. There are occasional performances with the historical instruments (University of Leipzig, Täubschenweg 2C Phone: 0341/21420).