Leipzig — From Suffer To Freedom

With a population of over 561,000, Leipzig is the largest city in the federal state of Saxony (Sachsen). It is well known for its universities, trade fairs, and countless historical buildings and monuments.

Ever heard of the peaceful Monday demonstrations? Or what about the successful battle against Napoleon?

This and a lot more happened here in Leipzig.

But the city is good for shopping, too. Huge malls like Paunsdorf Center in the east or others in the inner city, have countless luxurious stores including posh pubs, bars and cafes.

Regarding going from point A to B, the city serves as a very important rail junction of north-to-south and west-to-east. When you are in its huuuuge main station (Hauptbahnhof), you’re going to realize how many ICE high-speed trains come and go, moving plenty of people from city to city.

Airports? It has two of them…

Leipzig/Halle Airport [LEJ] is the larger one, with ~2 million passengers per year, it’s even serving international guests.

The other one, Leipzig-Altenburg Airport [AOC], lies 53 km (32 mi) south of Leipzig in the state of Thuringia. It’s considered a regional airport and being used for low cost transportation — by Ryanair — to London/Stansted, Edinburgh, and Barcelona/Girona.

And the nature? Leipzig Zoo is among Germany’s largest animal parks. It has African safari and other animals from all over the world. And it has the oldest Botanical Garden in Germany, which is also one of the first in the world.

By the way, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht is located here. It is now German’s federal court and was once the highest court between 1888 and 1945.