Thursday, July 3, 2014

City Profile: Leipzig

ARCADIA, OK - Before I depart, I thought I'd share with you information about the city that I'll be living in for the next month. Below will be some statistics about the city along with some interesting facts and famous people.

Founded: 1015 
State (Bundesland): Saxony
Population: 534, 922
12th most populated city in Germany
Land size: 114 sq. miles 
Foreign Visitors: 193,000 a year


If you're wondering how Leipzig compares in size to home, Oklahoma City has a population of about 800,000, with a land size of about 600 sq. miles.

Leipzig's most famous person is the classical composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), who served as the musical director for the principal churches of Leipzig from 1723 until his death.

As a historian, I find it interesting and important to note that the "Peaceful Revolution," the movements that collectively led to the reunification of Germany in 1990, has some of it's beginnings in Leipzig. In September 1989, thousands took to the streets in peaceful protests of the East German government demanding the freedom to travel outside the country and to elect a democratic government. These protests would be repeated in other East German cities throughout the fall of 1989 and led to other events that would culminate in the fall of the Berlin Wall that November.

On a purely interesting note, Leipzig's Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum is the oldest Coffee House in Europe that has been in continuous operation since 1720.

This is just a simple, quick overview of Leipzig, and I look forward to sharing more about the city as I explore it over the next month.

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